​What does the Bible say is our only defense against our proclivity for sin?  Is it embracing law?  Or is it hiding from the world?  As I pointed out in the previous post the Apostle Paul used his personal experience to demonstrate that does not work.  Read Romans 7:7-12 for yourself and see what I mean. No, the answer is living by faith, resting in the protection of the Holy Spirit.  Paul put it this way in Galatians:     
Galatians 5:16-17 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
 
What does it mean to walk (live) in the Spirit?  Walk in the Spirit is actually one of several descriptive phrases Paul uses to describe how to live by faith.  In this case I believe he was elaborating on his earlier statement in Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.   
 
And he also gave us a list of outcomes that come from walking in the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-25
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. These are not skill we have to develop, but manifestations of the Spirit’s presence in us.    
 
V. 25 makes the connection between everlasting life (if we live in the Spirit) and walking in the Spirit.  Both are the results of faith.  We receive everlasting life by believing Jesus Christ for life and we walk in the Spirit by believing Him for living that everlasting life. What we have to believe is what God has revealed to us in the Bible.  Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.  So, knowledge of God’s word is key to walking in the Spirit. 
Ephesians 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit. That is another descriptive term for walk in the Spirit.  We know that because it produces similar outcomes: v. 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Notice Colossians 3:16 does the same:  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Knowledge of God’s word is essential to walking in the Spirit.   

In looking at why believers should not go on sinning after believing in Jesus Christ I suggest we start with Romans.  The first thing to know about Romans is the reason God had Paul write it.  You find that in Romans 1:16-18 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.  So, the Gospel of Christ has the power to deliver (salvation) everyone who believes from what?  The wrath of God that is presently being revealed against the sin of those who suppress the truth.  Because the just are to live by faith.  Faith, not effort and force of will.  

That is the central theme of Romans, avoiding God’s displeasure with sin.  A concern for both believers and non-believers.  For the non-believer step 1 is to become a believer and gain the everlasting life God offers.  In Romans Paul uses the word justified to describe the receipt of everlasting life and deliverance from the penalty for sin.  Chapters 2-4 of Romans deal with justification. Then in chapter 5 he switches over to addressing believers and their need for deliverance from God’s present-day wrath against sin.  And as I addressed in the previous post, believers still have to deal with sin in their lives.  2 key verses that introduce this shift in focus are: 
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Romans 5:9-10 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
 
Notice Paul makes a distinction between being Justified and being saved in v. 9.  V.10 makes the same distinction between reconciliation and saved.   Obviously, Paul did not use the word saved the way we do today.  He wrote justified people who are at peace with God (Romans 5:1) still need to be saved (delivered) from wrath by Jesus Christ’s life.  Since believers are already saved from hell, this deliverance from wrath must refer to God’s displeasure with our ongoing sin.  Sin which Paul says in Romans 6:23 brings premature physical death.  I know that verse is used a lot in evangelism but it is really addressed to believers.  It defines one of the consequences believers can suffer in this life for living in sin. 
 
This is to what Romans 1:17 was referring: For in it (the Gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”  The last clause actually reads in the Greek as “the just by faith shall live.”  I like that better.  The believer’s only way to escape the bondage of sin is by faith.  Trying harder, doing better do not work.  Paul says he tried it that way and it killed his fellowship with God (Romans 7:7-12).   So, we need to understand how the just live by faith. 
 
More to follow.  

You may have heard someone say that if faith in Jesus Christ and His promise of everlasting life is all there is to it, then people will go on sinning.  Well, if we are going to be truthful about it, those who teach faith must be followed by perseverance also go on sinning.  Look at the number of Pastors who teach a faith plus works salvation who have had to leave the ministry because of moral failures.  The last time I checked the stats show something like 20% of evangelical pastors have fallen into that trap.  So, preaching a faith plus works salvation is no protection against sin.  It might actually keep someone from believing in Jesus Christ’s promise of everlasting life by faith alone.    
 
A well known verse many use when sharing the Gospel makes it clear we never measure up to God’s expectations. Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We’ve all sinned in the past, but the second clause of that verse says we presently fall short.  It actually means we always fall short, no matter what we do! 1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. the Bible states doing good cannot erase sin, only Jesus Christ can do that.  Urging people to do better, try harder will not change the reality of who we are; sinners who can only be saved by grace through faith. 
 
Likewise, faith is the only solution for dealing with our sin after having received everlasting life.  The Bible makes it clear we cannot live as we should by the force of our will.  It is only by faith in what He has revealed in His word, the Bible.  It requires the renewed mindset only the Holy Spirit can bring.  We cannot do it on our own. 
 
Romans 5:9-10 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
 
Romans 12:1&2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
 
Galatians 5:16-17 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
 
Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
 
More on each of those in the next few blog posts.  

And what exactly is the offer of life from Jesus Christ?  Well, using His words it is Everlasting Life.  I capitalized Everlasting Life because it is not ordinary life.  It is life that once received never ends.   Amazingly, the Lord Jesus Christ offers anyone and everyone who will believe Him for the gift of that life to actually receive Everlasting Life immediately. 
 
