Q&A – WHY DO BELIEVERS STILL SIN? - 6

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Q&A –  WHY DO BELIEVERS STILL SIN? - 6

James 5:16  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Freedom from sin is what Messiah died and rose again to produce in our lives.  IAUE desires a family that walks in the light as He is in the light (1 John 1:5-7). Such a life is the natural product of the true gospel.

Today, I want to discuss a reason why believers still sin that we ALL know; but we generally do our best to ignore. We see (above) in our summary statement from our last post, that IAUE wants us to walk in the light as He is in the light.  This idea is obvious to anyone who has embraced even a false gospel of Messiah.  The testimony of Scripture from the Garden of Eden to the inauguration of the millennial reign of our Master is replete with commands to walk uprightly before IAUE. 

Walking in the light and living righteously go hand in hand.  They are not the same thing; but you cannot have one without the other.  It is so simple; and yet it is overlooked almost completely by believers, today.

1 John 1:5  This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that IAUE is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

6  If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

John 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Darkness defines the realm out of which we have been delivered…rescued by Yahushua Messiah.  He took us out of the “kingdom” of darkness and placed us into the “kingdom” of light.  These are two distinct and opposite jurisdictions, each having their own sovereign and overseers. 

Ephesians 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

1 Peter 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

When one walks in the light, by his/her own choice they are yielding their bodies as instruments of obedience unto righteousness (Romans 6:16).  By choosing to walk in darkness, we yield our bodies as instruments of sin unto death.

2 Corinthians 6:14  Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

Act 26:18  To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto Elohim, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

Notice the comparison of “darkness” to “the power of Satan,” in that verse.  This is the idea I want to develop.  In the light, nothing is hidden or concealed.  The very object of the dark is concealment; and it is in hiding one’s unrighteous behavior that the enemy of our souls gains power over us.

It is a rare believer who has never conducted a covert life, deliberately concealing activities from their family and friends and fellow believers with whom they interact on a regular basis.  Before them, they are godly respectable followers of Messiah…maybe even pastors and teachers and leaders in the church; but secretly, they are enjoying the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes and the pride of life (1 John 2:16), knowing full well they are walking in rebellion to their King.  They believe their own deception that as long as they are living good lives in public, they can do whatever they want when not in the public eye. This darkness is an open door to “principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in high places.”  Paul tells us we are to wrestle AGAINST these demons, not play with them.

It cannot be proclaimed too seriously or too passionately, how destructive doing ANYTHING in darkness is to the life of the believer. If we have done something in secret that we should not have done; we should immediately find someone with whom we can bring it into the light; so the enemy is not given the time, opportunity and power to create an entire structure of deceit within us; and develop within us a secret lifestyle of sin.

Proverbs 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

The next verse tells us how best to establish the lifestyle that will protect us from hiding anything in our life.

14 Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.

The fear of IAUE is our protection.  One cannot fear IAUE and harden their heart against the righteousness of IAUE at the same time.

Proverbs 8:13 The fear of IAUE is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

Proverbs 14:27 The fear of IAUE is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

Proverbs 16:6  By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of IAUE men depart from evil.

Proverbs 19:23 The fear of IAUE tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.

This post is designed to answer the question, “Why do believers still sin?”  It is because they do not bring everything in their life into the light. As long as they entertain ANYTHING that is deliberately kept secret from others, concealed so no one might find out, they are essentially acting as a double agent.  They pretend to be the servant of Yahushua, a faithful believer fellowshipping with the saints of IAUE; but secretly they are actively serving the king of darkness.

Now, one reading this might say to himself/herself, “I am not killing people.  I am not committing adultery.  I am not breaking the law by anything I am doing.  I am not a bad person.”  Did you lust in your heart for someone?  Did you lie to someone?  Did you speak in anger at someone?  Are you holding resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness toward anyone?  Are you having private communications or spending time with someone you don’t want others to know?  In fact, are you doing anything you don’t want others to know?  That is the very definition of walking in darkness.

How do you deal with such secrets, such acts done in the dark?  You bring them to the light…immediately.

James 5:16  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

I know the remedy that most Christians understand is 1 John 1:9, to confess their sins and receive forgiveness and cleansing of their unrighteousness; but this is believed to be confessing to IAUE.  Well, this should come as no surprise…He already knows.  The ones to whom you NEED to confess are your brothers and sisters in Messiah.  They are the ones who are being hurt by your deception.  The subject of that chapter of Scripture is how to enjoy and maintain fellowship with IAUE and with your brothers and sisters in Messiah.  Having secret lives, doing things in the dark, injures your fellowship with the body of Messiah.  The Scriptural remedy is to bring it into the light, to confess your faults to one another, so there is absolutely nothing you are hiding.  They very idea of wanting to prevent others from knowing something about us should be the trigger to confessing it.  IAUE is light; and in Him is NO DARKNESS at all.  That is how we should be living.

I think it is interesting to note that one might say they are not secretly enjoying the lust of the eyes or the lust of the flesh; and yet it is the pride of life that is the most powerful obstacle to confession.  We fear what others may think about us; how we may be degraded in their eyes from the kind of person we want them to think we are; but in reality, we need their help to keep us the kind of person IAUE wants us to be.