There is GREAT hope for every believer struggling with sin. God’s solution is not found in the law, but in grace. Your hope is in the Lord’s power and not in your own performance! After all, your own performance has you stuck in the “struggle,” doesn’t it?
There is no doubt that sin is a dominating force. We’ve seen it in the world all around us, and if we’re honest, we’ve seen it in our own lives too. Sin dominates everyone who is still separated from God, every single day. The real troubling part is how often it still dominates Christians. Even after we’ve been set free from the penalty of sin, many of us still feel defeated by its influence.
Why is that?
One reason is that we fall back into striving. We try to overcome sin in our own strength, doing everything we can to live up to God’s perfect standard. But the power of sin remains strong when we rely on our flesh. That’s not the way to walk in victory. That’s not the resource God has given us to live a new life.
Romans 6:14 (NKJV) “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”
Grace is not permission to sin. Grace is the power to walk in freedom. Listen, it’s simply foolish and not God’s will for you to do whatever you want and call it grace. That’s not grace. That’s a rebellious justification of your pattern of sin.
Romans 6:1-2 (NKJV) “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”
Real grace draws us toward what is helpful, what is holy, and what builds others up. Grace points us to the life-giving realities of the kingdom. Real grace does not ever, in any way, encourage us or lead us to sin. Maybe the struggle is in your unwillingness to repent and surrender yourself to the Lord in that area?
The law shows us God’s standard, but it doesn’t give us the strength to fulfill it. Grace does.
Grace is God’s resource for daily freedom. It’s the supply of His Spirit, working in us, empowering us to walk in obedience and victory. And when we walk by the Spirit, we’re drawing on that grace. We’re not earning anything. We’re receiving what we need moment by moment to live the life of victory that is already ours!
Galatians 5:16 (NKJV) “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
God’s grace does more than forgive. It strengthens. It transforms. It leads us into daily freedom from the tether and temptation of sin. Of course, there is still an ongoing battle. However, you must remember that you are no longer dominated by sin. The struggle lies in wanting to say yes to temptations. Ahh, this is where grace wins! You have the power within you to win!
Hebrews 13:9 (NKJV) “Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace…”
When our hearts are established by grace, we are on a solid foundation. Legalism, guilt, and shame have no power over us. Our lives will be lived in unity with Jesus as we abide in His love, moment by moment.
You don’t have to keep living under the weight of failure. You don’t have to let sin deceive you into thinking you are powerless anymore. Look again to Jesus. Trust Him today. Ask Him to fill you with His Spirit and to teach you how to walk by grace, not by striving. Victory is yours by faith!
