Resolved to Keep Crucifying Our Sin
So it's been a week of challenge through Jonathan Edwards’ resolutions and I hope that you are going to stick to some of these as your year carries on. The last one I want to share with you this week is resolution #56, where he said: “Resolved, never to give up or in the least to slacken my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.”
Or to phrase it a different way: I resolve to never stop stamping out the sin in my life. No matter how unsuccessful I may be in trying to do it, I'm going to keep trying to beat sin.
Fighting Against Sin
This is a message that we often leave out in church these days for fear of offending people and so on. But truly, the Christian calling involves growing in holiness and doing all we can to be rid of the sin that is in our lives.
When we receive the Spirit of God, we receive great power to live holy lives. We receive great grace from God to be sanctified, or to be made holy, and truly we should be living every day with that power, doing all we can to overcome our previous corruptions, as Edwards puts it.
And Paul was clear about this. In Romans 6:1–2 he said: “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” In other words, God has saved you freely, and so walk away from your sin and walk in holiness.
Walking in the Spirit
He also said it to the Galatians. In Galatians 5:13 he wrote: “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” And a few verses later in Galatians 5:16, he says: “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” And then in Galatians 5:24, Paul says: “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Are you crucifying your flesh, friends?
Are you resisting and stomping it out in faith because of the power that the Holy Spirit has given you? He is willing. He is able to set you free from sin.
Living in Holiness
John Owen famously said: “Be killing sin or sin will be killing you.” So let it be a resolution of yours this year that no sin will have control over you, but that walking in faith, in step with the Holy Spirit, you will keep crucifying the flesh and walking in love and holiness.
