Shortly after I had pledged my life to Jesus Christ in baptism, after I had declared my faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and savior of my life before dozens of witnesses and repented of everything that displeased God, I found myself exchanging coarse words and swapping fists with my brother Mike in our kitchen at home.
I don't remember what we were fighting about, but I do remember mom storming into the kitchen with some words of her own. She was much more intimidating to me than my brother Mike was at the time! She scolded us for not behaving like Christians and she expressed disappointment in me specifically because I had just been baptized that past weekend.
Her words that afternoon drove me into deep introspection. I began to question the legitimacy of my conversion. I thought, "Maybe this means I'm not a real Christian. Maybe my baptism didn't really count. Maybe God thinks I'm a real hypocrite because right after I was baptized, I turned right around and sinned." Deep down I feared the worst. If I were to die, would God let a sinner like me into heaven? I suspected that he would condemn me and cast me into the eternal fires where there is weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
Struggling with sin.
Over the years I have discovered that such thoughts weren't just the possession of a struggling, naive teenager who had just been baptized. These thoughts consume the minds of almost every Christian, young and old! Every Christian seems prone to having such doubts about their salvation and standing before a Holy God.
If you struggle with sin you are not alone! When was the last time you questioned your salvation? When was the last time your struggle with sin caused you to doubt your relationship with Jesus Christ?
I remember one lady who really struggled with sin and the certainty of her salvation. As a young lady she gave her life to Christ, was baptized, and soared spiritually. From every indication she lived the life of a normal girl, became active in church, got married, started her family, started up her own business, and loved the Lord. But things started falling apart in her life. Her marriage became troubled. They fought and tore each other apart. They agreed to get a divorce.
Through the stressful process of getting a divorce, she found herself saying and doing things she never could have imagined. Her character crumbled. Her reputation in the community disintegrated. Creditors hounded her daily. Her business began falling apart. She couldn't pay her bills and she declared bankruptcy. Last, her childhood diabetes began to affect her mind. She became extremely emotional and illogical. She lost friends and connections. Her health failed.
By just about any definition this young mother was miserable. She had a terrific struggle with sin that cost her the confidence that she once enjoyed in her relationship with Jesus Christ. She doubted her salvation. Her feelings of shame and defeat caused her to believe that Jesus condemned and rejected her. Gradually, she just drifted farther and farther from God and the life he desired for her. When she was at one of the lowest points of her life, she made one last ditch effort to rekindle her faith and spiritual devotion.
Through her father, she requested to be baptized for a second time. In her heart she believed that her first baptism didn't really count because afterwards she had struggled and her life had fallen apart and her marriage had failed. To her, re-baptism was the cure for all that was ailing her spiritually and emotionally.
This type of thinking is so common among Christians. It borders on epidemic. There is this expectation that once we give our lives to Christ and receive Christ in baptism, we will never again struggle with sin or doubt our salvation. But nothing could be further from the truth! I challenge you to find me one Christian who does not struggle with sin! I struggle with sin.
1 John 1:8 (NIV) says, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."
In Romans 7:15-20 (NIV)even the apostle Paul laments his struggle with sin. "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do— this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it."
That young mother I mentioned tragically and violently took her own life. She could not reconcile her struggle with sin with her identity in Jesus Christ. In her despair she refused to believe that she could still have a place in God's heart. She refused to believe that there was still hope, that it wasn't the end of the line, that God still had a plan for her life, and that there was so much to live for. The truth could have set her free from all the guilt, shame, defeat, and despair.
The Christian life as struggle.
But in her state of mind she lost sight of just how completely she needed Jesus Christ as her savior. The truth is that we need Jesus just as much as savior before our conversion, as after! Our good works do not change our standing before a Holy God, no matter how good we think we are or how good we think we've become.
Long after we give our lives to Christ, we continue to struggle with sin. With every passing day we more fully come to terms with how utterly sinful we are and how utterly dependent we are on Jesus as the savior of our souls. Paul's struggle in Romans 7 reminds us that the Christian life is a spiritual struggle.
This morning I want to lay to rest, I want to bury this notion that we have to reach perfection in order to be accepted by God. The unambiguous testimony of scripture is that there is no one who is holy, there is no one who is perfect except our heavenly Father. So for the rest of us, this means that we will always struggle with sin and we will always be dependent on our personal savior Jesus Christ, whose perfect life alone atones for our sin and misdeeds in the flesh.
One reason people do not take the initial steps of faith, repentance, confession, and baptism is because they are trying to become perfect first. So many people say, "I'll get baptized after I first clean my life up. I'll get baptized after I first scrub away all my sin and ungodliness." We forget that transformation can only begin after a relationship with Jesus Christ has been initiated. Transformation never precedes faith, confession, repentance and baptism. Transformation always flows forth from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Transformation flows out of faith, confession, repentance, and baptism.
We begin the relationship first and then through our continuing struggle with sin, we are gradually changed with increasing measure for his glory. 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV) says, "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."
Assurance for the struggling Christian.
If you are a Christian and you have given your life to Jesus Christ through faith, repentance, confession, and baptism, you know that there is a divine process in play. The biblical name for that process is sanctification. Sanctification is purification. It is God working through your struggle with sin to mold you and shape you into his likeness, his image, his perfection, and his holiness. Our confidence isn't in our works, it is in God's work of sanctification which he carries out through his Holy Spirit. He gives the Holy Spirit to all who repent, believe, confess, and receive baptism.
