Triumphing over flesh and sinናሙና

I can say NO to sin

Before I realized that sin no longer had power over me because of my death in Jesus, I continued to obey Him!

That is why we must consider ourselves dead to sin, as Paul prescribes:

In the same way, you, too, consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Jesus Christ. Romans 6:11

It is an awareness of a spiritual reality that allows us to act accordingly.

Concretely, my death with Christ gives me the power to say NO to sin.

But often the idea that sin is stronger prevents us from saying NO with assurance and authority.

To illustrate this concept, I want to talk to you about elephant training. From a very young age, they are tied to a stake with a small chain. Not being strong enough to break the chain, the young elephants resign and no longer try to break it. Once they have grown up and could easily break free from the chain, their resignation causes them to remain tied without trying to break the chain.

This is what sin has produced in you without Jesus. You tried, but after all your efforts, you found that you were doing what you didn't want to do. You accepted the power of sin and obeyed it without resistance. Hence the cry that rises up in you that Paul expresses, "Wretched man that I am, who will set me free from this body of death?" (Rom 7:24) Understand here that this verse is not Paul's everyday life, it expresses what Godless man feels.

It is this resignation that prevents you from living the full freedom that Jesus acquired for you on the cross. Too many Christians live resignedly comparing their strength with that of sin, but it is the power of Jesus that you must oppose to that of sin. You should not rely on your past useless efforts, but on what Jesus accomplished on the cross: He destroyed the power of sin for us!

I invite you to make this statement aloud:

Today I stand up, leave resignation and choose to say NO to sin. Thank you, Jesus, for breaking my chains.

Now read chapter 7 of the Epistle to the Romans, ideally in several different versions.

David Théry

Practical teachings to experience God