Killing Sin
Killing sin is the focus of the Christ follower until the time they see Jesus face to face.
The author of Hebrews admonished,
Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness — without it no one will see the Lord.
Hebrews 12:14 (CSB)
One reason the Holy Spirit indwells us is to sanctify us. This is both a one time event and an ongoing process. When we come to Christ through repentance and faith, we are sanctified (set apart as holy) by the Holy Spirit. At the same time, we still have sin in our lives and fight against it. The Holy Spirit works in us the will to follow Christ and the ability to work to do so.(Philippians 2:12-13) He works to conform us into the image of Christ each day that we follow Him. This process will continue in the lives of disciples of Jesus until the day we see Him face to face. We respond to the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives by pursuing holiness and by repenting from sin when we fall.
The Puritan John Owen put it this way
Always be killing sin or it will be killing you.
John Owen
We are powerless in our fight against sin without the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work in our lives. We are also hindered if we neglect the Word of God which is the sword of the Spirit. We need to put on the full armor of God if we are to fight against sin (Ephesians 6:10-20).
Are you fighting sin on a daily basis? Are you pursuing holiness in your life? Are you responding to the Holy Spirit’s work in your life by practicing daily spiritual disciplines? Are you seeking to grow the fruits of the Spirit on your life?
These activities all contribute to seeking to kill sin in our lives and pursuing holiness.
Tim McKnight is the founder and President of McKnight Ministries©, the nonprofit parent of Engage Every Generation. He is an Associate Professor of Missions and Youth Ministry and Director of the Great Commission Center at Anderson University. Tim is on the speaking team for Clayton King Ministries. Also, he is the lead pastor and planter of a new church plant, Mosaic Church of Anderson. Tim is the author of No Better Gospel (2017), Engaging Generation Z (Kregel 2021), and editor of Navigating Youth Ministry (B&H Academic 2022).
Tim started ministry in 1991 and has served churches in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina as a youth pastor, associate pastor, and lead pastor. He holds a B.S. in Criminal Justice from Bluefield College, and a M.Div. and Ph.D. from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. His primary field of study for the Ph.D. was in evangelism, with additional studies in missions and church history. His dissertation was on The Theology and Methodology of Evangelism of George Whitefield.
He served as a US Army Chaplain in the Kentucky Army National Guard, deploying on Operation Noble Eagle (2001) and Operation Enduring Freedom (2002). He is a recipient of the Kentucky Army National Guard Distinguished Service Medal.
He is a husband to Angela, father to Micah, Noah, Karissa, and MaryAnna. The most important thing he would want you to know about himself is that he is a follower of Jesus Christ.
