ences. This will always bring trou ble. How sad that people abuse the Scriptures, taking items out of con text to use for their own purposes! A Christian is one who has died to sin; he does not continue to live in sin any longer. God does not take away our ability to sin. He rather gives us the ability not to sin. There’s a big difference between the two. It is possible for you to sin be cause you may not be using your God-given abilities. We need to reck on ourselves dead to sin and alive unto God. If you are not living the reckoning life, then you will never live the rejoicing life, or for that matter, the normal Christian life. We must know what it is to enjoy God’s living in the wonderful liberty He has provided. RECKONING LIFE PART II T here is no reason for a Christian to live a defeated life because of sin. This is a total contradiction to what the Bible offers. Having died to sin, why should we continue living under sin? The thought is absolutely ludicrous. While Scripture does not suggest that the Lord has taken away our ability to sin, it does show us that God has given us the ability not to sin. It’s not the impossibility of sin but rather the incongruity of sin. Romans 6:3 reminds us that by faith we were baptized into Christ by His death. Verse 6 tells us that our old man has been crucified. Verse 9 wants us to be assured that “death hath no more dominion” over us. Verse 16 clearly points out tfyat we become slaves to whomever we yield ourselves. To begin with, do you know about your baptism? We are not talking here about the specific mode of the ordinance. We do believe that every Christian ought to be baptized, but this is not the specific rite, but rather the reality of baptism of which the 6
we realize this and do something about it, the better for all concerned. The key to this passage is the word “knowing.” Look at 6:3 where Paul says, “Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were b ap tized into his death?” In verse 6 it reads, “Know ing this, that our old man is cruci fied with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” Verse 9 gives us the same idea, “Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.” Further on in Verse 16, “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Victory over sin is most interesting to notice. The avenue of all spiritual experience starts initially in the mind. As soon as one talks about victory over sin, some people get alarmed. This, however, is not sin less perfection whatsoever. The rea son so many people go off center is because they try to experience this in emotions rather than in the area of their minds. They have all sorts of emotional experiences and then try to fit their doctrine to these experi-
Lenin de Janon (left), a member of the staff of radio stationHCJB, Quito, Ecuador, is enrolled in Biola College this year preparing further in the Lord's service. With him is his wife, Nelida, and son Eddie. Mr. de Janon is one of the many students who has enrolled in Biola coming from foreign countries.
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