It’s important to understand that we’re not addressing the question, “Have you quit sinning?”. Keeping track of how long it’s been since you last sinned leads to self-focus and a preoccupation with your personal performance. It’s an unhealthy focus and it doesn’t accomplish God’s purposes in our life.
The question we need to answer, is “Have I been set free from the power of sin?”. This will lead us to focus on God Himself, to examine what His word declares about who we are in Christ and what God has accomplished for us through His great salvation.
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When discussing whether Christians have to sin, it’s been my experience that most Christians are adamant that sin is inevitable. Yet the Bible does not support this belief, and there’s an abundance of scriptures declaring that born-again believers have been set free from the power of sin. As you read through the following scriptures, I encourage you to listen carefully to what God declares in His word.
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. (1 Peter 2:24 ESV)
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? (Romans 6:1-2 ESV)
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. (Romans 6:6-7 ESV)
If you choose to rely on your natural reasoning then you will miss the truth. Because these are spiritual truths that defy natural reasoning. Our old self was crucified with Christ, and we are no longer enslaved to sin. God declares that we have been set free from sin!
So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:11 ESV)
Since God declares we are dead to sin, then this is true for every believer. But each person must choose to think of themselves this way. We must “be transformed by the renewal of our mind” (Rom 12:2) We either choose to believe God’s truth, or we choose to believe a lie.
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its evil desires. (Romans 6:12 NIV)
First, we choose to think according to faith, we choose to believe that what God says about us is true. Then, we choose to walk in that truth. Because we have chosen to believe God’s truth, we have confidence that sin will not reign over us.
For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6:14 ESV)
Grace is often perceived as God forgiving our sin. And while that’s a wonderful part of grace, there is more. The grace of God also equips and empowers us to overcome sin.
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, (Titus 2:11-12 ESV)
But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. (Romans 6:17-18 ESV)
According to scripture, being slaves of sin is what we used to be, but not what we are now. We have been set free from sin! Rember, focusing on not sinning is not the goal. The goal is to live godly lives and become “slaves of righteousness”.
There’s a phrase in this verse that’s very significant considering today’s Christian culture. He commends them for becoming obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which they were committed. This standard is taught throughout the scriptures.
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. (Romans 6:22 ESV)
assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:21-24 ESV)
The problem is that many believers today haven’t been taught the Biblical standard of being set free from sin and becoming “slaves of righteousness”. Instead, they have been taught that it’s inevitable that they will continue to sin. And if that’s what we believe, then that’s how we will live.
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In light of the amazing declarations of Romans chapter 6, chapter 7 may seem like a step backwards. But having declared victory over sin, God still wants us to understand what we’re up against. In Romans chapter 7, Paul clarifies two important points; sin is powerful, and sin dwells in our flesh.
This chapter is often misinterpreted, and misapplied. So, remember that this chapter must be understood in conjunction with all that is proclaimed in chapters 6 and 8.
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. (Romans 7:18 ESV)
This passage makes it clear that sin isn’t just a bad decision that we make, but it’s a force living in our physical body that works against us to keep us from walking in God’s ways.
Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (Romans 7:20-24 ESV)
It’s important to understand that born-again believers do not have a sin nature. The phrase, sin nature, means it’s natural to sin. 2 Peter 1:4 says that we are “partakers of the divine nature”. But even though we don’t have a sin nature, we do live in a body that is sinful, meaning it is attracted to sin and will always attempt to lead us into sin. Paul makes the statement that he is captive to the law of sin that dwells in his members. But then he poses a profound question, Who will deliver me from this body of death?
The original text wasn’t written with chapters and verses. This revelation of the sinfulness of our flesh continues right into chapter 8, where we find the amazing answer to Paul’s question.
For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2 ESV)
Chapter seven used the phrase, captive to the law of sin, to communicate the controlling power of sin in our flesh. But chapter eight introduces another law, a greater law that overcomes the first law and sets us free.
Consider this example. Gravity is a law. It’s always at work, and we don’t have the power to suspend it. But consider what takes place when an airplane flies. The wings on an airplane have a specific shape so that when they move quickly through the air, lift is created on the wing, and this allows the airplane to overcome gravity and fly. Has gravity ceased to exist when an airplane flies? Of course not. Gravity is still in effect pulling on the plane, but another law, the law of lift, is overcoming the law of gravity and the airplane is able to fly.
Our flesh is sinful. It is inclined to sin and always will be. But the law of the Spirit is greater than the law of sin. The law of the Spirit has set us free from the law of sin.
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. (Romans 8:9)
For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:13 ESV)
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16 ESV)
That last verse makes it clear that our flesh still has sinful desires, but by the power of the Spirit we are enabled to overcome the temptations of the flesh. And as additional encouragement, consider the following verse.
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Some people believe they are uniquely flawed and tempted at a level that others aren’t. This is a lie, because scripture declares that your temptation is not unique but that it’s common to man. But this verse also contains a promise that is very personalized. It says that God knows your ability, and He will not let you be tempted beyond that.
What an encouraging word! Whatever temptation you encounter, you can face it with the confidence that God knows you are able to endure it.
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Of all the New Testament books, Romans is widely considered the most comprehensive and systematic presentation of the gospel message and the Christian life. It’s significant that Romans devotes three chapters to communicate the believer’s victory over sin. Notice how these three chapters are progressive in their message.
