Tired of Sin Getting the Best of You?

A believer still fights with sin; daily. The Bible talks about overcoming the power of sin in Romans 5:12-8:39. This is a section of Romans that you should read again and again. In this section Paul talks about the sin that dwells in him (7:17, 20, 23), and the Spirit of God that dwells in him (8:9, 10, 11). He also describes the daily choice of the one you present yourself to obey (6:1-23). You must make a daily choice to place yourself under the Spirit’s authority or you will automatically fall under the power of sin to obey its lusts.

One of the most instructive passages about this choice is found in Luke 2:51-52 where it describes Jesus as a boy and simply says, “And He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them…and Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” This means that as a 12 year-old boy, Jesus already was able to recognize, respect, and submit to the authority that the Father had placed Him under. Jesus had authority because He recognized, respected, and submitted to the authority in His Life!

Recognizing, respecting, and submitting to the authority that God has place in your life is a conscience decision. If you do not willingly make that decision you will automatically fall under the power (authority) of sin in your life. You don’t even have to think about it. You will just automatically stay under it, deceived into thinking that you are in charge, when in fact, you are simply a slave to the sin that dwells in you.

God has put in place authority for you to be under in creation, in family, and in society in order to teach you how to willingly, daily, and consciously be under His authority in your life by the Spirit Who dwells in you. When you begin to recognize, respect, and submit to the authority in creation, in family, and in society, you will be more prone to recognize, respect, and submit to the authority of His Spirit, Who dwells in you. A person under authority has it! Once you have it, then there is a power in you that is greater than the power of sin and you rise above it.

Isn’t it amazing how a huge 747 sitting on the runway, full of passengers, is able to fly? How does it overcome the law (power) of gravity? By a greater law (power), the law of aerodynamics. When the plane hits a certain speed, with the design of a particular wingspan, and with proper guidance, it overcomes the law of gravity. It doesn’t strain for it, or try harder and harder for it; it simply rises with it. The Spirit of Jesus does not have any trouble overcoming sin. And He lives in you, if you died with Him on the cross, God also raised you up with Him on the third day. You have authority (power) over sin!

Does that mean you are sinless? You don’t have to worry about being perfectly sinless for a while. What it does mean is that you are able to sin less and less. Progress toward perfection is what you should experience as the Spirit of God dwelling in you reveals more of more of the sin the dwells in you and you experience more and more of His power in you as you repent by recognizing, respecting, and submitting to His presence in you. This is bad English but good theology. Don’t try it until you get tired of sin getting the best of you.