A few mornings ago I was meditating on 1 John chapter 3 verse 9, which reads “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
At first I questioned what this meant. Was it that once you were a baptized Christian you could never sin? Well, if this were the case, we would all be guilty. Roman 3 verse 23 reminds us that we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God.
1 John 1 verse 8 also reads, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Finally, God revealed to me what he really meant.
New birth
In John chapter 3, Jesus told Nicodemus that except a man be born again, he cannot enter the Kingdom of heaven. Nicodemus was confused, he asked, how can a man be born again when he is old? Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?
Jesus’s response in verse 5 was “ Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
I decided to totally surrender my heart to Jesus Christ 14 years ago and was baptized as a symbol of commitment to Yahweh. That was my new birth, I am born of the spirit, the Holy Spirit dwells within me.
This new birth is very important, this is what determines how we will spend our eternity. As Psalm 51 reminds us we were all born in sin and shaped in iniquity, all because of the sin committed by Adam. However, Jesus Christ came and paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we no longer have to be slaves to sin. He gave us an alternative so that we can live righteous and godly lives.
When we accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour of our lives we will never be the same. We are a new creature, born again.
The battle is on
For all who have been born again, there is always this constant battle going on between the flesh and the spirit.
Galatians chapter 5 verse 17 reads, “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.”
Even though we have been born again, we cannot escape this battle. We have to remember that we are human beings, our flesh is still capable of sinning. However the spirit, which is the new man, cannot sin.
So God’s word stands true, whoever is born of God cannot sin.
The more we grow in God’s grace, the more we seek him and feed on his word, the stronger we become and the less susceptible we will be to sinning. Let us follow the example of Jesus, when he was tempted by the devil, He did not give in. Jesus rebuked the devil by speaking the word of God.
Let us resist the enemy and he will flee from us.
Walk in victory
As Christians we have a decision to make. We can live a godly life and be victorious over sin if we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us, putting our flesh under subjection.
If we allow the flesh to rule, and confirm its desires, we will find ourselves
living in defeat. We cannot live in defeat because Jesus already conquered sin for us!
Always remember, we have the power through Jesus Christ, Satan has no dominion over us. The key is to keep the old self under subjection. We cannot do that on our own, we need the Holy Spirit to be our strength and guide.
I am Victoria Richards, a fourth-year medical student at the University of the West Indies, Jamaica. Serving the Lord brings me joy. I enjoy sharing the gospel through singing, writing poetry and encouraging others.
