Sonship: Freedom FROM Sin
John 8:31-36 If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
What are we Christians made free from? We are not made free from the penalty of sin, the wages of sin is death. There are so many verses spoken by the Lord Himself making it very clear the realities of Hell. The Apostles gave us much teaching on the wrath of God and constantly tell us not to be deceived that if we sin, we will not inherit the kingdom of God. Despite what nice loving bloggers or preachers tell you, Jesus came to this earth to set us free FROM SIN.
The Apostle Paul wrote a lot about sin and our freedom from the power of sin. Most of Paul’s teachings have been twisted to promote you can keep on sinning walking in both a flesh and divine nature. That is not what Paul taught nor is it what Jesus or any other part of the Scriptures teach. We are not free TO sin. I encourage you to read Romans 6 in its entirely but here is an excerpt that makes the point.
Romans 6:15-18 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
We don’t set ourselves free, it is the Son of God that sets us free, although as the whole of Scripture shows, we indeed have a role to play. Through Christ we are transformed into a new person, repenting and leaving our “old man” or innate wickedness behind. If we follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit we can overcome temptation in our moments of weakness and lead a Holy life just as Jesus called us to do. God gave us instructions and encouragement that we could indeed resist temptation. Please click the preceeding hyperlink to read that post.
Matthew 5:48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Jesus’ coming and His grace has mistakenly been taught as setting us free TO SIN yet this is a grievous error. The freedom spoken of in Scripture speaks to freedom from the power of sin. The power of sin is still all around us, our flesh wars against our spirit, the world provides distractions and temptations, and a very real Devil and demons are there to entice us into unrighteousness. If one has truly been re-birthed as a son of God, we are free from the power of sin in their lives. Jesus says we shall be free indeed and it was this conquering of sin and its power over us that He was referring too. The idea that nobody can stop sinning is a lie. Through God all things are possible. We can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens us. Jesus promised us He would not leave us to our own devices, we will not be orphans any longer.
John 14:15-18 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
Praise God for His mercy however, His love does indeed live forever. He gives us a way out, He provides a way for us to be reconciled to Him and cleansed from our past sins. That is called repentance. John tells us the Lord is faithful and that if we confess our sins, he will cleanse us. But in order to confess a sin, we must be convicted of it and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. We cannot practice sin and enter life.
While forgiveness is indeed a part of His majestic grace, if we wish to enter His kingdom we cannot be a slave, instead we must be adopted in His kingdom as a son or daughter. In the passage at the top of this post, Jesus said that if we sin we are a slave to sin. We cannot be both a slave to sin and a son of God. We are either one or the other.
Romans 8:12-15 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
Are you being lead by the spirit of God? If you are practicing sinning Jesus says you are not His friend and worse that you do not love Him. This violates the first and most important commandment to Love the Lord with all your heart, mind and soul. If we live according to His Spirit we are told by Paul we will put to death the deeds of the body (sin). We are only sons of God if we are led by the Spirit of God and the measure of whom you are led by is your obedience to the Spirit or your bondage to your flesh. Are you obeying the Spirit of God or are you obeying your flesh or worse the voice of Satan?
1 John 3:7-9 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. 10This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
Here John tells us we are children of the devil if we keep on sinning. We do not stop sinning by following the laws of God written in the Bible with our own willpower. We stop sinning by following the Holy Spirit that has been given to all of those who have been Born Again. We are Born Again if we truly repent of our sin and turn towards God. God in His wisdom and mercy knows our hearts and when that repentance is sincere, He gives us the Spirit of Truth that will guide us in all things. It is by walking IN CHRIST (in the Spirit) that we resist temptation, choose obedience and reap eternal life. We can never do this on our own initiative or willpower. That is why we are saved by Grace and not by works. Still, our obedience in increasing measure is the sure tell tale sign as to whether or not someone is truly born of God.
The Bible is full of verses that warn us not to be deceived about sin which is the most important truth about salvation.
Eph 5:6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
Galatians 6:7-8 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
If we practice sin, we are not sons of God. You can call yourself a Christian, be active in your church, do all the Bible studies in the world, but none of these is the criteria Jesus or the Apostles defined as being a Christian. Paul calls sinners sons of disobedience, John calls them children of the devil, Jesus called them workers of inequity and evildoers. The wrath of God (Hell and eternal damnation) will come to those that are slaves to sin. A slave only enjoys the master’s blessings temporarily, only a son is heirs to the kingdom. If we do not conquer our practice of sin, we are not of God and we deny Christ if we claim to be a Christian. Who is your Lord? If you practice sin, Jesus is not your Lord and you deceive yourself if you think you are saved. Do not let your belief in Christ be in vain as Paul warned us.
1 Cor 15:2 By this gospel you are saved IF you hold fast to the word I preached to you—otherwise you have believed in vain.”
Jesus came to free us FROM SIN, not give us freedom TO SIN. If you are in bondage you need to repent and seek the saving grace of Christ. Jesus is the only way you will be able to destroy the works of the devil in your life. He is indeed the way, the truth and the life.
Hebrews 2:14-16 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 16 For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham.
To become the seed of Abraham you need to be adopted into His family. You are a not a natural branch but must be grafted in by your repentance and continued abiding in His nourishing vine. To belong to Christ and be a son we must suffer just as He suffered.
Hebrews 12:4-10 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:
“ My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
6 For whom the LORD loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.”
7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Indeed our Father demands that as His son we strive to defeat sin. God allows this as a true test of our faith, to prove ourselves worthy of Him. If we are not chastened, the writer says were are illegitimate and not a son. This is how we prepare ourselves, we respond to the guidance of His Spirit and put to death the deeds of the flesh. We kid ourselves if we believe there is no price for us to pay. The Lord has made it plain the cost and suffering we must endure. We must be willing to lose our life to gain eternal life. We must strive to enter the NARROW gate said Jesus. Are you being trained by God’s chastening or are you blaming it on the Devil like many do?
Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.
Galatians 3:26-29 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
We belong to Christ only if we have His Spirit otherwise we do not belong to Christ. That is the same as Jesus asking “Why do you call me Lord Lord and not do what I say?” If you have His Spirit, you cannot practice sin as we saw above from 1 John 3:9 . If you are really a Christian and are practicing sin, you make God a liar. Since the Bible tells us God cannot lie, the only truth is that you are not a Christian and you are the one lying. In that case, Jesus is not really your Lord as we cannot serve two masters.
You cannot stop sinning on your own. Try and try as you may, unless you repent and fully submit yourself to Christ and obey His Spirit, you will continue to sin. You must be purged of your inherent wickedness as a fallen man and that only comes when Jesus has your whole heart. That is true faith and true repentance, turning away from your flesh nature and to God, putting aside all the desires of your flesh in submission to God. Then and only then can you walk in His Spirit, abide in Christ and resist the temptations that God allows to test our hearts.
May the grace of God call you to obedience and equip you for every good work. We the Sons of God are to be a light unto the world. May your light shine brightly in these days of darkness.
MAY GOD BLESS YOU RICHLY!
