Reflections
Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dies no more; death has no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he lives, he lives unto God. Likewise reckon you also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof. (Rom. 6:9-12)
The basis for all faith, and thus, all victory, is the finished work of Jesus Christ. It is finished. There is nothing left for us to finish. What is left for us to do is believe and live like it is finished: We are dead and our life is hid with Christ in God.
Religion would teach us that the way to overcome sin is to stop sinning. Laws and rules – usually right from the Bible – are usually provided. But it is folly to tell someone who cannot stop sinning that they simply need to stop sinning. They can’t. That is the problem. Of course, some sins are subtle – such as the sin of self-righteousness. It usually takes a work of God to bring us to see our complete inability to stop sinning.
The way to stop sinning is not through any human effort. I can stop sinning only if I start believing and abiding in Christ. Faith will motivate me to lose my old life to Christ – lose the life that provides the basis for all sin. Only then can I find freedom. Freedom from sin is the result of oneness with Christ in His death and resurrection. All other efforts are futile. In a word, all obedience in the Christian life must be the OUTCOME of faith in Christ.
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