1John 1:8-9
Big Idea: In order to walk properly before the Lord, in sanctification we must understand that we still have sin, although it is no longer who we are, and therefore we are to be continually confessing our sin before the Lord as he continually cleanses us from the power and penalty of our sin.
Our _______________________ to Sin
1 John 1:8 (ESV) — 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Romans 7:7-24
Sin is _______________-law of God. Sin is not just the opposite of the law it is actually opposition to the law. Sin is the compelling force of the fallen nature to do that, which is contrary to the law. Sin is not only a breaking of the law, it is the desire to break the law. Sin is the penchant for un-godliness.
Romans 8:7 (ESV) 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.
The battle of the Christian life is the fight between what we once were in our sinful fallen nature, and what we now are in our re-newed and re-generated nature in Christ.
Philippians 2:3–5 (ESV) 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
The __________________ to Sin
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Homo-legomen:
In confessing our sins we are accepting and evening voicing true reality, reality as God defines it.
Ephesians 4:20–24 (ESV) 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Romans 6:13–14 (ESV) 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
This is how we grow in Christ. We progressively further ourselves from who we were in Adam and come to embrace more and more, who we are in Christ.
Questions to Consider
What is our ongoing relationship to sin? How does our new nature in Christ combat the fallen nature of the old man/flesh?
What is confession? What might confession look like in your life? In what ways are you denying the reality of God as it is revealed in Scripture? How might you repent and turn to Christ?
What is our only hope for sanctification in this life? How are you trusting in the power of the gospel to free you from the old man?
What tools has God given us to re-inforce His reality in our minds and hearts? How are you utilizing these tools?
