"Submit
yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” –
James 4:7
The gift of grace, which we
receive at salvation washes away all of our sins (Ephesians 2:8). We did not earn salvation and we cannot improve upon
it. With salvation there is no condemnation for anything we ever do (Romans
8:1). So why should we strive for
holiness and perfection when a place in heaven is already guaranteed to us?
Grace does not give us permission to continue sinning. Although grace abounds
in our soul, that is no reason for sin to flourish (Romans
6:1-2). The Bible holds a standard of
holiness and perfection for every Believer who is washed in the blood of the
Lamb (1 Peter 1:15; Revelation 7:14). We
sell ourselves short by believing that we cannot live up to this Biblical
standard.
As Christians we know that God’s Word is the absolute truth on which we base our life. We strive to live according to His precepts without compromise. Through the power of God’s Spirit within us (Acts 1:8), we stand against the temptations of the flesh, the world and the deceitfulness of Satan’s wiles, which strive to draw us away from God’s truth (James 1:13-16). The law of the Spirit of life sets us free from the law of sin and death that used to be the norm for our life (Romans 8:2). This freedom allows us to live in victory over sin every single day, and to live a purified life. Living in perfection is possible, because Christ lives within us and he is perfect (Matthew 5:48).
Living in perfection is only
possible, however, if we choose to live by the Spirit every moment of the day.
Enoch walked with God and God took Him (Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5). I want to follow Enoch’s example. Trials and
temptations are opportunities to honor Christ with our life (1 Peter
1:7), and to
prove we can live by our convictions (Romans 5:1-5). We cannot take our
faithfulness for granted, however; because our adversary the devil is a roaring
lion, roaming the earth and looking for people to devour (1 Peter
5:8). Therefore,
we trust in Christ’s grace to give us the wisdom and the strength to stand
strong and to overcome, so that we shall come forth as pure gold (Job
23:10; Philippians 2:12-13).
We are crucified with
Christ. We are dead, and He is living within us (Galatians 2:20). If we live by the Spirit, we will never fulfill the
lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). God promises to rescue His children from temptations,
which are greater than we can bear. His grace gives us a way of escape from
them (1 Corinthians 10:13). We simply need to look for His help. Living a life of holiness is our tribute to Christ for the sacrifice He paid by becoming a
man and dying on the cross in our place.
We give Him the honor due
His name by following in His footsteps of sinless perfection (2
Corinthians 7:1). We persevere in holy living
until we come to the place of complete maturity. (James 1:4). By
God’s abounding grace it is possible to live one minute without sinning. If one
minute, then we can go five minutes. If five minutes, then we can live one hour
without sinning. If one hour, then we can live one whole day for the glory of
God. If one day, then one lifetime can be lived in the perfection of Jesus
Christ, who lives His life in and through us, if we dare to get out of the way.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, with You
residing within us, and by the power of Your Holy Spirit we do not have to give
in to the temptation to sin. Help us to be vigilant in times of temptation to
see your provision for our way of escape. Keep us from choosing to sin and help
us always to choose righteous thoughts, words and deeds instead. Thank you for
dwelling within us and giving us the goal of walking in sinless perfection and
to intimately dwell with You now and in eternity.
Thought for the Day:
A life of sinless perfection
is achieved one moment at a time. 