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WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT WORKS
AND SIN IN THE LIFE OF A CHRISTIAN

BY

JULIA M. FAULKNER

September 9, 1996

© 1996
Sonshine Publications

Julia M. Faulkner

sunshine@pricelesswoman.com

http://www.pricelesswoman.com

This Bible study is dedicated to the ones who gave me life. First of all, to God in Heaven by whom I am so fearfully and wonderfully made. Then, to Jesus Christ who gave His own life that I might live eternally. Without them, where would I be? May this study bring honor and glory to them both.

Last, but not least, to my dad and my mom whom I love with all my heart. May God touch your heart with all that is between these pages. Because when I get to Heaven, I want the family circle unbroken.

THE CHRISTIAN AND WORKS

by

Julia M. Faulkner

I don't know how to start this study except to say that God has a will for everything. God's will is for you to receive eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ, and then for you to go out and work for God. His will is to reward you for your works. But the reward is NOT eternal life. That is yours right off the bat the moment you trust in Jesus (Romans 10:9, 10 & 13). John 5:24: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."

God's will concerning sin is that its wage is death. In the same verse of scripture, we see that God's will is that eternal life is His gift to us through His Son Jesus. Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

It is God's will for sin to be forgiven by the shedding of blood. Hebrews 9:22: "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."

It was God's will for His Son to die a substitutionary death for pay for your sin. 1 John 5:2: "And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." and 1 John 4:10: "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

Also, it is God's will for you to become a new creature when you become one of His children. 2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

I could go on and on. I used these verses because they deal with a very important point.

Let's look to John 3:16 to start with. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Now, looking closely at that verse you will see that God loved man so much that He made a way for him to escape death as payment for sin. He loved man so much, he made a way for him to be delivered from the awful state he is in. And you see that WHOSOEVER believes on His Son will NOT perish (die forever) but will have ETERNAL LIFE! Now, how much more simple can you get? Belief = Eternal life. Do works = eternal life? No. Does trying to be good = eternal life? No. In fact, if you look in the Bible, God has much to say about works and who is good and righteous.

Romans 4:4: "Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt." If you try to add works to salvation, you remove grace from the picture. To say you get to Heaven through works is to say that God is paying you with eternal life for all you've done for Him. It isn't that you have not worked hard, but very simply that your works will not remove the guilt of your sin. And sin is what separates you from God. Isaiah 59:2: "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear."

Jesus is the only one who can cleanse you from sin. 1 John 1:7: "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." You are reconciled to God through His Son. Romans 5:10: "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."

No where, NO WHERE in God's word do you find that we are reconciled to God through works or any other manner than through His Son.

While we are here, let's look and see what God says about our efforts. Isaiah 64:6: "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." and also Romans 3:10: "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:" No one is righteous!

Your inside is what is dirty. No amount of works will cleanse the filth that is within you. Luke 11:39 "And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness." No matter what you do on the *outside*, if your inside is still dirty, you have not hope of spending your eternity in Heaven.

The only man who ever lived without sin was Jesus. 1 Peter 1:18: "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19: But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:" and Hebrews 4:15: "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."

Some say that they are justified to enter Heaven because they've lived a good life. Mark 10:18: "And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God." According to Jesus, God is the only good one!

Before we move on to works, you must realize that salvation is not by works (Ephesians 2:8 & 9) and that eternal life is a free GIFT of God (Romans 6:23). When someone gives you a present, do you offer to do something in return for the gift they've given you? Do you offer them money or offer to wash their car or do something nice as payment for your gift? I don't think so. In fact, that is very offensive to the one giving the gift. A gift is something someone gives you without any strings attached. They say "here is a gift from me to you all you need to do is ACCEPT it." They GIVE it to you because they love you. Ephesians 2:8: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9: Not of works, lest any man should boast." In verse nine we even see WHY salvation is not based on works.

So you see that eternal life comes only from Jesus Christ. 1 John 5:11: "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." Is it anywhere in Scripture where eternal life is through works and living a good life?

As we move on, I want to point out the ONE and ONLY thing that sends a man to hell and that is found in John 3:18: "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." UNBELIEF! One does not end up in hell because he did not do enough works!

One other thing I would life for you to keep in mind is that eternal life and rewards are two entirely different things. Eternal life comes when we put our faith and our trust in Jesus Christ. 1 John 5:13: "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." While this verse was written to encourage believers of their eternal security in Jesus, you can conclude from it that eternal life is brought about by belief in Jesus.

