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Christ died that I might die like him—
die to any ruling power in me but the will of God.
— George MacDonald
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What Comes Before Freedom
Last month, I was on the phone with a young man who just cried and cried during our conversation. He’s separated from his wife, estranged from his family, and he’s starting to believe God’s given up on him.
When I listened to his words, I heard the same message I hear from most people who feel caught in a pattern of sin that’s ruining their lives.
The focus is on them.
They think they must muster the strength to get on top of it—and then, once they’ve proven their worthiness, God will insert Himself again and aid their efforts.
The logic sounds right. It certainly sounds religious. But is it holy? Is it God’s way?
How to Experience Freedom from Sin
In Romans 6:11 Paul writes, “You also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (emphasis mine). Then in verse 12 he goes on to write: “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body.”
Notice the sequence here, because the sequence is everything. We must first consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God. So, the first movement is one of faith, a surrender of knowing, if you will. The ability to refuse sin’s reign in our lives comes second.
We get this backwards, though. We try to perform our way into holiness. And when we make our performance—how well we do—the entry point, only two outcomes await us.
- We succeed for a stretch and grow self-righteous. Or,
- We fail and slink into self-hatred.
Usually it’s a bit of both, and we swing between self-righteousness and self-hatred.
Why Grace Comes Before Victory
Going back to verse 11, the Greek word for “consider” is ironically an accounting term. God has a sense of humor because he’s using an accounting term for something that cannot be measured, transacted, or balanced.
My friend, we cannot maneuver or measure our way into righteousness, into the kind of living God intends for us. Paul makes it clear in Romans 8 that we move into what’s beyond our grasp by being grasped by the work of Christ’s Spirit in us. The power of our new life in Christ isn’t architected with correct answers or balanced by an equation. It’s received by grace through faith.
And from that new place—not from a knowledge that puffs up, but from a posture of surrendered knowing—we become intimate with Christ’s very life, a grace that empowers us to deny ourselves and die daily.
Respond
This week, stop trying to earn or explain your way into the life that is already yours to receive. Consider yourself dead to sin. Consider yourself alive in Christ. And watch what God does within that surrendered space of faith.
Closing Prayer
Father,
I’ve spent so long trying to defeat sin
just to feel close to You.
Forgive me for getting the order backwards,
for the self-righteousness when I win
and the self-hatred when I lose.
Thank You that I don’t have to grasp my way to life
Because You grasp me by Your Spirit.
Teach me to consider myself dead to sin
and alive to You in Christ.
From that new place, let a greater passion rule me,
until my life moves to the rhythm of Your grace.
In Jesus’s name, Amen.
Praying with you,
Addison Bevere
P.S. If you’re new to these prayer guides and don’t have the Words with God book and/or 40-day Prayer Journal, those are great resources for living prayerfully. You can get them on Amazon, the Messenger Store, or wherever books are sold.