A Truth

I read this today...I think it explains well how God gives us the ability to make choices in our lives.

We are dead to our old, pre-Jesus life and have been raised to a new life in Christ (Romans 6:4-5 NIV). We are new creations in Christ; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV)

This means we are dead to sin. You are dead to sin. It means you have a choice – you can chose to sin or you can chose not to sin.

You don’t have to sin. You are no longer a slave to sin. Thank God Almighty, you have been set free from sin! (Romans 6:7-8, NIV)

Like the comedian Dana Carvey, imitating the first George Bush, you can say to sin, “Not gonna do it, not gonna do it!”

Read my lips: When you face temptation, you can make a decision to say “No!” to sin. You have the power within you, the spirit of Christ guiding you and empowering you to make the right decision – but the choice is still yours.

The problem is, most of us live as if we don’t have a choice. We live as if we were still slaves to sin, and if the enemy can get us to believe that – to accept it as Gospel Truth – then he’s defeated us before we even enter the battle.

The Apostle Paul, the smartest kid in the class, says we’re dead to sin, dead to our old way of life. He’s not saying we’ll never sin again. We are all human. We make mistakes – and we fall on God’s grace.

But Paul is saying sin is no longer natural to us. It was natural for the old you, who was put to death with Jesus Christ. It is not natural to the new you, who is alive in Christ. As we walk toward and in Christ-likeness, we stay obedient to the Holy Spirit – pushing toward the point where we can say, like Jesus, “I do nothing by myself; I only do what the Father tells me to do.” (paraphrase of John 5:19)

It’s easy to see this in people with addictions. They reach a point where they believe they have no choice but to chase after their addiction; we look from the outside and wonder why they can’t make the choice to abandon it. They’ve embraced a lie, and their belief guides their behavior. I’m not suggesting addicts don’t experience a real craving, but even then there is a choice to get help. The addict doesn’t have to remain a slave to his addiction; we don’t have to remain addicts to our sin.

Sometimes I pray that God will bring specific people to the point where they understand they have a choice. They no longer have to live like slaves and bowing to temptations is no longer inevitable.

You do not have to sin! – The Kingdom of God is present today, not just a faith-full hope for the sweet by-and-by. God’s solution is very practical. He broke the power of sin in your life, and now he’s empowered you with the Holy Spirit to guide you toward the right choices. Be still and know that he is God – and think upon this truth.

Focus on God, not your ‘deadness’ – As you struggle to make the right choices, focus on God and not your “deadness” to sin. A God-focus will help you see his strength, power, and grace. On the other hand, if you focus on your “deadness,” you might slip into a legalism that deceives you into believing that the only way to walk away from sinful temptation is to do it on your own strength. The truth is, God is your strength.