THE GREAT PRIVILEGE OF THE BORN-AGAIN
“Whosoever is born of God
doth not commit sin”
(1 John 3:9)
It is the great privilege of
the children of God that they are freed from the power of sin. The new birth
changes us so fundamentally that ‘whosoever is born of God… doesn’t sin.’ This
Scriptural statement, however, has resulted in much confusion. I shall clarify
both parts.
To be born of God is to
experience drastic change (that is why ‘birth’ is an apt analogy). Previous to
birth, the child has little to no awareness of his/her dependence on the world
around them, but once born they begin to experience life in that world. So,
too, with us. The new birth allows us to experience life in God.
What better privilege than
power over sin? Those who are born of God do not sin! By sin, I mean a voluntary transgression of a known law of God. By do not, I mean that while they remain in
step with God, they never sin. It is possible to fall out of step with God, but
it is impossible to stay in step and
sin.
David and Peter are good
examples of godly men who fell out of step with God. David was a man after
God’s own heart, but when temptation came he fell out of step with God and
sinned. Peter was a Spirit-filled Apostle of Christ, but he, too, gave way to
temptation. When we fail to stay in step with God, our faith fails. And when
our faith fails, all sin is possible. So… stay in step with the Lord!
No comments:
Post a Comment