I am sharing this devotional from Pastor Colin Smith from his sermon “Rest in God’s Triumph” from the series Keeping Yourself in Spiritual Shape originally preached on June 29, 2003.
“Sin shall no longer be your master.” Romans 6:14
The moment you came to faith in Jesus Christ, God forgave your sins. He freed you from guilt, from condemnation and from hell, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). That is the beginning of your salvation, but it is certainly not the end.
You were sin’s prisoner
Sin is still your enemy. Sin is still powerful. Every believer is engaged in a struggle with sin. But when you are a Christian you are no longer under sin’s power, “Sin shall no longer be your master” (Romans 6:14).
Before you came to Christ, sin was your master. You were like a prisoner of war: “A prisoner of the law of sin” (Romans 7:23). Your hands were tied. You were blindfolded. You were defenseless. You were in no position to fight. You were at the mercy of the enemy who had you in his power.
Now you can fight!
But now in Christ, you are no longer sin’s prisoner. God has put you in a position to fight back against sin, and that fight is a real battle. Your battle with sin is no longer one-sided, it has become like a boxing match.
Sin has been beating you up for a long time. But God takes off the blind fold and He frees your hands. God brings you out of the cell, and into a gymnasium where there is a boxing ring.
You climb in through the ropes, and you’re seated in one corner of the ring. In the other corner is the guard who used to beat you in the cell. Just the sight of him brings back feelings of helplessness and the fear of imminent defeat.
When the bell rings he comes out to hit you again, but now you are in an entirely different position. Your hands are free and your eyes are open. There is all the difference in the world. Before he could strike you at will, and there was absolutely nothing you could do about it. Now you can land one on him.
The knockout punch!
Now try and imagine yourself in the ring with him. You have been in a grueling contest for ten rounds. You have landed some good blows, but your opponent just won’t go down. He just keeps coming back!
That’s a great picture of the battle against temptation. The longer the fight goes on, the more you long to see your opponent hit the canvas. One day he will.
When Jesus Christ comes again in glory, your enemy, sin, will be down and out. He will never again rise to do battle with you. Your fight will be over. You will receive the crown of victory.
God is our Savior. He saves us not only from sin’s penalty, but also from its power, and one day he will save us from its presence.
Tags:
Devotional, Colin smith, Freedom in Christ, Sin, overcoming sin, sin battles, fighting sin
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