Joyce Meyer, a New York Times best-selling author and one of the world’s leading practical Bible teachers, gives insight into the topic of grace.
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Free from Sin
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shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under
grace” (Romans 6:14, NKJV).
Why
shouldn’t sin have dominion over us? Because we no longer possess a sin
nature, but we have entered God’s empowerment, possessing the nature of
Jesus Himself. We are free from the power of sin!
The Message says, “Sin can’t tell you how to live.” God’s Word, the
truth, declares here that gossip, slander and lying no longer have
dominion over you. Adultery, sex outside of marriage, homosexuality,
pornography or any other impurity no longer dominates you. Hatred,
bitterness, unforgiveness, prejudice and envy no longer control you.
Uncontrolled anger, rage and outbursts of wrath have lost their
authority in your life. Stealing, substance abuse and alcohol addiction
are no longer a master over you. Disobedience to authority, stubbornness
and insubordination have lost their dominion over you. And the list
continues.
You don’t have to yield to such sins anymore because
you are now under the empowerment of grace! Look at it this way: You
were once imprisoned by your own nature to some of these things and
unable to live a godly life. Jesus came and threw open the prison door.
He took the keys to sin’s powerful domination, and you can now walk out
of the prison. You are no longer a slave to sin. You are free and a
child of God!
Before we were in Christ, we were slaves to sin and
had no power over it. Now we do. We can choose to either submit to sin
or we can walk in grace free from sin. Christians have power over sin
because they possess Jesus’ nature. God did not set you free from sin so
that you could continue to sin and be forgiven—without reaping its
consequences. God set you free from sin so that you could indeed be free
and walk in true holiness as Jesus did. The true believer’s goal is not
to sin. However, if we sin, forgiveness is still found in His provision
of grace.
Grace empowers us to be pleasing to God, to live an
extraordinary life! However, if we choose not to walk in our new nature
and continually yield to sin, then we give up our freedom and again are
captive. New Testament repentance is about truth and represents a
complete change of mind or heart. It is when we are deeply sorry we’ve
hurt the heart of God and are now committed to obeying His desire in
this area. It takes both confession and repentance to free a believer
from sin’s grip.
Marked by boldness and passion, John
Bevere delivers
uncompromising truth through his award-winning curriculum and
best-selling books now available in over sixty languages. His newest
book is Extraordinary: The Life You’re Meant to Live. More
information is available at www.ExtraordinaryOnline.org.