“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV
Have you ever been in quicksand? No matter how hard you struggle, you cannot get out – you only sink deeper. When it comes to quicksand, someone has to endanger themselves to pull you out because you cannot save yourself. You can never save yourself.
This was the case of the man without Christ. No matter how hard you tried, sin was natural to you and had dominion (Ephesians 2:1-3), so you kept sinking. The harder you tried to ‘be a good person’ the more you realised the depth of your sin and saw your frailty in light of God’s unreachable righteousness; until Jesus came along and gifted you salvation.
However, many believers today still battle temptations and sin. So, how do we deal with sin and temptations as believers?
The first way to be truly free is to have a right understanding of the nature of sin. It is not just an act, it is a fallen nature that entered into the world through Adam (Romans 5:12). Despite the efforts of man to be cleansed from sins through sacrifices, man was unsuccessful because the sacrifices of animals could never wash away sins (Hebrews 10:1-4). In Romans 6:23, Apostle Paul explained that the wages of sin is death, however, God’s gift to us is eternal life through Christ Jesus. He stated earlier, that sin came into the world because of man’s disobedience (Romans 5:12, 19). This means that man was condemned to die for his sin.
The blood of Jesus is the one-time sacrifice that redeems man. It is more efficacious than all humanly devised sacrifices (Hebrews 10:12). We have the forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus Christ which was shed for us on the cross (Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:14).
Jesus died, was buried and resurrected (1 Corinthians 15: 22-23). Anyone who believes in what Jesus did, is saved from sin, death and destruction (John 3:16, Romans 3:23-24).
Have you believed in the gospel? Yes? Then you are free from sin and sinful nature! Sin has no hold over you (Romans 6: 1-14).
Just as God had ordained before the foundation of the world, Jesus died for your redemption and rose for your justification (Ephesians 1:3-8). By His sacrifice, He paid your debt and you are now free from the shackles of sin and death (Romans 8:2).
Your new nature in Christ is righteousness evidenced by the Spirit of God that dwells in you! The same grace that saved you and gave you a new nature, will teach you to walk justly before God.
Believe in the finished work of Christ in your life and live victoriously because you are free!
Bible Reading Plan: Matthew 27: 1-28