Tag Archives: Sin

Free to Sin?

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On the flip side of this freedom in Christ coin lays a very relevant question, which Paul specifically addresses in Romans 6:15: “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law, but under grace?” This is a very real issue, because if I’m truly free from law it seems like I should be able to do anything I want. Paul’s critics in fact accused him of teaching this very thing. But of course that’s not at all what Paul was saying. As we discussed earlier, he repeatedly warns against sin, saying that those who make it a practice of their life will not inherit the kingdom of God. Free to sin? Obviously not!

Time and again Paul made this point abundantly clear: “Do we then nullify [law] through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish [law].”(Romans 3:31) Of course we’re subject to obeying the law of God! But in what way then have we been freed from law? Are we merely responsible for keeping the moral aspects of law, while being freed from performing its rituals? How might one pick and choose what to obey and what to ignore? The Church has sought answers to these questions down through the centuries. But sadly, what they conclude often results in a whole new set of rules to conform to.

More law is obviously not the answer to being freed from law. But the question remains: how can we be subject to law and freed from law at the same time? Certainly a very difficult one to answer, don’t you think? Still, there is an answer—a very simple and straightforward one: in Christ we are dead to sin because we are dead to law. But until we actually understand what this means, it seems to raise more questions than it answers.

Obedience of Faith

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Not only has God freed us from the power of sin, but He has provided a means by which we can move past these problems. It’s God’s intention to build solid character in us as we submit to Him through “the obedience of faith.” And this takes time. So, don’t be overly disheartened by your sin as it inevitably comes. Rather, let your failures drive you to God so that He can use them to strengthen your resolve to live for Him.

            Each time we say no to sin, it makes it a little easier to say no the next time. Think of it as being like a cup of coffee. If you refill your cup with a shot of espresso each time you drink a little, soon the coffee will virtually be all espresso. It just keeps getting stronger and stronger. But if instead you add a bit of water each time you take a sip, the coffee will soon be diluted to the point of practically being all water.

So it is with sin. As we systematically resist sin, we just naturally set ourselves on the road to the victory. But while that’s important, it’s not enough. Because sin is primarily a heart issue, first and foremost is the issue of pursuing intimacy with Jesus as He dwells within us through His Spirit. We must remember that our spirit can draw life from God only when firmly attached to Him.

Ultimate Victory

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Failure to resist sin opened up some pretty significant questions for me: why would God give me instant relief from some sins while allowing others to remain? Why not just give me victory over all my fleshly weaknesses so I wouldn’t have any problem in wholeheartedly living for Him?

The answer is choice. Our confrontation with sin in the weakness of our flesh—not the least besetting sin—continually presents us with choices to make. It’s fundamental to God’s plan for us. He has set things up in such a way that, while there is certainly an immediate and absolute aspect of our redemption now, the final redemption our body is a future event.(Romans 8:23) So, even though we have His Spirit as a guarantee, we still have a rocky road to travel. And our choices along this difficult road tell the tale of our faith, or its lack thereof.

God has a solution to besetting sin. So we must never attempt to justify sin in our life—no matter how or when it might crop up. Sometimes we try to blame besetting sin on some sort of character flaw. But that’s not the real issue. Sure it’s a character flaw! But not in the way psychologists might define it—not as something we simply, by virtue of our nature, are never able to overcome.

Each and every one of us who comes to Christ has a deficiency in our character. And though it may take years to work through the difficulties resulting from such weakness, it’s important to understand that God never meant besetting sin to be a lifelong problem.

Besetting Sin

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What is probably the most confusing and disheartening of all challenges for a believer—besetting sin. This is the kind of sin that doesn’t happen just once or twice, but is a recurring problem in a believer’s life. You simply can’t seem to get over it! Beset is defined as “to trouble or harass.” And trouble and harass it does!

For me, as I experienced being born again and infused with the life and power of God, much of my sinful behavior seemed to simply drop off of me. I don’t know how to better describe it—I just didn’t have a problem with certain things anymore. I was delivered, to put it in Christian jargon.

But other weaknesses persisted in my nature, causing me to fall into the same sin over and over again. You might say, “Well, you had the choice.” Indeed I did have the choice each time temptation presented itself. But the problem was that I continued to make the wrong choice, because each time the temptation seemed so overwhelming.

