Today I can look back on a long life of being a disciple of Jesus. Following Jesus has been an incredibly good and interesting life. But it took time for me to find that disciple life.
The endless cycle
As a young couple, my husband and I attended a local Pentecostal church. God’s Word was read, and I believed it was true. I knew that the Bible spoke clearly about many sins such as adultery, lying, greed, and many other sins. I knew that gossiping and backbiting were not the works of a true Christian.
We had some close friends from church whom we liked to get together with. I noticed that when we were together, there was a lot of backbiting and gossip going on. I didn’t want to be a gossip, but every time the talk started up, I found myself either joining in or just agreeing with what was said. I was powerless to stand up for what was right. Afterward I felt guilty and condemned. All I could do was ask God to forgive me. I knew it was wrong, but I didn’t see how it could change. I knew it would happen again, and I would be right back in the same place, asking God to forgive me again.
I thought that this was the normal way Christians lived—sinning and asking for forgiveness in an endless cycle of discouragement and failure. I knew I was supposed to rejoice always (Philippians 4:4), but what was I supposed to rejoice about? Shouldn’t a Christian life have more meaning and be full of joy?
Christ revealed in the flesh
About this time I first heard about “Christ revealed in the flesh”; that Christ had the same flesh, the same sinful human nature, as I had and that He had overcome all sin in that flesh. That Jesus’ work was not only to forgive my sins, but to give me power to overcome sin and become like Him. That meant this was possible for me too! This changed everything! The Scriptures started to become alive for me. I heard them like I had never heard them before. This was a turning point in my life.
“Since the children, as he calls them, are people of flesh and blood, Jesus himself became like them and shared their human nature. He did this so that through his death he might destroy the Devil, who has the power over death, and in this way set free those who were slaves all their lives because of their fear of death.” Hebrews 2:14,15 (GNT).
I saw that sin had power over me in many areas. I could, for example, easily get angry when others did something I didn’t like. I began to understand that it was not the other’s fault that I got angry. Jesus did not give in to anger when He was tempted. How could I get there? (James 1:19-20.)
“All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow me.” Luke 9:23 (CEB).
Getting to the root of the problem
I wanted to be a disciple, one who truly follows Him! I could see that I really had to battle hard if I wanted to overcome. So right at the moment when I was tempted, instead of giving in to my anger, I prayed and asked God to give me His power. I began to consciously say No to myself—I remained silent.
But I soon realized it wasn’t enough just to be silent; I had to get to the root of the sin, the real reason why I was getting harsh or angry. Something in me, in my sinful nature, actually wanted to criticize and backbite, wanted to be irritated because I thought I had the right to be irritated - and that was the true enemy. I had to hate this and not feed these desires or agree with it. This was painful, as it went against my own my reasoning and feelings, but I understood that this was the same suffering Jesus had in order not to sin. (1 Peter 2:21-23). In 1 Peter 4:1 this is described as “suffering in the flesh”.
“Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.” 1 Peter 4:1.
I got faith that this was possible for me. With God’s power, I could say No to the sin that lived in my human nature and stop with sin—exactly as Jesus did! He opened this “new and living way” (Hebrews 10:20), and I could follow Him on it. Just as Jesus received power to overcome, I also could receive that power.
“You did not choose me. I chose you and sent you out to produce fruit, the kind of fruit that will last.” John 15:16 (CEV).
The power in God’s Word can change my whole life when I believe it and am willing to fight when I am tempted. Little by little, sin can be overcome when I keep doing this.
I have gone from being a powerless slave to sins such as gossip and anger, to learning how to fight sin like Jesus did when He was a human being like us. I started experiencing the joy of being more and more set free from these things. Even though there is still much to overcome, I see the way to go and can quickly ask for help to overcome whenever I am tempted. (Hebrews 4:16.)
Every temptation is an opportunity—an opportunity to overcome and get a little bit more of Jesus’ life and virtues! His life is becoming my life, step by step! (John 7:38; 2 Corinthians 9:8.) There is no limit to what God can and will do in my life!