…add to your faith virtue… —2
Peter 1:5
“Add means that we have to do
something. We are in danger of forgetting that we cannot do what God does, and
that God will not do what we can do. We cannot save nor sanctify ourselves— God
does that. But God will not give us good habits or character, and He will not
force us to walk correctly before Him. We have to do all that ourselves. We
must “work out” our “own salvation” which God has worked in us (Philippians
2:12). Add means that we must get into the habit of doing things, and in the
initial stages that is difficult. To take the initiative is to make a
beginning— to instruct yourself in the way you must go.[…] Take the initiative yourself,
make a decision of your will right now, and make it impossible to go back. Burn
your bridges behind you, saying, “I will write that letter,” or “I will pay
that debt”; and then do it! Make it irrevocable. We have to get into the habit
of […] finding out what He says and heeding it. If, when a crisis comes, we
instinctively turn to God, we will know that the habit has been formed in us.“ CHAMBERS
Some
years ago there was a comedian by the name of Flip Wilson. One of the things he
was noted for saying was “The devil made me do it!” In other words, the thing that I did was not
my fault, the devil made me. To frame it
another way, I am not at fault, someone else is. We, earthlings, don’t like the
feeling guilty and certainly don’t want to take the blame if we can avoid
it. Sorry to break the news to you, much
to our dismay, that is not the way it works.
We are individually and wholly responsible for what we do. It’s true that the god of this world, Satan (2
Corinthians 4:4) is an encourager of our continued disobedience. We, who were once “sons of disobedience” (Colossians
3:6), our father was Satan, are now sons (children) of the most high God, adopted
by God through the atonement of found in Jesus Christ. The devil can’t make us do anything. Everything we do, we do by our own
choice. The devil cannot make us sin …
just as he did not make Adam and Eve sin.
They made the decision to disobey God, the devil merely suggested
it. The Bible says that it is our own
evil desires that are the source of our temptation (James 1:14).
The
temporal, unpleasant consequences of our sins is what we want to avoid. Unfortunately we cannot avoid the consequences
of our sins. We can’t sluff them off
onto Satan or anyone else. We must own
them. They are stuck to us like
glue. Yes we can find forgiveness in Jesus
for them, but our sins put certain earthly events into motion that cannot be
avoided. The good news is, God has made
a way to avoid the consequences of sins we commit while we walk on this earth,
it’s called resisting the temptation that leads to sin. I am not talking about an act of
determination … trust me that does not work … God has provided a spiritual
solution, there for the taking. The Word
of God. (Psalm 119:11) (1 Corinthians
10:13) But you, we, must take the
initiative and apply that solution to our lives. Just reading the Word is not sufficient, it’s
the application of the Word … choosing God and not ourselves. Doing the opposite of what Adam and Eve did in
the Garden. Your walk with God will not get
better until you accept your culpability (responsibility) for your sin and
repent. Pretending that it didn’t happen
or that it was not your fault leads to a miserable existence. Certainly not the life that God has intended
for you. Confess (1 John 1:9), repent
and walk in the light (1 John 1:7) CHARLEY
Charley Elgin
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