Nonconformists

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Paul prefaces his message of being “transformed by the renewing of your mind” by first exhorting believers to “not be conformed to this world.” So resisting the devil and fleeing from temptation is a critical first step forward, no matter how many times we might fail in it.(James 4:7)

Admittedly this isn’t an easy thing to do, but one clear-cut benefit of failure is that disgust over it helps prod us toward the goal. And although we’ll probably never be perfect in resisting sin, we can’t let that keep us from trying. God is here to help, and things will get better each time we make the right choice.(1 Corinthians 10:13)

We must never allow sin to become an excuse for retreating from our pursuit of God. Let your sin drive you to God rather than away from Him. Believe me, He knows and understands you. And He’s more than willing to work with a repentant heart.(Psalm 103:12-14)

The devil does his best to deceive us into believing that we can’t come back to God until we’ve cleaned up our act. But we need to remember that the cross has stripped Satan of any actual power over our life.(Colossians 2:15) Ultimately, the devil only has the influence we allow him to have. He has no power to keep us from God, and we must never allow him to fool us into thinking that our sin somehow puts up a barrier between Him and us.

Choose Life

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My child, for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. It was for freedom that I set you free, therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Live in My peace. Walk in the freedom I have provided for you and have called you to. Don’t remain in the bondage of sin. Choose life!

2 Peter 2:19   Galatians 5:1

Law of the Spirit

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“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2) is an unalterable spiritual law. In Christ we are no longer condemned for sin. Rather, sin itself has become the culprit worthy of condemnation

The bottom line is that we need to start behaving like dead men—dead to law, that is (and as a consequence, dead to sin). This extraordinary life as believers is all about faith in what Jesus has done, regardless of the weakness of our flesh. Paul’s admonition in Colossians 2:6 says it all: “As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.”

When we were steeped in sin, we freely received God’s gift of grace. Now that we are saved, our job is not to try to appease Him by attempting once again to keep the law, but to live out our lives daily walking in the grace He has so abundantly provided. Only then can we enjoy the confidence that we are truly living a life of godliness.

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself

Take Care with Gifts

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Freedom from the power of sin is a phenomenal gift of God. But we need to be careful as we revel in it. Our death to sin, brought about by our freedom from law, has one purpose and one purpose only: that we might be endowed with the ability to pursue unfettered relationship with God—in spite of the weakness of our sinful nature.

Never is this freedom to be thought of as a license to sin. Rather, we have been joined to Christ “in order that we might bear fruit for God.”(Romans 7:4) The byproduct of being given this amazing privilege is that we now have the capacity to make good choices, whereas formerly we did not. We have freely and gloriously been given everything we need for our pursuit of Him.(2 Peter 1:3)

Where You Belong

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My child, I hear and answer your prayers. I give to all who open their hearts to Me to receive. I long to bless My children. I love you even in your struggles. Even when you sin. I continue to stretch out My hand to raise you up and bring you into My outstretched arms. don’t run from Me when you sin. Run to Me. I am your gracious Heavenly Father who longs to clothe you in righteousness and place the crown of life on your head. Come into the position of authority I have for you. Come home to Me, where you belong.

Faith Evidenced by Obedience

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To answer this question of the weakness of the flesh, we must look beyond the question of sin to the issue of faith. Faith is the basis for our relationship with God.(John 1:12, Ephesians 2:8) It is simply impossible to come into relationship with God without it.(Hebrews 11:6) Our faith is God’s supreme treasure, and our obedience to Him is the evidence that faith exists within us.

Paul talks about “the obedience of faith.”(Romans 16:26) In Romans 6:16 he tells us: “…when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness.” Therefore, obedience is the litmus test of faith—the proof that faith exists.

In the same way, disobedience clearly reveals the presence of unbelief. In talking about the Israelites’ sin in the wilderness, the writer of Hebrews says: “And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.”(Hebrews 3:18-19) Here sin and unbelief are inextricably linked.

Disobedience—sin—is born of unbelief. So when we sin, we prove that we harbor some level of unbelief in our heart. To test this hypothesis, just imagine how you would behave if Jesus, in all His glory, visibly appeared to you. Would you sin? Of course not! The last thing you would want to do is displease Him in any way. Unbelief would be totally eradicated, and therefore disobedience wouldn’t be an option at all.

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself