No Deliberate Sinning

 

What then? Shall we sin …

—from Romans 6:15

If you wake up in the morning, begin the routine of your day, and intentionally plan to sin that day, please stop. That’s right. I said: “Please, stop!” It doesn’t matter how much you enjoy a particular sin. It doesn’t matter if you think that sin really isn’t all that important. If you are one who follows Jesus, then deliberate sinning should not be a part of your life.

Will you ever be absolutely free from sin as long as you live in this current world? No. Why? Because we have inherited the sin nature from Adam, passed down to us through our parents. We will never be totally free from the alluringly draw of sin. But, we can control the degree to which we allow ourselves to sin on purpose. Notice what the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 6:15:

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!

Jjust because Jesus died to forgive our sins, we do not have a license to continue sinning. Yes, our sins are covered by His blood. But, that is no reason to set about to sin each day. In fact, as we begin another day, we do well if we determine, as much as we can by relying on the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, to set aside the sins that so easily entrap us. The Holy Spirit will help us avoid deliberate sins, if only we would allow Him to do so.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

A New Master

 

For sin shall not be your master …

—from Romans 6:14

Who’s your boss? Not in the sense of the person you report to at your place of employment. But, I’m asking:

“Who rules your life? Who controls what you do, what you say, even what you think?”

You may answer by saying:

“Why, I do! I am in control of my life. I do what I want, say what I want, and think what I want.”

But, do you? Do you really? For example:

• If you are a man who sees an unusually pretty woman walk past you, when you look at her, what thoughts pop into your mind? Later, when you see her again from a distance, what does you mind recall about your first reaction to seeing her?
  
  
• If you are a woman and you see another woman walk by in an outfit that really makes a fashion statement, when you turn to look at her, what thoughts immediately jump to the forefront of your thinking? How long do you stare at her, taking in every detail? Do you imagine what you might look like in that same outfit? Do you wonder what that outfit might cost? Do you wish you had seen it first and that you were the one parading around town looking so special?
  
  

In both of these examples, the power in control of our natural minds is sin. Yes, sin. Why?

• In the first example, the sin of lust has prompted certain thoughts that most men will never acknowledge, but which are nearly always present. In fact, most men have learned to delight in those thoughts, cherish them, and even encourage them. Some men even believe that, if they did not have those thoughts, they wouldn’t be a normal man. The sin of lust is the all-pervasive and most commonly powerful sin in the life of a human male.
  
  
• In the second example, the sin of covetousness has prompted certain thoughts that most women will never acknowledge, but which are nearly always present. In fact, most women have learned to delight in those thoughts, cherish them, and even encourage them. Many women believe that, if they did not have those thoughts, they wouldn’t be a normal woman. The sin of covetousness is the all-pervasive and most commonly powerful sin in the life of a human female.
  
  

In each example, sin is in control of our minds and hearts. We were born with a sin nature, inherited from our parents, who inherited it all the way back to Adam and Eve. That sin nature seeks to control every aspect of our lives. But, there is good news. The Apostle Paul wrote these words, found in Romans 6:14:

For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

With the coming of Jesus, through His birth, life, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension, He conquered sin, death, and Satan. Christ won the victory, paid the penalty for our sins, set us free from sin’s control of our lives, and vouchsafed our place with Him for all eternity.

As we begin a new day, we can choose to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us away from sin. We can set aside these normally pervasive sins and embrace a totally new way of life—a life of freedom and victory. Thanks be to our God, who has given us the victory through our precious Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

A Word from the Apostle Paul - Part Two

 

… while we wait for the blessed hope …

—from Titus 2:13

As I mentioned at the beginning of yesterday’s blog post, nearly everyone likes to receive letters, or emails, or Facebook posts, or Tweets, or Instagram posts, or by whatever means one receives communications from his or her loved ones today. Certainly, the young minister, Titus, always looked forward to communications, just like we do today.

I also suggested yesterday that Titus particularly perked up when he received communication from his mentor, the Apostle Paul. In fact, the words that Paul wrote to Titus—along with the two letters we still have of Paul’s correspondence with Timothy—remain cherished today by God’s choice servants. We often refer to these three books in the New Testament as the “Pastoral Epistles.” Paul is teaching Titus and Timothy how to be the best possible pastors they can be.

Today’s blog post consists of the second part of a crucially important paragraph that Paul wrote to Titus. And, these are words that we should revere and welcome in our own lives this day. The passage is found in Titus 2:13-14, where Paul writes these words:

… while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

As Paul concludes this important paragraph in his letter to Titus, he points us to the ultimate victory that the birth, life, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ have given to us: the forgiveness of our sins and our hope of eternal life with Him. As followers of Jesus, we are, in fact, in the process of being sanctified—or, “made holy.” And, God has planted within us the desire and ability to do good works in His name, as well as for the sake of His Kingdom. We do what we do as “Christ’s-ones” because of what God has done in us through Jesus. All that we are and all that we have has come to us as a precious gift from God.

As we begin a new day, let’s make certain we recognize how very fortunate we are that God has chosen to pour out His love on us and make us His dearly cherished children. And, let us also recognize what a wonderful privilege we have to take that God-breathed agape love and share it with everyone who crosses the pathway of our lives.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

A Word from the Apostle Paul - Part One

 

For the grace of God has appeared …

—from Titus 2:11

Everyone likes to receive letters, or emails, or Facebook posts, or Tweets, or Instagram posts, or by whatever means one receives communications from their loved ones today. Certainly, the young minister, Titus, always looked forward to such communications, just like we do today.