So, when can someone receive this gift of everlasting life?  Well, according to Jesus Christ, Himself the giver, you receive it when you believe He is the giver of life and believe He’ll give it to you!  Take note of this Biblical passage:
 
John 5:22-25 - For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, 23 that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. 24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. 25 Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.
 
Those are Jesus Christ’s words and He perfectly understands the language He used.  And here is what He said means: God has committed all judgement to Jesus Christ, His Son.  And here is the Son’s judgement - he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent me has (a present active indictive verb); everlasting life, and shall not come (a present passive verb) into judgement; but has passed (a prefect active indictive verb) from death into life.  Present tense means the one who believes has that everlasting life the moment they believe.  They have presently passed out from future judgement.  The perfect tense means this passing from death to life is permanent as is the freedom from judgement.   
 
There are people who teach everlasting life is something you receive in the future when you die.  Others say you can receive it now, but it could be lost if you fail to live up to your beliefs.  Both positions ignore the clear and emphatic teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ.  My advice is you should stick with what Jesus Christ has said because the Father has committed all judgement to Him.   
 

​I have not posted in a while because I have been working on Jeanette’s Birthday Present.  She wanted a porch on the front of our house.  We’ve had houses in the past with front porches and enjoyed them.  We now have another one.  So, now let me finish the thread of thought I started. 
 
In a perfect world we wouldn’t have to deal with failure, right?  Well, apparently, we still would because we had a perfect world and Adam still chose to break faith with God.  That was the risk God took by creating Adam in His own image.  The freedom to make choices means having the freedom to make bad choices.  The Creator knew that and being the sovereign and omnipotent God that He is, He took final responsibility for Adam’s bad choice.  In Genesis 3:15 God informed Satan, the one behind the temptation of Eve, that He (God) would provide a solution to the problem of sin and death.   
 
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”  Genesis 3:15.  He promised to send a redeemer to restore what was lost. 
 
While there is not a lot of detail in that statement, the Lord did flesh out the plan in the rest of the Biblical revelation.  We find out in Genesis 3:21 that God conducted the first substitutionary sacrifice for sin that same day.  In Genesis 4 it is revealed He also provided them with a detailed order of worship based on animal sacrifice.  Later in Genesis we read about the Lord calling Abram who later became Abraham the father of nations.  Then Jacob who became the father of Israel.  All of that to ensure we would be able to locate and recognize the promised redeemer. 
 
While so many religions are focused on seeking a god they can understand or even control.  None are seeking the God Who Is.  But He has been seeking us.  Through Jesus Christ He removed our guilt and liability for sin.  He now offers a free exchange of life everlasting for simply believing He is and He rewards those who seek Him and not another.   

In my last post I gave a very brief detailed set of ideas I believe explain why the Bible says there are none who seek after God.  You may disagree with me but that is way I understand the matter.  You may not find my reasons convincing.  You won’t be the first.  And honestly, I won’t lose sleep over it.  It is not that I don’t care, I do.  I just don’t see much value in debating.  I’d rather challenge you to come up with convincing alternatives. 
 
I believe that the Triune God of the Bible is real.  He is one being who exists as 3 persons living in an eternal perfect relationship of fellowship, love and respect.  I also believe being 3 in 1 is part of the rationale for the Creation.   God wanted to express Himself in a way that allowed for sharing the experience of His life with others.   I can’t prove that.  It just seems like a logical step for an omnipotent and omniscient God to take.  Thus, the first thing God reveals about Himself in the Bible is His Creation. 
 
And within the Creation account we find the origins of the Human Race.  The different animal species were all created genetically independent of each other.  They share a common genetic design because of a common creator but are not genetically connected.   He did not do that with the Humans.  We all descend from a pair of common ancestors.  Adam and Eve were made in the image of God.  We don’t know exactly what that means, but we have hints.  It included a creative mindset, the ability to make independent choices rather than just following preprogramed instinctive reactions. 
 
That last one is what led us into sin.  Adam, confronted with a choice between believing his wife or God went with Eve.  And sin brought death with it.  That changed everything except God’s creative purpose.  According to Genesis 1:26-28 He charged Adam and his descendants with partnering with Him in ruling over the earth.   This is the first mention of the Kingdom of God.  Sin didn’t change God’s intention, but it did alter the path He would follow in achieving His vision of a universe in which we Humans would share management responsibilities with the Creator.  

We call the Bible God’s Word because we believe it to be His revelation of truth to the world.  Jesus Christ made that claim concerning the Old Testament (O.T.) and quoted is as such frequently.  He also told His disciples they would be assisted by the Holy Spirit in recording His teachings in what we call the New Testament (N.T.).  But the Bible contains many statements that are hard to believe.  One of those is
Romans 3:11 – “There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God.”  Can that really be true in a world filled with so many different religions?  We all know there are atheists who deny the existence of God.  But how can the Bible assert that no one seeks God when the majority of people do hold to some concept of a divine being or beings.    
 
