Is It Possible to Avoid Sinning?

1

• Is It Possible to Avoid Sinning?

2
Can I Avoid Sinning?

• There are those, even among our brethren, who
  teach that man cannot keep from sinning.
• Others think they cannot sin, and do not guard
  against temptation.
• David, however, not only knew that he could sin
  but that he could keep from sinning.
• "Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I
  might not sin against You." (Psalm 11911)

3
How Can I Avoid Sinning?

• Spurgeon said that David, in Psalm 11911
  mentions the best thing in the best place for the
  best purpose!
• The Heart is
• The Intellectual Center of Man the Mind
• The Emotional Center of Man
• The Ethical Center of Man the Conscience
• The Volitional Center of Man the Will

4
The Intellectual Center of Man

• But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do
  you think evil in your hearts?" (Matt. 94)
• But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His
  spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves,
  He said to them, "Why do you reason about these
  things in your hearts?" (Mark 28)

5
The Emotional Center of Man

• 'You shall not hate your brother in your heart.
  You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not
  bear sin because of him.' (Lev. 1917)
• Since you have purified your souls in obeying the
  truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the
  brethren, love one another fervently with a pure
  heart. (1 Peter 122)

6
The Ethical Center of Man

• My little children, let us not love in word or in
  tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we
  know that we are of the truth, and shall assure
  our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns
  us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all
  things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn
  us, we have confidence toward God. (1 John
  318-21)
• Then those who heard it, being convicted by their
  conscience, went out one by one, beginning with
  the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left
  alone, and the woman standing in the midst. (John
  89)

7
The Volitional Center of Man

• But God be thanked that though you were slaves of
  sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of
  doctrine to which you were delivered. (Rom. 617)
• But this I say He who sows sparingly will also
  reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will
  also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he
  purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of
  necessity for God loves a cheerful giver. (2
  Cor. 96-7)

8
How do I hide God's word in my ??

• 1. Desire to understand it.
• 2. Strive to understand it.
• 3. Appreciate its power.
• 4. Hold it in high esteem.
• 5. Store it up in your mind.
• 6. Apply it to your life.

9
1. Desire to understand Gods word

• ....as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the
  word, that you may grow thereby (1 Peter 22).
• ....and with all unrighteous deception among
  those who perish, because they did not receive
  the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
  And for this reason God will send them strong
  delusion, that they should believe the lie, that
  they all may be condemned who did not believe the
  truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness (2
  Thess. 210-12).

10
2. Strive to understand Gods word

• Be diligent to present yourself approved to God,
  a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly
  dividing the word of truth (2 Tim. 215).
• Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what
  the will of the Lord is (Eph. 517).

11
3. Appreciate the power of Gods word

• For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for
  it is the power of God to salvation for everyone
  who believes, for the Jew first and also for the
  Greek (Rom. 116).
• For the word of God is living and powerful, and
  sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even
  to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints
  and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts
  and intents of the heart (Heb. 412).
• The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the
  soul The testimony of the Lord is sure, making
  wise the simple (Ps. 197).

12
4. Hold Gods word in high esteem

• Your word is a lamp to my feet
• And a light to my path (Psalm 119105).
• Princes persecute me without a cause,
• But my heart stands in awe of Your word (Psalm
  119161).

13
5. Store up Gods word in your mind

• And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall
  make you free" (John 832).

14
5. Store up Gods word in your mind

• Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit,
  returned from the Jordan and was led by the
  Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for
  forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate
  nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He
  was hungry. And the devil said to Him, "If You
  are the Son of God, command this stone to become
  bread." But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is
  written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but
  by every word of God.' " Then the devil, taking
  Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the
  kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

15
5. Store up Gods word in your mind

• And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I
  will give You, and their glory for this has been
  delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I
  wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me,
  all will be Yours." And Jesus answered and said
  to him, "Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written,
  'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him
  only you shall serve.' " Then he brought Him to
  Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,
  and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God,
  throw Yourself down from here. For it is written

16
5. Store up Gods word in your mind

• 'He shall give His angels charge over you,
• To keep you,'
• "and,
• 'In their hands they shall bear you up,
• Lest you dash your foot against a stone.' "
• And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been
  said, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.' "
  (Luke 41-12).

