The Gospel's Answer To The "Power" Of Sin - Part Two

The Gospel Of Christ And The Problem Of Sin
The Gospel's Answer To The "Power" Of Sin - Part Two
(The Gift Of The Holy Spirit)

Having looked at the power of sin in our last lesson we will now look at what the gospel of Christ offers to all who obey its commands, a wonderful promise to deal with the power of sin in our lives; the gift of the Holy Spirit. The gift of the Holy Spirit was promised to those who believe in Jesus - Jn 7:38-39 "Have faith in me, and you will have life-giving water flowing from deep inside you, just as the Scriptures say." Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit, who would be given to everyone that had faith in him. The Spirit had not yet been given to anyone, since Jesus had not yet been given his full glory." The gift of the Holy Spirit was promised to those who repent and are baptized - Ac 2:38-39 "Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you and your children. It is for everyone our Lord God will choose, no matter where they live."’ The gift of the Holy Spirit was promised to those who obey God - Ac 5:32 "We are here to tell you about all this, and so is the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to everyone who obeys God."

Those who receive this promise are "the temple of God" (collectively, as the church) - 1 Co 3:16-17 "All of you surely know that you are God's temple and that his Spirit lives in you. Together you are God's holy temple, and God will destroy anyone who destroys his temple." Those who receive this promise are"the temple of the Holy Spirit" (individually, in our bodies) - 1 Co 6:19 "You surely know that your body is a temple where the Holy Spirit lives. The Spirit is in you and is a gift from God. You are no longer your own." Those who receive this promise have the "Spirit of God (who) dwells in you" - Ro 8:9-11 "If we follow our desires, we cannot please God. You are no longer ruled by your desires, but by God's Spirit, who lives in you. People who don't have the Spirit of Christ in them don't belong to him. But Christ lives in you. So you are alive because God has accepted you, even though your bodies must die because of your sins. Yet God raised Jesus to life! God's Spirit now lives in you, and he will raise you to life by his Spirit."

We can now deal with the power of sin. With the Spirit's aid, Christians no longer need to be dominated by the power of sin! Christians are to "put to death the deeds of the body" - Ro 8:12-13 "My dear friends, we must not live to satisfy our desires. If you do, you will die. But you will live, if by the help of God's Spirit you say "No" to your desires."; Co 3:5-11 "You died, which means that your life is hidden with Christ, who sits beside God. Christ gives meaning to your life, and when he appears, you will also appear with him in glory. Don't be controlled by your body. Kill every desire for the wrong kind of sex. Don't be immoral or indecent or have evil thoughts. Don't be greedy, which is the same as worshiping idols. God is angry with people who disobey him by doing these things. And that is exactly what you did, when you lived among people who behaved in this way. But now you must stop doing such things. You must quit being angry, hateful, and evil. You must no longer say insulting or cruel things about others. And stop lying to each other. You have given up your old way of life with its habits. Each of you is now a new person. You are becoming more and more like your Creator, and you will understand him better. It doesn't matter if you are a Greek or a Jew, or if you are circumcised or not. You may even be a barbarian or a Scythian, and you may be a slave or a free person. Yet Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us."

The Holy Spirit helps us through His indwelling! "The Holy Spirit by its indwelling strengthens the human spirit to enable it to control the flesh." (David Lipscomb)
"The Christian's being successfully under the control of his own spirit is conditional, the condition being that the Holy Spirit shall dwell in him and help him." (Moses Lard)
"To them (i.e., Christians) the Spirit is given as a helper of their weakness...and by its aid they overcome the flesh." (B.W. Johnson)
"Internally, the Spirit aids by ministering strength and comfort to the disciple in his effort to conform to the revealed truth and will of God." (J.W. McGarvey)

Compare this with the condition we saw described in Romans 7. In chapter 7, the man was described as in "captivity" to the law of sin which is in his members - Ro 7:23 "But in every part of me I discover something fighting against my mind, and it makes me a prisoner of sin that controls everything I do." But according to chapter 8, in Christ, one is "set free" from this law of sin and death - Ro 8:2 "The Holy Spirit will give you life that comes from Christ Jesus and will set you free from sin and death." By the help of the Spirit, one is no longer a "debtor" - Ro 8:12-13 "My dear friends, we must not live to satisfy our desires. If you do, you will die. But you will live, if by the help of God's Spirit you say "No" to your desires."

Now that we know where Christians obtain the power to overcome sin through the gospel we will look at how the Christian has real "power" to deal with sin in the next portion of this lesson.

God Bless,
Jim Newsted
Shamrock, Tx
The town that turns green for a week every year

Even though you can't see the air, It doesn't stop you from breathing
Even though you can't see God, It doesn't stop you from believing
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