Abide in Me

"Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God."1 John 4:15 

To abide in Christ means that we have accepted His free gift of salvation and that His Holy Spirit has come to live in us as His guarantee of redemption.  Abiding in Christ does not mean we can live a life free from sin nor does it mean we can remain in Christ by our own effort or strength.  We do not move in and out of Christ minute to minute, hour to hour, and day to day.  We are preserved in Him the moment we receive Him, from that day forward to the end.  However, as long as we're in this flesh we will continue to struggle to do what's right.  Sin remains a part of us until our dying day.  

Despite this, we are given these words from Hebrew 12:1-2, "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down as the right hand of the throne of God."