Freedom From Sin Jn 8: 33-36 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
Your Freedom From Sin
When people get saved, some experience an immediate deliverance from sins, like drugs and alcohol. Others experience a hard fought victory over sins. They both have freedom from sin. So, why the difference?
When you are saved, you are indeed free from sin, Jn 8:33-36. Jesus freed you from the bondage of sin. At salvation our old man is crucified with Christ and we are freed from sin [Rom 6:6-7]. For some people, this freedom from sin manifests itself in an immediate deliverance from certain obvious sins. Their experience is comparable to the deliverance the man in the Gadarenes had [Mk 5:15]. For others, this freedom from sin manifests itself through resisting and striving against sin [Heb 12:4].
Some Must “Sin No More”
Some men are delivered but must be careful to “sin no more.” – Jn 5:8-14. That is, men who have been delivered at salvation from the power of certain sins over them must be careful not to go back to those sins. You see, quitting those sins didn’t require a “fight.” Their freedom was just handed to them. In such a case, it is very easy for someone to go back to their sins. It’s “easy come, easy go.” It’s like the different attitudes toward the assets of a company. The founder of a business sweats and toils, long and hard, to build the business. The son who has the, now successful, business handed to him. The son is going to, generally, be much more careless with the assets than the man who built the business.
Don’t Return to Sins From Which You’ve Been Delivered
I know a number of men and women who were delivered from tobacco or drugs or alcohol. Afterwards, they went back to those sins. They got really backslidden and found it harder to quit those sins later than before. They didn’t appreciate what God had done for them. Now they have a real fight on their hands. 2 Pet 2:19-21 is in a chapter dealing with false teachers and preachers [2 Pet 2:1] and with dogs and sows [2 Pet 2:22]. Yet, there is truth in the statement “their end is worse with them than the beginning.” Some go back to their old sins and never quit. They keep doing those things till they die. They can’t seem to ever get the victory.
Some Must Resist and Strive
Some men must resist and strive against their sins until they finally get the victory. – 2 Cor 10:3-6. That is, they are freed from sin. But to experience that freedom they must war with the weapons of their warfare. They must pull down the strongholds. It seems they are in a constant fight. Sins like pornography, wicked imaginations, and certain drugs are just a few of the sins that can be very difficult to shake. These sins are embedded deep in their heart and mind.
The Fight Gives You a Sweeter Victory
The fellow who has to fight his way to freedom by God’s grace has put some sweat in the battle. This fellow has to fight to gain his freedom. He is strengthened by the Lord, no doubt, but he has to fight the good fight of faith [1 Tim 6:12]. He must fight with the whole armor of God [Eph 6:10-18]. And he must work out his own salvation with fear and trembling while God is working inside of him [Phil 2:12-13].
Because of the “effort” this fellow has put into the battle, he is more reluctant to give up the ground he has gained. He knows what it took to get through the trials and temptations. And he is not willing to give up all that ground to go back to his old life. The price is just too high. The fellow who has been “delivered” from sin knows nothing of this battle.
Either Way, Deal With Your Sins
If you haven’t been delivered, don’t wait to be delivered to deal with your sins. – Rom 8:13. God has given you everything you need to enjoy the freedom from sin that Jesus has given you [Jn 8:32]. But some people never find that freedom because they wait to be delivered.
Two smokers that I knew used to ask for prayer that God would deliver them from smoking. I counseled them to quit and trust the grace of God to give them the strength to resist the temptation to smoke [2 Cor 12:9-10]. I told them to put off the old man and put on the new man [Eph 4:22-24]. But they wouldn’t. They wanted God to deliver them. When they were each on their death beds with terminal lung cancer, they testified to me that God had finally delivered them from smoking. They finally had the victory. Doesn’t that seem strange to you that God would wait to deliver them until their sin had all but killed them? I don’t believe it. I believe their death was a price too high and convinced them that now they had to quit.
Freedom From Sin is a Daily Walk
Conclusion: don’t you see that this is the reason the Lord doesn’t “deliver” most of us from our sins when we get saved. He wants us to learn how to use what he has given us in the Bible to turn away from sin and start living for him. So, if you have felt envious toward a friend who professes to have been delivered, don’t envy him or her. Instead, walk in the Spirit [Gal 5:16] and let the Lord show you how to enjoy the freedom from sin you have in Christ. Walk moment by moment in the light of his word and in dependence upon him and he will guide you away from sin and into his love. That’s where the victory is [Rom 7:24-25].