7TH FEBRUARY, 2022
PASTOR OLUBI JOHNSON
FORSAKING SIN
Proverbs 28:13 (KJV)
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
The Scripture tells us to both confess and forsake sin; we all confess our sins with our mouths, but do we truly forsake them in our hearts?
We need to understand that sin is firstly a nature and secondly, deeds, because of the dominance of that sin nature in our souls (will, mind and emotions) and bodies.
The sin nature is a corrupted or distorted form of the good nature God originally put in created beings.
Satan is the author of this sin nature; his nature became corrupted or distorted, because he separated his heart from God by an attitude of pride and independence, which is the original sin, and the root of all other sins (Ezek. 28: 12-17).
Many times, when we have an abundance of material wealth and all our physical needs are met, we think we no longer need to be submitted and accountable to God. This is why the love of money is the root of all evil (1Tim. 6:10).
This can be likened (Rom. 1:20) to how fresh spring water can become polluted, if it is separated from the source of the spring and becomes stagnant.
When we get born-again, this corrupted, sin nature is removed from our spirits, but it is still in our souls and bodies. So, the sin nature in the soul and body (together referred to as ‘the flesh’) is in conflict (Gal. 5:17) with the divine nature in the recreated (2Cor. 5:17) born-again human spirit (Jn. 3:3-8).
To truly forsake sin in our hearts, we have to understand sin, its origin and its consequences and so truly hate it, like the Lord Jesus did (Heb. 1:9).
Many Christians still love the world: the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes and the pride of life in their emotions (1Jn. 2:15-16). Even when they confess their deeds of sin with their mouths, their hearts or emotions still love the world, because of these inordinate affections (Matt. 15:7-8).
How do we stop loving the world in our emotions and desires of our bodies?
By filling our souls and bodies with the life of God, and re-programming our minds and desires with the Word of God.
This is why we need to pray for the life of God daily (2Pet. 1:4), pray in the Spirit with travail (Eph. 6:18), to pump the life of God from our spirits into our souls and bodies; and read our bibles as a daily habit, in the light (Psa. 36:9) of prophetic and apostolic teaching, that will give us revelation knowledge, which will then re-program our wills, minds and emotions.
A continual determination to stop sinning is shown by getting up quickly when you fall into sin, and determine to move on in right-doing, asking God for wisdom and power to overcome sin next time you are faced with a temptation (Micah 7:8-9).
As you practice this as a daily habit, you will come to truly hate and forsake sin, and the frequency and gravity of your acts of sin will gradually reduce, until you totally stop sinning (1Jn. 3:9)!
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