Freedom From Sin

Scriptures: Genesis 2, Genesis 3, Romans 3:23

Missing the Mark

There may be some sins of which a man cannot speak, but there is no sin which the blood of Christ cannot wash away. — Charles Spurgeon

Sin. It’s a word that Christians don’t like to mention because it makes us feel ashamed. We prefer to use words like struggle or mistake. But dealing with sin honestly will help us find victory from it in our future. Before we dive in, let’s answer a couple of questions that many people have about sin:

What is sin?
If you look at the Greek—the original language of the New Testament—the word for sin is hamartanō, and it means “to be mistaken.” But the definition that most scholars use is “to miss the mark,” which refers to archery. If an arrow doesn’t land in the center of a target, or the bullseye, the arrow has “missed the mark.” Sin is like that.

The mark is the standard God gave us to follow. It’s His perfect way. And we’ve all missed it according to Romans 3:23. Not one single human can claim perfection. Whether we miss the mark by a little or a lot, it’s a sin. 

Where did sin come from?
Sin entered the world because of the first humans, Adam and Eve. In the Old Testament book of Genesis, we read that God told Adam and Eve that they could eat from any tree in the Garden of Eden except one—the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Guess what? They ate from that tree. Because of that one act, all human beings are born with a depraved heart, and we sin the moment we have the ability to do so. 

We’re all born with a sinful nature because of someone else’s choices. Seems unfair, doesn’t it? There is great news, however. Much like sin was brought into the world by one man, Adam, salvation came into the world by One Man, Jesus. God sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins. Because of Jesus’s finished work on the cross, we can have victory in our lives over sin. While we won’t achieve perfection, we can make choices that will make our lives richer and fuller. 

Over the next four days of this Plan, we’ll discuss why we sin and ways to stop the cycles of sin in our lives. We’ll dive into comparing our sins with others as well as choosing to love others over retaliating. And finally, we’ll learn how to live forgiven and free—because that’s what we are.

Reflect

• Is it difficult for you to admit that you sin? Why or why not?
• Think about an issue you struggle with. Call it what it is—a sin. Ask God to help you overcome this.

Scriptures: Romans 7:14-20, James 1:12-14, 1 Peter 5:8, 1 John 1:8-10, 1 John 3:4, 1 John 4:4

Why We Sin & How We Change

Though sin often brings immediate pleasure, it gives no lasting joy. — R.C. Sproul

Wouldn’t it be amazing if we didn’t sin anymore? We all do things we shouldn’t do, but we don’t have to live bound by sin. Before we learn how to bring about change in our lives, we need to understand why we keep committing the sins we do. 

Why do we keep sinning? 
Part of the answer is what we discussed in day one. All humans are born with a sinful nature. Our flesh is strong and self-serving, and it wants what it wants. We’re susceptible to temptation and in turn, it’s likely we’ll sin. We have desires and appetites that want to be fed. So when temptation strikes, our flesh has such a difficult time saying no because it’s weak. The Apostle Paul wrote that he doesn’t understand why he does what he does—that he literally hated doing the things he did—but he kept doing them. And the things he wanted to do? He didn’t do them! 

In such moments of weakness, our spiritual enemy is near. He tries to convince us that what we’re doing is okay. You can be assured that if he is talking, lies are spewing. But even with the enemy’s influence around us, it’s unwise to blame our choices on him and his forces of evil. Yes, we live in a world where there is a spiritual battle going on, but he isn’t stronger than us. With God in us, we have the power to conquer any temptation or force that comes against us.  

How do we stop sinning?
The good news is we can improve in this area and not allow sin to hold us hostage. We have to choose things to strengthen us in order to overcome temptation and spiritual battles. We have to evaluate the kinds of situations we are putting ourselves in. We have to be mindful of the people we spend the most time with, and recognize that the things we watch and listen to also influence us. Could the situations and people in our lives contribute to our poor choices that lead us down sinful paths? We have to be honest with ourselves if we ever want to find freedom.

The more we say yes to the things of God, the less we will succumb to sin. We won’t ever be perfect, but we can make choices and then trust God to carry us through the difficult circumstances we find ourselves in. He guarantees His strength to us in all things. Let’s take Him up on that promise.

Reflect

• Think about that sin you listed from day one. When do you find yourself making this choice? Who or what is around you? What is a step you can take to find freedom from this?

Scriptures: Matthew 7:1-5, John 10:10, Romans 3:23, Hebrews 12:1-3

Comparing Sin

Don’t judge someone just because they sin differently than you. — Anonymous 

We’ve touched on what sin is, why we do it, and how to stop the cycle of sin. Today’s topic is sure to challenge us because most people fall into the trap of comparing their sins to someone else’s. 

Let’s take lying as an example. Everyone has lied at some point in their lives. Some lies appear to be huge and bordering betrayal, while others are a little bit more on the  “no big deal” side. We think that our small lie that doesn’t seem to affect anyone is not that big of a deal. But, the person who betrayed their spouse, well, that’s a hugelie. And we smugly think, “I’m so glad I’m not like him or her.”

This mindset is inaccurate and far from biblical. We read in Romans 3:23, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” (NLT) In essence, we’ve all missed the mark. Regardless if we miss it by a little or a lot, it does not measure up to God’s perfection. 

