A Living SacrificeSample

“Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” (Romans 13:14 ESV)

Once we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, believing in Him and confessing that He died, but conquered death by His resurrection, our eyes are opened to a new reality. But as you know, as long as we live in this world, we still must grapple with our fleshly desires and temptations. This is why Jesus taught us to pray:“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Matthew 6:13 ESV

It is a daily battle, but I believe it is a battle that can be won. Let me say that there is a difference between sin nature and willful sin. We all struggle daily with our sin nature. This is why we must always“guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”(Philippians 4:7 ESV)Yes, because of our sin nature, even though we have been redeemed from sin by Jesus, we can easily slip into sin. As my mentor says, “We will never be sinless in this world, but we can sin less.”

But Paul is saying that true Christians, Living Sacrifices, should not be indulging in willful sin. In Romans 13, as he is addressing believers, not non-believers, he says:

“The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.” Romans 13:12-13 ESV

Now, Paul is just calling out a few willful sins that he has witnessed, but there are many more. I have come to understand that willful sin is disobedience to God, and God cannot bless us if we are disobedient. If we truly want to be a living sacrifice, one whom God can trust, we must examine ourselves. Even as you are reading these words, I believe the Holy Spirit is putting his finger on something in your life if He is wanting you to deal with it.

I like Susanna Wesley’s definition of sin. She was the mother of John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church. See if the Holy Spirit brings anything to mind as you read this:

“Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, takes off your relish for spiritual things, whatever increases the authority of the body over the mind, that thing is sin to you, however innocent it may seem in itself.”