devotion: putting God's promises to action; faith, holiness, temptation

October 10th

Putting the Promises into Action

¹⁴Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? ¹⁵What harmony is there between Christ and Belial ? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? ¹⁶What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."
   ¹⁷"Therefore come out from them
       and be separate, says the Lord.
   Touch no unclean thing,
       and I will receive you."
   ¹⁸"I will be a Father to you,
       and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 NIV

“Therefore having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” 2 Corinthians 7:1 NKJV

These verses reveal the role of God’s promises in our walk to freedom from sin. Just as these verses were helpful to the Corinthians (who had sex sin issues), so they can help us gain victory over whatever holds us.

Paul discusses the God’s key promises to us (through Christ) in chapter 6. These include:

We are temples of God (16)
God will live with us and walk among us (16)
God will be our God and we will be his people (16)
When we separate ourselves from the ungodly, God will receive us and treat us as his children (17-18)

How do we apply these promises in our lives? As Paul explained, we apply the promises by 1) Cleansing ourselves from the “filthiness of the flesh and spirit” and 2) Perfecting holiness in the fear of God. The key ingredient that connects us with God’s power that enables to do so is our belief in the promises (i.e. faith). Sincere faith is demonstrated by putting our trust in what God said.

Some of us may struggle with the concept of faith. Faith isn’t always practical in the natural. In fact, in may seem downright impractical to us at times, because it involves surrendering control to God who we can’t see. James wrote, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7 NIV). Surrendering control to God is how we demonstrate our trust in his word and how we submit to him. That in turn is the primary foundation we must have for resisting the devil.

The practical application of God’s promises comes when we are facing temptations. When we set out to cleanse ourselves from the sin we’ve been practicing, we’re going to need real power to overcome the temptations we’ve previously fallen to. If we can remind ourselves of the promises that refute the temptation, we then can dispel (i.e. break its spell) the temptation. The Holy Spirit will help us in this process, as one of his roles is to remind us of the word of God (John 14:26). Here are some examples of applying the promises:

When you feel isolated or cut off from God: Remember verse 16 – God is living with you and walks with you

When you’ve fallen in sin: Remember verse 16 – God is your God and you are his child. You are empowered by the Holy Spirit who lives in you to serve God and not sin.
When you are being tempted by the world’s delicacies: Remember verse 17 – God will reward you for separating yourself from the world and its corruption. He receives you with open arms through the blood of Jesus.
When you feel hopelessly enslaved to sin: Remember verse 18 – You are no longer a slave to sin, but a son of God (Galatians 4:7). You can state in faith, “God is my Father, and I am his son. I serve God as my Father and Master. I will not be mastered by sin (Romans 6:12-14).”

Questions for further thought:

What are some things we can do to help us learn God’s promises?
When Jesus fought temptation, what did he use? (Luke 4:1-13)
What does it mean to be in the world but not of the world?

Prayer:

“Heavenly Father, thank you for your very great and precious promises! I embrace them and place my trust in them. Please forgive me for being ignorant in any way of the promises you have given me. Please teach me, Holy Spirit, the promises of God and show me how to apply them to my life. Sharpen my recognition of the lies of sin. Teach me how to use the Sword of the Spirit in refuting the devil’s lies. Thank you, Lord! In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, Amen.”

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