Sin Should Not Be An Issue

When we stick with the fact that we are born of God and have inherited the divine nature of God, then it is easier to see why sin should not be an issue. Thus we should view chastisement as a tool or operation of the Spirit to form Christ in us so that we will not sin, rather than to be a rod to pound us with after we have sinned. The truth is, though God will scourge his sons when necessary; He is not a Father who delights in beating his children. Did we not learn that his rod of correction and reproof are the Holy Scriptures? Nevertheless, those who insist on frustrating this great grace will be turned over to the one they prefer to serve for the destruction of their flesh if perhaps their soul might be saved. But our Father writes to us from within the kingdom of righteousness. All he created to live in that kingdom were created holy and acceptable unto him. Sin should not be the primary issue here. Let us look at scripture that confirms our position in God as well as what our disposition should be.

1 John 3:2-10

2. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

3. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

These verses give us a joyful and glorious expectation at the return of Christ. However, they are not without stipulation. Notice the apostle maintains that those of us who do have this hope or expectation purify ourselves even as Christ is pure. This simply means we must keep ourselves clean and holy while we sojourn here on the Earth. He makes it clear that this is necessary if we are to meet the Lord in peace and receive the blessings He brings with Him.

But in the next verses John gives us a warning.

4. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

5. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.

John teaches this passage as a matter of fact. Sin is a violation of the law of God. But this does not bother us, because we know that Jesus took away our sins. In fact, there is no sin in Him and we are in Him, therefore there is no sin in us as long as we abide in Him. This is the creation called the Body of Christ. It is a sinless creation. It was conceived in righteousness and fashioned in holiness.

6. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

7. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

8. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

In these verses John maintains his theme and his matter-of-fact nature of this discussion. Here he makes a clear contrast between the children of God and the children of the devil. He draws the line in the sand. Abide is the Greek word meno which means: to stay in a given place, state or relation. It means to endure, be present, remain, stand, dwell or continue. Those who are born of God and remain in that place of birth are sinless in nature and in deeds. But those who sin are of the devil and know not God. He doesn’t haggle here. He makes it plain that there are only two generations on the earth. You must be in one or the other.

9. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

10. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

Because the seed of God (the Holy Ghost) dwells in us, it is not our nature to sin or to be tempted with sin. Our life is hid in God and God cannot be tempted with sin. It is when we turn away from our God and disagree with His laws that we are inspired to sin.

It is when we look upon the things of the world and make a conscious decision to experience that which is unlawful that promotes sin in the flesh. It is the exercising of our own will, against the will of God, (not the temptation of the devil), that leads us into sin and death. It must be pointed out here though, that although the New Creature (our souls inside of the Holy Ghost) can sin, the New Man(the Holy Ghost dwelling inside of the flesh; which is His temple) cannot sin. It is the New Creature that will take the temple/body of Christ into sin; grieving the Holy Ghost whilst doing so. The Lord continuously brings me back to a message Jesus preached concerning this matter of God’s attitude toward the sons who sin against him.

Matthew 7:21-27

21. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23. And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

24. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

25. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

27. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

It is very clear the souls referred to in the above passage are those who were born again (they were New Creatures). This is something we must accept as fact. There will be many who have heard the truth, tasted of the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, that will stand before the Master in that day and He will declare He never knew them. They cast out demons, (satan does not cast out satan, so these had to have been born of the Spirit of God); and did many wonderful works, which were never denied by Christ. However, at some point they also became workers of iniquity. They departed from the will of God and pursued after the things of the world. They did things to reap pleasure unto the flesh instead of setting their affections on things above; or perhaps they simply held on to unforgiveness in their hearts. Oh, how tragic and how great is their fall.

It is hard for some of us to receive the fact that God is able to completely deny having ever known those sons who offend him. But the Father knows what he has created. He knows the sons of God are holy, and sinless. They are a generation that is likened unto Jesus. They live in the Spirit of God; therefore they walk in the Spirit. They keep themselves pure and unspotted from sin. They love not the world, nor the things in the world. They are holy because they chose to abide in that heavenly place in which they were seated. Therefore, He is quite capable of completely wiping from his memory those vessels of dishonor. The Old Testament will also serve as a schoolmaster to this mindset of the Father.

Ezekiel 33:12-20

12. Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.

13. When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.

14. Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;

15. If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.

16. None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.

17. Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal.

18. When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby.

19. But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.

20. Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.

So then, what is the need of chastening? Why is it such an integral part of our spiritual development? Chastening is the ability of God to train us up in the knowledge of God and the mind of Christ, that we might know his good and acceptable will in all things. Paul tells the church at Ephesus that negative mindsets and evil doings are not the things they learned of Christ. He said to the church at Philippi; “if there be any other mind in us God shall reveal it to us.” We should not spend our entire salvation trying to stop sinning because sin was dealt with at salvation. The Spirit of Christ has already overcome sin and His Spirit is within us. So if we walk in Christ, sin is not an issue. We make it an issue by initiating the pursuit of the things of this world.