The Agony of Our Sin, The Defeat Through Christ

Christians, what a battle we fight daily. A struggle against the sin which still dwells in us. We may still fight it, and we must, but it is no longer the king or ruler of our lives. It does not own us anymore! There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ. He has defeated the power that it once held over us.

 The Agony of Sin. 

As a Christian, it does not take long to realize that we are still bound by sin. Remember what Paul said in Romans 7:15;

For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.

We are commanded in 1 Peter 1:14-15, ” As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior.”

Paul knows this passage of Scripture. It commands him to be holy in all of his behavior. Paul, the Apostle knows all of the Scriptures that command obedience and dying to self. He wrote most of the New Testament. But he says he is not practicing what he would like to be practicing.

I can so relate to Paul. I know you can too! If you have not understood the war that is going on in you as a believer, I pray that as we walk through this passage of Scripture, God breathes a breath of relief in you.

That which Paul has found we need to see also. There is a principle, a law that is present in us:

I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. Romans 7:21

The one who wants to do good, the New Man, is in a struggle with the old man, the one who wants control. There is evil still present in this body of flesh that wages war with the mind. Paul says it makes us a prisoner of the Law of sin. A prisoner indeed, bound, not able to escape its presence and not completely able to escape obedience to it. There are times in our lives that God does overcome a sin that has held us captive, but we are still capable of falling in other areas. Still, we must and are called to fight!

Wretched Man: the Agony of Sin

Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Romans 7:24.

Can you relate to Paul and what he says in Romans 7:24? Boy, I sure can. Paul is crying out wretched, afflicted, distressed man I am. Wanting to do good but falling short, crying out when, O, when will this be complete and asking Who is going to set me free from this body of death because I know full well that I cannot do it. There should be in all believers a growing weary and hating of the evil that is still present in them. I believe that is one of the sure signs of salvation. But I would like to add this; a true believer knows that he cannot pull himself up by the bootstraps and defeat sin. He knows that it is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit.

The agony of sin! Like the Apostle Paul, do you find yourself tired of suffering in this body of death? I can imagine all of your hands raised right now, agreeing with Paul and crying out with him, who will set me free from this struggle? The struggle is real, but we will not be defeated!

The Defeat of Christ

Who will set us free from this body of death?

The question is answered.

Thanks be to God we will be set free through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Christ has defeated the power of sin through His death and resurrection! Romans 8:1-2 teaches:

There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the Law of sin and death.

There is still this agony that every believer will experience over their sin for as long as we are alive in this flesh. BUT, there should also be a great peace that we experience as well in the midst of this agony! If we are in Christ Jesus we are no longer condemned to eternal death and destruction in hell! Christ has defeated that which we could not do through the Law.

God sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as an offering for sin. Remember, without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin. Christ condemned sin through His perfect flesh, and the requirements of the Law are fulfilled in us through Christ. Praise God!

Do you have the peace of Christ dwelling in you? Do you understand the agony of sin? Do you know that Christ has forever defeated sin?