Stop Giving Sin Power

Stop giving power to sin. We do it all the time and we allow it to destroy our incredible relationship with Jesus. Sin has no more power; Jesus cut the power cord. Where once it threatened us with death, Jesus made it a pathetic shadow that quickly retreats when exposed by his light. It is us who are giving power back to it.

Sin used to be our master. We had no choice. We lived it its domain and when it commanded we had to obey. It was a dark, terrible place to be. All of us made a façade, an appearance of good, but our hearts and minds were polluted with the hidden things. We thought terrible thoughts and had terrible desires. We could try all that we wanted to change this but we had no power to throw off the tyranny of our master.

There is only one thing that could destroy the power of sin over us; death.

So Jesus came to represent all of us. When he was hung on the tree he became cursed of God. It was a thing God had written into the law long before that moment, in preparation for that moment. It was the only way that it could happen and the enemy didn't have a clue what was taking place. When Jesus was hung there we all hung with him. When he died we all died with him, just as we will all rise as he rose when we are called home. But it was in that moment of death that God's great grace was made available to all who would accept it.

When we accept Jesus we hang on the cross with him and die. We die and are separated from the tyranny of sin. Then we are raised in Jesus who becomes our source of life, now separated from the power of sin. Amazing stuff.

So why do we still give power to sin as if it still reigns over us?

Because we don't understand God's grace. We don't understand what Jesus has done. We don't understand that we have life only in him now. We are free from the tyranny of sin, although there may still be moments of weakness because our bodies have not yet been redeemed. Our bodies are weak but God is strong. It is the reason apostle Paul said he was convinced that God was able to preserve us until Jesus' return.

We have been called back to an innocent relationship with God. Adam was not sinless. The Word never says he was. But he was innocent. He had no idea if he offended God or did things that were not right. God just enjoyed this relationship, this beautiful friendship, and protected the innocence, telling them not to eat from that tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It is only when they did that they felt shame. Innocence was lost. They knew the difference between right and wrong.

So we are called back to this place, made possible by God's grace. We are told to love him with our entire being. We are told to pursue his righteousness. We are told to find out what pleases Jesus and to do that. Stop looking for sin in your life. Stop trying to live the Ten Commandments. Love God and love others, then everything will fall into place. It is only if you become aware of sin, when the Spirit brings it to mind, that you need to deal with it. This is where we mess up.

Because we do not understand God's grace and we worry more about people than we do about Jesus, we make the mistake of hiding our sin. We are giving it back the power that was taken away from it. We become sin conscience. We fill up with worry, fear, anxiety and become tormented. Horrible. Terrible. Stupid on our part. Do what needs to be done. Keep sin without power in our lives:

Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. (Ephesians 5:11)

I know I keep writing on this but it's because people are not understanding. We have nothing to fear. If we are afraid it is because we do not understand or have not experienced Jesus' love. It is experiencing this love that convinces us of God's grace, mercy, and forgiveness.

We have to get our focus off of condemnation and onto the incredible forgiving relationship we have with Jesus. We are free. We have been set free by the one who longs for that friendship to return. Do not become a slave again to sin but instead become a slave to God's righteousness. Find out what pleases God and do that. Allow love to drive out fear. When you are aware of sin, it is a simple matter of confessing it and moving on in God's grace and this relationship of innocence. You are free my friend so act like it. Laugh, sing, shout, dance as you bask in the love and forgiveness of our God. God's grace is that bountiful, full, rich and absolutely free.