Many people wonder whether it is truly possible to live like Christ—without sinning. Yes, it is possible when Christ sets you free. But Christ only sets you free when your whole heart genuinely desires it—with purity and sincerity.

In the book of Acts, when Saul of Tarsus—who would become Paul—was struck down on his way to persecute Christians in Damascus, he was blinded by Jesus Himself. Then, “for three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything” (Acts 9:9). The Word of God also says that Paul was praying to regain his sight (Acts 9:12). Saul had fallen. When he rose again, he was no longer the same. He had become Paul, a new creation.

When you are in Christ, you become a new creation. You take off sin—the cloak of Satan—and put on the cloak of the Lamb, Jesus. This is the mystery of salvation, which never happens without true repentance. Don’t be deceived: if you fall into sin and rise again without any change, you have merely made a false confession, a false repentance, a false conversion.

This is what happens to many Catholic Christians. They confess their sins only partially. They have multiple confessors and don’t want a certain priest to hear a certain sin. Some even polish up their sins with a sugarcoated version that they hide from the priest—and believe they’re hiding from God. Greed! No, that is not confession. It’s a religious formality. Every act of confession that lacks sincerity becomes and remains a mere religious ritual, in which the Holy Spirit—the Universal Commander—does not participate.

Are you among those who confess their sins even though, deep down, they know they will go right back to them? “Father, forgive me, for I slept with my boyfriend/girlfriend.” But you take no steps to stop living in adultery. That will lead you straight to hell.

That is why Jesus allowed Paul to go through three days of crisis—a desert. Because every genuine communion with Christ begins with or passes through a crisis. Paul fasted for three days, blind, and when his heart became sincere, Ananias laid hands on him. Then he asked Barnabas to baptize him. Paul’s heart was sincere when he asked to unite with Christ through baptism. From that moment, he was joined to the spirit of the apostles. The spirit of the world left him.

True communion with God separates you from the spirit of the world. Everything that attracts worldly people becomes distasteful to you. Your priorities are completely reshaped. The Mass or church service no longer feels too long, and the Bible or biblical messages are no longer boring.

If you are in Christ and still feel drawn to nightclubs, to women or men, to luxury, gossip, stealing, lying, manipulation—or if you’re unwilling to return what you stole or repair what you destroyed; if you hide your sins instead of exposing them and using them as testimony to build up the Church—then you are living in iniquity. Hell awaits you after church.

If you are one of those Christians who want to leave sin behind but have never been able to truly part with it, even though you genuinely want to—through this message, you will understand why Jesus has never personally visited you. There are also those who once received Jesus, but then fell away.

By reading this message attentively and opening your heart to the redemptive power of the Holy Spirit, you will surely understand why the devil eventually got the better of you. One day you’re with Jesus, the next day with Satan. Your life must be like that of the first Christians: they remained in Christ. All of them went through five stages. The steps to genuine communion with God are like the five fingers of the hand:

Step 1: The Thumb – Acknowledge that you are a sinner;
Step 2: The Index Finger – Confess all your sins;
Step 3: The Middle Finger – Radically and totally abandon sin in all its forms;
Step 4: The Ring Finger – Make restitution or restoration;
Step 5: The Little Finger – Submit yourself…

This text is an excerpt from the book “How to Commune with God?” written by Jean-Paul Marie (Pastor Samuel Binyou).

We invite you to read the next article: “THE TOTAL AND RADICAL ABANDONMENT OF SIN.”

LIVE IN THE IMAGE OF CHRIST. LIVE IN THE IMAGE OF CHRIST. LIVE IN THE IMAGE OF CHRIST.