What about rewards? Matthew 16:27: "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works." Well amen! You shall be rewarded for your works. Not with eternal life, but rewards awaiting you in Heaven. 1 Corinthians 3:8: "Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his OWN REWARD ACCORDING to his OWN LABOUR." Do you see now that rewards are entirely different from eternal life?

Let's look at 1 Corinthians 3:11: "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12: Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13: Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 14: If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15: If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." We see from verse 11 that a foundation must first be laid before any works can be built. Can a carpenter build a house without a foundation? What would happen if he did? CRASH! We have a foundation too. Our ONLY foundation is Jesus Christ. Now, what you build upon that foundation (works) is up to you, but keep in mind that it will be tried (verse 13). If any of your works remain, you'll get a reward (verse 14). Notice very carefully verse 15 though. If, when your works have been tried, there are none left, you will STILL be saved! Plainly stated in this verse is that fact that nothing can destroy your foundation. Praise the Lord!

But I'm sure there may be some who still insist that entrance to Heaven is based on works done in the name of the Lord. Let us then go to Matthew 7: 22 and 23: "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Now, what is interesting to note here is that many will say to Jesus that they have done MANY WONDERFUL WORKS in His name. But notice that Jesus says to them to depart from Him because He NEVER KNEW them. It is quite obvious here that these people, even though they are busy working in the name of Jesus, do not have a personal relationship with Him. Jesus NEVER knew them. How sad. They did all that work in vain.

Now, I have had many tell me that we are not only justified by faith, but also by our works. I have searched over the word of God and what I did find was the following: Romans 5:1: "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:" Now how about that? God tells us that we are justified (released from guilt of sin as accepted as righteous) by faith (belief in Jesus Christ as the spotless Lamb of God).

Looking back we see some things in scripture that we are all familiar with: there is none righteous and our righteousness is as filthy rags; in addition, we are all guilty of sin and the wages of that sin is death; finally Hebrews 9:27 says: "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" Now, taking all of this into consideration, how is it that God will allow anyone into Heaven? The answer is very simple: faith in the name of His only begotten Son and the sacrifice that He made in taking the punishment for our sin. 1 John 2:2: "And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." It will be a sad, sad sight to see all of the disappointed people who think that their good works will justify them before God.

As I begin to close, I will address a verse that is very often brought up to me to defend one's belief in works for justification. James 2:17: "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 21: Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 24: Ye see then how that by works a man is justified (proven or qualified as being innocent;), and not by faith only."

What many do is use the same definition of *justified* in this passage as in the passage in Romans 5. The word is being used in two different ways here. The word justified in Romans 5 means to be rendered innocent. In James 2, justified is used in the sense of demonstrating ones justification. And that's exactly what works are for: To show that we have been justified already. If you get saved and you continue in the same wicked life you used to live, you are not demonstrating a change. Now, why is that important? Look at 2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." If you really put all your trust in the redemptive work of Jesus, there WILL be a change in you. You can't help that! That's God working in you. Hebrews 9:14: "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" But God can't work through a dead person! That is why works are described as the life of one's faith.

Verse 17 of James 2 says that faith, if not companioned by works, is dead. That is very true because, as you saw in Hebrews 9:14, our conscience will be changed by God himself. God puts in each new believe a desire to serve Him. And the only way to have your conscience changed is to put your faith in the only begotten Son of God. One way to put it is that our works confirm our faith.

Look at Abraham. Now, what would you think of that most holy man had he claimed to have faith in God, but had refused to obey God's command for him to sacrifice his only son? The son that God had promised to use in a mighty way? At the least his faith would have been questionable. His works were the spirit of his faith. His works vindicated (confirmed) his faith.

The danger in saying that our works render us righteous before God is that we become as the Pharisee's. Luke 11:39: "And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness." Too often people put so much emphasis on the outside that they are not aware that the inside is what really matters in the end.

That my friend is God's will for our faith and for our works. Faith in Jesus renders us free from sin; works confirm our faith. When we put our full trust in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus as atonement for sin, then we cannot help but have good works for our Father. Romans 6:22: "But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life."

Amen.

The End

THE CHRISTIAN AND SIN

by

Julia M. Faulkner

There are many misconceptions about the Christian and sin. Many think that a born­again child of God can slip back into living a sin­filled life. But according to God's precious word that is not possible. You are either a child of God or a child of the devil. You cannot go back and forth between the two; you cannot be saved one minute and lost the next due to sin. I want to show you that Christians do still have sin because they are still in the flesh. But I want to also show you that they cannot live in continuous sin. I want to show you that God tells us that we will not be judged for our sin when we get to Heaven. Christians are judged for their sin NOW! while they are living on this earth.

