Overcoming Sin

Good morning,
 
The resistance of temptation, like almost everything else, begins in the mind. This is the battleground of the Saints, this is where victories are lost and won. The impulses of your body are mere aftershocks. The earthquake, if you will, takes place in the closed and private vestibules of your psyche. The child that steals candy from the neighborhood grocer first makes the determination in his or her mind, and then the action follows suit. And so it is, at this most critical juncture – the transference of the material body’s will over to the material body’s desires, that we need set up our defenses.
 
Defense Mechanism 1: Knowledge/Conscience
 
Most knowledge of good and evil is instinctual. It stems back from the metaphorical story of Adam and Eve. The first man ate of the forbidden fruit and was instantly given awareness of his surroundings, with this awareness came responsibility. One cannot be held accountable for one’s wrongs if one is unfamiliar with the bold, contrasting line between what is wrong and what is right. After indulging in the sweet fruit of the tree of good and evil, Adam and all his descendants became acquainted forever with sin or wrongdoing. Innocence was lost, and so we were born to imperfection as the scripture so plainly puts it. To conquer sin however, we must inundate ourselves with knowledge of the scripture and the law, which is the first step toward reconciliation with the Supreme Being. The inherent conscience which we are all born with is but a primitive and lowly guide to the light of salvation, and is insufficient to bring us to the clarity of truth. And so the Law was delivered by Yahweh to point out sin, and man received a blueprint of great value that would keep us at the very least within the parameters of His Will. Yet, even this was insufficient, law could not remove stain of sin but simply point it out, and so The Son of Man was sent to set man free from the snare with which he had so naively entangled himself.
 
Defense Mechanism 2: Love
 
Love conquers all. This is not a maxim without merit, and Yahshua proved it most of all by laying down His life to save us from certain doom. The Law could not perfect, and it is only by perfection that we can become reunited with Yahweh. The incorruptible nature of The Supreme Being cannot draw nigh unto the corruptible nature of man (which is why Yahshua called out “why hast thou forsaken me?” in the moments before his earthly demise). At that moment the sins of mankind were laid upon him and was wrapped up in His nature, and Yahweh had to step back from His beloved Son. The next step after knowledge of the Law is to obtain the Spirit of the Law. Some may ask what this means. Many people, especially in Christendom, have misinterpreted the words of the Apostle Paul when he said that we are not to live “under” the law. They take it to mean that the law is done away with, this in itself is a great contradiction of the Supreme Being who instituted law because He is an Elohim of order. Without law, there can only be chaos. Imagine the President of the United States announcing the constitution of the country has been made null and void, can you imagine the anarchy that would commence immediately? Is the law of Man more sacred than the Law of Yahweh? So when Paul states that the highest self – the super ego (to borrow a term) wants to be free from the law, he is simply putting into terms the reality of true conversion. Not breaking the law for fear of penalty is to live in a lower state than not breaking the law because you understand the concept of, and see the merit in it when it regards your fellow man. I do not refrain from robbing and stealing from others for fear of the jail cell, but because it is an unjust act. I do not serve Yahweh for reward after death, but because my service to Him is reasonable, appropriate and fitting seeing that it was He who has blessed me with life.
 
Defense Mechanism 3: Recognition of the Two Minds
 
There is a conflict inside each of us, I had wanted to say a war, but I realize that for some it is not a war any more. There belongs to every human being a higher self and a lower self which are constantly at odds with each other because their objectives are quite simply incompatible with each other. This is the battle of the Material Mind which we sometimes call the Flesh, and the Spiritual Mind which we often refer to as the Spirit. To conquer sin and to make impotent the force of temptation we must understand and manage these two minds. Think of it as a tug of war with regard to your will. The Material mind has always been there, it is that part of yourself which has been appropriated by and educated by the body. To see and reason and judge of life in the knowledge of the force which lies behind and creates all forms of matter is called the Spiritual Mind.  The winner of this tug of war is simply dependent on the one with the most brute strength. Strength comes by growth and sustenance. Everything you do in life, everything you watch, everything you listen to, everything you touch, every activity you indulge yourself in becomes food for either of these opposing minds. Nothing is neutral. And whichever one is fed the most will continually be in control of the tug of war. As I said in the opening sentence there are some who are not even in a war any longer, but their Spiritual Will has been made a P.O.W and simply serves the dominating material mind. The temptation of sin can only be conquered by the Spiritual Mind, and when the flesh is made weak, the spiritual mind can prevail more easily.
 
Conclusion
 
The goal of each Believer should be to get to the mountaintop of true conversion, and not just salvation. It is seeing the world through different lenses than we use today. That intense spiritual change can only occur when we shed our own corrupt nature: the id which is only a mass of instinctive drives and impulses. The mind of the newborn babe is regarded as being completely “id-ridden” because a newborn is only concerned with it’s own immediate satisfaction (hence all he crying). In order to conquer sin we must get to the level Yahshua lived His life at, it was self denial for the benefit of humanity, and an inherent desire to please and serve the Supreme Being. We sometimes wonder why we struggle with the same pitfalls repeatedly, and I put it to you that perhaps we have not fully come into the knowledge of full truth, even though we would so quickly declare that we have.
 
Marc Wellington
 
Scripture of The Day
2 Peter 2:8-9 (New King James Version)
 
(for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)— then Yahweh knows how to deliver the righteous out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment.
 
Quote of The Day
 
“There is no allurement or enticement, actual or imaginary, which a well disciplined mind may not surmount. The wish to resist more than half accomplishes the object.” – Charlotte Dacre 1782-1841 English Author 
 
Have a blessed day everybody!