WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
JULY 21, 2024
TOPIC: LIVING A NEW LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS
BY T. O. BANSO
“We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them” (1 John 5:18 New Living Translation).
When someone accepts Jesus as his Saviour, and he is saved, his sins are forgiven. Old things have passed away, and all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17). He has been delivered from the power of darkness and conveyed into the kingdom of God’s Son, the Son of His love, in whom he has redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13-14).
But it is not enough to receive forgiveness of sin. Every forgiven sinner must live a new life in Christ Jesus. He cannot continue to live as he lived before.
If you’re born again, you must stop fornication, adultery, anger, lying, backbiting, drunkenness, robbery, kidnapping, gossip, etc. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul said, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 New King James Version).
Stop sinning. Truly, grace has forgiven you, but you must stop sinning. That was what Jesus preached, and that is what preachers today must preach. More importantly, that is how Christians today should live.
The Apostle John puts it this way: “Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God” (1 John 3:9 New Living Translation).
Writing to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul said, “Therefore, putting away lying, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,’ for we are members of one another. ‘Be angry, and do not sin’: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need” (Ephesians 4:25-28 New King James Version).
He continued: “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (verses 29-32 New King James Version).
True Christians don’t practise sin – they don’t make a habit of sinning. “We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them” (1 John 5:18 New Living Translation).
If God’s children slip into sin, they quickly repent. They don’t enjoy sin – they feel sorrowful and repent. 2 Corinthians 7:10 says, “For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death” (New Living Translation). A true Christian does not rejoice in sin or explain it away. God’s children don’t sin and continue as if nothing is wrong.
It’s impossible for a Christian not to sin at all or attain sinless perfection. He cannot be free from all sin here on the earth. But his attitude to sin is different from that of sinners. He doesn’t sin deliberately. Hebrews 10:26 says, “Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received know of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins” (New Living Translation).
If a Christian sins unintentionally, he doesn’t justify it or continue with it. He genuinely repents and seeks God’s help for victory over that sin. “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts” (1 John 1:8-10 New Living Translation). This scripture does not encourage believers to sin but acknowledges human weakness. It is not an expression of believers’ helplessness – God’s help is available to them.
That is why the Apostle John offers some clarification immediately in the next chapter. “My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous” (1 John 2:1 New Living Translation).
Everyone who has accepted Jesus as his Saviour and Lord is called to live victoriously over the devil and sin. We can’t be making excuses for our sins. We need to repent of our sins and live a life of holiness. “But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:22-23 New Living Translation).
You cannot say you’re a Christian and continue to sin because you’re under grace. No. That’s an abuse of grace. Hear the Apostle Paul: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:1-4 New King James Version).
Live a new life in Christ with the help of the Holy Spirit.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. Take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner, and cannot save yourself, and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner, and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You must join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: I repent of my sins and receive grace to live above sin in Jesus’ name. I have victory over sin in Jesus’ name. I shall not keep on sinning so that God can keep forgiving me. I have died to sin and shall not live any longer in it.
(For over 900 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org
