What is the truth about sinning and the Christian life? The Bible, especially Romans, tells me not only did Jesus die for my sin, He also took away its power. Apparently, as a born-again, blood-washed Christian I am dead to sin (Romans 6:2). Romans 6:6 goes so far as to say sin has been ‘brought to nothing’. I am no longer its slave. All this sounds great on paper but in the flesh and blood world where I live things don’t seem to be turning out like Romans describes. I have prayed, claimed and confessed those scriptures and, as of the moment I write this, I am anything but dead to sin. It’s very much alive in my life. For example, it takes only one image for lust to come running from its hiding place in my mind. I’m only ever a thought away from engaging my sin nature and obeying its evil ways.
If I’m supposed to be dead to sin, why am I so tempted by its delicacies? Has the Bible got it wrong? Maybe I haven’t really been saved? These are valid questions so many of us painfully ask ourselves when trying to deal with this malady. Victoriously pretending sin is not an issue does not solve our dilemma. Thinking this way will only exacerbate the problem and prevent us from dealing with it, like my pretending I don’t have a broken leg when really I do. The more I victoriously walk on it as if nothing is wrong the worse the problem becomes. Fooling ourselves wreaks havoc, as it did with some well-known evangelists a few years ago. They ignored the reality of their sin nature while promoting a prosperous, overcoming life in the Spirit only to be taken down by the very sins they preached victory over.
Has Christ conquered the power of sin? Is sin still alive in our body? A key to understanding this is Romans 6:11, ‘You must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.’ The context of the word ‘consider’ is critical to understanding sin and the Christian life. Imagine you own a successful company and I work for you. During a business meeting you authorise me to carry out a purchase worth millions of dollars and I respond by saying, ‘Consider it done’. Satisfied, you move on to the next discussion point. There has been no contact with the wholesaler or the couriers and no product is on the shop floor. The order is far from complete. The reason you are satisfied with ‘consider it done’ is because my intention to complete the order is clear. There’s still a process to go through but it’s as good as done.
‘Consider yourselves dead to sin’ allows for a process to occur. Sin is not dead yet in the life of the Christian. It’s in the process of dying, just like the purchase order when I said, ‘Consider it done’. What God is keenly interested in is our direction, our intent to complete the process. God does not demand we conquer sin completely right here and now. It can’t be done, just like I couldn’t complete the purchase order the moment you gave it. A process must occur. Dying to sin is a life-time process. It will include wins and losses but our direction, the Cross, remains the focus.
Our old nature has not been put to death by the sword, or stoning, or burning; it has been crucified; this will bring about a sure death in time, but it is slow. A man crucified often lived for hours and days and, I have read, even a week. Our old man will linger on his cross as long as we are alive on earth. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon
What great victory did Jesus win if we are all still battling with sin? The answer is in Romans 5:20-21. ‘But where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ Did you see it! Before the Cross ’sin reigned in death’. The real power of sin was its ability to destroy beyond the grave into eternity. Physical death couldn’t stop sin; it continued its destructive reign. But thanks be to God, through the righteousness of Jesus Christ, grace now reigns in death and this leads to eternal life! Sin cannot touch the Christian beyond the grave.
Are you frustrated with your sin nature? Take heart, its days are numbered. Sin is as good as dead because our body is as good as dead. It is only at the grave the process will be completed, the order fulfilled and sin totally done away with. Our sin nature is like a cancer we have all been born with. What Christians fail to realise is this: dead people kill cancer. Cancer cannot live in a dead person, and neither can sin in a follower of Jesus who has passed through the grave. The full extent of ‘It is finished’ is astounding (see John 19:30). Sin has truly been ‘brought to nothing’.
But how do we deal with the situation we are in right now? We have a sin nature that’s not dead yet and we have been given the order to be like Jesus. Think back to the illustration: my power to carry out the order was based on your finance and authority. And so it is with God and us. God has already covered the full price for sin; it was way beyond what we could afford. And it is on God’s authority we have the power to carry out the order to be like Jesus. Jesus gained power over sin by dying, and so must we. There is no power for a resurrection unless there is first a death. Dying releases resurrection power.
Sin cannot be totally done away with this side of eternity. But it can be put in its place as it awaits the grave. The first step is to acknowledge our brokenness. Our sin nature is a condition we need to make allowance for. The problem with those evangelists who were disgraced was their success and prosperity had distracted them. They were too ‘victorious’ to pay any attention to their sin nature. On the other hand, Billy Graham for example, realised his weaknesses and put in place strict accountability and rules that protected him and the honour of the God he served. He wasn’t a defeatist; he was a realist. Billy Graham maintained his integrity, and in the end that’s what really matters. Tongues, prophecy, miracles, good works and the like all count for nothing without integrity.
Romans is true; sin has been totally defeated and stripped of its lasting power. But this grand news isn’t so meaningful to the modern church anymore because it has lost appreciation for eternity. We don’t talk about heaven and eternal things much these days. We think it is all about what we can get now and living for this life. We have forgotten that Christianity is ultimately about eternity. We are supposed to be living this life for the next. We need an eternal perspective, like that of the purified persecuted church. Only with an eternal perspective can we see the glorious victory our God has won.
Thank God for His love eternal. He has saved us from the power of our sin through the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Sin has been dethroned! Grace reigns now, and forever!
Christ has made Death into life’s golden chariot, sent to fetch his Cinderella bride out of the cinders of this fireplace of a world, through a far midnight ride, to his very own castle and bedchamber, where Glory will beget glory upon us forever. – Peter Kreeft, The Weight of Glory
(Spurgeon quote from ‘365 days with Spurgeon’, Vol. 3, April 1st)
(All Bible quotes from the ESV)
(For more on the topic of sin check out ‘The ugly truth’ in the category ‘Things to consider’)