February 4

“My soul shall make her boast in Jehovah.” Psalm 34:2

We boldly claim that sin is beneath our feet, yet we tremblingly confess that as long as we live we may readily fall again. These contrasting experiences run parallel throughout the Scripture and are integral to our Christian life. The trouble is that we are apt to give our attention to only one of the two.

There are, on the one hand, some very strong, almost extreme words of confidence in Scripture: “God . . . always leadeth us in triumph," and “sin shall not have dominion over you.”

These are bold, boastful affirmations. Yet the same people who say these things also say with the utmost humility: “l am chief of sinners," and “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves.” If these opposite statements are to be reconciled, then we must conclude that the two experiences together comprise the life of the Christian. We must know Christ’s fullness, but we must also know our own corruption.