This revelation isn’t to shame us—it’s to set us free! Free from the trap of looking around at others and thinking we are superior to them. If we’re continually comparing ourselves with others, then the standard will always be a moving target. Some days we may feel like the best person on earth compared to someone else’s actions, while on other days, we’re discouraged because someone is making better choices than we are. 

The standard, or mark, we must hold ourselves to is God’s perfection. If we strive to follow Him and obey Him with our whole being, then we will get closer to His standard. This is a lifelong pursuit for the Christ follower. When we keep our eyes on Jesus, we will be more likely to want to better ourselves instead of looking around at others. 

Striving to follow and obey God has nothing to do with earning more of His love. God’s love is already secure for the Christ follower. There isn’t anything we can do to make Him love us more than He already does. But, choosing to honor and follow Him, even when it’s difficult, will result in the abundant life He promised to us while we exist on this earth.  

Reflect

• Do you find that you compare your sins with the sins of others? Why or why not?
• Think of a sin you have committed or regularly commit that seems small compared to the “big” sins of other people. Confess it to God and ask for His help to focus on your own life instead of others.

Scriptures: Matthew 5:38-40, Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:13, 1 Peter 3:9

Retaliating With Sin 

That old law about ‘an eye for an eye’ leaves everybody blind. The time is always right to do the right thing. — Martin Luther King, Jr.

Revenge appeals to our flesh. We want to retaliate when someone’s done something to hurt or offend us. We want to “get back” at them and show them what it feels like, so we say or do something to them hoping we can experience some relief. 

Take a married couple, for example. One spouse does something to hurt the other. It could be something like hurtful words during a fight or it could be marital unfaithfulness. The other spouse has a choice in how they respond. They either show grace and forgive, or they say the words or break the trust because it was done to them. 

Rarely do people feel better when they handle their own revenge. All it does is stir up an insatiable appetite for more revenge. When we allow someone else’s sin against us to determine if we will sin back, we’ve given them power over our choices. And retaliating with more sin hurts the heart of God first. 

The toxic cycle goes like this: someone hurts us, we hurt them back with our sin, we sin against God, and then maybe the person is hurt. There’s no guarantee that our retaliation will hurt the person we intended to hurt, but it will always go against our God. 

We think that stooping to the level of the person who hurt us is actually going to bring us comfort. It never does. And to make the entire situation worse, we know that God is not pleased and has called us to a higher standard. Instead of retaliating, what if we said to ourselves, “I’m not going to retaliate because I don’t want to sin against God”? Let’s allow our love and devotion to God to keep us from retaliating with more sin. 

Everyone has something they are going through at any given time in their lives. Things that cause us great pain, which in turn leads us to do things we didn’t think we would do. Sometimes all we need to do is walk away, forgive, and pray for the person who hurt us. But for those whom we cherish and walk through life with, we can choose to empathize and show grace, for that will enlarge our hearts for the people God loves so deeply. 

Reflect

• Do you tend to be a person who wants revenge? Why or why not?
• Think of a time when you retaliated with more sin. Confess it and ask God to give you the strength to show grace next time.

Scriptures: Psalms 103:12, Romans 6:23, 1 John 1:8-9, 1 John 2:1-2

Forgiven and Free 

The Accuser says, “Feel guilty and condemned for all the things the Most High has had to do for you.” Deliberately refuse to listen to him. Because the more you listen, the more he’ll say. — Beth Moore

No matter what you’ve heard in your past, we want to make sure you hear the truth in your present and future. There’s no sin you can commit that can’t be forgiven by our good God. Nothing. 

The deep, dark secret you’ve committed? Forgivable.
The person you betrayed? Forgivable.
The hateful words you’ve spoken? Forgivable. 

There may be something coming to mind that makes you hate yourself. We all have those moments. Just simply confess it, receive forgiveness, and live free. It really is that simple. In fact, it’s as easy as this prayer:

Heavenly Father, I know that ________________ was wrong. Please forgive me for my sin. Help me turn from my sin and walk in the freedom you offer me.

Many of us have a hard time forgiving ourselves. It could be that people in our lives continue to remind us because they haven’t forgiven us. And there’s nothing we can do when someone won’t forgive us for hurting them. We can only do what we can do and pray that their hearts will soften. 

We also can’t forget that our spiritual enemy comes at us with darts that are simply doubts. He whispers, “Did God really forgive you?” And with that question, doubts and concerns fill your mind because the last thing he wants is for you to feel forgiven and free. But you are forgiven and free. 

God has forgiven you for your past sins, and He’ll forgive you for your future sins. Stand on it. Jesus has gone before you. His death covered all sins and that means all of yours—all of everyone’s sins. His sacrificial act on the cross settled this issue. As a Christ follower, you have forgiveness of sins, abundant life on earth, and eternal life in heaven because of what Jesus did on the cross for you. He is your Advocate. Claim God’s truth in 1 John 1:9—if you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive your sins and cleanse you of all unrighteousness. 

All really does mean all.

Reflect

• Do you tend to beat yourself up over your past sins? What is it that keeps you from accepting God’s forgiveness?
• Write down one thing that you have asked God to forgive you for but you keep holding onto it. Today, walk in freedom. Trust God’s Word that says He has removed your sins “as far as the east is from the west.”