Sin Will Not Have Dominion!

 "For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law but under grace..." -Romans 6:14

    There is a common unspoken belief amongst Christians that we cannot overcome sin. That somehow the victory that Jesus purchased is only enough to cleanse our sins yet not to give us power over them. I say unspoken because most would not openly admit to this belief, yet our actions agree to it. We go through life with this invisible sign on our backs that says "I will try my best to live a godly Christian life because since I was born in sin, all I can really do is try and because God knows I'm only human, He won't expect anything more from me." Yet the death and resurrection of Jesus did more than just wipe our slate clean. God not only defeated death and sin but also gave us believers the power to overcome those very sins which once enslaved us (1 Cor 6:11). And not just some small sins either, the cross gives us power over all manner of sins and bondage. What a wonderful revelation that is! However, you may be wondering how this is possible in your life. How can I practically position myself to overcome those stubborn sins. As we dive into the Scriptures, we will see 3 main keys to overcoming sin and walking in the abundant freedom available to all of God's children!

God's Word = Our Offensive Weapon

    Battles are fought with weapons. No soldier would dare to step foot on the battlefield without them for defeat would surely come. Yet so many of us try to battle against sin without so much as a sword in our hands. Is it therefore any surprise that we are struggling against former sins? The Scriptures are often described as a sword, an offensive weapon with which to attack our enemy. In Ephesians 6 Paul describes the Armor of God. The apostle culminates the description of this armor with this verse "And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God" (vs 17). Every piece (belt, shoes, helmet) prior to this verse has been defensive. But it is only until he comes to the Word of God that our weapon is now offensive. And this sword is what God has given us to fight in our battle against the enemy & sin. The perfect example of the weapon of the Word is in Matthew 4. When the enemy tempted Jesus in 3 different ways, the Lord responded with the same tactic each time..."It is written". To overcome sin we must know the Bible otherwise we will eventually fall into temptation. If we are to live a victorious Christian life, one that is free from sin and growing in grace, we must use the tools that God has given us. And the first one is the Word. 

                                                                                                                                                                      

Make Jesus Lord! 

    Reading, knowing, and mediating upon the Scriptures get us started on our war against sin yet we can't stop there. To truly defeat those stubborn sins in our lives (*that all of us have) we need to heed the admonishment of James who tells us to "be doers of the Word, and not hearers only" (Jas 1:22). So the second step towards freedom is to act upon what we have heard! If you're reading this post now chances are that you've already accepted the Lord Jesus as your personal Lord & Savior. And as amazing as that decision is, many of us stop there. But the Word is very clear, "Faith without works is dead" (Jas 2:26). It is NOT enough to believe the Scriptures internally without some sort of external action. True faith will always, without a doubt, birth change in our lives! One of the ways we show or manifest our faith in God's Word is by submitting to God's Will. Now submission is not something that comes naturally for us (Heb 5:8), especially in our weak areas. But submitting to what the Scriptures say is one of the ways that we make Jesus Lord over our lives and not just Savior. Furthermore this submission to the Father's will is something Jesus had to go through while on Earth. As He earnestly prayed in Gethsemane with drops of blood streaming down His face, Jesus modeled genuine submission for us with these words, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done" (Lk 22:42). Submission to the Lord, especially when it hurts, is the second tool in our fight against sin!

*Don't allow the enemy to lie to you and tell you that you are the only Christian that struggles with sin. All of us have at least 1 weakness that if we don't repeatedly reject could lead us into bondage.

Victory in resistance!

There is something noteworthy about those who persevere. Think of a marathon. Many start out strong and confident yet by the 20th mile, some may start to question their mental state when signing up for the race. We don't win the war against the "sins that so easily ensnare us" simply by refusing to indulge in them once. Rather true freedom is attained by continued resistance against whatever temptation the enemy offers us! It's not about what we do today only, but what we do day after day that really counts. We see this principle in the life of Joseph when tempted to sleep with Potiphar's wife. The Scriptures state,"And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her" (Gen 39:10). By this point Joseph had been rejected, betrayed, and sold into slavery. Even though Joseph (in the natural) had every reason and excuse to commit sin, he did not. And He repeatedly declined to fall into it. This is the final step in our victory, we must stand our ground. When it comes to opposing sinful habits, we must partner with the Holy Spirit to make a firm commitment to stay clean and reject sin. For only when we do so, can we experience the freedom purchased to us by Jesus death and resurrection!

Final Words...

Precious reader I want you to know two facts that are absolute truth. The first is that you mean the world to Jesus! Your thoughts, feelings, passions, and struggles are important to the Him. You are not just another body in the timeline of eternity. You are special, unique, and most of all loved by your Heavenly Father! Believe, trust, and internalize this truth in your heart once and for all. The second is that because the Lord loves you, He is more than willing to help you in your fight against sin! HE WILL HELP YOU. We need only ask! If you only knew the breadth and scope of the Lord's compassion for you. For every single time you hurt, our Father does too. As I say my farewell, I want you to take some time and meditate on the following verse and as you do, I pray that the Lord's love would become more real to you than the words on this page... 

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses" (Heb 4:15)

An example to illustrate...

Let's say you are struggling with gossip. You've told yourself that you're going to stop. You do okay for a few days until the moment you hear some really juicy news about your neighbor and you can't wait to tell your friends all about it. Yet the high is short lived. The Holy Spirit convicts you and you repent. But a few weeks later the cycle begins again. 

Now let's apply what we've learned. The first step to fight this sin is to renew the mind! So we look for Scriptures that contradict our desire to gossip. Verses such as Ephesians 4:29, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths". We make the choice to meditate on this verse while trusting the Holy Spirit to do a work in our hearts and minds. Step two is to make a conscious decision of giving this area of our lives to the Lord. It's as simply as saying "Lord, I surrender my words to You. Help me to overcome any gossip in my life." Finally we resist by taking a solid stance against indulging in even the slightest bit of gossip. This may mean distancing ourselves from certain individuals or situations in which we feel tempted to sin. Yet in each of these 3 steps outlined, we rely on the Holy Spirit's strength (not our own efforts) to overcome sin!