The Authority and the Power of Sin
There are two important words that describe the nature of forces which affect our position in relation to sin before and after sanctification. These words are
authority
and
power.
Before someone is saved, he is totally under the authority and the power of sin. What does that mean?
For someone to have authority over somebody else, he must have the means to reward and to punish, so the other person does what the ruler wants him to do, and not what he himself wants. Because of the fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden, we humans are all born into this world to a disadvantageous situation, namely under the
authority
of sin.
Then through the course of history, Jesus came, and He redeemed us from that authority. He paid the ransom, and purchased our freedom. So we just have to walk out from the place where our old evil masters, sin and satan ruled over us.
As this is not a physical slavery but a spiritual one, we use not our feet to walk away, but our faith. However, this is simple to do. Jesus purchased our freedom by His blood, so we are legally free. We do not have to remain under the authority of sin, so why would we? We believe that our freedom is ours, and we say good-bye to our old slavery.
The enemy of our souls doesn’t want us to be free, so he will do all that he can to keep us in his grip. He will whisper into our minds that this freedom is not for us. He will tell us that we have to live our whole lives under his compulsions. He speaks to us through the world and through the church. He speaks to us through
remarks in books and sermons, through authors and speakers, including preachers.
But let us not believe him! He is a liar!
The truth is told us by Jesus, and it is written in the Bible. And the truth is that Jesus has set us free when He died on the cross. Our task is to believe this, accept this, reckon ourselves free from the authority of sin and walk in this faith and freedom.
The enemy doesn’t want us to win. The battle of faith is going on. But we are on the victorious side, and if we are strong in our faith and do not give up, satan must soon give in, and he cannot keep us in bondage.
“If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).
“Sin shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under the law, but under grace”
(Romans 6:14). Glory be to our Savior!
We are free from the authority of sin, so what about the power of sin?
By power, I do not mean authority, the right to command and rule, but force, pressures, attacks. Can the enemy use power to attack us after Jesus sanctified us? Can satan tempt us, entice us, put pressures on us, and try to lure us into sinning, even in our sanctified state?
The answer is a definite yes. Satan can and will attack us. But he doesn’t fight us as our boss anymore, but as a defeated enemy, from whom we are delivered. He is like a bad employer, for whom we used to work, but we left him. He is still calling us, trying to entice us to do additional work for him.
But we are free to say no to him. Jesus has won the victory, satan is the defeated enemy, and we are God’s free children. Sin has no dominion over us. We are free to do God’s will and walk in His righteousness.
So by sanctifying us, God delivers us from the authority of sin. But we remain in this sin-infested world, and we still need to resist its temptations. But we are in a good position to resist. We are free to say yes to God and no to the enemy.
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you”
(James 4:7).
Now that we are free, let us live our lives in righteousness and holiness for our God and Savior.
“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. Neither yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God”
(Romans 6:12-13). Amen.