The Sin Struggle

A Daily Walk:    To Sin Or Not To Sin

What happens to the individual who becomes a Christian? Is there an instant cessation of sinning? Is there mastery of addictions? What of the effects of sin – are they erased? John Frame in his excellent presentation on Presuppositional Apologetics (213) provides us with an excellent insight on the issue at hand. He says “No. Becoming a Christian does not immediately erase all sin and its effects”. You see, God forgives our sins, but we will not be perfect till we get to heaven. Christians will sin. But we can choose not to:

8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.  (1 John 1:8-9)

The journey is a lifetime of pursuing Christ and His righteousness. We still struggle to overcome temptations and we still commit sin, both with the mind and the body. It is God who deals with all sin as He “forgives our noetic sins in Christ” (the nature of unbelief that affects our reasoning and knowledge, disobedience to God’s words). Frame describes the Christian as “regenerate, born again and a new creation: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). So how is the believer different from the unbeliever? 

The Bible as an historical document

Can we trust the Bible?

The foundation of the Christian faith is belief in Jesus Christ – His birth, life, death and resurrection. The Christian believes in obtaining righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ; that he or she is sanctified in Christ Jesus by His calling (1 Corinthians 1:2). Therefore, the words of Christ upon which this faith relies must be trustworthy, and Christ has made it so. The words of the Bible are supported by eyewitness testimonies (first hand, recognized by scholars) and the revelation of His deity and resurrection; by manuscripts attesting to the Bible’s claims; by historical sources (confirmed by credible historians), not the least of which are historians from the first and second century. Christ ensured His claims are never left without a witness.

We also see throughout the Scriptures God making the claim that the words thereof are “inspired or God breathed” (2 Tim. 3:16-17) and that He is speaking (Gen. 1:3; Lev. 26:2b). Not to mention the fact that He supports His own existence through miracles. Surely such a God would make provisions for claims and attacks against His word. Jesus told His disciples His words are life (John 6:63) and Paul affirmed that the mysteries of God were not left up to chance but carefully given to Apostles and Prophets to record for the benefit of all (Eph. 3:1-5). The words of God are trustworthy, it is men that reject it.

Blacks in the Scriptures: Blacks in the Bible

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