Titus particularly perked up when he received communication from his mentor, the Apostle Paul. In fact, the words that Paul wrote to Titus—along with the two letters we still have of Paul’s correspondence with Timothy—remain cherished today by God’s choice servants. We often refer to these three books in the New Testament as the “Pastoral Epistles.” Paul is teaching Titus and Timothy how to be the best possible pastors they can be.

Today’s blog post consists of the first part of a crucially important paragraph that Paul wrote to Titus. And, these are words that we should revere and welcome in our own lives this day. The passage is found in Titus 2:11-12, where Paul writes these words:

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age…

Here, Paul distills in these few words the very essence of the gospel—the good news—of the life-transforming power of the living Lord Jesus Christ. This is why we call ourselves “Christ’s-ones” or “Christians.” We do so because of the change that God has brought into our lives through His precious Son. Furthermore, God has given us His Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts and minds, and to lead us along the pathway that God has laid out before us.

As we begin a new day, let’s celebrate the fact that God has given us the ability to bend our selfish human wills to His divine and perfect will. We can truly say: “No!”—to all ungodliness and choose to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Kick Sin Off the Throne

 

… count yourselves dead to sin …

—from Romans 6:11

One of the great blessings of receiving God’s gift of salvation, through His precious Son, Jesus, is the fact that the Holy Spirit comes to live within the depths of our being. The Holy Spirit willingly grants us His guidance for all four of our human modalities: emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and physical. We only need to bend our selfish and flawed natural human wills to His divine, perfect, and loving will.

By consistently bending our wills to God’s will, we place God on the throne of our lives. When he occupies this critical place in us, there is no room for anything, or anyone else, to have that special place. Notice what the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 6:11-12:

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.

By yielding to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and by obediently following God’s will for us, we can kick sin off the throne of our lives. We can live in such a way that we will consistently honor God’s love and His Presence in us, through us, with us, and around us.

As we begin another new day, we can rejoice that, with God’s help, we can significantly reduce the sin that naturally occurs in our lives. Will we ever be perfectly free from sin while we remain alive on this earth? Sadly, no. But, we can consistently overcome besetting sins by allowing God to give us His strength, His courage, and His persistence. After all, our obedience to God’s written Word, and thus our obedience to His will, is the only thing He asks of us to demonstrate our love for Him.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Straight Ahead

 

The person of integrity walks securely …

—from Proverbs 10:9

No building in the United States has as complicated a pattern of corridors as does the Pentagon building in Arlington, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. If ever a person could become lost for hours, it would be when trying to navigate from one place in the Pentagon building to another. I’ve experienced that trauma first hand. According to that secular “fountain of knowledge,” Wikipedia:

The Pentagon is one of the world’s largest office buildings, with about 6,500,000 sq ft, of which 3,700,000 sq ft are used as offices. Approximately 23,000 military and civilian employees and about 3,000 non-defense support personnel work in the Pentagon. It has five sides, five floors above ground, two basement levels, and five ring corridors per floor with a total of 17.5 miles of corridors.

Of course, most people who work in this building get to know the general area within which they work. However, if they have to navigate to an unfamiliar portion of the building, they too, find themselves stopping frequently to study diagrams in order to find their way.

Sometimes, life reminds me of the Pentagon building. It’s easy, oh so easy, to get lost along the pathway of life. It’s important to find the right pathway and, then, to keep moving forward straight ahead. In that regard, King Solomon offered these wise words, as recorded in Proverbs 10:9:

The person of integrity walks securely, but the one who takes crooked paths will be found out.

Part of moving straight ahead involves an individual applying the personal integrity to choose the straight path. Every day we face choices. A few times, the “right” choice is completely obvious. Most other times, we need the help of the Holy Spirit to make certain we stay on the right path and keep moving straight ahead.

As we begin another new day, let’s pray and ask God to give us clear direction for this day. He will surely help us, by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, to make exactly the proper choices for each new day. How grateful we can feel, knowing that God’s love includes making certain we have the opportunity to make proper choices, day after day after day.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

In Close Proximity

 

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous …

—from Joshua 1:9

When firefighters enter a burning building wearing self-contained breathing apparatus, we teach them to stay in close proximity to one another by keeping their hand on the shoulder of the firefighter walking ahead of them. They might also pull with them a rescue rope tied around the waist of each firefighter. Why do we take these steps? Because we know that keeping in close proximity is a key to safety when entering an unknown space. Often the smoke and hot gases in the building on fire have made it nearly impossible to see clearly what dangers might exist ahead.

The truth is that every day we “Christ’s-ones” walk into unknown, potentially dangerous spaces. We call these danger-filled spaces: “another new day.” We never know what lies just around the next corner of our lives. We truly need to step forward boldly and courageously. To do so, we need to feel the close proximity of the Holy Spirit. He holds the safety rope wrapped around our hearts. Please note these words from God, as recorded in Joshua 1:9:

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

As we begin yet another new day, let us take these words of God, spoken to His servant, Joshua, and appropriate them for our own lives. For surely we know that God is the same today as He was in the days of Joshua. He will give us courage. He will give us strength. He will be with us wherever we go. We simply need to stay in close proximity to Him.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}