I told you earlier that I struggle with sin. This is true. But I don't struggle with the same sins that I struggled with two to three years ago. The struggles of yester-year do not hold the same sway over my spirit as they once did. Those things have loosened their death grip on my heart and soul. Through this process of sanctification, God has continually shown me newer and deeper areas where spiritual transformation must occur. And with every new insight, a fresh struggle is born that must run its course until God finishes his work. The process of sanctification doesn't appeal to our appetite for instant gratification.
Living by the Spirit.
On your bulletin you will find the phrase, "living by God's Spirit." One of the reasons God wants us to begin a relationship with him immediately is because he wants to give us the gift of his Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God's gift to struggling Christians like us, who experience the bondage of guilt, shame, and defeat.
This past week I sensed God giving me a very clear message about this very truth. Here is how God's process of salvation works for us. First, God gives us grace in Jesus Christ. He forgives us of sin. He gives us a fresh slate. He offers us the assurance of salvation and eternal life through faith. 1 John 5:11-12 (NIV) reads, "And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life."
Second, God gives us his Holy Spirit. His Holy Spirit transforms us from the inside out. He sanctifies us. He purifies us. He changes us into Christ's glory. The Holy Spirit is like a second wind of God's grace. Acts 2:38 (NIV) says, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
Third, we begin doing the good works that accentuate God's character and holiness. Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV) says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Our problem is that we want to reverse the order of God's salvation process. We immediately begin doing good works to prove something to God, to boast. We toil and slave over sin. We vow to clean ourselves up before we come to God. Only after we fail and fall on our faces do we say, "Okay. God, I just need a little bit of help. Send me your Holy Spirit, but just a little bit of him, because I almost have this Christian living thing licked. I can do it myself." Only as a last resort do we ever say, "Okay God, I blew it. I need your grace. I need a savior. I cannot do this alone. It's beyond me."
Our mistake is that we get Christian living all turned around backwards. Grace is the foundation. The Holy Spirit is God's gift for the struggle. Good works are the fruit of the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. We experience transformation and become God's workmanship only after we have first received his grace through faith, repentance, confession, and baptism. And only after he has given us the gift of his Holy Spirit! This is why I said earlier that transformation flows forth from a relationship with Jesus Christ and that transformation never precedes that relationship. God wants us relying fully on his grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit. He wants our transformation to be a monument to his power and greatness, not a monument to our human effort and pride.
Achieving victory.
This morning so many of you are struggling in pride to impress God. You are struggling with all your energy to be what you know God wants you to become. Is it any wonder that you continue to struggle? Is it any wonder that you question your salvation? As long as you are relying on yourself, you have every reason in the world to doubt your salvation. You will never earn your way into heaven, no matter how good you are. Until you discover your need for God's grace expressed in Jesus Christ, and your need for the sanctifying work of the Spirit, you will live in defeat. Let God energize your struggle with his grace and his Holy Spirit.
This morning some of you are doubting the work of God's Spirit in your life. You need to learn patience, knowing that God will be molding and shaping your life for his glory until the day you die. There will be times of victory and celebration. There will be times of discouragement and failure. But do not lose perspective. Take a long-term view. Keep your hand to the plow. Continue through the struggle. Never grow weary in doing good. Dedicate yourself to prayer and to the study of God's word. Invite the work of God's Spirit in your life. Follow the Holy Spirit's leadership. Do not quench his fire. Follow his prompting in your conscience and in God's word. Never lose sight of your identity in Christ in the face of your struggle.
You are saved by grace through faith, and not by works. You need Christ just as much as savior now as you did before your conversion, and you will need Christ just as much twenty or thirty years from now!
This morning some of you are basing your confidence on feelings and subjective measures. This morning is the time for you to stop looking for that "feeling" or that "subjective experience" and accept the reality of God's promise in Christ. God gives us an objective measure by which we can have the assurance of salvation. He tells us plainly in 1 John 5:12 (NIV), "He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life."
Let God's word reassure you of your salvation.
If you put your trust in Jesus Christ as savior instead of trusting your works, if you set your heart on pleasing God through repentance, if you freely confess from your heart your love and affection for Christ, if you give yourself to Jesus Christ through the waters of baptism, if you continue in the spirit of these initial steps, then the matter of your salvation has been settled for you. You have the assurance of your salvation and it doesn't matter how you feel. Because what matters is God's word.
I told you about that young mother who tragically and violently took her own life. She could not reconcile her struggle with sin with her identity in Jesus Christ. In her despair, she refused to believe that she could still have a place in God's heart. She refused to believe that there was still hope, that it wasn't the end of the line, that God still had a plan for her life, that there was so much to live for. The truth could have set her free from all the guilt, shame, defeat, and despair. But she did not have the truth of God's word close to her heart when she made the decision to end her life.
This morning you can let God's word form a hedge of protection around your soul. Yes, you are going to struggle with sin. But be honest about your struggle. Lay it before God. Confess it. Pray about it. Work through it. Don't grow weary or discouraged. Don't let Satan use it to destroy your life or your soul. Know that your relationship with God (salvation) is based on grace and not on works. Know that your sanctification is brought to completion through the sanctifying work of God's Holy Spirit, and not through human exertion. Know that sanctification doesn't happen overnight, but that it takes a lifetime.
Remember that there is always hope. God always has a plan for your life, no matter how badly you have failed or messed up. Remember that in Christ, you are not destined for shame, defeat, and despair. You are destined for victory and celebration. In Philippians 1:6 (NIV) the struggling apostle Paul expresses confidence that, "..he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." That same confidence belongs to us this morning.
And stop waiting to begin a relationship with Jesus Christ. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose. God has a gift that he wants to give you through faith, confession, repentance, and baptism. He wants to give you his Holy Spirit.