Free from the Power of Sin

by David Leach
(Temecula,Ca USA)

Free from the Power of Sin

Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you…
Jesus not only died to pay the penalty for our sin, He also died to deliver us from the power of sin over our lives. But just as we by faith had to believe the first part is true in order to receive the forgiveness of all our past sins, so too, we have to believe with all our heart – and continue to believe – the second part, for freedom from the power of sin to become a reality in our lives. A mental understanding of this truth will not be sufficient. And if this truth of God’s word is not actively proclaimed, there can be no faith in the heart to believe it (Rom. 10:17). Consider these verses of Scripture:

Matt 1:21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save (make safe – not just forgive) his people from their sins." NLT

John 1:29 Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

The power of sin resides in my human nature, my flesh – my sin nature, the “old man”

Rom 7:17 …it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me (in my flesh).

Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.

Jesus died not only for sin, but to sin in the flesh or sinful human nature – for us!

Rom 8:3 What the Law could not do, because human nature was weak, God did. He condemned sin in human nature by sending his own Son, who came with a nature like our sinful nature, to do away with sin. GNT

Rom 6:10 For the death that He died, He died to sin (in the flesh) once for all…

This death to (the power of) sin becomes mine, too, when I believe I am joined with Jesus in His death to it – and continue to believe it everyday

Rom 6:11 Likewise you also, reckon (count it as done, believe) yourselves to be dead indeed (truly) to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Rom 6:6 …knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live; yet not I but Christ lives in me.

But – this is the key – I must:
• Truly want to be made free from sin and its power over me – with rigorous honesty
• Love God more than my sin – and be truly sorry for the dominion it’s had over me
• Receive a word from God (like above) in my heart, promising me this freedom
• Believe the truth now and every day – by reaffirming it – I am dead indeed to sin, in Christ. This is taking up my cross daily and presenting my body a living sacrifice.

Only those who have done this and continue to believe they are dead to sin are truly His and will be with Him at His coming. Gal 5:24 Those who are Christ’s (those who truly belong to Him) have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (its will – by truly believing & acting like I am dead to it). 1 Cor 15:23 ...those who are Christ's at His coming.

1 John 3:5-6 …in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin…

Rom 6:7-8 For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ…

CHRIST LIVES IN ME (Andrew Murray’s devotional Feb 4)

“ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me”.
Galatians 2:20

In these words, Paul expresses three great thoughts. The first of these finds expression in the words "I have been crucified with Christ." When Christ died upon the cross, all of God’s people were identified with Him and included in that death. As we all died in Adam and inherited his sinful nature, so we all have been crucified together with Christ.

Moreover, the power of His death now works in us daily. In Christ we have died to sin, so that we can live to God. Our union with Christ is total and dynamic, in that the power of His death and His life are both active in us. Paul's second thought is, "I no longer live." Having participated in Christ’s death, he was able to say that. This is also the truth for every believer.

My life has been given up to death on the cross of Christ. By faith, I see my old life, lived under the sentence of death, as now ended. While it may still reside and be able to operate within my sinful human nature, I have been set free in Christ, so that I am no longer obliged to serve sin. The third thought expressed here by Paul is, "Christ lives in me."

Herein lies the secret of living a Christ like life. Christ was not only crucified for me. Nor does He live in heaven only to intercede for me. He actually lives in me! As His Father lived and worked in Him, so Christ now lives and works in us. Take time to meditate on this. Allow the Holy spirit to cause these words to live within you, and to gloriously manifest Christ in you.