The Power of Free Choice
“When we were merely living natural lives, the law, through defining sin, actually awakened sinful desires within us, which resulted in bearing the fruit of death. But now that we have been fully released from the power of the law, we are dead to what once controlled us. And our lives are no longer motivated by the obsolete way of following the written code, so that now we may serve God by living in the freshness of a new life in the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 7:5-6 TPT)
Did you notice the more you tell yourself “I must not do this again,” the more likely you are doomed to repeat it?
Doesn’t it sound like the Ten Commandments which begins with “You shall not...”
For example, “You shall not think of a pink elephant.” The more you tell yourself that, you’ll find that you can’t stop thinking about that pink elephant.
The mind seems to filter out the word “not”.
It is the Law that stirs up the rebelliousness of our sinful flesh. It lusts against the things of God.
The more you say don’t sin, the more the flesh is tempted to sin.
We will benefit from learning to reframe and repackage the things we don’t want to do—from a perspective of negative obligation to a perspective of positive voluntary choice.
The first thing to realize is that we have truly been freed from the condemnation of sin. Jesus took all the punishment for sins in His own body at the cross so that we won’t have to.
We need to get rid of this fearful expectation of God’s judgment because it actually holds us back from breaking free from sinful habits.
This fear comes from being Law and sin-conscious instead of being conscious of how forgiven we are through Jesus’ finished work at the cross.
““All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are profitable. “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things build up.” (1 Corinthians 10:23 WEB)
ALL THINGS are lawful for you. You can literally do anything because the Spirit of Life that is in Christ Jesus has set you free from the Law of sin and of death.
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is true liberty—you are totally free.
In the New Covenant of Grace, there is no sneaky fine-print, no hidden clauses, no leash to pull you back into right behavior. You have received forgiveness of sins as a gift of grace (unearned favor).
Is a Christian free to commit sin? Yes you can if you want to and God will not punish you for it.
Are you shocked to read that? But it is the truth.
If you can’t accept that, then you’re still bound by the Law and have an incomplete revelation of what Grace is.
If you say, “No, a Christian shall not sin, if not God will punish him and he’s in danger of hellfire,” that is a lie and it stirs up the sinful passions in a person’s flesh.
That kind of teaching dishonors Jesus’ finished work at the cross (as if it were an insufficient sacrifice) and it brings a person deeper into bondage to sin.
That’s because Law is a sin trigger that activates the fleshly temptation to commit sin.
But there’s a better way—use the freedom you have in Christ to do things that are profitable to you and the body of Christ.
Use that freedom to do things that build up instead of things that break down—imparting life instead of death.
Instead of declaring “No, I must not sin anymore,” which has no power to break the power of sin, you can say, “I am free to do anything I want, but I choose to honor and worship Jesus by doing what is profitable and edifying to the body of Christ!”
Remember this: your identity is your ability. You have the power to break free from sinful habits because you are a royal priest and child of God. Sin has no dominion over you because you are not under the Law but under Grace. Hallelujah!
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