Romans chapter 7, verse 19, states, “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.” How many of you can relate to this? You have a heart for God. You genuinely love Him and desire to serve and please Him wholeheartedly. But you find yourself habitually mired down by some type of sin or disobedience. You can’t seem to break that bondage or stronghold no matter what you do.
Many Believers are captive, suffering one defeat after another in life. Why? They don’t possess knowledge of the power of God’s grace. Hosea 4:6tells us, “My people are destroyed because of lack of knowledge.” The Hebrew word for destroyed literally means “cut off.” Instead of accessing grace to overcome their weaknesses and shortcomings, many Believers try with their own human efforts to live a victorious life. They try to keep all of the laws and commandments. When people don’t have knowledge of certain things, they become captive.
But, ladies and gentlemen, I have some good news for you today! Sin’s dominion has been destroyed! “Well, Brother Dollar, if it’s been destroyed, why am I still being dominated by it?” Look with me at Hebrews 12:28, “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”
Did you see that? The way you’re going to serve God acceptably is going to be by grace. Now, I’m always digging. When I read a scripture like that, I’m always asking, “Yeah, but what does that mean? How practical is that?”
Listen, before we became born again, we were children of the devil. We had his sin nature (Ephesians 2:3). We sinned because it was the “natural” thing to do. But when we became born again, we received the nature of Christ (2 Peter 1:4). We received the very likeness, image, and nature of God, on the inside. Now that we have Christ’s nature, we can produce righteousness rather than sin. However, if that’s true, why do so many Christians still struggle with the same sins they struggled with when they possessed the devil’s nature?
“Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof”(Romans 6:11-12). This scripture is showing us our responsibility. Don’t let sin rule in your mortal body! How? By grace! Through His death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus has presented to you His grace, His power, His ability, His name, everything you need to overcome in this life!
You’re a free moral agent. You can stop sinning! You can choose to submit to sin, or you can choose to walk in grace, free from sin. Begin to put all your faith and confidence in Christ instead of your own self-effort. Stand up in front of temptation and sin and say “Thank You, Father, that I have the grace to overcome this thing! I’m depending on the grace of God!” What are you doing? You’re acknowledging His grace, by faith, which is how we access grace (Romans 5:2). That’s when grace can begin to empower you to overcome in areas you didn’t think you could ever get out of. Even in the middle of whatever you’re doing that’s wrong, open your mouth and confess what you have a right to, because of grace! Declare, “I’m the righteousness of God! God loves me so much that He’s enabled me to overcome this! God has graced me to win over this!” Submit to, believe in, trust in, and receive, His great grace! Amen!
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).
In my teaching series Freedom from the Shame of Sin, I expose why sin can no longer dominate born-again Believers who possess the nature of Christ. You have a choice to obey God! You can trust in His grace to help you choose righteousness over sin. God has empowered you with everything you need—great grace—to live a life that is pleasing and acceptable to Him!
