Stop Sinning

2 Corinthians 13

By: Luke Sanders

What we are reading here are Paul’s closing statements to the people of Corinth, what is it that Paul wanted to make clear in his final words? STOP SINNING!!! Paul wants these people to understand that although Jesus died for us and appeared weak simply because He let men take Him, He is anything but weak. Job knows better then anyone how powerful God is, through the conversation that Job had with God we are all able to lean about just a small portion of God’s power. Job 40:9, “Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His?” and Job 26:14, “Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, And how small a whisper we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand?” I get chills when I read these words. How easy it is for us to forget about the God of the old testament, the God that is Just, Strong and unwavering. The thing about this is that we love the very same God, He never changes, Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” This means that the God that hated sin enough to destroy cities and level nations is the same God that was willing to take on weakness (flesh) and die for our sin that He hates.

What do these truths mean for us, Paul has told us to stop sinning, Jesus hates sin and died to obliterate its power. We should probably STOP SINNING!!!!! 2 Corinthians 13:7 says, “Now I pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is honorable, though we may seem disqualified.” I can tell you that I am in no way a perfect person, I sin all the time. God knows that we as imperfect people are going to sin, and He has forgiven us, that is why He died for us. However this does not make it ok to sin and think “well God will forgive me anyway”. In Romans 6:1-2 it says, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”

All of this to say that we as Christians are called to stay away from the lusts of our old lives, God is a Just God and He will burn away the parts of our lives that are of no use to His purposes, meaning anything that is contrary to God… sin. Romans 6:10-11 gives us the reason why we should stay away from sin, “For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Take comfort in the knowledge that Christ has defeated the power of sin and we have victory through Him, use that power which He offers through His word, and flee from sin.

Maranatha!!!