Breaking Free from Sin - Romans 6:1-13
“Dear God, you’re really going to be proud of me! I haven't gossiped, lusted, or lost my temper today. I haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or overindulgent. I'm very happy about that! But in a few minutes, I'm going to get out of bed. From then on, I'm probably going to need a LOT of help!” That’s our prayer, right? Do you ever struggle with breaking free from sin?
How many here have gone this past week without committing a single sin? Raise your hands high! If nothing else, we’ll get you on pride, right? Is it realistic, then, to think that we can ever go without sinning? Perhaps not all the time on this side of eternity, but God does give us the power to live victoriously. Today we’ll look at some ways to break free from sin. They are simple, but not always easy, and they come right out of our passage today. The first one simply is,
1. Know who you are.
In today’s passage the Apostle Paul states a number of times who we are as Christian believers: we are people who have died to sin and are alive in Christ. That’s who we are. As Christians, we identify fully with Jesus in his death on the cross; our sins died with him there just as surely as he died. 2 Corinthians 5:14 says, “One died for all, and therefore all died.” And we also identify with him in his resurrection on the third day. The same power of God that raised Jesus from the dead raises us from spiritual death to eternal life the moment we believe in Jesus.
Paul provides an illustration in the waters of baptism. In Bible times, you were baptized as soon as possible after you had committed your life to Jesus. It was a way to stand up publicly for him, since he stood up for you. And there was no sprinkling back then; everyone was dunked. Paul uses that here as an illustration: As one is lowered down into the water, he or she dies to sin and self, as Christ died and was laid in the tomb. Then, as one is raised back out of the water, he or she becomes newly alive, just as Christ became newly alive on that first Easter morn. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation: The old has gone, the new has come!”
If you’re a Christian believer, this is who you are. Jesus died and you died, and your sin died along with you. Verse 7 says, “Anyone who has died has been set free from sin.” Paul has a little fun here in a morbid sort of way, because the truth is that dead people don’t sin. If you sneak into a morgue in the middle of the night, when all the staff are gone, you won’t find anything going on there. You don’t find anybody in a morgue who is stealing or lying or committing murder. Those who have died are set free from sin. When Jesus died, our sinful selves died with him. Next time you’re tempted to sin, ask yourselves, “Could I commit this sin if I was lying dead in the morgue?” There’s your answer: you have died to sin.
But that’s not the end of the story. Jesus rose again, and you rose with him, the moment you became a believer. In that moment, you became a brand-new creation. The same power that God used to raise Jesus from the dead, he also used to raise you from spiritual death to eternal life. It’s important, in combatting sin, to know who you are: dead to sin, and alive in Christ. The second step is to ...
2. Say no to temptation.
In verse 12, Paul says, “Do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.” The word “reign” is appropriate, because Paul pictures sin ruling over us. He even describes sin as our master and us as its slaves (verse 6). So, the idea is to keep sin off the throne. He completes the thought in the first half of verse 13: “Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness.”
Nice idea, but how do you implement? Well, for starters, you stay as far away from your temptation as you can. I remember many years ago, when I was a youth pastor, all the teens wanted to hear was what was ok and not ok in the back seat of a car. How close to the line could they get and still be ok with God? I told them they were asking the wrong question. The better question is, “How can I honor God in this relationship?” If you’re trying to get as close to the line as possible, you’ll step over it every time.
Joseph in the Old Testament found himself tempted by Potiphar’s wife to sleep with her. What did he do? He ran! He removed himself from the situation as fast as he could.
Think about what tends to assume the throne in your life. If it is sinful, then stay as far away from the temptation as possible. If you have trouble with gossip, choose to hang out with people who won’t tolerate it, and give them permission to call you on it if you start gossiping. If you have trouble with the internet, keep your computer in a public place. Install some accountability software or filters. If you have trouble with always wanting to be in control, then purposefully give up control to others you love. Step away from the line. James 4:7 says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
How else can you say no to temptation? You can enlist an accountability partner. Just telling a Christian brother or sister about your struggle sometimes causes temptation to lose its power over you. Chaplain Jim Duke has been a powerful accountability partner for me. It’s amazing how opening up to another gives you the courage to walk away from the temptation. You can memorize a scripture verse that will help you battle the temptation. (That worked for Jesus in the wilderness.) You can pray and ask for God’s help. All these things help you say no when you need to. Know who you are, say no to temptation, and lastly,
3. Say yes to God.
Sometimes we get rid of bad habits, but we don’t replace them with anything good. It reminds me of Jesus’ parable of the fellow who gave up his unclean spirit but didn’t replace it with anything good. Later, the unclean spirit returned with seven other evil spirits! (Matthew 12:43-45) Sometimes the more we try to resist something, the more tempting it becomes.
So, while you’re doing all the things I just talked about—praying, staying clear of the temptation, making yourself accountable, memorizing a scripture verse—you also need to focus your energy into positive outlets. In a letter to the Galatians, Paul put it like this. He said, “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).
In today’s passage, in the last part of verse 13, he writes, “Offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.” In other words, since you have been brought from death to life, act like it! Serve the one who saved you. When you spend more of your energy serving God, you have less energy to sin.
In Philippians 4:8, Paul writes, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” It’s not enough to say no to the bad; we also need to say yes to the good.
Know who you are: dead to sin, alive in Christ. Say no to temptation. And say yes to God. And who knows? Maybe, just maybe, God will give you the power to overcome temptation and to avoid sin more and more. Let’s pray:
Lord, we know that, on our own, we have no hope of living life victoriously, sin-free for you. Yet, with you, all things are possible. Help us to remember that we have died to sin as Christ died for us, that we have been risen to a brand-new life in Christ, and that, as we follow you, you will give us grace greater than all our sin. In the name of Jesus we pray, amen.
Julia Harriette Johnston was the daughter of a Presbyterian minister from Peoria, Illinois. Johnston wrote over 500 hymn texts, but today Lisa will sing her most famous, recognizing that, only with God’s help, God’s grace, can we overcome our sin. Please listen to the words of “Grace Greater Than All Our Sin.”
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Romans 6:1-13
6 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.
