Sin Management vrs Freedom

There are some days that my sin seems so bad. Like, it over takes me. I work at it. Pray about it. But no matter what I do it’s still there. In those times it seems bigger than life. It’s all consuming. It makes me feel far from God. As though He is disappointed in me because I can’t get a handle on things, so He creates distance from me. On the opposite side, there are days that I capture thoughts quickly. I am joyful and at peace. I believe that I conquered my sin and I see God everywhere I look.

Which is correct? Both can’t be true or else God’s love would not be unconditional, it would be earned by behavior. God would only be showing me favor if my behavior was correct. That doesn’t line up with scripture that reveals how God loves us unconditionally, before we love Him, when we disobey Him and even when we choose not to have a relationship with Him. He is always pursuing relationship with us. Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. So what do I do with those days when God feels far? How can I live free and not feel like I am on a roller coaster? Is there a way to live not controlled by my sin? I want to know God is there regardless of how the battle seems to be going. How can I live that way?

Romans 8 is an incredible chapter that deals a lot with sinful nature and the spirit nature. (Who we were before Christ and who we are in Christ) I would encourage you to read it and study it, it’s powerful life changing stuff! For this post, I want to highlight just a few verses that jump out at me.

Romans 8:1-2 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.² For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. First, Paul reminds us that in Christ, we stand free of condemnation. This truth should make us leap out of our chairs in praise. God no longer sees our sinful lives but considers us clean because of the work Christ did on the cross and in His resurrection. I am free from the punishment I rightly deserve. Those sins I commit are worthy of justice. They deserve God’s wrath, but when I place my life under the authority and submission of Jesus Christ, I take on His worthiness and He took my sinfulness to the cross, burying it forever! My time on earth will not result in me ever being perfect. I will never attain that in this life, but in Christ, I can live a life that is not under judgement, because my debt has already been paid. Friends, this is freedom! Galatians 5:1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Christ came that I might have freedom from sin and death. In this verse in Galatians, Paul eludes to that fact and then follows it up with – don’t be yoked again to slavery. The slavery he references is sin. Paul is reminding his readers that we have been set free from sin so live a life that avoids sin.

Now we can get religious and start telling all the rules that one should live by to live sin free, but we will never be sin free in this life so how can Paul say to not submit again? Is it a bunch of rules and regulations? If so, will they be rules I can follow or will I fail? How will I know how close I am to being right with God? There are so many verses that clear this up, here are a couple. Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Acts 16:31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved. Romans 10:9 if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. These verses and many more show us that it is our believing in Jesus Christ alone, the one who died and rose again taking the punishment for sin, that we can be saved. We can not earn our salvation. Jesus’ whole purpose in coming was to pay the penalty so that we could glorify God in our lives by living in Jesus. It’s not just saying a simple prayer and never thinking about God again, it’s placing your belief and your trust in the One who granted your freedom. Every decision from that point forward would be looked at through the lens of, “is this what God wants for me”? The freedom God offers through Jesus Christ is not at all about having a “good life”, it’s living a life surrendered to Him alone as our Father and Master. Exchanging our will for His will. Understanding the extreme grace we have been given, and in that grace we learn to love deeply and in that we want to walk in submission.

So that is all wonderful news and it gets my blood pumping but, I still sin. What do I do about that? This is were sin management verses freedom enters into our minds. Sin management is simply us doing the work to keep sin away. We work hard at not sinning. Beating ourselves up each time we mess up. We berate ourselves assuming we are far more sinful than everyone else. We get back up, repent and try really hard to fix it again. The problem is we have this constant cycle of messing up, feeling defeated and trying harder. Have you ever had success just trying to change yourself? I know I haven’t. I am a creature of habit. I tend to continue to do the same things over and over. Change usually happens not because I try harder but because I change my focus and attention. Our Christian walk is no different. When we are in Christ, we are made alive by Christ. Not that we don’t sin but it doesn’t have rule over us. Remember Romans 8:1-2 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.² For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. We have already been set free in Christ. By trying to manage my sin, I am trying to do what has already been done! Jesus Christ has done the work on my behalf. 2 Corinthians 5:17 I am a new creation. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. He alone can change what was into something new. Can I get an amen? Jesus is the one. He is the one who gives freedom and new life. He has done it and it will continue to give it to us until this life is over, when we are given that ultimate gift of eternal life with Jesus Christ.

When we try to manage our sin, that is when we give it power. When we start doing the work of salvation we have made ourselves god. We are doing the work of the one true God and we will fail every time. When I believe that I can change my own heart, that is what starts the problem. We have to keep righting our minds. We are made new in Christ, not apart from Christ or with His help. He is the only way. John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. As soon as I put my name in that verse saying I have something to add to the way to the Father, I have become my own god. My focus has to be on Jesus Christ and His way, His truth, His life. When I see that my freedom comes from living in Christ, I can be free of that condemnation that comes over me when I mess up.

Condemnation is a feeling. Our feelings are not facts. When I am in Christ there is no condemnation! See Romans 8:1-2 (noted above) God does not help us manage sin. He sets us free from sin. He gave us a way to overcome sin. When we live a life in Christ we still sin but rather than managing it, we surrender it to the only One who can change a wicked heart, Jesus Christ. It’s humility. When I sin, I can choose to manage it or I can choose to humbly come to Jesus, confessing my sin and asking for forgiveness and repentance. When I surrender my desire to fix myself and press in to who Jesus is, I see that He is full of grace and mercy. He desires to give forgiveness. In fact, did you know that Jesus Himself intercedes for us? He is praying for us. (Hebrews 7:25) He gives us a way out of every sinful situation. We just have to choose to listen and obey. His desire is closeness with us. He was willing to go to the cross for us to come near. Knowing all of that, why would we try and fix ourselves and spend all that time beating ourselves up, knowing it won’t work? It’s a waste of my valuable life. And yours too. God loves us passionately and has shown us in Christ Jesus. We can rest in His love. We can be sure that when we come, no matter what we have done, He loves to forgive His kids. Romans 8:38-39 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Let’s be people who keep our eyes focused not on what we have done but on the One who can change us daily. He alone will bring that change in us as we look to Him to be the perfecter of our faith. Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.