To Sin or Not To Sin

The last few weeks we have been focusing our attention on other people in our quest for holy living. We have talked about a passion to serve; asked if others could see it in you and about your love for others. Holy living is more about others living then it is living for self. However, there are still things within you that need to be dealt with and looked at to fully understand your own level of holiness. So today we are going to turn our attention back to self.
The next evidence of holiness is power over willful sin. DeNeff asks, “Can I confidently say I will resist the next temptation, or do I only hope to?”[i] There are two ideas of sin. One is anything that falls short of God’s perfection and the other is to willfully break His desires when we know better. Which idea of sin is the one that affects holiness? Well let’s look a little closer at each idea.
The idea of sin being anything that falls short of God’s perfection says that any thought, word, or deed done or not done that falls short of perfect Christlikeness is sin. This idea includes anytime we purposefully choose to go against God’s will as well as all the times we fall short not realizing that we are. According to this idea of sin you have to be absolutely perfect in Christlikeness to have power over sin. I do not know about you but I do not know many perfectly Christlike people. I am not sure that humans can achieve a perfect Christlikeness this side of heaven. So, how do we explain the scripture that calls us to a life of holiness if holiness requires power over sin and we cannot have power of sin without achieving Christlike perfection?
According the other idea of sin, we have only sinned when we make the wrong decision knowing ahead of time that it is the wrong decision. Like my Dad use to say to me, “You knew better but you did it anyway!” Holiness does not give you the power to be absolutely perfect. You will still fall short of God’s perfection. The power is when faced with the dilemma of doing what you know is wrong or doing what you know is right; you will be able to do what is right even if it costs you.
You will only be able to reach this level of obedience when your will is totally submitted to God’s will. How do you know if your will is totally submitted? Well first you can remember a time when you once and for all decided the ultimate question of “Who is going to be king over my life?” Secondly, even though God has given you freewill, you have chosen to control yourself by submitting yourself to Christ and allowing Him to control you. Thirdly you see more and more of your desires going by the wayside to make way for God’s desires and you are okay with that. Fourthly you do have power to overcome those temptations when you know better.
God does not promise to remove temptation when He sanctifies you, only to give you the power to withstand it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says that you will not be tempted by anything that others you have seen fall were not tempted with. So God will not remove temptations from your life simply because you are holy. They will still come for you just like they do for anyone else. I mean, what is the use of making you strong if you have no opportunity to use the strength? This verse goes on to say that He will not allow the temptation to be so strong that you cannot stand up against it. In other words, He has already given you the strength to stand up against any temptation. Also, to make sure that we do not go on thinking that God is going to somehow lessen the temptation for us or take it away all together if we are too weak, the verse goes on to say that when you are tempted He will show you the way out. But He will only show you the way; it is still up to you to take it. Let me ask, if you were in a burning building and someone showed you a safe way out; would they have to drag you out or would you go on your own? A weight lifter will never get any stronger if others always lift the weight for him and you will never get any stronger if God always does everything for you.
God will give you the power to overcome willful sin, but it is up to you to exercise that power or you will lose it. If you are truly trying but can’t succeed then God has not given you that power yet. If God has not given you that power yet, then there is something of your will that you have not fully submitted to Him yet. The great redneck philosopher, Mark “Tiny” Wilburn says, “Your ought to and your want to gots’ to get together.” The choice to have power over willful sin is yours. Do you want it or not?
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[i] Steve Deneff, Whatever Became of Holiness, Wesleyan Publishing House, 1996, pg. 145