Do Not Let Sin Reign (Protestant/Evangelical Devotional)

Email from "The Navigators" | 12/17/2020 | Jerry Bridges

[Gamecock]

Today’s Scripture: Romans 8:13

“If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

We have died not only to sin’s guilt but also to its reigning power in our lives. Although sin as an active principle is still with us, it can no longer reign supreme in our lives. We’re united to Christ, and his Spirit has come to reside in us. We’ve been delivered from Satan’s power and given a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26; Acts 26:18). However, as believers we experience a tension that’s like a tug-of-war. Paul described it in Galatians 5:17: "For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the spirit, and the spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want."

We must acknowledge this tension if we’re to make progress in the Christian life. Indwelling sin is like a disease that we can’t begin to deal with until we acknowledge its presence. But in the case of sin, we must also count on the fact that, though it still resides in us, it no longer has dominion over us. As Paul said, "For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace" (Romans 6:14).

Because we have the assurance that sin shall not be our master, we are not to let it reign in our mortal bodies so that we obey its evil desires (Romans 6:12). Rather we are, by the enabling power of the Spirit, to put to death the misdeeds of the body (Romans 8:13) and to abstain from sinful desires, which war against our souls (1 Peter 2:11). We’re called to an active, vigorous warfare against the principle of sin that remains in us.

[Gamecock]

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