Digging Deeper

No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 1 John 3:9

Seems like a pretty tall order, doesn’t it?  In the beginning of my walk with Christ, every time I’d stumble, I’d fall into a pit of despair because I’d sinned yet again.   I felt like such a failure.

I spent time in the Word, and I spent time with people who were mature in their faith.  I was reminded that though God hates sin, and cannot look upon it, that’s not the end of it.  I was reminded that Jesus was and is the bridge that covers the chasm between us and God.

That knowledge, that reminder changes everything.  I’m not sinless, and I never will be as long as I draw breath.  However, because I’ve been born of God, I recognize my sins, and I strive to sin less.

In my old life, I didn’t recognize my sins.  The word wasn’t even in my vocabulary.  In thought, in deed, in word, I behaved as I wished.  Sometimes I was “good”, sometimes I was not.  Either way, it didn’t matter much to me.

“He cannot go on sinning” does not mean that when we accept Christ we become perfect.  It doesn’t mean that if we screw up, we’ve lost our salvation.  What it means is we cannot go on as we did before we knew God.  We don’t want to.

I know personally, I can feel defeated in the face of my sin.  Keeping in fellowship with other believers and regular time spent in the Word helps to keep me from ‘beating myself up’.

Lord, thank You for the gift of salvation, for the gift of Your Son. Help me to remember to look to the Word for strength in the presence of sin.

Read: Psalm 51:7-17

Jeanne Roberts