Are you becoming more and more free from sin?
In this section we understand that truth causes us to move slowly but surely towards perfection.
As you focus on becoming godly and humbling yourself you will become more and more free from sin. If that is happening to you then it is a good sign. It is a sign that you are on the right track regarding understanding the Bible. This is because the more you know God the less you will sin. Knowledge of the truth of God will set you free from sin. This is what the apostle John strived to teach us.
1 Jn 3:6 No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.
Jn 8:32 "and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."
If the doctrine you have is not setting you free from sin then the doctrine you have is not the truth.
On the other hand, if you are living in sin then it is clear that you don’t know God no matter how much you preach and teach, and no matter what you preach and teach.
There are lots of people like that. Paul warned Titus about such people.
Tit 1:16 They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.
In particular, if a person is committing adultery with a brother’s wife, or making an attempt to do so, he is like an unbeliever who does not know God.
1 Thess 4:3-6 For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you.
If you are increasingly keeping the commandments of God – not just the letter, but also the spirit of the commandments – then you know that you are indeed increasing in sound doctrine.
1 Jn 2:3-5 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
1 Jn 2:24 The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
So it’s good to examine our lives every once in a while – you know, especially during those long weekends – and see if all the sermons we’ve heard and the Bible studies we participated in have actually changed us in such a way that we are actually obeying God more. If nothing much has changed then something is wrong, and we need to find out what it is, and fix it. God forbid that we should live the rest of our lives in such a sorry state!
|