“…just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Romans 6:4
Sin is anything outside of God and His life for us. Sin can bring a person to a low place, but God can lift us up to know His life. The life God intended for us is a life of knowing His glory, His joy, and His peace. Sin works against us knowing that life in its fullness. Sin, if permitted, can dominate anyone, even the Christian, pulling us downward, resulting in heartache, misplacement, and failure. Furthermore, sin in the life of a believer, if allowed, we could hinder the cause of Christ to the people we influence. If we don’t dominate sin, sin will dominate us.
You can’t save yourself; you need a Savior for that. In a similar way, you can’t live a holy lifestyle by yourself; you need the Holy Spirit for that. It is the power of the cross and the work of the Holy Spirit that causes anyone to rise over the temptation to go against God. We access that power through a trusting surrender to Jesus Christ. Through surrender, Christ is able to transform our mind, empower our spirit, and rule our body so we can put action to our faith, resulting in obedience. If we do not learn to dominate sin through the power given to us, sin could easily dominate the Christian, leading to a life of carnality, which works against what is God’s best for us (Romans 8:6).
Jesus helps us to dominate sin by working His salvation, which starts with the new birth and continues in a process of transformation. Jesus is always ready to take our daily surrender to restore us and to complete us in areas where there is lack. If there is an area of our soul that is broken or missing, we need to yield it to Christ. If we hold back a part of us from Christ’s loving authority, we are being self-sufficient and self-absorbed, which is sin. Don’t think you can fix yourself or fulfill desires outside of Christ. If not surrendered, sin will have an opportunity to have a hold on us. If you think you can control a sinful addiction on your own, you are mistaken. We have to let go in order for Christ to raise us up. Let go of the past relationship, the past pleasures, the past hurts – let it all go, and instead, embrace Christ and this new life. My personal reminder for letting go of the past is Lot’s wife. God told Lot and his family to leave their home and not look back. I believe Lot’s wife had friends in her past, affections, joys, and memories. She died as a result of her desire to stay bound to what God had set her free from. Surrender and you win!
Application: God will give us personal convictions for our specific issues. It might be a boundary for social media or online activity. It could be a friend or place we need to separate from. The choices we make determine whether we dominate sin or sin dominates us. Choose life!