ICS Daily Devotions
The True Faith Sets Us Free
James 1:25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
God has enabled us the ability to walk in godliness. It doesn’t mean that the law is no longer important after we have been saved by grace through faith. In fact, God has enabled us to walk within the law through the born-again experience. He has given us a new creation in the spirit man and has given us His nature. He has also placed the Holy Spirit within us and thus empowers us to choose and to yield to the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Lord of our lives and we can submit to the Lordship of Christ.
2 Peter 1:2-4 (NKJV) Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Imagine that these Scriptures are like the mirror and the Holy Spirit reveals to you who you are and what you have through the Word. It is God’s divine power that has given us all things that pertain to godliness in this life. The Word also revealed to us the exceedingly great and precious promises: we have been set free from sin and the bondage of sin and transferred into the Kingdom of Light. The divine nature is found in the spirit man which is the new creation. Therefore, as believers we stand on this belief and convictions and begin to live it out actively in our daily living.
We live in this world and will always be subject to all kinds of temptation. We need to actively apply our faith based on our conviction to flee from it.
2 Timothy 2:22 (NKJV) FLEE also youthful lusts; but PURSUE righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
What are the youthful lusts? Strong’s dictionary defines it as a strong desire and intense craving for something, that is, gratifying sensual cravings, desiring the forbidden, longing for evil, coveting what belongs to someone else and striving for things, persons or experiences contrary to the will of God. God will never receive glory if we behave this or similar way.
There will be victory if we truly want to be free from the habitual sin but it has to come from a pure heart. It is a question of attitude. There must be a “want to” rather than “have to” because I am in danger of being caught or being monitored. We must not deceive ourselves by having a dead faith that only has a mental assent. We need true faith! A dead faith believes in God but denies that there is the resurrection power in us to overcome the temptation. The devil believes and tremble at the name of Jesus, too! Instead, we need to believe wholeheartedly and be convinced again and again that Jesus has been raised from the dead and His resurrection life lives in us and empowers us. If we stand on the Scriptures mentioned above, we will be free and able to live out God’s purpose for our lives!
Sermon series: Active Faith
