It can be very frustrating when learning about the decisive victory that Jesus has won for us on the cross through the Word of God while still finding yourself struggling with some besetting sins.
It may seem like there’s a huge disconnection between what the Word of God says and the day-to-day reality that you’ve been finding yourself in.
In other words, there’s a heavy load weighing you down from rising above that particular sin in order to experience that victory on a personal and practical level.
The Trick Of Sin
Having said that, the very mindset that you will have to confront during your journey to victory over habitual sin pertains to the reality that sin is something that you can enjoy now.
It’s an immediate thing to do to take care of the internal annoyance that temptation generates.
The pleasure of sin that has been placing tremendous amount of pressure on you to act accordingly, particularly on your way of thinking can be enjoyed right now while resisting temptation is an ongoing process that may take a while to subside, which can be quite challenging.
That’s what makes succumbing to sin so appealing and enticing since it appears as the only quick solution to release the intense pressure being built upon your flesh by temptation, thus undermining your ability to firmly embrace your victory in Christ in a given situation.
Look Beyond Feelings
Your victory in Christ isn’t measured by how you feel in the midst of unpleasant situations associated with temptations.
It’s dependent on your own willingness to embrace it by faith regardless of how desperate and intense the challenges may be until it starts transforming your life moment by moment by subduing the power of sin influencing you.
You need to learn to look beyond what you’re going through by exercising your faith on the basis of what the Word of God says concerning your freedom not on how you feel.
Since Jesus has already offered Himself up for us by laying down His life, the key factor that will make a significant difference or activate the limitless power found in the atonement is how we choose to respond to it considering our sinfulness that makes His atonement a great necessity.
Why Christ Has Given His Life For Us
I’m sure that you already know the exact answer to that question since you’ve been hearing that all throughout your entire life.
But let’s try to get a much better and deeper understanding of it, which will enable us to better appreciate and take advantage of the unlimited riches found within His sacrificial death that can radically transform our lives from the inside out.
Ever since humanity has fallen into sin shortly after the rebellion of Adam and Eve, they’ve fallen straight under the dominion of Satan.
But God in His incredible grace and mercy wanted to take mankind out of the lost state they were so that they could live according to His will and purpose by sending Christ to suffer the death of the cross.
The main reason that Jesus has given His life by shedding His precious blood for us was to set us free from sin, which carried the penalty of eternal death (Romans 6:23; James 1:15).
Sin in itself is the instrument that Satan uses to establish his dominion over people’s lives.
Beloved, sin is the very energy, strength, or nature of the devil just as holiness is God’s nature.
So if he can control people’s lives through the means of sin, what does that mean to you if you allow Jesus Himself to take care of your sin problem by allowing Him to exercise His Lordship over your life?
Let’s read and ponder on these following Scriptures about Jesus destroying the very sin problem that has held us captive in the prison of Satan.
Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15).
The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work (1 John 3:8).
We know that our old life, our old sinful self, was nailed to the cross with Christ. And so the power of sin that held us was destroyed. Sin is no longer our boss. When a man is dead, he is free from the power of sin (Romans 6:6-7).
What is the power of sin? What kind of an influence does it have on people’s lives?
The power of sin is the evil force driving and holding people captive into sin indefinitely.
It’s a dominant and pervasive force connected to people’s fallen nature.
The power of sin is also the very force that sustains or influences sinful lives.
It’s the driving force hijacking people’s free will; in other words, the evil force crippling people’s ability to make wise and godly decisions.
To put it even clearer, it’s the evil force influencing people to keep on doing the same foolish and destructive things over and over even when knowing the truth.
In other words, the power of sin is the strength of Satan when it comes to controlling and dominating people’s lives. It is both impulsive and compulsive simultaneously.
The good news is that Christ has died, resurrected, and ascended to heaven in order to destroy it.
Christ has won the victory over Satan, the world, and the flesh.
And that victory was ours.
The mystery of the atonement of Jesus Christ was that God Almighty Himself became flesh with the purpose of redeeming human souls that have died in sin (Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 9:6).
He came primarily to destroy forever the power of sin being the foundation of sinful lives reigning over people’s lives.
God wanted a righteous blood to cleanse the sinner. It took the blood of Jesus who lived a holy and righteous life before God to cleanse those sins.
With the shedding blood of Jesus, the power, influence, and control of Satan on people’s lives have been shattered.
Beloved, you’ve been purchased with a high price from the control of sin and the devil by the precious blood of Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:20; Colossians 1:13-14; 1 Peter 1:18-19).
You are no longer under the dominion of the devil but under the dominion of God.
You’re no longer under the power of sin but under the power of holiness and righteousness unto God.
Lastly, you are no longer a slave to sin.
This is the exact truth you have to embrace.
It Grieves Christ Terribly When we Are Trapped In Sin
Did you know that it truly bothers and hurts Jesus when seeing what the enemy is doing in people’s lives due to their ongoing struggles with sinful behaviors while His great power is sufficient and readily available to set them free?
Our sinful behaviors literally cause Christ to keep on saying to Himself, I paid for everything.
They have everything they need at their own disposal to overcome sin, but they have chosen to live below the victory that I’ve provided them on the cross.
They have chosen to embrace a defeated life over a victorious one.
They have chosen to reject my saving and redeeming power, which is infinitely greater than the power of the flesh influencing them to fall into sin by turning back to their own wicked ways.
How To Firmly Embrace That Victory
It all starts with a drastic change of mindset because if you believe that you’ll never be able to overcome that sin you’ve been dealing with, then you won’t.
Your unbelief will lock you up into the sin cycle you find yourself in indefinitely.
Did you know that all of your past failures pertain to the reality that you’ve placed your trust into your sinful habit as the only thing that could satisfy the unrestrained sinful desires raging within you?
Beloved, your faith is your most powerful weapon because it’s the foundation of your relationship with God.
It’s the element that connects you with Him through Christ, thus allowing Him to reign in your life.
Faith is the very element that activates and releases the power of God in your life (Ephesians 2:8).
Faith walks hand in hand with obedience. First, you must believe that you’ve been set free from sin and Satan by the blood of Jesus.
After believing that, you must be willing to act out on that belief by living your life accordingly.
Your obedience to God through the power of the Holy Spirit is what going to materialize His liberating power in your life.
Moreover, your obedience is what going to enable you to tap into the limitless riches found within Christ Jesus (Luke 11:28).
The first thing you need to do is to submit yourself to the authority of God’s Word known as the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17).
You have to stand on the truth found within the Word by allowing it to govern your life as well as your response to temptation.
Your obedience to God is the essence of holiness and righteousness, which are the exact manifestation of your victory over sin and the devil.
The next thing you’ll need is a solid prayer life in order to humble yourself before God by inviting Him to fill you up with His glory, the very embodiment of His divine presence and power (1 Thessalonians 5:16; Matthew 26:41) to the degree that anything that is not of Him to start losing their influence over your life.
When you devote yourself to living a holy and righteous life for God’s glory at any cost by allowing Christ to live in you through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit through the means of putting to death the misdeeds of the flesh, which is the platform upon which Satan operates or gains access in people’s lives, you are going to give the enemy such a difficult time to make inroads into your life.
Jesus paid the full price for our sins. He was our atonement. We are set free indeed (John 8:36).
And we’re supposed to live a completely liberated, redeemed, fulfilled, and victorious life in Him.
Every day, you just have to remind yourself of that kind of life you’re supposed to live in Christ for God’s glory.
You have to believe, think, and act in such a way that will make His victory on the cross on your behalf become your own victory.
Helpful Resources: