Righteousness By Faith and the 1888 General Conference
Practical Applications
So now you believe, and that is good. Even the demons believe, and tremble!
James 2:19. It is not enough to just believe this is the truth. This is not just a theological concept that appeals to the mind, but does not change your life in a practical way. Those who believe that God can save them not only from the penalty of sin, but from committing sins as well must change their thoughts and listen to God's instructions.
Now let us go back to the self-professed "bold statement" I made earlier. If God convicts YOU to stop any particular sin and YOU do not listen, YOU are not living in Christ and YOUR claim to be a Christian is a lie. I will say it again. If you do not choose to follow God all the way, you are not of God. You cannot serve two masters. If you do not hate sin enough to do all you can to flee from it then your master is not God. He who sins is a slave a sin. Those who are of God do not ignore Him when He wants to deliver them from any sin, no matter how big, small, or apparent shade of gray it may seem to be enshrouded in. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
1 John 3:9. Those who abide in Christ will not continue to live in sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.
1 John 3:6. To those who cling to sin Jesus will say I never knew you; depart from Me
Matthew 7:23. Make a decision right now. Do not be afraid to look at yourself as you really are. Are you willing to put away all music, games, movies, and activities that God tells you to put to death? Are you willing to go even further and deny all relationships, desires, aspirations and character traits that are not of Him? If not, why continue to claim to be His follower? He is not deceived, and there is no benefit to deceiving yourself and others. If you continue to do what you want, that is your choice, but know that those who claim to be Christians but who do not put away all of their sins are living a lie and will not be saved. Those who love God must be willing to give up the world. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in Him.
1 John 2:15.
Now that you know the truth God requires you do it. Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is a sin.
James 4:17. Listen to God as He wants to work in you a complete reflection of His character.
If you believe and trust in God, He will give you the victory. However, you must do more than believe. Jesus says And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
As He says, this freedom only comes if you know the truth. This article(even though longer than what I anticipated) is only a glimpse of what God wants us to know. This is only a beginning point. You must seek out the truth and do all you can to know more. There are many books and other writings that are available. The Bible alone testifies of righteousness by faith all throughout. I have listed some resources at the end to get you started. A lack of knowledge is no excuse. You have ample opportunity to study the righteousness by faith message for yourself.
Right now, tell God that you believe He can give you the victory over sin. If you have any specific conviction, give it to God. Pray to Him in faith to set you free. God will in no way deny a sincere and faith-filled request of that kind.
Freedom from sin is complete freedom. Sin does not only consist of smoking, drinking, murder and thievery. Here is a little personal example of how God can give you the victory over even the small events in your life(and please do not laugh at this example either!)
When I attended Oakwood College I stayed in the dormitory with one of my best friends. I will admit that I often didn't get enough sleep during the week, and during the busiest times of the semester I did not even bother to make an attempt to wake up early on Sabbath morning.
There was one particular Sabbath where my roommate woke up extra early and went to breakfast. He wasn't rude, but He made enough noise to wake me up and I was a little disgruntled by it. When he came back to the room, he went ahead and took a shower and got dressed and ready to leave. Amidst the noise, I could not sleep and I eventually just decided to get up. When I was in the shower my roommate finished getting ready and he left to go to church. I finished my shower and realized that it was late, and I hurried to my room to get dressed. To my dismay, the door to the room was locked and I did not have my key. I was already a little upset with my roommate for making noise and waking me up, so this was enough to make me angry with him. I sat in the hall of our suite wondering how he could lock me out(since because of the layout of the suite we never took our keys when we were still in it). This wasn't the only time I had been locked out, and I was furious. I was thinking of all the things I would say to him when I saw him and I could think of nothing else. God saw me in my anger and told me that it was not of Him. He told me to stop being angry at my roommate, and surprisingly I felt the anger slipping right away. I wanted to be angry however, because I felt I had the right to. I wanted to actually hold on to the anger, because I thought it made me feel better. God again told me to let Him take the anger away, and by His grace I listened to Him and the anger disappeared quickly. God told me instead of thinking how to get even, I should spend my time trying to find a way to get to church on time. I refocused my thoughts, and at that instant I looked out the window and a dean was walking past. I was able to catch him and he opened my door.
While it may seem like a ridiculous story it is true. God is willing to take away sin. It may not always be instant; sometimes you may be dealing with more difficult things in your life, and these may require a continual fighting against them and a persistent pleading with God. Either way, however, God will be faithful to free you. It is only when we hold on to sin that it has dominion over us.
Who knows, if I had never let God remove the angry spirit from me and let Him give me a straight mind, I may have not had the sense to look out of the window and see the dean. God is willing to help us in even the small everyday things of life. He is willing to completely remove every trace of an evil character from our lives. The next time you face temptation, ask God to deliver you. Do not hold on to it when He takes it away. God will be faithful and free you. Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us
Heb 12:1. Let God lead you in your life and give you the faith to make perfection, here on earth, your goal and reality.
