J C Ryle in his writing about Holiness, continues to describe what it costs to be a true Christian:
(2) For another thing, it will cost a man his sins. He must be willing to give up every habit and practice which is wrong in God’s sight. He must set his face against it, quarrel with it, break off from it, fight with it, crucify it, and labour to keep it under, whatever the world around him may say or think. He must do this honestly and fairly. There must be no separate truce with any special sin which he loves. He must count all sins as his deadly enemies, and hate every false way. Whether little or great, whether open or secret, all his sins must be thoroughly renounced. They may struggle hard with him every day, and sometimes almost get the mastery over him. But he must never give way to them. He must keep up a perpetual war with his sins. It is written – “Cast away from you all your transgressions.” – “Break off thy sins and iniquities.” – “Cease to do evil.” – (Ezek. xviii. 31; Daniel iv. 27; Isa. i. 16.)
This also sounds hard. I do not wonder. Our sins are often as dear to us as our children: we love them, hug them, cleave to them, and delight in them. To part with them is as hard as cutting off a right hand, or plucking out a right eye. But it must be done. The parting must come. “Though wickedness be sweet in the sinner’s mouth, though he hide it under his tongue; though he spare it, and forsake it not,” yet it must be given up, if he wishes to be saved. (Job xx. 12, 13.) He and sin must quarrel, if he and God are to be friends. Christ is willing to receive any sinners. But He will not receive them if they will stick to their sins. Let us set down that item second in our account. To be a Christian it will cost a man his sins.
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I meet many people in today’s world who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ, and yet seem to have no qualm at all in continuing to live contrary to His commandments and His Word. Now, obviously, we will all fail sometimes since we are human and have a flesh – but if we truly love God and have a relationship with Him, we CANNOT continually live in sin without it bothering us.
In 1 John 2:1, John writes: “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” Because Jesus Christ died on the cross and paid the penalty for our sin, does not give us a free license to continue living in sin once we come to know Him. The Bible plainly teaches that ANYONE who truly knows Him as Savior will have a CHANGED life. Sin and displeasing God should NO MORE delight us, in fact – we should HATE sin as God does, and when we slip and fail, we should feel such a sorrow for our sin that we immediately take actions to correct them and REMOVE them from our lives.
In 1 Peter 2:21-22a we are reminded: “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin…” That’s the example we are SUPPOSED to strive to follow. He committed NO SIN! That should be our aim and goal EVERY DAY! Always keep SHORT accounts with sin…don’t allow them to find lodging in your life and in your heart.