Deliverance From Sin
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Deliverance From Sin
Romans 6:14
For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
Salvation is a Deliverance
Christians have been delivered from sin to righteousness and Salvation is about a change of who and what rules over us. Prior to Salvation we are held captive by sin. After Salvation are joined to the resurrected Christ and empowered to live and overcoming life.
Prior to Salvation, Sin holds the position of our Master. It alone rules and we, by our own power, cannot free ourselves. The power of sin is found is greater than behavior; it power is not in what we do, but in who and what we are. Many can change their behavior but none can change what they are. This is why Salvation is a deliverance; we are delivered from one identity to another, from death to life, and from being joined to Adam to being joined to Christ. Salvation takes us from the stronghold of sin and death, and delivers us into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ which is a Kingdom of righteousness and life. Listen to Colossians 1:13-14
Col 1:13-14
13) He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
14) in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Christ Our Deliverer
To understand our victory over sin we must first understand the nature of our relationship with Christ. If we are born-again then we are not separate from Him but we are joined to Him. In fact, we are a New Creation created in Christ Jesus; our very identity is in Him. In Him we have a new heart, a new spirit, and the Scripture says that the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Apart from Him, or independent from Him, we have nothing. All our spiritual victories are victories we enjoy as the result of His redemptive work for us, and in us. Deliverance from the bondage of sin to the ministry of grace is but one of His redemptive victories for His people.
Dead to Sin Alive to God
In Christ we are dead to sin and alive to God. He is the only one who is dead to sin, and He is the only one who is alive to God. We become dead to sin by being joined to Him. We have no independent standing with God. It is as we are in Christ that we are dead to sin and alive to God. Listen to Romans 6:9-11.
Rom 6:9-11
9) Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
10) For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
11) Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Victory Over Sin is by Grace
It is the graceful work of Christ that makes us free. He, by His death, defeated sin for us. He is our freedom and our victory over sin and over its power. The Scriptures tell us that just as Christ is dead to sin and alive to God, that we are to see ourselves as dead to sin and alive to God. Notice that the Lord says to "reckon" ourselves dead to sin. In this is a great victory for our freedom is found by reckoning the victory of another to ourselves! The Scripture says to reckon it so, meaning to count it as true; we are to accept what God says. No where are we told we are dead to sin if we are able to stop sinning. No, we are told to stop sinning because we are dead to sin which means our victory over sin is found, not in ourselves, but in Christ's redemptive work .
You Are Not Under Law But Under Grace
We are no longer under the Law for the Law is no longer external to us but it is written in our heart. A born-again Christian lives a godly lifestyle because he/she is inwardly motivated toward holiness. God is holy and those born of Him grow in holiness. But this is what grace is about, it is about growing in the Lord. It is about learning to follow Him, learning to be obedient, and learning to love Him. It is the grace of God that has brought us into fellowship with Him and it is by grace that anyone is able to maintain their faith.
Salvation is by Promise
Romans, the 4th chapter, tells us that Salvation is by promise so that it will be sure. If Salvation depended on my ability to be good enough then the chance failure would be great. But because Salvation is by God's promise then God Himself has given us the assurance that He will perform the necessary work to make our Salvation sure. This is why we are dead to sin through another. Imagine if the Lord based His work of redemption on my ability to quit sinning. I would be lost for sure. But, in Salvation by Grace, I am given victory over sin and then told that the power of God will be in me to help me live a good and holy life. But never does the Lord say that my death to sin is apart from Christ. The bedrock of my victory over sin is the fact that Jesus Christ is dead to sin and alive to God and I am joined to Him, and therefore, I am dead to sin and alive to God.
He Who Glories, Let Him Glory in the Lord!
1Co 1:30-31 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
31) That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
Jesus is the One who makes us right with God. Remember, we have been MADE right with God. Rejoice that you have a Savior who is able and willing to make you right with God.
God bless you,
Jim