At the back of this booklet you will find definitions of many words found in scripture references used in this study. These definitions will better help you understand the meaning of those verses.

My prayer for you is that God will open your heart and your understanding to all that is within this book. If you are a child of God, may you grow ever closer to Him through the precious promises of His word. If you are lost, may God draw you to Himself and give you faith in the atoning sacrifice of His only begotten Son.

Part One

The best place to start this study would be to show you what happens when you become a child of God. From there, we will move on to the Christian walk and what a child of God can and cannot do.

One of my favorite verses is 2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." That is a wonderful thing my friend. Before God saved you, you were a vile, wicked person on the inside. This is evident from Jesus' words to the Pharisees in Luke 11:39: "And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness." It is clear that what matters in the end is if your inside has been made clean or if it remains dirty. Next we see that when you become a child of God, that part of you that served sin is destroyed. Romans 6:6: "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." Wake up people! You should be rejoicing! If you're born again, you DO NOT serve sin! Praise God! God has purged you from your sin. Knowing this then, who do we serve? Hebrews 9:14: "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" If you're saved, God has purged your conscience to no longer serve sin!

Romans 8:2: "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." What exactly is the law of sin and death? First of all we see that everybody has sin. Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" and Romans 6:23 tells us the price of sin: "For the wages of sin is death;" Knowing that the wages of sin is death (not only physical death but spiritual death), how is it that God will allow us into His Heaven? 1 John 4:10: "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." Jesus came to take the punishment for YOUR sin. God's gift to you when you place your trust in the death, burial, and resurrection of His only begotten Son is eternal life. John 3:14: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." When you are set free from sin, you are also set free from the penalty of sin.

Part Two

Moving on, I will give you a verse that indicates that Christians do still have some sin (although it is not continuous, which we will see later on). Galatians 5:17: "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." Our flesh, seeing as how it is not saved as of yet, wars against our spirit, which is saved, so that you have an almost constant war going on. But all is not lost! We have the Holy Spirit helping us to do the right thing. That was God's purpose in giving us the Holy Spirit. That is that new creature residing in us! But it is our responsibility to walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:25: "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." He's there, but we have to follow His leading.

So what about that sin that occurs after salvation? Does God hold us accountable? I believe every man will give an account to himself to God according to Romans 14:11: "For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. 12: So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." But I don't believe that God will punish His children at the judgment for the sin committed after their conversion. Romans 4:7: "Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8: Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin." Are your iniquities covered friend?

John 5:24: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." If you've truth faith in Jesus Christ, you have passed from death to life! Hallelujah! Romans 8:1: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2: For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." Remember from before that the law of sin and death means that we must pay for our sin by spiritual death. But if you're trusting Jesus' sacrifice, the He has made you FREE from that law. You have been transferred out of sin and placed in the Son! Romans 6:6: "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7: For he that is dead is freed from sin." Friend, listen to me closely! According to God's holy word, in Romans 6:7, you are FREE from SIN! Don't let Satan fool you! You've been set free!

Let me point out a difference between a lost man and a saved man. Isaiah 57:20: "But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. 21: There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." Are you the wicked man who has no peace?

Or are you the saved man who has peace with God about your sin? Romans 5:1: "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:" The only way to that peace is through faith in Jesus Christ. Many people say that they try to live a good, clean life. That won't do it friend. Any effort you put forth aside from God is worthless. Romans 3:10: "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:" Jesus himself said that God is the only good one. Mark 10:18: "And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God." Who are you depending on? You or Jesus?

Part Three

Continuing on now with sin that occurs after salvation, we will turn to a subject that I have rarely ever been taught about. Were it not for my brother pointing out this passage to me, I don't know how long I would have been in the dark about it.

When is God going to judge any of His children for their sin committed about their conversion? According to the follow passage, they will be judged now. This judging is called chastisement. Hebrews 12:5: "And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7: If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8: But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9: Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10: For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 11: Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby."

Are you feeling God's chastisement when you sin friend? God deals with us exactly as we deal with our children. When they do something wrong, don't you get onto them? Don't you warn them that they've disobeyed you? Don't you give them a punishment for it at that moment?

