Saints are No Longer Slaves to Sin

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). Some people only think of God’s wrath. They believe He’s fuming at the world from heaven, looking forward to the day He’ll finally execute judgment on man and this sinful world; no! God isn’t concerned about sin as many think. He was concerned about sin, and His concern made Him send Jesus.

Today, the emphasis is no longer on the wages of sin, which is death, but on the gift of God, which is eternal life through Christ Jesus (Romans 6:23). God wants the world to receive the salvation which He already made available in Christ Jesus. The Bible says He’s unwilling that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). When Jesus died on the Cross, the problem of sin was dealt with forever. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ brought an end to sin and brought us into the life of righteousness: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). God isn’t mad at you; He settled the sin-problem in, and through Jesus Christ. Now you can appreciate why He said, “…sin shall not have dominion over you…” (Romans 6:14). What you need do is trust His righteousness; trust what Jesus came to do! You’re the fruit—the result of Christ’s redemptive work. Accept and walk in His righteousness, and live continually in His love, glory, and grace.
2 Corinthians 5:19 says, “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.” Think about it: God isn’t even mad at the sinner, let alone you that are His offspring! Therefore, rejoice and be glad; your heavenly Father loves you and never holds you accountable for your sins. The Bible says, “…If, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life” (Romans 5:10). How gracious and kind He is! Some Christians make statements like, “As long as you’re in this body, you’re prone to sin,” but that’s not what the Word teaches. To believe and talk that way is to derogate the salvation Jesus brought to us, and denigrate its power. 1 John 2:1 says, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” The underlined portion of the preceding verse lets us know that it’s not compulsory to sin. Part of it says, “…if any man sin,” not “…when any man sin.” Sin is no longer a factor. The Bible says, “…whosoever is born of God sinneth not…” (1 John 5:18). It is possible not to sin, otherwise, the Apostle John wouldn’t have said so. You need to understand how God sees you, following the redemptive and substitutionary work of Christ. Colossians 1:21-22 makes it clear. It says, “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight.” He’s made you holy, blameless, and unreprovable. You didn’t attain this by your actions but in Christ Jesus. No wonder He says in 1 Peter 2:9 (AMPC), “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God’s] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” He called you out of darkness, to set forth His wonderful deeds, and display His virtues and perfections. He didn’t just say you should walk in perfection, but to display and manifest His glory and virtue. He’s called you to walk in divine excellence and manifest the fruits and works of righteousness. That’s the life of a Christian. Glory to God! Too many are enslaved by the memories of their past. They could be cheerful one moment and depressed the next, all because they remembered something they did in the past. But did you know that from the moment you were born again, your past ceased to exist? 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “…if any man be in Christ, He is a new creature, old things are passed away, behold, all things have become new.” The Christian is a new creation, and the new creation has no past; he never existed before. Your old nature, the old you and everything about your earthly, natural human life was supplanted by the life and nature of God at the New Birth. When God looks at you now, He doesn’t see an old, wretched, struggling “sinner saved by grace”; rather, He sees Christ, because you’re in Christ. And in Christ, you’ve been made righteous; you’re the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Something so extraordinary that Jesus accomplished for us is the remission of sins. Our sins—past, present, and future—were remitted ever before we came into Christ; this was legal. But we came into the vital experience when we were born again. So, even when you remember a past mistake and you feel bad and ask God to forgive you over and over again, He doesn’t have the record; He doesn’t remember. Speaking to Israel, concerning this new covenant, He said, “…their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17). Do you think He’d relate to us any less, considering that we’re fruits of this new covenant, established upon better promises? Christ Jesus paid the full penalty for sin in His death on the Cross. The Bible says it was necessary that Christ should suffer for our sins (Luke 24:46), and now we walk in the newness of life. Romans 6:4 says, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” You’re forever blameless in the sight of God because Jesus died to “…present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight” (Colossians 1:22)