"Sin-Killing Power"

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. (Romans 8:13 ESV)

We live simultaneously as both righteous and sinners. We must understand this concept. We have been raised from the world to righteousness, but we stink of sin. It clings to us and lingers. Paul calls this sinful part of us “this body of death” (7:24). Our old self was crucified with Christ. We have been raised from the dead and made alive in Christ. We have been freed from the slavery of sin. But our sin still exists. We will continue to sin, but our sin no longer has control over us.

We are made righteous before God by grace and in our faith in Christ. We are simultaneously sanctified. Righteousness and sanctification are inseparable. However, sanctification is not the same as our righteousness. When you are made righteous, you will hold the same level of righteousness when you leave this earthly body. One who was saved 30 years ago is no more righteous than today's newborn Christian. This is not the same for our sanctification. We continue to grow in our sanctification as we grow in our relationship with the Lord. Sanctification is progressive until we reach a state of glorification, at which time we are called to the Lord.

This Sun struggle is where the battle between will and nature takes place. This is where we must become killers, sin killers. As killers of our sin, we put “to death the deeds of the body.” How do we kill sin? It is the mature Christian who recognizes their sinful nature. Paul is the perfect example of this idea. In 7:24, Paul says, “Wretched man that I am!” Paul, despite being called by Christ as an apostle, recognizes his own sin.

As I have written previously, the concept of sinless perfection is a Wesleyan idea that is not attainable in this life. Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:15, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” Paul, who, if anyone, we would think of as sinless, recognizes and acknowledges he is the foremost sinner. When someone says, “Oh, I was a wretched sinner, but not now...,” we know they are blind to their sin.

The worst part of maturing in Christ and understanding our sinfulness is that it makes us feel continually worse. We hate our sins more and more as we grow in sanctification, and it causes us pain when we sin. It causes us to question our salvation. It causes us to grieve in the conviction of the Spirit. This is why we must be killers of sin. Spurgeon put it this way: “This enemy, so universally dominant and so strongly entrenched, how shall he be dislodged?” It has to be driven out somehow, every particle of it, and we shall never rest until it is, but by whom shall iniquity be subdued?" 1 Spurgeon spoke these words as he preached Micah 7:19, “He will subdue our iniquities.” It is through Christ that we kill our sins. We utilize the sin-killing power of Jesus Christ to subdue our sin. We do this through reading and meditating on the word of God. It occurs during prayer. We eradicate sin by removing the mechanisms of temptation that the world places before us. We rely on Christ.

Sins, unchecked, are a sign of an unrepentant heart; sins causing grief are a sign of a repentant heart and one who sees and pains over their sins. Thankfully, the gospel tells us that we who have placed our faith in Christ as our Savior and are justified before God, though we struggle with sin, are forgiven, our sins covered by the redeeming blood of Christ. Without Christ, we are hell bound. Which are you? Are you on a mission to kill your sins, or do your sins control you despite the grace that has been made available to you? Having read this, you are now educated and understand the dilemma you face. It is time to make a choice. I pray you choose Christ.

Grace and Peace.

[1] Charles H. Spurgeon, Micah 7:19, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Volume 27, https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/sin-subdued/#flipbook/, January 1, 1970