Another way to look at it is from the perspective of the lost man. Let me ask you a question. Do you chastise other people's children? No. Just as God does not chastise those who do not belong to Him. Think of the lost man's father as being the devil (1 John 3:8: "He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning."). Now, according to Hebrews 12:8, God does not chastise those that do not belong to Him.

May I ask you if you experience God's chastising when you sin? If you do not, then my dear friend, you are not a child of God.

What if God chastens and we do not heed? Unfortunately, God will sometimes call home one of His disobedient children. 1 John 5:16 "If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it." This death here is not speaking of spiritual death. Death of the soul. But it is referring specifically to physical death. That is judgment now of sin in the life of a Christian. Can you imagine all the lost opportunities suffered because of disobedience?

1 Corinthians 11:9 "For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body... 30: For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 31: For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32: But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world." Some folks had been partaking unworthily of the Lord's supper and He is now judging them through illness and death for this sin. But what I want you to see is verse 32. To be judged now is to be chastened of the Lord! And the purpose of this is so that we will not be condemned (pronounced guilty) with the world (lost/unsaved folks).

You may be wondering what will happen to Christians at the judgment. Well, according to 1 Corinthians 3:11: "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.", the only foundation for salvation is Jesus Christ. The verses following tell us that any works that we lay on the foundation will be tried at the judgment. Whatever remains we will be rewarded for. But even if we've nothing left to be rewarded for, we will still have a home in Heaven. 1 Corinthians 3:13: "Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 14: If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15: If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire."

Part Four

1 Corinthians 10:12: "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall (stumble)." This is a warning against being high­minded and against having a self­righteous attitude. Stumbling can happen very easily when we take our eyes off God. To stumble does not mean to loose salvation. Far from it. For God has promised to hold us up lest we fall. Psalms 37:23: "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. 24: Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with His hand." Psalms 145:14: "The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down."

1 John 3:9: "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." 1 John has many wonderful promises and assurances for the believer. I love sometimes to just read 1, 2, and 3 John for the encouragement that it gives. 1 John 3:9 tells us that those born of God do not commit (practice) sin. This does not mean that they do not have any sin at all, but that His children will not have a life characterized by sin. God tells us specifically who will not inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 6:9: "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10: Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." Can any man who claims to be born­again practice any of these things and hope to live with God one day? NO! These are not characteristics of a Christian. To be a Christian literally means to be a follower of Christ. Did Christ practice any of these things? NO! Be not deceived!

Galatians 5:19: "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20: Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21: Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." Will they not inherit the kingdom of God because they turned back to sin? NO! Not according to 1 John 3:9. If you have the seed of God in you, you will NOT be able to practice these abominations. More specifically is 1 John 3:6: "Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him." If a man can live in sin, he is NOT a child of God. He didn't loose his salvation either. This verse clearly states that the man has NEVER known God.

You know, with God, you either know Him or you don't. There is no in­between place. 1 John 1:5 "This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6: If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:" You are either walking in the Light or in the darkness.

You have either overcome the wicked one (the devil) or he still has you in bondage. 1 John 2:14 "I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one." and 1 John 5:4: "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 5: Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?"

Part Five

Now, why is how we act so important? Well, since it is God who purges our conscience to serve Him, our life must be characterized with evidence of that! 1 John 2:29: "If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him."

Galatians 5:22: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23: Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." I never knew what the fruit of the Spirit was all about until I had been saved several years. Looking back now, I can see that there was truly a time in my life (the time when I called out to God to save me) that things changed for me. I know now that I have that fruit of the Spirit in my life. And this is the way it should be in the life of every Christian.

Titus 2:11 "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12: Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;" These things are a threat to the Christian, but with God's help we can live according to the will of God. A sanctified life.

Conclusion

I hope that I have helped you better understand the position of the Christian when it comes to sin. Without God, we have no hope. No strength. But with faith comes ability, albeit from God Himself, to live righteously. I hope that you will take the time to read this study over and over again until you truly understand what it is God wants you to know. This includes taking your Bible and reading the references from each passage I have included here.

My friend, if you do not know for sure that you have ever trusted in Jesus for the cleansing of your sin, please feel free to contact me in person; by telephone; or on the Internet by e­mail. My desire is for you to come to Jesus before it is too late.

Amen.

The End

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES ON LIVING LIFE IN THE SPIRIT

Romans 6 (especially verses 7, 11, 13, 21, 22, 23)

Romans 8 (especially verses 1, 2, 5, 6 ­ 10)

DEFINITIONS

The End

(I John 4:10 KJV) Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

© 1996 by Julia M. Faulkner, Sonshine Publications