[b] Sin tries to creep into our lives on a regular
basis. The devil is relentless. He does not
give up. Just because someone decides to be
a Christian and follow the things of God,
does not mean that the devil backs off and
says, "I'm not going to bother him any more.
He is seeking God so I'm just going to give
him clear passage." The devil doesn't do
that! The reason the devil doesn't do that is
because he sees every born again believer as
a threat to his kingdom. He knows that one
spirit filled, Bible-believing Christian can deal
a severe blow to his kingdom.
God's plan is for everything to reproduce
after its own kind. (Genesis 1) In a way, this
is what we all do in our daily lives with our
lifestyle. Some people are strong and are not
influenced by things around them, but many
are. In the world, leaders are few, but
followers are many. If you take a strong
stand toward purity in your life, of course not
everyone will be influenced, but some will
see your lifestyle and feel a draw to attain it
for themselves.
A Christian that is not living right and has
sin in their life will not influence the world; in
fact, they will be a detriment to the Kingdom.
The devil will cause people to look at them
and point and say, "Look at them. They
claim to be a Christian and look at what they
are doing." The devil will use you as a good
example of a bad example and people will be
turned off toward Jesus. So as Christians we
must live holy lives.
We can live lives that are above sin. Some
people may say, "Well, I can't do that
because the Bible says that every one sins."
The Bible says that every one was born into
sin, but the Bible also says that he who is in
Christ is without sin. You may say, "Well,
how can that be?" It is because with the
Spirit of God living in you, your spirit does
not sin. We need to understand that we are
three part beings if we are going to be able
to understand that scripture.
Man is a three part being. If he has received
Jesus, he is a spirit that is born again, that
has become new. The scripture says when
we become born again, when we accept
Jesus, that old things pass away, that all
things become new. That's talking about
your spirit. When we are born again, we
become a new creature, a new creation, a
new being in Christ. The old man has died
and we are resurrected into new life.
The scripture also tells us, "Whoever is born
of God does not sin" – because the Spirit of
God resides in him. That's talking about the
spirit of a born again Christian. God renews
our spirit day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16).
That's why we are without sin.
However we must renew the mind daily
through the washing of the Word. That's
because the mind is not born again. Even
though the spirit is born again, the mind
needs to be renewed on a daily basis and
that is our responsibility.
Likewise, the body is not born again. There
will be a time when we will receive a new
resurrected, glorified body. Paul talks about
it. Paul says in a moment, in a twinkling of
an eye, we will be changed. He's not talking
there about your spirit because your spirit
has already been changed. Your spirit is
already born again. Your spirit is already
without sin. But our bodies are changed in a
moment, in the twinkling of an eye and we
become like Him.
Now with that in mind, we can understand
that just because a man is born again and
his spirit is fresh and new and clean, does
not mean that his mind and body are. And
the devil will work on him to try to get him
to sin in his flesh. Even though he is born of
God, he can still do things that are wrong
that are sins.
This is why it is extremely important for
Christians to renew their minds daily with the
Word of God. Only then can we keep sin out
of our lives and only then can we grow in
holiness.
"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify
you completely; and may your whole spirit,
soul, and body be preserved blameless at the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1
Thessalonians 5:23) [/b]

kk

@ op God bless u real good, if only will just understand this simple truth!