Is it possible to absolutely overcome sin? Jesus said, “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out”. What if it’s my both eyes that cause me to sin? As said, whoever shuts his eyes due to evil will not see when good is coming. It feels as though the past two days have been focused solely on highlighting the ‘don’ts’ without emphasising the ‘dos’. Thus, this dose.

As always, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers” – Eph. 6:12. The power of sin (1 Cor.15:56) cannot be conquered in the energy of flesh alone. Peter responded to Jesus assuredly, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!”. Big big talk, by the next morning, to be sure, he did three times. This is proof that no amount of self-discipline or motivation can overcome the power of sin especially when it’s graduated to obsession.

After repeating “I won’t do this again”, one finds himself doing the same thing. Those who haven’t fallen into sin might be judgmental and not understand the power of sin. Matt. 6:13—Jesus taught the disciples to pray, He said, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”. Some have never been led into temptation, they might never understand ‘deliver us from evil’.

So contradicting, but the first way out of sin is to know you are righteous. Fundamentally, it is who you are! “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” – 2 Cor. 5:21. This is not an indulgence to sin but an attempt to cultivate this awareness in us. Many have been held bond by the myth that “Nobody is holy”, a belief that often hinders genuine walk in righteousness. Everything we are in Christ we become by first knowing.

While attempting to break from sin, we often make the mistake of defining righteousness by how long we’ve abstained from sin. If we peradventure fall, we beat ourselves up and the devil ministers to us that we cannot be righteous. This makes it a self-effort rather than a work of grace. Sin cannot have power over who knows he has dominion over it (Rom. 6:14); this dominion was given not earned. “You in Christ Jesus, who of God is made for us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” – 1 Cor. 1:30. The next step is the knowledge of the Word of God.

Continued…