Victory Over the Darkness. Anderson
Rom 6.6 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin—
tells us that the old self was independent and disobedient to God---gone forever because you are no longer separated from God.
The death of your old self formally ended your relationship with sin, but it did not end sin's existence. [ By the cross], no longer under any obligation to serve sin, obey sin or to respond to sin.
The new life which characterizes your new self is nothing less than the life of Jesus Christ implanted in you
Many times in our lives, our problems stem from one of two things. Either sin in the world affects us...or the sin that we choose to partake in affects us.
Sin spends its time learning to twist our thoughts into thinking whatever that particular sin "is" is not a sin at all. A mere technicality. People just think I am being sinful.
Sin twists its words into saying that God wants us to be happy, to be us...regardless of what sins may occur to meet this end.
Sinclair Ferguson, in "Whole Christ", uses wonderful phrasing by explaining the serpent's way of undulating his tongue against God. The serpent, he explains, firstly initiated that God is not actually loving, and does not actually care for us with all His Person. That poison, Ferguson further states, entered the bloodstream of humanity and has not yet left. Sin continues to try to prove to us that we have to do what we want because God will otherwise leave us as orphans.
When one considers their own weakness for whichever sin is one's biggest weakness...there are indeed times that the sin seems alive. Calling, crying to us like a lost child. Shining on a hill, bigger and brighter than anything on the horizon. Pungent lies, deepening every moment to lead to our destruction.
God is in us, and we are in Him, so long as we have made that choice, and continue to strive towards Him. The "golden" sin on the hill begins to look like it truly is: a broken down mansion filled with mildew, rot and bats.
Our pet sin must be trained. Trained into absolute submission. And the only way to do that is allow the Spirit to command us, guide us and show us the way. It was never said in the Word that following the King of all would be easy. It was said that He would never leave us, nor forsake us. It was said that He prepares a place for us. His love and the place He prepares in comparison to the torment escalated here and the rotten, mildewed, bat-filled future the other provides are hardly worth comparing. The "easy" way may seem easy....but in all reality it is among the worst choices to make.
Ask for help from your King, Father and Lord...He sends strength like a coat of armor.
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