Chapter 6 boldly proclaims that sin has no dominion over us because we have been set free from sin.
Chapter 7 helps us to understand our battle against sin by declaring that sin is powerful and that sin dwells in our flesh.
Chapter 8 returns to the message of our victory over sin by giving insight into how it works. The clear declaration of this chapter is that by the Spirit of God we overcome the sinful desires of our flesh. The word Spirit is used 20 times in chapter 8.
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Embracing the truth that we have been set free from sin, in no way negates God’s promise of forgiveness and cleansing if we do sin.
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. (1 John 2:1 ESV)
This verse encourages us not to sin. Notice, it then says if we sin, not when we sin (God’s choice of words is significant). Even as we pursue becoming like Jesus, if we sin, He is still our advocate before the Father.
If we believe that sin is inevitable, will we actually see sin as a big deal, since it was inevitable? But if we commit to living in “true righteousness and holiness”, we will be more open to Biblical “godly sorrow” if we sin, and the following verse will be even more appreciated.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9 ESV)
While we shouldn’t plan on sinning, there is a wonderful provision from the Lord if we do.
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Salvation is often reduced to just escaping the consequences of sin. However, the Bible presents salvation as much more than that. When we receive Christ, we enter into God’s salvation, and this great salvation provides us with all that we need to be the people that God desires us to be. Scripture challenges us to grow up in our salvation.
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, (1 Peter 2:2)
Jesus didn’t die on the cross just to deliver us from the consequences of sin. He died to set us free from sin in every way, that we can be people created in the likeness of God, who live in true “righteousness and holiness”. There was a great price paid for this, and that’s why we are told to “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12)
This verse isn’t telling people who are lost to work for their salvation. It’s telling people who have been saved to work out their salvation. This means being committed to fully utilizing all that the Lord has provided. We are told to do this with fear and trembling because of the great sacrifice that was made to provide us this great salvation.
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How holy God expects His people to live is expressed in the following verses. And it’s clear that God Himself is the standard.
But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy. (1 Peter 1:15-16 CSB)
Knowing and embracing the standard God has called us to, is far more important than how we are doing at the moment. You could have a dozen people who are all at various stages of living in true righteousness and holiness, but if each one of them understands and diligently pursues God’s standard of holiness, then all of them are in a great place in their walk with the Lord.
If we deviate from God’s standard, then what standard are we living by? If we decide that we’re destined to sin, then how much sin is acceptable? We become like the people in the book of Judges, where everyone set their own standard. “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6). The problem with this approach is that it also says seven times in the book of Judges, “the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord”.
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Being driven by fear of failure and feeling condemned whenever we come up short, will not move us towards realizing God’s promise of victory over sin. In fact, this attitude will only work against us. What propels us towards victory is being excited to walk with the Lord in “true righteousness and holiness”. We must see the God-sized plan and purpose that God has for his people. Because of God’s complete confidence in His own great power, He calls us to be like Him. And this call is motivated by his great love for us, because the more we become like Him the stronger and deeper our relationship becomes, and the more we experience the Lord and all that He has for us.
If we see God as He is, and truly understand His plan for us, we will be stirred with excitement and joy to walk in the fullness of His purposes.
I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart. (Psalms 40:8 ESV)
That doesn’t mean it’s not hard or difficult. It does mean that we won’t consider anything too great a price to pay for the privilege and honor of becoming like Jesus.
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:29 ESV)
The greatest gift of God’s love is that He gave His Son for us. Once we have received His Son, the greatest demonstration of God’s love is His commitment to make us like His Son.
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Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. (Matthew 5:6 ESV)
In this verse Jesus uses the words hunger and thirst to communicate a yearning that is so intense that it can be uncomfortable. Jesus is describing a person who deeply desires and actively pursues walking before God in righteousness.
If a believer has this level of desire, and someone tells them that the Bible says sin has no dominion over them because they have been set free from sin, how do you think they would respond? Would they respond with doubt and skepticism, or would they see this as good news and be excited to know more? I suspect they would respond like the Bereans, who “received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so”. (Acts 17:11).
So, if someone has hunger and thirst, then you add faith and confidence in God’s promises, you end up with someone pursuing God’s promises with a genuine excitement and expectation. The Biblical declaration that sin has no dominion over us is part of the gospel. It’s the good news that we can truly become like Christ and walk with God in “true righteousness and holiness”. This should be a joyful pursuit, not a begrudging burden. But good news is only good news if someone desires what the good news is proclaiming.
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In closing, let’s itemize what we’ve seen in God’s word.
1. God’s call: Be holy, as I am holy.
2. God’s provision: Sin has no dominion over you.
3. God’s personalized help: He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability.
That Christians are free from the power of sin, is a fundamental part of our Christian faith, and as such it’s communicated with an abundance of scripture. If we choose not to believe this, we’re not just wrong on some minor doctrinal point. What we believe about this reflects how we view God, what we believe about our salvation, and how well we understand God’s purpose for His people.
But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. (Matthew 22:29 ESV)
I pray you would diligently search the scriptures with a sincere attitude to hear what God has to say. And I pray you would have faith in the power of God to perform everything He proclaims. And I pray that your heart be filled with joy and excitement to walk with the Lord in “true righteousness and holiness”.
Thanks for reading! Comments and questions are welcome.
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