The real Christ never failed? But every one of His followers has. That’s why He had to come and purchase our redemption—buy us back from the bondage of sin.

You may respond, “But now that I’ve been redeemed, what if I fail?” You will. Just as surely as a baby learning to walk will fall, you “a babe in Christ” will fail. It will grieve you greatly to know that you have failed your Father and you fellow Christians. You will look to your Father, get up and try again. Each time that you fail it will hurt, but as you mature spiritually you will began to fail less often.

That being said, it must be understood that failure is not to be an accepted norm. Others should not expect it of you, and you should not expect it of yourself. God has provided for your success—for you to live without further failure. His Spirit indwells us and enables us to be successful.

Mature Christians should not fail. They are without excuse. Nevertheless after nearly 50 years I still fail. My failures are not nearly as often, or nearly as blatant, as when I was a novice, but they still grieve me greatly.

I have found that I’m prone to failure when I fail to maintain my spiritual condition. Just as surely as you must maintain you physical body or your car, you must maintain your spiritual self to be spiritually strong. I’ve found sincere worship and praise to be a must. Bible reading helps, but Bible study greatly helps. Once a Christian ceases to be a spiritual “babe”, he must began to seek outlets for the sincere desire to minister that he senses. Hopefully this desire will not be stifled by himself or others. We have a well of “living water” that makes great effort to flow from us to others. Doing these things consistently will go a long way in keeping you from failure.

Perfection! Complete sanctification! I’ve not arrived yet. I have failed my God, my wife, and my kids. I’ve had to ask them all for forgiveness. And yet, they love me in spite of my failures.