Breaking Free from Sin: Walking in the Freedom of Christ

Listen, we need to talk about something real today. Last week we dealt with the debt certificate - how Jesus nailed all our sins to the cross. But here's the question: what happens after you got free?

The Credit Card Problem

You know what happens? It's like paying off a credit card. You pay it off, you're free, and then you say, "You know what? I'm gonna flip it. I'll get this and that, and when the money comes in, it'll pay for itself." But the money never comes in, and you run that card right back up. Raise your hand if you've done that a couple times. Yeah, you were free and you went back.

That's exactly what Romans 6:1-2 addresses: "What shall we say to this? Should we continue in sin and practice sin as a habit so that God's gift of grace may increase and overflow? Certainly not! How can we—the very ones who died to sin—continue to live any longer in it?"

The Reality of Shame

I don't know about you, but I've been a sinner, and there have been times where I felt ashamed and couldn't wash it off. Done some things I'm not proud of. See, the reality is sin brings a certain shame to it.

But here's the good news: 2 Corinthians 5:17 declares, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ (that is grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior), he is a new creature reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit. The old things—the previous moral and spiritual condition—have passed away. Behold, new things have come because spiritual awakening begins a new life."

From Kings to Slaves and Back Again

Here's what happened: God created Adam as a king. In the process of creating Adam as a king, Adam and Eve chose to not be kings. When they made the decision to not be kings, they went from kings to slaves.

See, people don't understand—when God told Adam, "You name the animals," that was significant. A king's word is law. But when they sinned, God said, "You must leave my kingdom because now you are no longer a king." Why? Because they subjected themselves to another voice.

Once you start listening to the devil, you become his. Either you're going to listen to God or you're going to listen to the devil. And when you listen to the devil, you become his.

The Pull of Sin

And here's the problem with sin—once you get into it, it doesn't stop with just keeping you hostage. It takes it to a whole other level. And you wonder why you do stupid stuff.

You try to get away, but it seems like it's got a hold on you. "Lord, I know what I'm doing is wrong, and I'm trying to get out, but it keeps pulling me back. I know this is not my house and not my bed, but something keeps pulling me back."

Practice Makes Perfect—For Better or Worse

Romans 6:4 says, "We have therefore been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory and the power of the Father, we too might habitually live in newness of life."

Verse one talked about habitually sinning. Verse four talks about habitually living a new life. You can't be a good sinner if you don't practice. The reason why you're so good at it is because you practice.

So the only way to be a new person is you have to change what you practice. If you want something different, if you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got.

Change Your Environment, Change Your Life

If I want to live a new life, I got to practice new things. That means:

• I got to get away from people who have my problem
• I got to get around people who have my solution
• I got to stay away from chained people

If I have a drinking problem, I can't hang around drunks. If I got a weed problem, I can't hang around weed heads. This ain't deep. Whatever your struggle is, get away from it.

Key point: Get around people who have your answer. Get away from people who have your problem. Because if all of us are drunk, how are we going to get home?

Identifying the Trigger

To get a new habit, you first have to:

1. Identify what the bad habit is
2. Identify what's the trigger - Why do I do this? What in me makes me consistently do this?
3. Find the antidote
4. Practice the antidote long enough that you can see change

Striving, Not Perfection

1 John 3:7 tells us, "The one who practices righteousness (the one who strives to live a consistently honorable life) is righteous, just as He is righteous."

Notice it says "strive." It didn't say "master." Striving means I am still working on some things. Sanctification is not instantaneous.

As I'm growing in Christ, I'm being freed from some things, but not all things. I still have issues I'm dealing with. That's why you could be a believer and still cuss somebody out some days.

Pig or Sheep?

Here's the difference: A pig caught in slop rolls with it. Loves it. But a sheep is trying to get out. "I'm in my slop, but I can't stay here."

None of us are perfect. The key is you can't stay in that spot. You must ask yourself the real question: If I keep practicing this, am I saved? Who's my daddy?

The Seed Needs to Be Fed

The seed of the Spirit gets in you when you're saved. The problem is you have a grown man or woman who's been raggedy all their life, and now you get the seed of the Spirit. But that seed needs to be fed.

If you keep feeding your flesh, your flesh is getting stronger and stronger. And if you don't feed the spirit man, when the spirit man says we shouldn't cuss, flesh says, "Shut up."

