Salvation by God
Devotions:
When we try to overcome sin in our own lives by our own strength it is like trying to win a bicycle race on a stationary exercise bicycle. The race starts and we start peddling but we are not going anywhere. So we peddle harder and harder. It looks like we trying our best but we are not making any progress. All we do is wear ourselves out and we are unsuccessful about the race.
When we try to put away sin by our own strength, we try and try but we do not make any progress against sin, we ware ourselves out and we enter a guilt cycle. Because we do not even see any hope of victory we just want to quit trying. Well intentioned religious people tell us that we just need to try harder, and we do and fail and face their condemnation. Others just compromise with sin and say that is just who we are.
Sin was defeated at the cross of Jesus. That means that we are totally forgiven. We must have that established in our hearts. Secondly when we receive what Jesus did for us, dying for our sins, He makes new creations, recreated in righteousness and the truth of holiness. Jesus becomes our righteousness and our holiness. He puts His holy, righteous life in us. We are then to live by the Spirit of resurrection and not by the strength of our flesh. This means that God is pleased with us only because of the work of Jesus on our behalf. The power to run our race comes from within. We live by faith in the reality of God's work. We release our faith by believing in our hearts and speaking it with our mouth in expectation that He will fulfill His word.
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”
Philippians 1:6 KJV
“But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”
Romans 8:11 KJV