I am glad that you have received the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior but I’m sorry to read that you are still a “slave to sin.” We will be looking at a few verses that speak of being “set free from the power of sin” in the believer’s life and I hope and pray you will take them to heart and experience true “deliverance from sin.”

The Lord Jesus Himself addressed this important subject in John 8:30-32, 34 &36, “As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you ABIDE IN MY WORD, you are My disciples indeed. And YOU SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE…. Most assuredly, I say to you, WHOEVER COMMITS SIN IS A SLAVE OF SIN…Therefore if THE SON MAKES YOU FREE, YOU SHALL BE FREE INDEED” (NKJV). The Lord Jesus knew that even after one believes on Him for salvation (from Hell) they will still need to be “saved from the power of sin” in their life. He brings out clearly in this passage that He is the One who is able to “make you free” from sin. He mentioned “abiding in the Word” and this is absolutely vital. The believer must meditate upon the scriptures and then put them into practice in order to be “set free from sin.” The Word of God will focus our hearts on Christ Himself so that whatever circumstances we face in life, with all of their temptations and hardships, we will be “lifted above our circumstances” and be delivered from succumbing to the temptations that Satan would use to allure us away from Christ and into the world.

The Apostle Paul also spoke on this subject in Romans 8:2, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has MADE ME FREE FROM THE LAW OF SIN and death.” In chapter 7 Paul had recalled a time in his life where he was a “slave of sin” (see verses 15-20). He had been trying to please God by “keeping the Law” (the Ten Commandments) but he was failing time and time again because he was trying to please God in his own strength. In chapter 8 he teaches us the way of “deliverance from sin”; we are “set free from sin by allowing the Holy Spirit to occupy us with the life that we have in Christ Jesus.” This is crucial for you to see, for as we saw in John chapter 8 it is through the “Word of God” and the “Son of God” that we will be freed from the shackles of sin in our life. Again, we MUST be diligent each and every day to meditate upon the Holy Scriptures and as we do the Holy Spirit will take the Word of God and present Christ to the eye of faith. The result will be “freedom from sin” and “conformity to Christ.” In other words, we will “become more and more like the Lord Jesus” as the Spirit and the Word are a constant part of our daily life. One of my favorite portions of Scripture which brings this out is 2nd Corinthians 3:17-18, “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is LIBERTY. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror THE GLORY OF THE LORD, are being TRANFORMED INTO THE SAME IMAGE from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

I can’t stress these things enough. There are no “shortcuts”; we (believers) MUST be controlled by the Word and the Spirit or WE WILL FAIL! Instead of being “conformed to the image of Christ” (see Romans 8:29), we will “conformed to the world” (see Romans 12:2). It’s our choice; we must “be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18) by consciously deciding to “Walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16). If we make that choice and “Walk in the Spirit…YOU SHALL NOT FULFILL THE LUST OF THE FLESH.”

Of course, there are other important things we must do:  

1) Assemble with other believers for worship and ministry…Hebrews 10:25.

2) Witness to the unsaved of salvation through Christ…John 16:26-27 and Acts 1:8).

3) Pray to God throughout the day…Hebrews 4:14-16 and 1st Thessalonians 5:17; and

4) Confess our sin to God the moment we realize we have sinned…1st John 1:9.

But if we allow the Word of God and the Spirit of God to have their rightful place in our lives, these things shall follow and we will, by the grace of God, BE SET FREE FROM SIN.  (455.1)  (DO)