Freedom

There are at least two errors commonly made when it comes to overcoming sin. The first is to pretend sin is not there. This is the professing follower of Christ who pretends to be perfect. They of course wouldn’t say as much, but they carry an air of superiority and arrogance that results in a plastic religiosity. The Pharisees of Scripture were notorious for this. The second error is equally destructive but a bit more subtle. This is the error of fully recognizing one’s sin, but not believing the sin can truly be overcome. This is not the person who is stuck in their arrogance of perfection, but the person who is stuck in the despair of their imperfection. For some, they are stuck in their sin because they’re convinced the situation is hopeless. For others, they are stuck in their sin, because they’re convinced that to be sinful is to be authentic and to claim to have overcome a past sin is to be inauthentic, and they would never want to be that. These errors, denying sin and being stuck in sin, are two ditches on opposite sides of the same road. In the middle is Scripture’s teaching on freedom. To be free, according to Scripture, is not to just do whatever one wants to do, but it is freedom from destructive patterns of living. Jesus said, “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin” (John 8:34). We know this slavery when we consider how challenging—impossible—it seems to break destructive patterns of living in our own lives. We struggle with substance abuse, eating disorders, lust, greed, and more. It is easy to remain convinced that these are realities we must simply accommodate. But Jesus was clear that “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Paul addresses the same theme from a different angle when he talks about the new life available to us through Christ. He points to the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead as the Spirit that will raise us out of our destructive patterns so “we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:4). Freedom is possible. Available to us is a power that raises the dead and breaks us out of bondage. To diminish this power, or to attempt to live in our own strength, is to minimize the gospel and neglect the authentic kind of living that is truly available to us.