Why Do I Still Live Bound If I'm Free From Sin?

First let's begin by explaining what Sin is. Sin is any lack of conformity to the moral law of God, either active or passive, whether in act, thought or disposition. Hamartiology is the study of sin. This tells me if a study is devoted to sin it must have some importance. According to the Christian Bible reference site the word "Sin" is mentioned over 400 times in the Bible. This tells me that God thought it was important to speak on it so often. Therefore if there is a study devoted to it and God says its important then I need to understand it to know what it means to be free from it.

Sin the old ball and chain

God created this world sinless. The world was a place of utopia (heaven on earth). Humans were able to talk to animals without fear. Animals ate vegetation, they didn't desire flesh and blood. Can you imagine petting a lion without fear of being eaten. Can you imagine cattle not worrying about being eaten by us. We too had no desire for flesh. All of our food grew on trees. We had no need for clothes because we were clothe in the righteousness of God. This had to be amazing to never feel guilt, shame, fear, low self-esteem, lust, rage, etc. The only feeling were those of peace, joy, serenity, kindness, love, truth, godliness, worship, etc. Just stop and think for a second how different the world would be. There were no religions. It was just God and his creation. We knew who our creator was because we had an intimate relationship with him. There was no interference or competition. Then entered Satan our enemy and God's enemy who was once one of his most treasured Cherubs. 

Bound By Sin

We can't talk about sin without talking about the cause of it. Satan wanted to be like God so he rebelled and took a third of the angels with him. These angels are now called fallen angels. Satan hates us because he has no chance to repent, he will never inherit the kingdom of heaven. His inheritance is to be locked in hell with his fallen angels. Therefore he wants to make sure we never inherit it either. When Adam made the decision to eat the fruit sin entered the world. Having knowledge of what sin was meant you had to choose sin or godliness. We are now all born into sin because of Adam's choice. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God Romans 3:23. God looked down through generations and saw that the law he created with Moses couldn't be kept. There could never be enough animals sacrificed to totally cover our sin. So God sent the ultimate sacrifice, his son Jesus Christ the Messiah. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.John 3:16 This broke the chains of sin on our lives. Instead of being mastered by sin, when we believe and accept Jesus as our Savior we are mastered by righteousness. 

Walking in the Newness of Life

Paul asks a question in Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue to sin, that grace may abound? In layman's terms Paul is asking " So do you think it's o.k to sin since we are now covered under Gods grace?" "Should we sin so his grace can increase more and more?" So before we answer that question let's talk about grace. Grace is the unmerited favor of God. Grace is God showing his mercy, patience, and kindness instead of our just punishment for sin which is death. Grace isn't earned, it's a part of God's character. Remember "For God so loved the world", his heart toward us is to give us a choice to choose him and be free. Now back to Paul's question. In Romans 6:2 he answers his rhetorical question. His answer: God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Again in layman's terms, Paul is saying " God refuses to allow us to walk in sin after his ultimate sacrifice for you to free. Why would you want to live in sin after being freed from it?"

The problem is that Sunday after Sunday we here we can never live up to God's standards. This doesn't mean we should live carelessly. We hear REPENT but we don't hear change and turn. Therefore we cry at the alter repenting but never changing. We get baptized but never open the book on how to live. We barely pray and often don't understand what prayer is. How can we live free from sin when we never open the manual (Bible)? Our mindset should be to love God with all our heart, soul and mind, not for what he can do but for what he already did. When we have a love for God like this our desire changes from a sinful nature to wanting to please God. We have a zeal to read more about him and his standard(will) for our lives. We begin to talk to him more and get to know his character. Then chains begin to fall off because we begin to say GOD I CHOOSE YOU! He already chose us with his sacrifice, now we must choose him to be able to walk in total freedom. We must take the power back from our enemy. Romans 6 (read full chapter) tells us that we must die with Christ and be raised with him by the glory of God . This means that our old sinful nature must die in order that we walk free from sin. Walking free from sin means we no longer serve sin but the father who loves us. We have the victory through Christ's death. We should live everyday manifesting our resurrected life free from sin's control. 

 Now that you know what sin is, where it comes from and what God did to free you from it, Here are some steps you can take to walk in the newness of God and become a servant of righteousness.

• Read your Bible daily. It doesn't have to be a whole chapter. Start where you are and increase as the spirit leads you.
• Pray daily, morning, midday and before you sleep. Very important to pray before you sleep. Prayer is just talking to God, nothing fancy.
• Try to connect yourself with other believers. You will be able to strengthen and encourage one another. In addition, they are seeking the same thing you are which is to live a righteous life. Ungodly people will never steer you towards God and his desire for your life.
• Always ask God to give you wisdom, knowledge and understanding so you never put your own interpertation  to his Word.
• Ask God to fill you with his Holy Spirit which will lead and guide you in God's truth. 

As you begin to implement these steps in your life God will begin to reveal himself to you. He will begin to show you the areas that need cleaning. This is what he did for me once I asked him instead of trying to do it on my own. I found that I can only do what God wants through his power. Through him we can do all things. Nothing is impossible with God. The Joy of the Lord will be your strength. If you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comment section. I look forward to hearing your testimony. 

God isn't a Religion: He is our Creator

God isn't a religion. Many are turning from God because of religion. We are putting the two together and it should not be so. God stands alone, he can't in any way be put in a box. Religion can. God isn't an institution of belief or organized system based on man. If no one believed in God he still would be God. God doesn't exist based on our belief in him.

Who is God?

God is the creator of all things. He was not born and will never die. He is not subject to time. He exist outside of everything we know to exist. There was no time before him. He isn't affected by time, space or matter. Nothing was created without him. By his word everything was created. Read Genesis for God's recap of the beginning. God is a spirit being, he doesn't have flesh like we do. He doesn't sleep or get tired. He is everywhere at once. He knows all, sees all, and he is all powerful. There is no power greater or equal to his.

God is Love

God is love. He's full of mercy and grace for his children. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life. God's will for us all is to have eternal life with him. Through Adam, sin entered the world and caused us to be separated from God. God is holy so he cannot be in the presence of sin. The penalty of sin is death and there is no remission of sin without blood so he sent his son to do what we couldn't because we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.(Romans 3:23) All of us like sheep have gone astray , each of us has turned to his own way; But God has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Jesus.(Isaiah 53:6) Even though mankind has turned from God in so many ways he still loves us and pleads with us to come to him. 

Attributes of his Spirit

Kindness, Meekness, Long suffering, Just, Self-Control, Patient, Gentle, Good, Joy, Peace

God is unchanging, His word stands, He doesn't rewrite it, His word is life to our being. He sent his word to teach, rebuke, correct and train us in righteousness.  He is holy, there is no sin in him. There is no darkness around him. He is also a God of judgment. Eccl 12:14 For God will every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing whether good or bad. Our thought, motives, actions and words will all be accounted for. He even knows every hair on our head. He is amazing, almighty, magnificent, and though him we have our being. 

Don't allow anyone to put God in a box through religion. It is very important to read your Bible, Pray without ceasing and fast. Always equip yourself with the Armor of God Ephesians ch.6. The only way to God is through Jesus Christ. There is no belief in God without believing in his son. It is Jesus blood that justifies us. Don't listen to people who say there are many paths to God. It is not. This is a lie from satan because he wants to steal, kill and destroy you. This has been his plan from the beginning. He knows if he can keep you from Jesus, he has kept you from God because there is no other way. God is not a religion, he is the first and the last, the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. HE IS THE CREATOR OF ALL THINGS. Colossians 1:16 For in him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers and authorities. All things were created through him and for him.