Online Bible Study - The Promise Is to You

THE QUESTION:
How does the Spirit help Christians fight against sin?

WE BELIEVE:
Here on earth, the Spirit's work is often hidden, in the resurrection it will be made clear.

A STORY:
Jesus once taught, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain--first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come." (based on Mark 4:26-29)

When we think about our sins, we are often distressed that we make such little progress against them. Some sins fall away easily. Others keep coming back. When we look at our lives as a whole, we must confess that we are still sinful. How does God help us to fight against sin in our lives? Does he really help us to live right?

GOD SPEAKS:
"It is God's will that you should be sanctified." 1 Thessalonians 4:3

God desires to sanctify us, that is, to make our lives pure and holy, full of good works. Making sinners into saints is a big job and we shouldn't expect to be perfect overnight. True, now God calls us his holy saints in Jesus, but we don't perfectly see that in our behavior. In fact, the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is often a hidden and mysterious thing. When we would like to be rid of a certain behavior or fault, the Spirit may be working on rooting out other sins which we don't even know we have. As long as the tiny seed of faith, given by God's word, remains within us, we can be sure that it is growing. We cannot measure its growth or know exactly how it grows, but we know that faith is strengthened as we hear and read God's word.

GOD SPEAKS:
"When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory." 1 Corinthians 15:37, 42-43

"But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you." Romans 8:10-11

The Spirit's work will be complete when he raises all believers from the dead on the last day. Then, he will glorify our bodies and totally remove all the remaining sin from them. Even those believers who are alive at that time "will be changed--in a flash" (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). Then we will live in sinless glory, in the very presence of God. We will know life like we've never been alive before.

THIS PART OF OUR LESSON ASKS:
What tool does the Spirit use to strengthen your faith?

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