Which Will It Be?
“Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God”—2 Corinthians 7:1 Among other things, the Bible is a very honest book. It tells us when our heroes mess up.The Bible tells us, for example, that after Noah filled an ark with a bunch of stinky animals, bobbed around in the ocean, and came to the new place God created for him, he went out and got drunk.The Bible also tells us that Abraham, the father of faith, lied on multiple occasions.David, the man after God’s own heart, committed adultery and then effectively committed murder to hide his adultery.The mighty Samson, who could do supernatural feats of strength with the Holy Spirit’s empowerment, made many bad decisions and reaped the consequences.When we come to the New Testament, we read of Simon Peter’s sins and lapses.Now, if it were up to me, I would have left all those unfavorable details out. But the Bible includes them because they happened.On the other hand, we read of other men and women of the Bible and don’t find any accounts of them compromising or struggling with any sin. It is not that they didn’t, but the Bible doesn’t mention it.We don’t know of any sin that Joseph committed, except maybe bragging to his family about his dreams and being a little too proud of his cool coat.Also, we don’t read of any sin that Daniel or his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego committed.So, we see that some believers struggled more than others. Here’s what it comes down to: we choose what kind of Christian life we want to live.If you want to live in constant struggle with sin, you can live that way. Or, you can live in newness of life by the power of the Holy Spirit, which has been provided for you by Jesus Christ through the cross. |
