You can’t overcome sin, but Jesus can.
In my previous post we saw that to think about our holiness correctly, we need to distinguish between holy status and holy conduct and rely completely on Jesus Christ for both. I want to explore more deeply how we rely completely on Jesus for our holy conduct.
In some ways, it doesn’t make sense to think we rely on Jesus for our holy conduct because our conduct is our responsibility. We choose what we do.
However, with that mentality we rely on our will power to do the right thing and be holy.
When we rely on ourselves, we will fail. We will succeed at avoiding some impurity but fail at others. We might succeed at avoiding sexual impurity but fail at ridding our souls of bitter thoughts toward someone who hurt us, or vice versa. Either way, we are not living in holiness.
Here are three ways we rely completely on Jesus to produce holy conduct in us.
1. Pray about your conduct.
This is as simple as saying, “Lord Jesus, help me have pure thoughts right now.” Prayer is the foundation of all reliance on God rather than self.
Jesus said, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).
2. Confess sins and rely on Jesus’ atoning death and blood for forgiveness.
When guilt and shame are not dealt with properly, they create a spirit of defeat and weakness in the soul that only results in more sin and defilement. Satan has a foothold, and we feel far from God our strength. But Jesus gives us the way to completely overcome guilt and shame, and that of course is through his atoning death and shed blood on the cross. His atonement brings us near to God, defeats Satan, and puts us in a place of victory and spiritual strength. We are ready to face the choices ahead.
3. Quote Jesus’ commands as you make decisions and face temptation.
This is how Jesus defeated Satan in the wilderness temptation. Each time Satan offered a temptation, Jesus simply said, “It is written,” then quoted God’s commands, and that settled it.
So, for example, when we face sexual temptation, we could quote 1 Thessalonians 4:3–5: “This is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God.”
As you read the Scriptures, you will find commands relevant to temptations you commonly face. Write them down, memorize them, have them ready. For starters, you can find collections of commands in these sections: Ephesians 4:17–32; 5:1–21; Colossians 3; Exodus 20:1–17.
The commands of Jesus are not just the “red letter” commands, that is, the words of Jesus recorded in the four Gospels. The whole of Scripture is Jesus’ word, for all Scripture came from the Father through Jesus Christ.
Next week: Three more ways we rely completely on Jesus to produce holy conduct.
Our way versus God’s way
Our way: Be holy in conduct by relying on human will power.
God’s way: Be holy in conduct by relying on Christ.
My challenge for you
Identify one sin that defeats you and focus for two weeks on overcoming it through ideas above. I hope you will send me an email and let me know how things went. 