December 26

‘If we walk in the light, as He is in the light…the blood of Jesus Christ His son cleanseth us from all sin.’ 1 John 1:7

                In today’s devotional, OC demonstrates the difference between deliverance from sin by the Atonement and conscious freedom from sin. OC argues that it is a mistake to simply make a conscious effort to be free from sin. Without the acceptance of Christ and the deliverance from sin at Calvary, Man is incapable of recognizing sin, let alone avoiding it. Furthermore, I would argue that making a conscious decision to avoid sinful behavior, without Christ at the helm, is the mark of a Pharisee. Why remain pious when Christ is not your guide unless to generate an appearance of worthiness?

                Please remember that man IS a moral creature. Most men know right from wrong instinctively and recognize good in others. However, for what purpose is the moral life? Without faith in Christ, the moral man is no more holy than the immoral man. The apple is polished, but the meat of the fruit is brown just the same.

                We cannot pretend to live a sinless life without the deliverance of sin. Even if the decision to live without sin could be maintained, we are still led to consequence by our subconscious. We cannot control subconscious drive, yet they do influence us. For example, subconscious feelings of guilt lead us to indulge others and subconscious feelings of hate can lead us to rage.

Only the Holy Spirit can cleanse us of these subconscious drives. When we accept Christ and His sacrifice, the Holy Spirit goes to work in us. We find that the decision to walk in the light, as He is in the light becomes plain. There is no other alternative lifestyle. What once were decisions with which we once struggled to find solutions become transparent .

 Once in the light, the miracle of being born again is apparent in the ease by which it is maintained. Our sin has died along with Christ and nothing more can hold us back from fellowship with Him.