Category Archives: Dan’s Blog

Obedience of Faith

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Not only has God freed us from the power of sin, but He has provided a means by which we can move past these problems. It’s God’s intention to build solid character in us as we submit to Him through “the obedience of faith.” And this takes time. So, don’t be overly disheartened by your sin as it inevitably comes. Rather, let your failures drive you to God so that He can use them to strengthen your resolve to live for Him.

            Each time we say no to sin, it makes it a little easier to say no the next time. Think of it as being like a cup of coffee. If you refill your cup with a shot of espresso each time you drink a little, soon the coffee will virtually be all espresso. It just keeps getting stronger and stronger. But if instead you add a bit of water each time you take a sip, the coffee will soon be diluted to the point of practically being all water.

So it is with sin. As we systematically resist sin, we just naturally set ourselves on the road to the victory. But while that’s important, it’s not enough. Because sin is primarily a heart issue, first and foremost is the issue of pursuing intimacy with Jesus as He dwells within us through His Spirit. We must remember that our spirit can draw life from God only when firmly attached to Him.

Ultimate Victory

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Failure to resist sin opened up some pretty significant questions for me: why would God give me instant relief from some sins while allowing others to remain? Why not just give me victory over all my fleshly weaknesses so I wouldn’t have any problem in wholeheartedly living for Him?

The answer is choice. Our confrontation with sin in the weakness of our flesh—not the least besetting sin—continually presents us with choices to make. It’s fundamental to God’s plan for us. He has set things up in such a way that, while there is certainly an immediate and absolute aspect of our redemption now, the final redemption our body is a future event.(Romans 8:23) So, even though we have His Spirit as a guarantee, we still have a rocky road to travel. And our choices along this difficult road tell the tale of our faith, or its lack thereof.

God has a solution to besetting sin. So we must never attempt to justify sin in our life—no matter how or when it might crop up. Sometimes we try to blame besetting sin on some sort of character flaw. But that’s not the real issue. Sure it’s a character flaw! But not in the way psychologists might define it—not as something we simply, by virtue of our nature, are never able to overcome.

Each and every one of us who comes to Christ has a deficiency in our character. And though it may take years to work through the difficulties resulting from such weakness, it’s important to understand that God never meant besetting sin to be a lifelong problem.

Besetting Sin

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What is probably the most confusing and disheartening of all challenges for a believer—besetting sin. This is the kind of sin that doesn’t happen just once or twice, but is a recurring problem in a believer’s life. You simply can’t seem to get over it! Beset is defined as “to trouble or harass.” And trouble and harass it does!

For me, as I experienced being born again and infused with the life and power of God, much of my sinful behavior seemed to simply drop off of me. I don’t know how to better describe it—I just didn’t have a problem with certain things anymore. I was delivered, to put it in Christian jargon.

But other weaknesses persisted in my nature, causing me to fall into the same sin over and over again. You might say, “Well, you had the choice.” Indeed I did have the choice each time temptation presented itself. But the problem was that I continued to make the wrong choice, because each time the temptation seemed so overwhelming.

We Are Accepted

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What if we—in spite of our weaknesses—were to boldly move forward in our relationship with God? Would Jesus meet us halfway? I’m not talking about the Lord letting us slide through life stunted, a mere shell of what we are intended to be. What I mean is that there is a willingness on God’s part to work with us, not abandoning us just because our heart isn’t yet all it should be. Gracious terms? I’ll say! 

The opportunity is always there for God’s Spirit to entrench itself all the more forcefully. It’s His gift to us. And consequently the transformation we so desperately need has the chance to take root all the deeper and just that much sooner.

Acceptance. It’s the very foundation of God’s redeeming power. Without it transformation is impossible. From glory to glory, you ask? Yes, we are to be changed into the very image of Jesus Himself! It’s what our life in Christ is all about.

A Two-way Street

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We need to be reminded here that interaction with the Spirit of God is the cornerstone of spiritual growth. We also must remember that prayer and meditation in Scripture is most effective when it’s a two-way street—listening as well as speaking. God still speaks to His people today, and learning to walk in intimacy with Him as a daily discipline nurtures the likelihood of hearing His voice.

Our life is never the same once we’ve heard God speak, especially when He does so in a way that addresses our personal circumstances. It changes us like nothing else can. And the beauty is that God wants to speak to us, not just once, but time and again as a natural part of a life built on closeness with Him.(John 16:13-14) Have you sensed God speaking to you? If not, set yourself squarely in His path. You’ll hear Him.

