2/12 - (B) - Do God’s children struggle with sin because of their old self within? JSalum
2 - What happened to our sins with the blood of Jesus
“The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29
Jesus takes away the sin means Jesus removes the sin.
“the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation (a sacrifice of atonement) by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
Romans 3:22-26
Propitiation "speaks of mending the relationship with that someone who's angry by something you did. This brings out a new dimension that someone, somewhere is angry. And in the context of the Bible, 'propitiation' paints a clear picture that God is angry with us. Why? Sin. Sin absolutely repulses God. Sin absolutely disgraces God's holy name. In fact, from Rom 3:23 (look above), sin is to “fall short of God's glory”. Therefore, angry is too... mild a word to begin describing God's attitude toward sin. Rather, the word 'Wrath' is used to describe this strong, holy, divine anger that God has toward sin. Therefore, ‘Propitiation’ brings forth the point that God’s wrath is against all man because of how they have desecrated his glory. And God's holiness, justice and righteousness disallows sin to be let off scot-free.... In a nutshell, this is propitiation: God averting his wrath toward man through the death of His Son." (Adrian Ow)
What happened is the by His blood Jesuscovered all our sins. His blood paid for all our transgressions, past, present and future. We do not have to struggle with our sin within us, because the sin has no more power of condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. A son of God, born from God, who received the power to become son of God will never be condemned by his sins. They already are all forgiven. It doesn't mean a son of God will remain sinning, to live in continuing sinful practices. Here you must understand that if someone continue to live in sin was never born from God.
“What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.
David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
"Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”
Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.””
Romans 4:3-8, 16, 18 NIV
“Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.” 1 John 3:7-10
We were justified by faith once for all, because Jesus offered his blood once for all.
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” Romans 5:1-2, 9-11 NIV
We were saved by grace and we now stand also by Grace. We confess our sins if we sin to commune of this Grace in which we stand. People who do not confess their sins are not sons of God, but they remain in darkness.
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” 1 John 1:5-10
Note that in both chapters 1 and 3 of I John and Romans 5 we are reminded that the greatest test of our justification by faith is our relationship with our neighbors. It is the love for God and for one another the greatest fruit of our reconciled relationship with God. It is not about simply not committing such sins, but mostly if we live our brothers and sisters.
Here are the scriptures to attest the sufficiency of the blood of Jesus:
“But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence.
Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.
so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”
Hebrews 9:11-15, 24, 26, 28
Why then God's children do not struggle with sin within?
“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!
You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.” Romans 6:5-9, 11-15, 18, 22 NIV
