{"id":3258,"date":"2017-01-12T08:10:13","date_gmt":"2017-01-12T13:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/?p=3258"},"modified":"2017-01-09T08:25:33","modified_gmt":"2017-01-09T13:25:33","slug":"freedom-from-sin-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2017\/01\/12\/freedom-from-sin-part-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Freedom from Sin: Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

We hope you have been encouraged as we have been to review the great truths of what freedom in Christ means. Let\u2019s wrap up this blog topic with some practical implications of the freedom Christ bought for us. But of course, first we will take one last look at the passage that started this whole conversation:<\/p>\n

Knowing this, that our\u00a0old\u00a0self was\u00a0crucified with\u00a0Him, in order that our\u00a0body of sin might be\u00a0done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;\u00a0<\/sup>for\u00a0he who has died is\u00a0freed from sin. Even so consider yourselves to be\u00a0dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, do not let sin\u00a0reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,\u00a0and do not go on\u00a0presenting\u00a0the members of your body to sin\u00a0as\u00a0instruments of unrighteousness; but\u00a0present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members\u00a0as\u00a0instruments of righteousness to God.\u00a0For\u00a0sin shall not be master over you, for\u00a0you are not under law but\u00a0under grace.<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Romans 6:6-7, 11-14<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Not Perfection, But Freedom
\n<\/strong>When we talk about being free from the power of sin, we\u2019re not talking about never sinning again. We live in a sin-cursed world, and our old sinful nature is warring against our new selves in Christ. The battle continues to rage, and we are all a part the war. We know from Romans 7 that even the great apostle Paul struggled with sin. We will never be perfect here on earth, but God can<\/em> work to transform is more and more into His image every day (Phil. 1:6). Being free from sin\u2019s power doesn\u2019t mean we will never again be tempted, but what it does mean is that we now have the power to say no and choose to obey the Lord and live in His freedom. We will still fail, but we are no longer slaves who have to always obey sin. We are free to live for Christ, and He promises to help us as we seek to walk in faithfulness to Him.<\/p>\n

The Pressure\u2019s Off
\n<\/strong>Because we know that our salvation is not a result of our own good deeds, we can be free to focus on other things. The burden of having to do everything right or else we will lose our salvation no longer exists \u2013 Christ has already paid the price for our sins, and so we are now free to focus on living a thankful life for Him! What a burden lifted, and what a mercy from God to take that burden all on Himself. We could never make it on our own, and we don\u2019t have to! The pressure is off \u2013 now, focus on living in His freedom.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m Dead to That\u201d
\n<\/strong>I\u2019ve read James MacDonald\u2019s book, Lord, Change Me<\/em>, several times and would recommend it to anyone. One thing that often comes to mind from that book is the phrase, \u201cI\u2019m dead to that.\u201d In his book, MacDonald makes it a point to remind believer that they truly are dead to sin, so when we are tempted by our enticing desires, we can literally say, \u201cI\u2019m dead to that\u201d and choose<\/em> to live in freedom. Fighting sin is just that \u2013 a fight! It is hard work, so fight hard! Be radical, and do what you have to do. Literally say out loud \u201cI\u2019m dead to that\u201d if you have to. It\u2019s worth it if it means you will please the Lord and live for Him. Remind yourself of the truth that you truly are dead to sin\u2019s power, and choose to live in that freedom.<\/p>\n

These are but a few of the many applications of the amazing fact that believers are free from sin. Spend time searching scripture for more implications of this truth, and be encouraged! You can<\/em> live a life that is pleasing to the Lord. And when you do sin, you can repent and choose to please the Lord again. If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. <\/strong>(John 8:36)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We hope you have been encouraged as we have been to review the great truths of what freedom in Christ means. Let\u2019s wrap up this blog topic with some practical implications of the freedom Christ bought for us. But of course, first we will take one last look at the passage that started this whole… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":3259,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[98,242,21],"yoast_head":"\nFreedom from Sin: Part 3 - Vision of Hope<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2017\/01\/12\/freedom-from-sin-part-3\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Freedom from Sin: Part 3 - Vision of Hope\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We hope you have been encouraged as we have been to review the great truths of what freedom in Christ means. 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