Waiting for sin to disappear!

Most Christians are sad when they find themselves falling into the same sins again and again. But the way they deal with the situation is different. There are some who accept that life as unavoidable and take comfort in asking for forgiveness. Some others think that they are covered by the blood of Christ and need not worry about this at all. Some people ask God to take away their sinful desires or to protect them from situations that tempt them. But, in general, many Christians do not think that they are not getting victory because they are not doing something God expects them to do. They believe that salvation is entirely from God's side, by His grace, and they are sincerely puzzled to see that they are not getting victory.

This verse gives us a great clue, "for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live" (Ro.8:13). Here we see two ways of living, one according to our own desires, and the other according to the ways of the Spirit. The mistake many people make is to expect that the Spirit will lead them to victory even while they are doing what pleases them. No, it is we who have to put to death the works of the flesh in us, of course, by the power that is available from the Spirit. There are many other passages that tell us the same thing. For example, Jesus said that we cannot follow Him unless we are denying ourselves in order to do His will (Lk.9:23).

Many are used to hearing that it is God who is going to work in us, quoting Php.2:13. But we will miss the whole point if we don't read vv.12,13 together (Php.2:12,13). Here it should be absolutely clear that as a result of the work God is doing in us through the Holy Spirit who is dwelling in us, we are responsible for actually carrying out what the Spirit tells us. We will be thoroughly mistaken if we leave it to God to save us from sin all from His side, if we don't learn to deny ourselves.

The need to deny ourselves comes in every situation where we are tempted. The temptation is to choose to please ourselves even when God wants us to do something else (Jas.1:14,15). Many Christians have be taught about God's grace to the exclusion of our choice. Just think of it. God will save only those who want to be saved. Then, if we want to be saved will we not try to overcome our sinful desires whenever we are tempted? Of course, we don't have the strength to overcome them by ourselves. God will run to our help, if only we will ask for it (He.2:18). But the problem is if we leave it to God and just wait for our sinful nature to just disappear!