Jesus set us free from the power of sin and gives us a brand new nature here and now!
Romans 8:1-4 Living Bible (TLB)
So there is now no condemnation awaiting those who belong to Christ Jesus.2 For the power of the life-giving Spirit—and this power is mine through Christ Jesus—has set me free from the vicious circle of sin and death.3 We aren’t saved from sin’s grasp by knowing the commandments of God because we can’t and don’t keep them, but God put into effect a different plan to save us.
He sent his own Son in a human body like ours—except that ours are sinful—and destroyed sin’s control over us by giving himself as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 So now we can obey God’s laws if we follow after the Holy Spirit and no longer obey the old evil nature within us.
I don’t know about you, but being raised in a Christian home, I’ve read these scriptures a million times, but somehow, today, a new truth became clear to me – something I’ve never realised before.
Jesus sets us free from sin’s control over us! He actually gives us a brand new nature here and now on earth.
He also gives us a helper (the Holy Spirit) to prompt and lead and guide us step by step throughout each day of our lives, to draw us away from sin and towards God.
I knew that Jesus died for my sins. I knew that if I sinned, I just needed to tell say ‘I’m sorry, please forgive me’.
What I didn’t realise is that right now, here on earth, when we give our heart to Jesus and His Spirit comes to live inside of us, God actually 1) changes our nature and 2) sets us free from the control of sin.
Our deepest desire now is to know God; to come close to Him and to obey Him.
Before we give our heart to Jesus, our heart is selfish, self-seeking, and our natural nature is towards sin. We just couldn’t help it.
But now, with the Holy Spirit living in us, He leads us step by step along the road to healing and wholeness and away from our life of sin.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that once you give your life to Jesus you will never sin again. Unfortunately, we still sin.
The difference is that we don’t want to sin. We are not just trapped in our sinful nature. We have a new, God-filled nature, here and now, while we are still living on earth.
We have a helper on the inside of us, leading us, prompting us, away from sin and towards God.
Praise God who sets us free through Jesus!