 Well, the existence of all those religions kind of proves what Romans 3:11 says.  The truth is many people are looking for a god, any god as long as it is not the God who actually is.  The Creator God who has revealed Himself to the world scares people.  I recently saw a video posted on face book by a pastor who said we should stop talking about the things in the Bible that scare people.  Folks don’t like being told there are things they shouldn’t do.  They don’t like the idea God might hold them accountable for what they do.  He actually gave a list of specific topics in the Bible we need to avoid.  Why? Because those things are what make people stay away from Church. 
 
 Even people who have had direct encounters with the God who created us have tried to reinvent Him.  In Exodus 32 the Bible records the story of the Israelis having their High Priest make them an idol. A golden calf which Aaron then named YAHWAH, the name of God revealed to Moses at the burning bush.  They found the real God, the one who got them out of slavery in Egypt, a little too scary.  They wanted a god they could manage.
 
However, running from the truth will not change reality.  There can only be 1 infinite all powerful God.   He by definition must be separate from and independent of the space and time creation in which we live.  God also has to be the source of the immaterial elements of reality.  And the only God who fits that description is the God of the Bible.  More on this in the next post.   

Another fact I fear many Believers overlook about the gift of everlasting life is found in Romans 5:1. 
 
 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Romans 5:1
 
Notice how the Holy Spirit had the Apostle Paul phrase this statement.  We, meaning everyone who has believed in Jesus Christ for everlasting life, having believed in Him now have peace with God.  Just like everlasting life is not an earned reward, neither is being at peace with God.  That is really good news.  Not only can we be assured of our deliverance from the penalty of our sin but we also can rest in the knowledge that we are currently accepted by God.  Peace with God is a matter of faith not effort. 
 
Why?  Because believing what God has said pleases Him (Hebrews 11:6).  Believing God means you have some understanding of who He is.  He is eternally holy, loving, merciful and righteous.  He is perfect in every aspect of His being and existence.  He is completely trustworthy.  Doubting the truth of His promises is really denying all of what I just listed is true.  Doubt is unbelief.  And God is not pleased with it.  He still keeps His promises, He will never reject anyone who has believed in Jesus Christ for everlasting life.  He understands we can be swayed by bad teaching. 
 
The counter to bad teaching no matter how persuasive is true knowledge of God.  You get that by reading your Bible.  Here is my challenge to you.  Make time every day to read 4 chapters in the Bible.  Just 4 chapters a day will have you through the entire Bible in less that 10 months.  And you will know more about God than when you started.  Knowledge of God’s word in powerful.  Then do it again.     

​In Acts 16 we have Luke’s account of how Paul and Silas evangelized and planted a church in the Roman Colony of Philippi.  What may very well be the most well-known event of their time in Philippi is what happened after they were arrested and thrown in Prison.  They were charged with sedition for teaching things contrary to Roman law.  That was a serious charge which required the Jailer to place them in the high security section of his prison.  According to Luke, they had spent their evening in prayer and singing hymns.  He also says the other prisoners were listening to them.  Luke doesn’t give any other detail, but I don’t think it a stretch to assume Paul made sure the prisoners heard a clear presentation of the Gospel. 
 
Then at midnight there was an earthquake that shook the foundations of that prison.  The doors had been sprung open and the chains that restrained the prisoners had been loosened.  Assuming the worse, the Jailer prepared to kill himself only to be stopped by Paul who shouted out that no one had escaped.  And then Luke wrote the following: 
 
And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”  So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.  Acts 16:30-32
 
While it can be argued that we don’t know what the Jailer meant by saved; we do know Paul’s meaning.  And as Luke points out Paul and Silas went on to explain the Word of the Lord to him and everyone in his household.  As Jesus Christ explained it to Nicodemus in John 3, whoever believes in Jesus Christ for everlasting life will receive everlasting life.  

The main error of those who teach against the secure promise of everlasting life to all who believe in Jesus Christ is that it dishonors God.  I’m reasonably sure that is not their intention.  but they are basically saying Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection fail to satisfy God’s need for justice and his desire to redeem us from our bondage to sin.  They imply something was lacking in God’s redemptive plan or Jesus Christ’s sacrifice that must be made up by us.  However, I’ve never heard anyone explain what that deficit actually was.
 
That leaves their followers with no idea of what they must do to fill in the gap.  Logically, it would seem they either live in fear or surrender to a fatalistic hope for the best approach.  Most people I know that hold the view that salvation can be lost adopt the hope for the best position.  While they can’t say for sure where the line between heaven and hell is; they are pretty sure they’re on the right side of it.  God says there is no reason to live with any uncertainty.  We can have complete assurance by just taking God at His word.  We have been saved by grace through faith without any effort on our part (Ephesians 2:8 & 9).  And God does have a tract record of keeping His word!
 
For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.  For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute.  Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.  Hebrews 6:13-18