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If
you are honest, you will admit that you have suffered personal
failures. If you say you haven't, you are only fooling yourself.
Every human being does the wrong thing at times, even though
he fully intended to do the right thing. Why do you say things
that hurt others and do things that damage your credibility
and integrity? The Bible gives us clear guidance on this subject.
You cannot do what you know you should because you were born
with a sin nature. The Bible says, "Therefore, just as
sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin,
and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned"
(Romans 5:12). The sinful nature which you inherited is what
qualifies you as a member of the human race, but it also means
you need a Savior. Jesus Christ came to give you the ability
to overcome your tendency to sin.
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| When a
person receives Jesus Christ as his Savior, he receives a new
nature. The Bible tells us, "Through these he has given
us his very great and precious promises, so that through them
you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption
in the world caused by evil desires" (2 Peter 1:4). This
new nature is God living in you. The new nature is spiritual,
but you still have your old nature, which is fleshly: it still
wants to do the wrong thing. However, now you have a choice.
You can choose to follow God's way and experience life and peace
to its extreme fullest. The Bible puts it this way, "The
mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the
Spirit is life and peace" (Romans 8:6). This does not mean
that you will become perfect. It does mean that after you receive
Jesus Christ as Savior, you have the God-given ability to do
what is right. The conflict is still there, but the divine nature
of God is also there to empower and guide you. |
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