My husband recently had a theological disagreement with a former Salvationist, who said he no longer believed holy living is possible. In other words, sin is unavoidable. You're going to do it; you can't help it.
I wasn't part of that conversation. But if I had been, I would have asked one thing: When does the Holy Spirit become powerless? At what point in the progression from temptation to completed action (even if the action is simply an unkind word or an inappropriate thought) does the Holy Spirit lose his ability to help us in doing right? Does a blockage occur that he can't penetrate?
Most Christians knowingly sin. I'm not saying that we want to sin or plan to sin. But let's be honest: most of us gossip, lose our temper or come up with great excuses for not putting money in the offering plate. The question is, are we powerless against sin?
Acts 1:8 says, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” And in Matthew 19:26, Jesus said, “With God all things are possible.” If the Holy Spirit dwells within us, as we believe, and gives us his unlimited power, how can we be powerless—without choice—in the face of temptation? Titus 2:11-12 says: “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say 'no' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.”
We have the power to live victorious lives. The problem is the will. We sin, frankly, because we want to. Before you open your mouth to call your boss a jerk, you make the choice to do so because you know that, for the moment, it will feel good. If the Holy Spirit encounters a blockage in keeping us from sin, it is because we have put it there and refuse to let him break through. As mighty as he is, he will never force us to do right.
God's capability is not the issue. His power is limitless, so he is certainly able to keep us from consciously sinning. However, the power promised to us in Acts 1:8 doesn't end there. Not only are we capable of avoiding what's bad, but we are capable of doing good.
In 1 Corinthians 12, we read that the Holy Spirit has distributed gifts to Christians for the “common good” of the body of believers. God has not overlooked a single believer. Each of us has been given at least one special gift, if not more. Because they are gifts, they aren't necessarily associated with our field of study or the way we were raised. They are abilities granted by the Holy Spirit, balanced by him so that the work of the kingdom can go forward. The church would suffer if no one had the gifts of preaching, teaching or service. Can you imagine if everyone prophesied about the church's neglect of the poor, but no one had the gifts of service or hospitality, so no one ever cooked a meal or invited them in?
These gifts are not sweet little tokens. Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, all who have faith in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12). Spiritual gifts are the tools we use to do great things—greater things than Jesus did! It sounds blasphemous, yet that is what Jesus said. Because the Spirit gives these gifts, and because in God “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28), there is nothing blasphemous at all about saying we'll do greater things than Christ did. It isn't us doing these things; it is God moving through us.
And yet, we sit on our hands. Just as we're convinced we can't live without sinning, we're sure we can't do anything significant for God's kingdom. How lucky for Satan—we've sent him on vacation! If we accept the idea that we're powerless over sin and powerless to make a difference in this world, the evil one doesn't have much to worry about, does he?
Let's shrug off our defeatism and put the devil on notice. Let's claim our status as saints of God and reject sin. Let's flex our Holy Spirit muscle and bring those potent spiritual gifts into play. So much work is yet to be done. Every Christian is called to participate in some way.
Holy people doing holy things. Now that's powerful.
Major Amy Reardon and her husband, Rob, are the corps officers of Seattle Temple Corps in Washington, U.S.A.
I wasn't part of that conversation. But if I had been, I would have asked one thing: When does the Holy Spirit become powerless? At what point in the progression from temptation to completed action (even if the action is simply an unkind word or an inappropriate thought) does the Holy Spirit lose his ability to help us in doing right? Does a blockage occur that he can't penetrate?
Most Christians knowingly sin. I'm not saying that we want to sin or plan to sin. But let's be honest: most of us gossip, lose our temper or come up with great excuses for not putting money in the offering plate. The question is, are we powerless against sin?
Acts 1:8 says, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” And in Matthew 19:26, Jesus said, “With God all things are possible.” If the Holy Spirit dwells within us, as we believe, and gives us his unlimited power, how can we be powerless—without choice—in the face of temptation? Titus 2:11-12 says: “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say 'no' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.”
We have the power to live victorious lives. The problem is the will. We sin, frankly, because we want to. Before you open your mouth to call your boss a jerk, you make the choice to do so because you know that, for the moment, it will feel good. If the Holy Spirit encounters a blockage in keeping us from sin, it is because we have put it there and refuse to let him break through. As mighty as he is, he will never force us to do right.
God's capability is not the issue. His power is limitless, so he is certainly able to keep us from consciously sinning. However, the power promised to us in Acts 1:8 doesn't end there. Not only are we capable of avoiding what's bad, but we are capable of doing good.
In 1 Corinthians 12, we read that the Holy Spirit has distributed gifts to Christians for the “common good” of the body of believers. God has not overlooked a single believer. Each of us has been given at least one special gift, if not more. Because they are gifts, they aren't necessarily associated with our field of study or the way we were raised. They are abilities granted by the Holy Spirit, balanced by him so that the work of the kingdom can go forward. The church would suffer if no one had the gifts of preaching, teaching or service. Can you imagine if everyone prophesied about the church's neglect of the poor, but no one had the gifts of service or hospitality, so no one ever cooked a meal or invited them in?
These gifts are not sweet little tokens. Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, all who have faith in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12). Spiritual gifts are the tools we use to do great things—greater things than Jesus did! It sounds blasphemous, yet that is what Jesus said. Because the Spirit gives these gifts, and because in God “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28), there is nothing blasphemous at all about saying we'll do greater things than Christ did. It isn't us doing these things; it is God moving through us.
And yet, we sit on our hands. Just as we're convinced we can't live without sinning, we're sure we can't do anything significant for God's kingdom. How lucky for Satan—we've sent him on vacation! If we accept the idea that we're powerless over sin and powerless to make a difference in this world, the evil one doesn't have much to worry about, does he?
Let's shrug off our defeatism and put the devil on notice. Let's claim our status as saints of God and reject sin. Let's flex our Holy Spirit muscle and bring those potent spiritual gifts into play. So much work is yet to be done. Every Christian is called to participate in some way.
Holy people doing holy things. Now that's powerful.
Major Amy Reardon and her husband, Rob, are the corps officers of Seattle Temple Corps in Washington, U.S.A.
"For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God... "
(from the beginning through right now - all except Christ, the only sinless One)