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Jesus Saves From Sin |
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Author: Fred Pruitt |
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The Word of God says that sin is the transgression of
the law. (I John 3:4). A person who has no knowledge of God's law,
such as a child, would be innocent of any transgression. James says,
"Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him
it is sin." James 4:17.
In Isaiah 59:2, we find these words written by the Holy Spirit
through the prophet, "But your iniquities have separated between you
and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will
not hear."
The only thing that separates men and women from God is their own
sin and iniquity. And when a person goes to God with a penitent
heart, asking for mercy and forgiveness, believing on the blood of
Christ as an atonement for sin, God is faithful to forgive and to
cleanse that individual from all sin or unrighteousness. When a
person is really saved through Christ, he is no longer a sinner, but
a saint-a saved person who does not commit sin. (I John 3:9).
One prominent doctrine in the world today teaches that a person who
is "born again" sins more or less all the time and can be termed, "a
sinner saved by grace." However, that which God does not impute to
man as sin is not sin. Faults and mistakes are not sin. It is
possible that such things could become sin. For instance, when
knowledge comes that one has done someone a wrong through a mistake
or fault and is not willing to fix it up as much as possible, then
it becomes a sin and brings condemnation to the soul. But to say
that someone washed in the blood of Jesus is a "sinner saved by
grace," would be wrong and misleading, for a saved person is no
longer a sinner.
I tried to reason with a preacher once and show him that a man who
is saved is no longer a sinner and should not be classed as such.
The preacher claimed that the soul could be saved but the flesh or
body remain sinful. As proof, he referred to the seventh chapter of
Romans and claimed that Paul was describing his experience as a
Christian. He said that Paul, in the same chapter, declared himself
to be a "wretched man." When I asked the preacher if he was a
wretched man, he declared very emphatically that he was indeed.
I feel sorry for people who profess to follow Christ and yet are
wretched, for when God saved my soul, He made me happy. Even in the
worst trials of life, I am never wretched, for the "Hope of glory"
fills my soul and brings freedom, joy and contentment.
In order to make plain this truth, I wish to offer some Scriptures
on the subject. "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt
call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."
Matt.1:21.
"The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, That he would grant
unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies
might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before
him all the days of our life." Luke 1:73-75.
"Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not
seen him, neither known him. He that committeth sin is of the devil;
for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son
of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed [Word of
God, Luke 8:11] remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is
born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the
children of the devil. . . ." I John 3:6, 8-10.
Those holding the doctrine that Christians sin more or less
everyday, try to kill the weight of these Scriptures by claiming
that this flesh, the body, sins, but the soul is holy and righteous.
Let us look into the Scriptures to see whether or not God teaches
that the body of a saved man sins while his soul is preserved holy
and righteous.
"Knowing this, that our old man [the carnal, fleshly nature that
causes men to sin] is crucified with him, that the body of sin [the
evil powers within a sinner] might be destroyed, that henceforth we
should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin." "Let
not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it
in the lusts thereof." Rom. 6:6-7, 12.
"For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body,
and in your spirit which are God's." I Cor. 6:20.
"Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live
after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but
if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body [put them
to death], ye shall live." Rom. 8:12-13.
In I Corinthians 9:27, Paul testified, "But I keep under my body [or
keep my body under], and bring it into subjection: lest that by any
means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a
castaway." A castaway, according to the dictionary, is a worthless
thing, a thing that is refused.
Paul tells us in I Thessalonians 5:22-24 to "Abstain from all
appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly;
and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved
blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he
that calleth you, who also will do it."
If your whole spirit, soul, and body are preserved blameless unto
the coming of the Lord ‹and God says He will do that very thing-how
much of you is left to commit sin? Brethren, we had better believe
the plain statements of God's Word and look to Him for right
interpretation of seemingly contradictory Scriptures that would hold
people under sin and bondage and bring awful regret in the end.
We read in Galatians 6:7-8, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for
whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth
to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth
to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."
Peter instructs us to "Abstain from fleshly lusts which war against
the soul." (I Peter 2:11). The spirit and life of Christ living in
the soul will give us power to abstain from all fleshly lusts and
enable us to sow unto the Spirit and have life everlasting. But
those who sow to the flesh in "adultery, fornication, uncleanness,
lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations,
wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness,
revellings, and such like," are sowing to the flesh and will reap
eternal destruction.
In Ephesians 2:2-3, Paul tells more about our condition when we were
in sin: "Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of
this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the
spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom
also we all had our conversation in times past [This includes his
own condition of which he spoke in the 7th chapter of Romans.] in
the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of
the mind; and were by nature [the sin that dwelt in him] the
children of wrath, even as others."
Brethren, there are just two spiritual powers in the world today.
One is the Spirit of God and the other is the spirit of Satan. The
Spirit of God will cause us to put to death the deeds of the body
and yield to God's will, but the spirit of Satan will cause us to
yield to sin by transgressing the laws and commands of God.
Turn your attention again to the 7th chapter of Romans. As you read
this chapter with prayer and carefulness, can you see that Paul is
telling of his condition while under the law in sin? Although he was
a saved man when he wrote it, yet he was trying to make plain the
condition of a man in sin under the law without Christ, and he used
himself to illustrate it, making plain the condition that existed
with him when in sin.
He begins when he was a child and says in the 9th verse, "For I was
alive without the law once [when I was a child and did not know any
commandments]: but when the commandment came [when I was old enough
to know what God commanded], sin revived, and I died."
He began to realize that he was sinning and was carnal. He describes
the power of the indwelling sin that caused him to do wrong, and
finally says, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from
the body of this death?" The power, or body of sin within him had
been working death to his soul by causing him to sin through the
lusts of the flesh. No wonder he had been a wretched man, knowing
what he ought to do, but finding no power to do it, and at the same
time, the power of indwelling sin was bringing his soul to
destruction and damnation. This is certainly the description of an
unsaved man and never of one fully saved in Christ.
In the eighth chapter, after being set free from that wretched
condition of indwelling sin he says, "There is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after
the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life
in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." In
Christ, he was no longer a wretched man, but had life without
condemnation. He was FREE! In the seventh chapter, Paul describes
the condition that existed with him when he unsaved, and in the
eighth chapter he tells the condition of a saved man.
In I John 3:7, just before he began to make it plain about living
free from sin, John said, "Little children, let no man deceive you:
[He knew that many would misconstrue the Scriptures and deceive
souls.] he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is
righteous." This makes it plain that a Christian is like Christ in
righteousness, and no longer a sinner.
The apostle Peter tells us in II Peter 3:16, that Paul writes some
things that are hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned
(have not been taught by the Spirit) and are unstable (not settled
in real truth) wrest (twist), as they do also other Scriptures unto
their own destruction.
It is pitiful to note the great number of preachers in the world
today who are twisting the Scriptures and are causing many to
believe false doctrine to their own destruction.
We get from God what we believe for. If preachers teach people that
they cannot live free from sin, they will never have faith to accept
that they can, but will continue under bondage to the enemy of their
souls and be lost forever. Just being sincere about a thing will not
save the soul; but there must be an active, living faith of
believing and receiving. |
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Printed By: Faith Publishing House,
P.O. Box 518, Guthrie, OK 73044 |
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