The good news is that God makes His resurrection power available to us to walk in victory over sin. Unfortunately, many people think of this as automatic and do not take aggressive efforts to guard themselves.  

I’ve heard people emphasize that when it comes to victory over sin, that it’s all about Jesus. Then they say it’s not about our effort; rather, it’s all about what Jesus does for us. But there’s a problem. When we read the Bible, we see that God actually does tell us to do things.

Yes, nothing we can do can earn our salvation. And certainly, our greatest need is to love Jesus, and to call upon the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to obey Him.

But God’s Word never says, “Since you’re a sinner, there’s no reason to expend effort to gain victory over sin.” On the contrary, Paul says, “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me” (Colossians 1:29).

Consider what God tells us in 2 Peter 1:3 about God’s part and our part in the Christian life. Our part is secondary, but that doesn’t mean it’s unnecessary: “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”

If God has given us everything we need, there’s nothing left for us to do, right? Well, to get to know Him better we must study His Word, gather with His people, pray, ask for His enlightenment and empowerment, and develop the habit of obedience. Even though we will fall, we are to confess and repent and call upon Him for help. Verse four says: “Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”

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