Freedom from sin

I am continuing to read through the book of Acts- finished Chapter 19 today. It is so overwhelming to see how God worked through Paul. Many people say their experience with Jesus looks nothing like the life Paul lived...the more I think about it, the more I realize our faith and obedience doesn't look anything like Paul's either. I believe God wants to work through all who are fully yielded to Christ. Maybe we don't experience life and ministry like Paul because we don't exercise our faith in the same way Paul did.

Just a thought, what do you think?

This chapter reveals that turning from sin...repenting from sin...asking for forgiveness, whatever you want to call it, is not enough to experience real life in Christ. Does that shock you?

In this chapter Paul encounters a group of disciples of John (the Baptist). They had been baptized, which symbolized their repentance (turning away) from sin, but they still had not received the Holy Spirit, the One who imparts the life of Christ within every believer.

Paul told this group that they needed something more than just repentance from sins. He tells them that they need to believe in Jesus as well. When they heard this, the Bible tells us that they were baptized in the name of Jesus- and only then did they receive the Holy Spirit.

I don't believe this story proves what some call a second blessing, that a person receives the Holy Spirit after someone prays for them to receive the Holy Spirit. I believe this passage teaches that the Holy Spirit is given to all who believe in Jesus Christ.

I think we encounter many people who are sorry about their sins (maybe more sorry that they got caught), but they really don't want to receive Christ. They want forgiveness, but they don't want to surrender their lives to Christ. They want all the benefits without any of the costs. But God's Word shows us that life through the Holy Spirit comes when we receive Christ and not just turn from sin.

The reality is that only by receiving Christ can anyone actually be free from sin in any measure. We might regret sin...we might want to stop sinning, but only through yielding to Christ can we begin to experience power over sin.

So being baptized in the name of Jesus means that we totally identify ourselves with Christ. We trust in Him alone. We give Him complete control over our lives and that is where we begin to experience victory over sin. When we follow him wholeheartedly. When we follow Him, we can't go our own way. And that is really what sin is. It is going our way, in thoughts, words, and deeds, instead of God's way.

I guess Galatians 5:16 says it best. To me this is what it truly means to be a follower of Christ- "So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves." I can be sorry about my sinful nature...but I won't stop my sinful nature. A person can't control or manage their sinful nature. They have to die to it. You need to become non-responsive to your sinful nature. The only way that I have found to do that is by becoming responsive to something else- or more specifically- Someone else.

What that means is that I become responsive (I respond) to how Christ wants me to live. I choose to follow Him in obedience- trusting that the Holy Spirit will give me all the strength I need to trust and do what He says. So if I'm listening to Jesus through the Holy Spirit, I can't be listening to my sinful nature. For example, if I'm listening to my radio on FM, I won't be listening to AM stations.

So the best way to overcome sin is to surrender and follow Jesus' leadership. He'll empower you through His Holy Spirit to experience real life and real freedom from the bondage of sin.

Jesus, thank you for paying the penalty for our sin, and thank you for breaking the power of sin as well. May we follow Your Holy Spirit so we won't do what the sinful nature craves.