If a person has accepted Christ as their Saviour, and if they are sincerely trying to please God, they will yield the control of their life to Him. However, because we are human, we all have areas in our lives where changes need to be made. As we are willing to cooperate with God's maturing process, the desire to yield to temptation and sin decreases.
Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us "by grace you have been saved through faith...." Take special note: this does not say by feelings you have been saved. We are saved by faith--simply trusting in the infallible finished work of Jesus.
What Scripture Says
"If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:7-9)."Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:1,2).
"For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:15,16).
"For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39).
Dealing With Sin
God's love for you is profoundly deep and perfect in every way and is not founded on the conditions and limitations of mankind. In 1 John 4:19 we read, "We love Him because He first loved us." It is so important to realize that God chose to love us freely before we loved Him in return.A very important verse to remember when temptation and sin threaten to bring condemnation to our minds and hearts is 1 John 1:9 which says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Failure to forgive ourselves is also a possible reason for not experiencing peace. Our enemy, Satan, would like to torment us by reminding us of our sins. The Bible tells us that Satan is the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10). He comes "...to steal, and to kill, and to destroy," but Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).
Released From Sin
Christ's resurrection is like a seal of approval that our sins have been forgiven. Jesus bore our sins on the cross to meet God's demands and He put them away forever (Psalm 103:12; Jeremiah 31:34; Isaiah 61:10). The assurance of salvation is not just for a few days, or weeks, or months, but forever!It is so important to maintain a regular time of personal Bible study. The Apostle Paul says, "So then faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17).
When our physical bodies become hungry for food, we do not wait until we are starving before we eat. We usually schedule our meal times so that we have sufficient nourish-ment to meet our daily needs. The fact is, we need also to schedule our Bible reading and study so that we are taking in adequate amounts of God's Word, on a daily basis, in order to meet the challenges of the day.
As You Pray
Pray for forgiveness and ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit and renew a new love in your heart. Praise and thank Him for His wonderful gift of salvation. There is no need to punish yourself any longer. God has forgiven you. Allow Him to comfort you and bring you peace as only He can. "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12).Suggested Reading
Full Assurance by H.A. Ironside, The Believer's New Life by Andrew Murray, and Victory Over The Darkness by Neil T. Anderson. Crossroads is happy to help. In fact, that's the whole reason we exist as a ministry. The daily 100 Huntley Street telecast and the 24-hour-a-day Telephone Ministry line are here for the same reason. You may want to call us as you are reading this: 1-866-273-4444God loves you and we love you! Please give us the privilege of doing our best to help more. For further ministry, you may contact the Crossroads Ministry Centre by writing to:
Crossroads Christian Communications Inc.
Attn: National Ministry Centre
PO Box 5100
Burlington, Ontario L7R 4M2
