Sin's power is broken

In my last post, I shared on the Relentless nature of God.  I also discussed the power of TRUTH.  The past several years I've been in a process of removing lies and misunderstandings that I've accumulated over the years.  As time goes by, I've grown to have a greater understanding of the beauty of the the Gospel and the freedom that Christ offers us by His grace.

Remember the 4 characteristics of God discussed in Isaiah 9: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace?  The Lord really captured me in the past 2 years with the concept that He is not only my Everlasting Father, but is my loving Heavenly Father.  Now that I am secure in that I have been re-entering the Bible with fresh, free eyes and I have been astounded by how much "I see" that I've never seen or understood before.  Today I want to share on the concept of sin.

Sin is a popular word in Christian circles today.  It has been a huge focal point of most of my Christian experience.  I sinned again, what can I do differently, Lord will you forgive me, have you forgiven me?  When will I go too far for your grace?

I've read the book of Romans many times before, and in the past it has only seemed to reconfirm these fears of insecurity.  The Lord has been taking me through the book again, and I've realized that through my dissection of each verse, I have missed the story and the point of what Paul is trying to say. 

In the book of Romans, Paul is building a case to the Jewish people of why faith ALONE in Jesus Christ is where we should put our hope and trust.  However, if you stop him in the middle of his building a case, you end up missing the whole point of what he is trying to say.  For instance, try reading Romans 1 by itself.  Then, try reading Romans 2 by itself.  Then return and read Romans 1,2 and 3 all together and I guarantee you will leave with a whole different understanding.

Or take for instance, Romans 3:23 which we all know:  "All have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God."  But can you quote Romans 3:24 (I'd really like to know if you can)?  See verse 23 doesn't end with a period, it has a comma and reads on to say:

and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Why do we choose to memorize only 3:23 and not continue on to the Good News of verse 24?  Why do we have an obsession with sin instead of with grace?

Why, you say, because if we have an obsession with grace we will continue to sin. (Hmm, sounds somewhat familiar to Romans 6:1).  However, we do not need to bypass truth, or create a new truth to overcome sin.  Instead, shouldn't we try believing in and doing it God's way? 

Romans 6:10-12 (AMP)

 10For by the death He died, He died to sin [ending His relation to it]

once for all; and the life that He lives, He is living to God [in unbroken fellowship with Him].

11Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin

 and your relation to it broken,

but alive to God [living in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus.

Read it again.  Did you hear that?  Is that what you've been taught?  Do you consider yourself dead to sin?  Your relationship broken with it?  Is the primary identity you walk with is that you are alive in God, in UNBROKEN fellowship with Him?  That there is the point and the key!  Sin is no longer your master - you are dead to it - Christ is your master.  Do we still mess up sometimes? Yes, but that doesn't change the truth.  You are now dead to sin.  It does not come alive again because you mess up.

12Let not sin therefore rule as king in your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies, to make you yield to its cravings and be subject to its lusts and evil passions.

14 For sin shall not [any longer] exert dominion over you, since now you are not under Law [as slaves], but under grace [as subjects of God's favor and mercy].

According to the verses above, you have a choice to make about how sin operates in your mortal bodies.  You can choose to let it rule and reign, or you can realize that it has no dominion over you and therefore you can choose to live and walk according to grace.  Personally, I have found no better way to live, than to live in these truths.  If you want to live under the law, then only read Romans 2 & 7 because those descriptions will be the defining factors of your life.  You will constantly feel like you are failing, never measuring up and that God is always angry with you.  However, if you want to live under grace then read all of Romans and believe and apply Romans 3, 6 and 8.  This is the lifestyle that Christ purchased for you, that you would be dead to sin, that it would no longer be your master.  The truth is that you live in unbroken fellowship with your Heavenly Father and because of that you get to walk according to the Spirit and not the law.  So here is where people often trip up on grace- they think that if you live by grace you will not be holy.  However, God's design is for you to walk according to the Spirit (Romans 8).  If you choose to walk by the Spirit, you will end up fulfilling the law without even trying.  But if you try to FIRST live your life by the law and carry that burden on your shoulders you will constantly fail.  Why?

The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase (Romans 5:20). 

The point of the law is to show that you are a sinner.  So if you try to live your faith out by walking by the law instead of by the Spirit you will constantly be aware of the fact that you still sin and fail.

So stop having your constant fixation be upon sin, are you sinning, have you sinned, etc.  Sin is no longer your master.  You have died to it.  Instead, fix your eyes on Jesus Christ with whom you have unbroken fellowship!  Guess what?  By walking in fellowship with God through this life you will be walking in the true life that belongs to you.


In Christ,