Psalm 9111-12
17
5. Store up Gods word in your mind

• 'He shall give His angels charge over you,
• To keep you,'
• "and,
• 'In their hands they shall bear you up,
• Lest you dash your foot against a stone.' "
• And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been
  said, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.' "
  (Luke 41-12). "It is written again..." (Matt.
  47).

18
6. Apply Gods word to your life

• But be doers of the word, and not hearers only,
  deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer
  of the word and not a doer, he is like a man
  observing his natural face in a mirror for he
  observes himself, goes away, and immediately
  forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks
  into the perfect law of liberty and continues in
  it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of
  the work, this one will be blessed in what he
  does (James 122-25).
• "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not
  do the things which I say?" (Luke 646).

19
How Will Gods Word - Hidden in My Heart - Help
Me to Avoid Sinning?

• 1. By imparting counsel concerning sin
• 2. By warning of punishment for sin
• 3. By relating promises for overcoming sin
• 4. By revealing God's love
• 5. By enjoining practical duties
• 6. By communicating spiritual strength

20
By Imparting Counsel Concerning Sin

• Blessed is the man
• Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
• Nor stands in the path of sinners,
• Nor sits in the seat of the scornful
• But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
• And in His law he meditates day and night. (Psalm
  11-2)

21
By Warning of Punishment for Sin

• For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of
  God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
  (Rom. 623)

22
By Relating Promises for Overcoming Sin

• Blessed is the man who endures temptation for
  when he has been approved, he will receive the
  crown of life which the Lord has promised to
  those who love Him. (James 112)

23
By Revealing God's Love

• In this the love of God was manifested toward us,
  that God has sent His only begotten Son into the
  world, that we might live through Him. In this is
  love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us
  and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our
  sins.... We love Him because He first loved
  us.... For this is the love of God, that we keep
  His commandments. And His commandments are not
  burdensome. (1 John 49-10,19 53)

24
By Enjoining Practical Duties

• Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is
  evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly
  affectionate to one another with brotherly love,
  in honor giving preference to one another not
  lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving
  the Lord rejoicing in hope, patient in
  tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer
  distributing to the needs of the saints, given to
  hospitality. Bless those who persecute you bless
  and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice,
  and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind
  toward one another. Do not set your mind on high
  things, but associate with the humble. Do not
  be...

25
By Enjoining Practical Duties

• ...wise in your own opinion. Repay no one evil
  for evil. Have regard for good things in the
  sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as
  depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
  Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather
  give place to wrath for it is written,
  "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.

26
By Enjoining Practical Duties

• Therefore
• "If your enemy is hungry, feed him
• If he is thirsty, give him a drink
• For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on
  his head."
• Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil
  with good. (Rom. 129-21)

27
By Communicating Spiritual Strength

• Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and
  in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor
  of God, that you may be able to stand against the
  wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against
  flesh and blood, but against principalities,
  against powers, against the rulers of the
  darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of
  wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take
  up the whole armor of God, that you may be able
  to withstand in the evil day, and having done
  all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded
  your waist with truth, having put on the
  breastplate of righteousness, and having shod
  your feet with the...

28
By Communicating Spiritual Strength

• ...preparation of the gospel of peace above all,
  taking the shield of faith with which you will be
  able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked
  one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the
  sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God
  praying always with all prayer and supplication
  in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with
  all perseverance and supplication for all the
  saints-- and for me, that utterance may be given
  to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make
  known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am
  an ambassador in chains that in it I may speak
  boldly, as I ought to speak. (Eph. 610-20)

29
Hiding Gods Word In Our Hearts

• Will we truly be able to keep from sinning?
• Yes! This is the reason John wrote his first
  epistle.
• My little children, these things I write to you,
  so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we
  have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ
  the righteous. (1 John 21)
• Will we be able to perfectly keep from sinning?
• Yes, if we perfectly apply these principles.