Power Point - March 16, 2005
March 16, 2005
Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
-Romans 6:11
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a book in the 19th century with which you may be familiar. It was about a man who had two personalities—one was Dr. Jekyll and the other was Mr. Hyde.
Dr. Jekyll was kind, benevolent, gratuitous, loving, and a minister in his profession. But, living in the same body, Stevenson tells us there lived Mr. Hyde. Mr. Hyde was altogether different than Dr. Jekyll, and could be described as mean, vindictive, and even murderous.
The book itself is about the conflict and struggle of these personalities within this one particular human being. Christians can certainly relate to this same struggle—maybe not literally, but spiritually we can. We’re familiar with this war within, because while we have a new nature in Jesus Christ and are dead to sin, Satan is not dead and there is still temptation.
As Christians, we have been freed from slavery to the old nature. No longer are we dominated by the past or controlled by the old way of living. We have been set free. Sin may be dormant in our lives, but it is no longer dominant. While sin may be resident, it is never president. We don’t have to say yes to the demands and directions of the old life.
So, why do we still sin? Basically, we do it voluntarily. One man said the Christian sins because they have a deep, dignified, respectable love for sin. In other words, if a Christian sins, it is because he or she chooses to sin. So often, we do it with our eyes wide open, with our minds made up, and with choose to continue to live under the power of sin in our lives.
We need to know that we are free. If you feel the spiritual war raging within you every day, ask God for the strength and wisdom to battle for a sin-free, righteous lifestyle. Choose today to live free of the shackles of sin.
BREAK FREE FROM THE CHAINS OF SIN! IN JESUS CHRIST,
IT IS THE ONLY WAY TO LIVE.
