Wednesday, August 22, 2012

The Victory of Jesus Has Brought Liberation from Sin

Whether or not we sin isn't the primary issue of life. We are free from sin (Romans 6:6-7,18,22, 8:2).

If I am freed from a country that once enslaved me I could..
    1. Stay there and try to fight against the people who imprisoned me.
    2. Go enjoy my freedom elsewhere.
I don't have to fight to maintain freedom, Christ freed me.

Hebrews 10:1-2 says that when we know we are cleansed, we lose consciousness of sins, meaning we no longer have to count sins against ourselves.
"The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt and consciousness of sin would have disappeared." (Hebrews 10:1-2)

I've been perfectly cleansed for all time because of the perfect sacrifice of Christ. God's value of me as His child is not based on my behavior. God does not charge His children with sin (2 Corinthians 5:19-20; 1 John 3:5-6,9; 1 John 5:18). Because He loves me I want to love others & do good.

Romans 6:8-14 says to "Consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." God does not intend for us to focus on or strive to "be good." God intends for us to focus on Him and His goodness.

A liberator's victory brings freedom. Jesus is our savior, our liberator. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" (2 Corinthians 3:17). Our victory doesn't come from trying to obtain or abstain it only comes from trusting in the victory Christ has already won, what He has already obtained for us. "The victory that overcomes the world is made evident through our faith, our trust in Christ's victory" (1 John 5:4).

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