You wrestle with who I used to be and who I want to be. And if you don't reconcile this, you got to check yourself.

The Old Man Is Dead

Romans 6:6 declares, "We know that our old self (our human nature without the Holy Spirit) was nailed to the cross with Him in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin."

The old man is nailed to the cross. I can't do "me" anymore because that person's nailed to the cross—that liar, that cusser, that cheater, that whatever it is. I'm a new creature.

Romans 6:7 continues, "For the person who has died with Christ has been freed from the power of sin."

And John 8:36 promises, "So if the Son sets you free, you are unquestionably free."

Don't Let Sin Reign

Romans 6:12 gives us this command: "Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts and passions."

It says "do not allow." It doesn't mean it's not there. It will still call you and pull on you. "You know you like it. You know you want it. Just one more time. Just one more time."

And you go right back into the chains. And then you get hurt again, and you say, "I'm done with it. I'm going back to Jesus." And then you go back, and then you go back. Lord, help me with me.

Understanding Your Story

Sometimes believers judge people without knowing their story. I'm being transparent here—I watched pornography at six years old because of my environment. My brothers drove me to buy drugs at six. I drove my mother to work at 10 years old, parked the car, and walked to elementary school.

Sometimes things hit your life that were not your fault. And now you got to deal with your reality. Until someone understands what you've been through, they can't judge you fairly.

But here's the good news: Though I used to be that, I met a man named Jesus, and He changed my story.

I don't care how bad your story used to be. Anybody who's in Christ Jesus is a new creature. Old things passed away. Behold, all things are new.

Crucifying the Flesh

Galatians 5:24 says, "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to the cross and crucified them there."

The devil has no territory on you. Now, if you decide to go back to the scene of the crime, that's on you. But the power of Jesus Christ has set us free.

And every day you got to choose. Lord, I need help. Can't do it by myself.

Changed Appetites

When I was in college, I listened to rap music with cussing and all the other stuff. Then all of a sudden I got saved, and it started bothering me. I couldn't jam to it anymore.

I realized God was changing my appetites. There was a time where I could be dipping and diving and doing all kinds of crazy stuff, and all of a sudden I started feeling dirty. Something was changing on the inside of me.

The Holy Spirit starts to prick you: "You can't be here no more. You can't do this no more." It just starts to change you.

A Decisive Act

Romans 6:13 instructs us: "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."

Notice it says "decisive act." That means you got to make a decision.

Your Everyday Life Is an Offering

Romans 12:1 in The Message says: "So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering."

Whether you know it or not, everything you do is on the screen. God sees everything.

You have to understand: if you could do it by yourself, you'd have done it by now. Sin has you chained.

Breaking Generational Chains

I didn't realize that those chains I dealt with were not necessarily my chains. My family had been chained. If you look back in your bloodline, you will see the same sin issue in your daddy, your granddaddy, your mama, your grandmama.

And if they did not get set free, it's kind of hard for you to be. So you better look back and deal with it.

Embrace What God Has Done

Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him. He died for you to receive freedom. He died for you to receive debt cancellation. But if you don't receive it, why'd He die?

If you're not going to walk in freedom, why are you going to be a slave to it?

Now let me help you: It's always going to pull on you. It's not going to stop pulling on you. You have to make a decision to cut it.

Fix Your Attention on God

Romans 12:2 in The Message continues: "Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it."

Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to immaturity, God brings the best out of you.

The devil always wants to take you back to your chains. And anything that wants to have you chained cannot be of God because that's not the best version of you.

You Are Royalty

You are a queen, woman of God. You are a king, man of God. Take them chains off you. Take them limitations off you. God is calling you higher.

And the Bible says, "For whom the Son has set free is free indeed." You got to walk into this.

Your Decision Today

Change is not necessarily easy, but you have to make a decision and start to practice new habits.

If you need to make Jesus your Lord and Savior today, or if you need to rededicate your life, today is the day. You can't keep doing the same thing and expect something to change.

The change is going to be you. You have to change.

Prayer

Father God, I thank You for Your Son Jesus who died for me and rose for me that I may have life and have it more abundantly. Holy Spirit, come into my life. Guide me, lead me, fill me. Jesus, I surrender my will, my way. Lord, I make You Lord of my life in Jesus' name. Amen.

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