And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28: 18-20

Be HOLY.

The world desires you to believe that loving like Jesus means you must be accept the sin in people’s lives as part of who they are. And there is absolutely some truth in the idea that it is part of who they are. We are sinners. Jesus came to pay the debt for our sin, and he welcomes us with open arms right where we are, but he doesn’t ask us to stay there. In fact, he asks us to do quite the opposite.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life, set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

 

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

 

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

Romans 8: 1-11 NIV

There is one key factor in our ability to live according to the Spirit and not to our sinful nature, and that is our faith in Jesus Christ. If you have not humbled yourself and accepted the gift of salvation and the forgiveness of your sins, it is impossible to live a life according to the Spirit.

It’s not enough to just be a good person. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.”

It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit given to us when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, that we are able to make lasting change in our life.

Romans 8 continues on to say…

Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation – but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Romans 8: 12-17 NIV

Let us not think that we are somehow exempt from this command is only for others who may be partaking in sinful lifestyles you disagree with. It is for you, and it is for me.

There is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Romans 3:23-24

Some would argue that because Jesus came to die for our sins one and for all that somehow that means the law no longer applies to us, but Jesus himself teaches differently.

Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the Law till all is fulfilled.

 

Whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them. he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:17-20

Does this mean that we somehow never sin again? Absolutely not, but we are commanded to turn away from our sin once we have been made aware of our sin. 

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12: 1-2