THE BATTLE AGAINST SIN
Jesus came to Earth
to free humanity from the power of sin. The sinful condition of inheritance we
received from Adam’s fall, but also from the consequences of our own faults,
since all of them only guide us to eternal death as punishment (1Jn 3:8; Ro
6:23; Ga 5:19-21).
However, once we
repent of our godless living, surrender ourselves to God through Jesus and get
baptized, we are consider to have been adopted by God as children, and become
part of the Assembly of the Redeemed, the Church (Ac 2:38; Mk 16:16; Jn 1:12),
and we are supposed to live in holiness as new creatures in Christ (1Pe 2:24;
Ro 6:11; 1Co 6:20); but from apostolic times, in practice, we still fall into
sin and sometimes in a big way, like adultery (1Co 5:1), drunkenness and
irreverence (1Co 11:21), deceit and avarice (Jd 1:12), doubt, discrimination, racism, envy and all kind of rampant
wickedness (Jm 1:6, 9-11, 19-21).
Sinfulness of all
kinds were a reality in the first Christian congregations. Things that were officially
renounced and promised to abandon, resurrected again among the first Christians,
provoking all kinds of trouble in the early communities as the NT letters
prove.
This was acknowledged
by the apostles, and they spoke about it with severity (He 10:26-27) but at the
same time ensuring us that our forgiveness was guaranteed in Jesus, and encouraged
the believers not to hide their sinfulness, but to struggle against it (1Jn
1:8-9).
SINFULNESS is a hard
reality in the lives of all Christians without exception. Some more than
others, given their background or the level of consecration, age and sex.
It is easier to drop
our holiness with a little lie to get out of pressure, or to fall into lust when
we see a provocative member of the opposite sex, or to shortchange someone; but
all of these, once they are done, they relax our apprehension and we tend to
step more and more into bigger faults, destroying our relationship with God
eventually.
The Bible tells to
use the Armour of God (Eph 6:14-18) to be protected against sinfulness and
demonic attacks, which relies on Faith, Truth, the Bible and Prayer in the
Spirit, that accompany our confidence in Jesus, to confront all sinful desires
and attacks from the enemy, who the Scripture identifies as the devil himself.
To have all these
elements in place, we must pray from the heart, constantly, specially at the
start of the day. We must also meditate everyday in the Scripture, which will
give us the knowledge of Truth, and create Faith in us as we read it (Ro 10:17),
and walk in peace knowing that Jesus our Redeemer is on our side and our
forgiveness is guaranteed by Him (He 4:15).
But even then, we
will fall into sin, even though it may be of lesser gravity than if we were to live
separated from God, but some will find themselves trapped into chains of evil,
where sinning has become a habit, affecting severely our relationship with our
Heavenly Father.
Lord Jesus said once:
“If your hand
causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed
than with two hands to go into hell”
Mark 9:43
Lord Jesus spoke of
the sacrifices that we may have to suffer to avoid sin; but it also includes
the losses we may endure fighting sin within ourselves.
Most of us will overcome
serious sinfulness, according to how much we pray, meditate on Scripture, and
participate of the Holy Supper, but some of us will find hard to overcome serious
bad habits already settled in them.
Jesus also said that
only ‘those who persevere to the end, will be saved’ (Mt 24:13).
It does not matter
how bad we are, how trapped we are in sin, or how hard it is to break away from
it, whatever sin that may be; but the least we can do, it is not to surrender
to sinfulness. We must keep getting up, again and again, asking for forgiveness
every time we fall, either personally to God or by confessing it to the Church,
but never give up. Never come to think that it is invincible and that we should
settled on it, hoping that God will understand. God will not understand,
because He guarantees that with every temptation, He provides the way out to
scape it, and eventually win over it:
“No temptation
has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he
will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,
he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
1Corinthians 10:13
In every temptation there
is always a way out, but if we do not see it, or do not take it, it is due to
our own weakness, naturally inherited but greatly increased by lack of prayer, Bible
reading or lack of sacramental union with Jesus through Communion.
But even then, we
must continue to get up, even if to everyone we are seen as false Christians.
Only God knows the heart of men, and only He witnesses our real efforts and remorse
for sinning. But if we keep coming to Him for help, confessing our sins and praying
to over come it; even if we live like that to the end of our lives, we will
have won in the end, because the mercy of Jesus will clean us from all
sinfulness before passing this life:
“If we confess
our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness.”
1John 1:9
What it is important
is to continue fighting to the end, and never surrender to Satan.
Even if we get to the
end ‘maimed’, we will be found faithful when we give up the spirit. Jesus mercy
only demands our disposition of heart, and He will do the rest for us.
Because, even if we
sin a lot or little, nobody is saved on his own merits, but only through Lord
Jesus mercy and atoning sacrifice.
Omar Flores.
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