Tom Barnard

“He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us,

and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing what is right.”

(Titus 2:14 NLT)

“Love only can the conquest win,

The strength of sin subdue;

Come, O my Saviour, cast out sin,

And form my soul anew.”

Charles Wesley

Choose any traditional definition of sin. Refer to all the biblical expressions that define it. Do a word study of the original languages. Limit the topic in any way you like. Bottom line: Sin and Righteousness are incompatible. God will not tolerate it. Heaven will not be the reward for those who embrace it. Sin is everything that is contrary to the holy character of God. Jesus died to free us from its very power.

Edward Pusey said, “Christ will not dwell in our hearts, if we fill our hearts with things which He hates.” The Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (5:16 NKJV).

I like the story of a man who watched a sculptor at work. He asked the artist what he was creating. “An elephant,” the sculptor replied. The observer than asked, “How do you sculpt an elephant?” The artist thought about the question for a moment and then replied, “You just chip away anything that doesn’t look like an elephant.”

Wesley was right: “Come, O my Saviour, cast out sin, and form my soul anew.” Cleansing always precedes doing. Doing what is right begins with a heart that is clean and pure.

Heavenly Father, I want to be and do what is right in your sight. I know that yielding to sin leads me in a direction that is directly opposite from the way I need to go. Forgive me for listening to the voices that try to persuade me to believe that I can overcome the power of sin on my own. “Chip away” from my life everything that hinders my walking in your Spirit. Sculpt my life as you desire, and “form my soul anew.” I know this is your will for my life. Amen.