Grace That Kills Sin - Part I
Where the Cross Meets Sin
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For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:13)
For far too long, across countless generations of Christians, the absence of personal peace and the cancer of division within the church have taken root, and the unfaithfulness that has followed has left devastating consequences. If we take a detailed trace of our steps and those of the Christians past, we see that one issue stands out as a recurring theme — a failure to kill sin and stay in sin killing mode.
Hebrews 3:12 gives the charge for our earthly walk saying "See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness." Verse 19 goes on to warn that the indwelling sin in the lost generation saw that "they were not able to enter [into His rest—the promised land] because of unbelief and an unwillingness to trust in God." Thousands of years later and after the greatest gift of reconciliation has been given by Christ, we still find that we are a lost generation in many ways. A lack of knowledge of God's Word and a refusal to do the prescribed work with the prescribed tool to kill sin has left us in tighter chains. But we can make a recovery by the liberating power of the Holy Spirit.
In Romans 8:13, Paul brings this issue to the forefront of our minds again with this teaching. "if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live" goes to the heart of the problem we are experiencing. It challenges some misconceptions about the role of the Christ's crucifixion and its immediate impact on believer's sinful acts. It assigns a duty to "put to death the misdeeds of the body," it highlights the person who bears the duty "you put to death," it prescribes a specific tool outside of which the duty cannot be fulfilled "if by the Spirit" and, it leaves us with a promise "you will live," even as it highlights that the entire exercise is a choice to begin with "if." In this simple statement we find the summary of the stumbling block of generations of Christians past, present and future but we also obtain the blueprint for a different outcome.
As God has laid it on my heart, in this multipart series we will explore the relationship between the cross and sin, the theology and practicality of killing sin daily, reasons why we are unable to kill sin and how the Holy Spirit kills sin amongst other topics.
Where the Cross Meets Sin
The greatest misconception about the crucifixion is that Christ came to abolish sin in its earthly form or destroy our adamic nature. Any reasonable Christian will have a lived experience to understand that this is simply not the case. Even after receiving Christ the battle with mortal sin only intensifies as the forces of darkness work tirelessly to oppose what is good and holy. Moreover, the bible makes it clear what Christ came to achieve in Colossians 1:21-22 "Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation." Verse 22 of the NLT version reads "… he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault."
"Without a single fault" is often a tripping point because it appears to alleviate man of the burden and responsibility of sin killing though that cannot be its intention. What happened on the cross was a legal transaction which forms the basis of our ability to approach God even in our sinful state. What should otherwise have led to immediate condemnation no longer does because another "Christ" has been condemned. This is why Paul says in Romans 8:1 "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" - meaning that in light of Christ substitutionary sacrifice, the wages of our sin which is death (Romans 6:23) has been borne by Christ for those who have accepted him. What it does not say is that our indwelled sin is crushed or that continued sin has no importance.
Paul targets this very point in Romans 6:1-2 "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" In this we find the admission that continued sin after accepting Christ is possible. In reality, it is expected and this forms the second important relationship between the cross and sin. Though we have been crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20), it is from a legal perspective not from a daily practical exercise of killing sin. However Christ in his infinite mercies makes provision for this practical exercise as well even as he leaves the responsibility with us. This responsibility to kill sin daily is what Christ means by "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23). The keyword here is "deny" that is to forgo the inbuilt desires of the flesh in order to gain something better - a relationship with him that transcends all. To do this, he gave us the Holy Spirit, the administrator of our new covenant in Christ and the enabling power to keep this most important covenant unsullied.
This second relationship between the cross and sin is why Christ says “Blessed [forgiven, refreshed by God’s grace] are those who mourn [over their sins and repent], for they will be comforted [when the burden of sin is lifted]." The crucifixion is the basis for forgiveness and the Holy Spirit is the refreshing grace and comforter that allows us to kill sin daily. John 14:16 tells us as much "I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever." Why do we need help and why do we need the Holy Spirit forever? Because the responsibility to kill sin daily while on earth rests upon us but we cannot do it on our own strength - we tried this before and found only death. Paul famously called this approach and attempt the "ministry of death" (2 Corinthians 3:7) and established in Romans 8:2 that "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made [us] free from the law of sin and death." Mature believers, growing believers and indeed unbelievers all struggle with sin, the difference is whether they acknowledge the presence of sin, whether they have made the choice to eschew it and the extent to which they have engaged the Holy Spirit in the pursuit of holiness.
Christ came to reconcile us to God legally. In becoming man, he experienced the scourge of sin and temptation which is why Hebrews 4:15-16 (AMP) concludes: "For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted [knowing exactly how it feels to be human] in every respect as we are, yet without [committing any] sin." In leaving us to go back to the Father, he gave us a fighting chance against sin while we are still limited by our human form. This fighting chance is the Holy Spirit, it is why Ephesians 1:13-14 says "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory."
If you wonder why your instinctual desires run contrary to God's character, it is because the flesh by default of Adam's fall and resulting congenital rebellion is opposed to the Spirit of God. The only way to engineer alignment is through the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit of God that kept Christ above sin and raised him from death to life. Everyone who has received Christ is sealed with the Holy Spirit, the only valid mechanism for defeating sin both here on earth and when we are raised to life after death. It is why the Holy Spirit is tagged as the "deposit guaranteeing our inheritance." For through the Holy Spirit on earth, we are able to dominate sin which is a mirror image (though imperfect) of our final destination where we do not have bodies that are prone to misdeeds and minds that by default only think of evil thoughts (more on this next week) …
Prayer for the Death of Sin and the Life of the Spirit
Father,
I come before You with the weight of generations on my heart. For far too long, Your church has been marked by a lack of peace and poisoned by division. The unfaithfulness that has followed has left deep scars, but today I confess my own need: I do not want to repeat the mistakes of the past.
Lord, Your Word warns me that if I live according to the flesh, I will die; but if by the Spirit I put to death the misdeeds of the body, I will live. Teach me to remain in this posture of daily death to sin. Deliver me from the deceitfulness of unbelief that hardens the heart and shuts out Your rest. May my life not mirror the lost generations who could not enter because of unbelief, but instead may I walk in trust and obedience.
Jesus, I thank You that on the cross You reconciled me to the Father, not by erasing my sinful nature in this life, but by giving me a way to stand before Him holy and without fault. I thank You that there is now no condemnation in You, yet I also confess that I cannot excuse myself from the daily battle. Give me the strength to deny myself, take up my cross, and follow You.
Holy Spirit, You are the Advocate, the Comforter, the very deposit guaranteeing my inheritance. Without You, I cannot win this fight. With You, I can put sin to death. Teach me to lean on Your power and not my own, to mourn over my sins and repent daily, and to receive the refreshment that comes only from Your presence.
Let me not be hardened by sin, but softened by grace. Let me not be enslaved by the flesh, but empowered by the Spirit. Let my life become a witness that sin can be killed, peace can be restored, and unity can be found in Christ alone.
And so today I declare: I will not settle for the chains of the past. By the Spirit, I put to death the misdeeds of the body. By the Spirit, I will live. Amen.