Nonconformists

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Paul prefaces his message of being “transformed by the renewing of your mind” by first exhorting believers to “not be conformed to this world.” So resisting the devil and fleeing from temptation is a critical first step forward, no matter how many times we might fail in it.(James 4:7)

Admittedly this isn’t an easy thing to do, but one clear-cut benefit of failure is that disgust over it helps prod us toward the goal. And although we’ll probably never be perfect in resisting sin, we can’t let that keep us from trying. God is here to help, and things will get better each time we make the right choice.(1 Corinthians 10:13)

We must never allow sin to become an excuse for retreating from our pursuit of God. Let your sin drive you to God rather than away from Him. Believe me, He knows and understands you. And He’s more than willing to work with a repentant heart.(Psalm 103:12-14)

The devil does his best to deceive us into believing that we can’t come back to God until we’ve cleaned up our act. But we need to remember that the cross has stripped Satan of any actual power over our life.(Colossians 2:15) Ultimately, the devil only has the influence we allow him to have. He has no power to keep us from God, and we must never allow him to fool us into thinking that our sin somehow puts up a barrier between Him and us.

God’s Game Plan

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Are we able to bear fruit without being meaningfully transformed? Yes, in scant quantity and meager quality we can. But without a true metamorphosis we’ll never be successful in bearing the kind Jesus wants—“much fruit.” For this reason transformation is absolutely essential to fruitfulness in God’s kingdom.

There’s no question that God wants to see us radically changed. And since we know we can’t transform ourselves, He must have a method to accomplish it. But the big question is just what that plan consists of; how do we get from here to there? Well, God has His part in the process, and we’ve got ours.

If transformation is ever to become a reality in us, we must cooperate with God as He goes about working in our life. The beauty is that freedom from the power of sin makes choosing to walk out our faith in this way possible—in spite of the weakness of our flesh. Because God has done what He has through Christ, it’s now all about choice! But submitting ourselves to God for what is likely to be a very arduous journey is never an easy choice to make. Nevertheless, we can do it! Aided by His power, we can become the kind of Christians we intuitively want to be as a result of our redemption. God Himself has put that desire there.

Yet truth be told, we often have to come to the end of ourselves—finally fed up with failure—before we can actually bring ourselves to make that commitment. You may be at that point in your life right now! If so, unconditionally give yourself over to God, and then take action by submitting to His will. Sometimes we think that giving over our will to God is a one-time event. Not so. Rather, it’s a choice we make day by day. And making daily progress toward transformation entails following well-defined steps: God’s Game Plan. We’ll be talking about what that involves.

Fruit’s Proof

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What’s encouraging is the fact that somewhere along the line we come to a point where it’s virtually impossible to get mired once again in the pit of the old self. Why? Because our character has been permanently altered—who we are has changed. Once our character is transformed, we truly no longer are our former self.

Yes, we’ll continue to be confronted with the issues of our old nature (our old self). That’s why we must always be vigilant. But though we may slip, we won’t turn back! My guess is that those who throw in the towel have never experienced any meaningful degree of transformation in the first place.

The “fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”—firmly entrenched within provides bona fide proof that metamorphosis has taken hold.(Galatians 5:22-23).

It’s true that God can cause one or more of these virtues to sporadically spring forth according to the need of the moment, even before they become the rock-solid foundation of our character. But just stop and think what it must be like to enjoy the advantage of the fruit of the Spirit deeply-rooted and dominant in your life.(Galatians 5:24)

The Soil of the Heart

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Jesus said that abundant growth is not only possible, but to be expected from ground that has been cultivated for God’s purposes. Our job is to prepare the soil of our heart to receive that growth. Paul knew how vital it is to press on toward this goal: “to present your bodies a holy and living sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”(Romans 12:1) No, presenting ourselves in this manner won’t be the immediate fix we all long for, but rather a pushing forward; it’s what it means to live our life in a manner pleasing to Him.(Colossians 1:10)

Given the proper conditions, metamorphosis will just naturally continue on its course. Let’s think about the butterfly. What chance do you suppose it has of reverting once again to its original form—the caterpillar? Zero, right? Having undergone such transformation, it can never return to what it once was.

Making godly choices sets us on that same road. Early in the process there are lots of opportunities to slip back under the spell of the old self. But over time, as we experience degrees of transformation, the likelihood of that happening keeps diminishing. Consequently, the further we’re transformed, the more likely it will be to come to full fruition.

Discerning My Purpose

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Discovering God’s purpose for our life is kind of like driving a car. It’s impossible to steer a car that’s standing still, but easy to maneuver when you give it the gas.

Yet being in motion isn’t the only issue; a reliable steering mechanism is also vital to getting to our destination. And this is our responsibility as much as it is God’s. So we must not only step out, but be willing to be steered if we are ever to get where we need to go.

Think of it as being like a ship on the open sea. If its rudder is broken, it doesn’t matter that the engine is pushing it forward, since it will ultimately drift wherever the wind carries it. Consequently, shipwreck becomes inevitable. But if the ship can be steered while under power, its direction can be changed at key navigation points, bringing it safely to harbor—even if it first starts out heading in the wrong direction.