Escaping Sin

My previous essay focused on inescapable sin: the reality that as long as we live, sin is an enemy that will return to tempt us again and again, hounding us repeatedly until we finally shake off this mortal coil and join with our Savior beyond the veil. But is that the end of the story? Is there nothing which we can do to escape from the bonds of sin in this life?

That, my friend, is an excellent question. I’m so glad you asked!

From the very beginning, God gave us an indescribably wonderful (yet extremely dangerous) gift: free will. It is by our free will that we choose to place our faith in God through Jesus Christ. It is by our free will that we accept God’s gifts of forgiveness and grace. It is by our free will that we either accept all the blessings which God has offered us… or reject them.

It was Adam’s choice to allow the serpent to tempt Eve. It was Eve’s choice to eat of the one fruit which was specifically forbidden by God. It is each condemned individual’s choice to continually reject God’s offered salvation in favor of some temporary pleasure. We all make countless choices each day with our free will. Some choices are small and seem so insignificant that we barely even recognize them as conscious decisions at all: do I start walking with my left foot, or my right? Do I put on my socks before or after putting on my pants? (By the way, obviously before is the only correct answer!)

There are other choices into which we pour a great deal of thought, if we are wise. Should I marry? Should I buy this car? Should I buy a house or rent an apartment? Unfortunately, it is often the questions that we don't ask which lead us into some of the worst decisions of our lives. We often rush headlong into situations that we later regret: situations which, for the Christian, inevitably lead to the question posed by Paul in Romans 7:24, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”

I’m sure that a great number of readers were rushing to answer my last essay with verses like John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Perhaps John 1:9 came to mind: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” These are, of course, pretty standard answers when it comes to the question of sin in our lives. We know that God forgives, we know that we can do all things through Christ (Philippians 4:13), but… what can we actually do to escape from the bondage of sin?

I know, I know: “Let go, and let God.” Right? Answers like this, however well-intended they may be, are often not what we need to hear in the moment. Sometimes we need a bit more direct guidance, and believe it or not, the Bible actually gives us exactly that.

First of all, we must understand, much as I pointed out in my previous essay, that sin, no matter how good and liberated it might make us feel in the moment, actually leads to bondage. “Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.’” (John 8:34) Or as Paul said in Romans 6:16, “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?”

And right there is the beginning of our answer. We see here that we have a choice. We can choose which path we take: sin or righteousness. As simple as that statement sounds, as we all know, following through with the decision to do the right thing is not always easy. But the key here is in recognizing that you do, in fact, have a choice. You have free will, and that is an extremely powerful gift from God.

During the moment of temptation, you will find it difficult to resist the burning desire for the object of your sinful fascination. One of the most effective tools that you can use is to pause and reflect upon the choices you have, and the destinations to which they each inevitably lead. Take some time and ponder the possible outcomes. Paul says it like this: “How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:2) “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.” (Romans 6:6-7) “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” (Romans 6:17-18) “But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.” (Romans 6:21-22)

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

If we take a moment to simply stop and do nothing, to breathe, to listen to the Holy Spirit, and reflect in our minds upon what we are about to do, we are far more likely to avoid making deadly, sinful choices. Instead, we can choose to practice what we preach. We can, as difficult as it may be, choose the way of life.

One might think that this is too simple, perhaps even trite. But consider this: the Creator of the universe thought well enough of humanity to give us the most dangerous of abilities: self-determination via free will. The God who knew you while you were still in the womb, who crafted every detail of your DNA, who knows every possible future outcome of every choice you will ever make, also saw fit to let you make your own decisions. Yes, God desperately desires for you to choose Him, to spend eternity in fellowship with Him in literal paradise, that is true. As the omnipotent almighty sovereign over all that exists, He could have created us to mindlessly follow Him; to enslave us to His will with no shred of independent thought. Instead, He chose to show His love to us by granting us the freedom to choose.

When you face your moment of temptation, remember the unbridled power which God has given to you. Remember also one of the most powerful verses in the entire Bible; the words which Joshua spoke before the Israelites at Shechem: "And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)