To teach that a man could not sin if he wanted to is unscriptural and unreasonable, for we all know that if a person wants to sin, he can sin. But it is scriptural and reasonable to teach that a man can have so much of the grace of God in his heart that he has no desire to sin. The beauty of the thing is that he doesn’t have to sin if he doesn’t want to. If a man had to sin whether he wanted to or not, that would make the devil a success and would make God a failure. If the devil could put something in your heart that God couldn’t take out, then the devil would be more powerful than God. In that case, there would be no person on earth who could be saved, for if God cannot undo in you what the devil has done in you, you would be a lost soul and doomed above ground.
Thank God, the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s blessed Son, can cleanse from all sin and can purify your heart, making you a holy and clean soul. You can get so much grace that you don’t want to sin and don’t have to. That is beautiful and glorious, and a truth as big as the mountains and as everlasting as God himself.
If the American church members were as afraid of sin as they are of holiness, every one of them would go sweeping through the gates, washed in the blood of the Lamb, to join the blessed blood-washed army on the shores of eternal deliverance.
Worldly church members? Millions of them. Worldly Christians? Not one on the face of the globe! The least religion that a man can have to have any at all is the new birth, and the Book says that “whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin,” and if that is so, and thank God it is, then the new birth stops the sin business.
A worldly woman in the church, out for the evening, drives in a fine auto with a pug-nosed bulldog in her lap, a cigarette in her mouth, a chain around her neck, a few dog collars around her arms, and the devil’s stirrups in her ears, and her mouth painted red. Gentlemen, that woman looks to me like she needs a lot of changing.
Here is a beautiful lesson by Dr. A. O. Hendricks on Acts 11:26.
The characteristics of a real Christian are:
1. He is a child in relationship.
2. He is a disciple in knowledge a learner sitting at the feet of Jesus.
3. He is a friend in fellowship a friend is one who knows all about you and loves you still.
4. He is a saint in character.
5. He is a soldier in conflict.
6. He is a pilgrim in progress never camping two nights in the same place.
7. He is a missionary in spirit reaching out to the whole world.
8. He is an heir in prospects the prospects of a Christian are glorious.
The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.
Robinson, Reuben A. (Bud). The Collected Works of 'Uncle Bud' Robinson (Kindle Location 4634-4660). Jawbone Digital. Kindle Edition.