6/20/11

Day 5: I am Free from Sin

21 Days to Discover Who you are in Jesus
Day 5
I Am Free From Sin

Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.
Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.
Romans 6:6,7,14 nlt

Your old sinful nature died on the cross with Jesus. You have a new nature of righteousness. Sin no longer has a hold on you. Jesus set you free from the Old Covenant, which was based on the law, and He brought you into the New Covenant of grace. The law simply reminds you of how guilty you are, but grace empowers you with God’s ability to live free from all sin.
Have you ever had an area of your life you felt like you couldn’t get victory over? I used to relate to the apostle Paul when he wrote in Romans 7:18,19,24,25 nlt:
And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.
Oh what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.
The devil would like you to believe the lie that you have to try harder, discipline yourself, or he may have even convinced you that you’ll never change.
I remember as a young wife feeling so defeated. I seemed to always get into strife with my husband. Even though the Bible taught me to respect and honor him, instead I found myself being resentful and angry toward him. The law constantly condemned me.
One day I cried out to the Lord to show me the truth that would set me free. When I understood that Jesus had made me a righteous and godly wife, I began to see myself differently. When I was tempted to get angry or upset, I would run to Jesus and receive His grace to overcome.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
                                      Hebrews 4:15,16 niv
I didn’t have to depend on my own strength anymore. I could look to Jesus and trust Him to do the work in me.
[Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.
                                    Philippians 2:13 amp
I began to pray, “Lord create in me the desire and power to love my husband with your love.” I want to act like You, Jesus, but I know I can’t do it in my own strength.”
His promise became the anchor of my soul as I looked to Jesus continually to transform me into His image. The more I saw myself as already righteous in Jesus and looked to Him daily for the grace I needed, the more I saw the fruit of righteousness come out in my life.
For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.
                                Romans 5:17 nlt
I have a friend who struggled with her weight her entire life. She was more than 100 pounds overweight and felt very condemned by it. She had tried for years to lose weight in her own strength. She would lose weight for a time but would simply gain it all back. She saw herself as a failure in this area of her life.
Then she began to believe who she was in Jesus. She began to see herself as a healthy righteous woman in Christ. She asked Jesus daily to create in her the desire and power to exercise and eat healthy. We all watched as she was transformed from the inside out. Sin no longer had dominion over her. She triumphed over sin and death by receiving the gift of righteousness and His overflowing grace.
When you try to live by the law, it will only condemn you and keep you in the vicious cycle of sin, but when you truly begin to walk free from condemnation by seeing yourself as already righteous, already free in Jesus, sin will no longer have dominion over you. As you depend on Jesus to strengthen you, you’ll live free from all sin.
So believe who you are in Jesus. Speak the truth out loud:
·       I am free from the power of sin because of Jesus.
·       I am the righteousness of God in Christ.
·       God’s grace empowers me to live free from sin.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for setting me free from the power of sin. When I am tempted, help me to remember who I am in You. I can run to Your throne of grace to receive the strength I need to overcome. Create in me the desire and power to bear the fruit of righteousness. I want my life to glorify You.    

2 comments:

  1. Connie Witter20/6/11 10:31 AM

    I am amazed at the simplicity of living free from sin in Jesus. I am tempted at times to be fearful, angry,and frustrated, but every time I run to Jesus, the throne of grace, and receive God's grace and remember that I am righteous in Him, He empowers me with His love. I find my soul free from negative emotions and empowered to love. I am free from sin because of Jesus! WOOHOO!

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  2. Yes, Jesus gives us the power to live free from sin, and it's a must to make it to heaven. The soul who does not live free from sin will die in their sins.

    Romans 8:13 - For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

    Also, Romans chapter 7 is not Paul describing his current sinfulness, but rather his condition when he was under the law. When Paul found grace in Christ Jesus, he found the victory over sin through the Spirit.

    Romans 8:1 - There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

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