During Bible study this week, I was given to say something that I never said before, and it bears repeating. It is possible, as you live by faith and abide in the Holy Spirit, to live a relatively sinless life. This has nothing to do with your human ability. It is the result of dependence upon the Lord for life. To the degree that we abide in prayer and praise and cultivate a relationship with the Holy Spirit, our humanity, with its sin problem, cannot prevail.
I wondered how this came across, so I asked my wife during an evening out, a few days later. She said that at first, she felt an old, unwelcome sort of pressure that she did not like. It reminded her of being under the law. I appreciated that honesty and clarity.
The topic of our Bible study has been the words Jesus spoke to His disciples during the Last Supper, as recorded in John’s Gospel. If you read chapters 14-17, you will find that Jesus strongly encourages us, over and over, to abide in the Holy Spirit after He—Jesus—is gone. At one point, He states: Remain in Me and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. John 15:4
I suppose these words might remind us of being under the law. Certainly, He is commanding us to do something— “remain in me”—which may feel like pressure. But Jesus is speaking of the sheep staying close to the Shepherd for safety and for guidance in the way they should go. It is as simple as that.
Remember, the law that we have been set free from is the written code—the Old Covenant law. But that does not mean there are no directives for Christians under the covenant of Grace.
As new creations in Christ, we are already sinless, right? “We have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” Rom 6:18. That statement bears witness to the salvation of our souls. He took away our sin and sinful nature, and therefore our souls (“we”) are sinless. The contradiction that we must learn how to deal with is that our humanity—the flesh—is still subject to sin and temptation. Though God does not see us through the sin of our flesh (praise the Lord!) He directs us to abide with the Holy Spirit in this life to avoid temptation and the flesh’s sins. In doing so, we are clinging to the Truth of who we already are and fostering a relationship with Him in which the floodgates are open for His Spirit to work through us. When He is working, our flesh must stand down. Why? Well, read the following:
… He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal body through His Spirit, who lives in you. Romans 8:11. The flesh is free from sin and temptation anytime the Holy Spirit is using your mortal body for His own purposes!
This is not about keeping or losing salvation. True faith in Jesus is enough. We are saved by grace through faith. It IS about wanting Him to glorify Himself in your life, knowing that He can and will performs His works in you as you pursue an abiding relationship with the Holy Spirit. Wandering away from the Shepherd leaves your flesh “unsupervised.”
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