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I. The status of sins committed prior to salvation:
А. Dealing with sins committed prior to salvation.
B. Accounting for sins committed prior to salvation.
II. The attitude of believers toward sin after salvation.
III. The possibility of believers sinning after salvation.
IV. The impact of sin on a believer’s salvation.
V. The responsibility of believers who sin after salvation.
VI. The consequences for believers not confessing sins and not departing from evil.
VII. The possibility of believers avoiding sin after salvation:
А. Avoiding sin.
Believers who desire to live an overcoming life must see the relationship between the believers and sins. There are many different views concerning this matter; however, we will consider only our relationship to sins, both before and after our salvation, according to the revelation in the Bible.
1. “Jehovah has caused the iniquity of us all / To fall on Him” (Isa. 53:6).
God caused all the sins that we committed prior to our salvation to fall on the Lord Jesus. When the Lord Jesus was judged by God on the cross, He bore all the sins of those who would believe in Him, and He took them away. Therefore, on the cross the Lord dealt with all the sins that we committed prior to our believing in Him.
2. “Who Himself bore up our sins in His body on the tree” (1 Pet. 2:24).
The Lord bore our sins as He hung on the cross because God put our sins onto the Lord Jesus at that time. Therefore, all the sins that we committed before we believed in Christ were borne by Him on the cross.
1. “Having forgiven us all our offenses” (Col. 2:13).
Since God caused the Lord Jesus to bear our sins on the cross and righteously judged Him, He has forgiven us for the sins that we committed prior to our believing because His righteous requirement has been satisfied. He has erased our sins before His righteous law.
2. “I have wiped away, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, / And like a cloud, your sins” (Isa. 44:22 see also 43:25).
God has not only forgiven us of our sins but also wiped away our sins because the Lord bore our sins upon the cross. Forgiving erases the record of sin; that is, it eliminates our responsibility to answer for our sins according to God’s righteousness. Wiping away removes the trace of sin to the point that it is as if the sins never occurred. The sins that we committed prior to our salvation have been completely wiped away, even though they were like a thick cloud hanging over us. When the Lord Jesus bore our sins, God wiped them away, causing them to disappear as if they had never been committed.
3. “Their sins and their lawlessnesses I shall by no means remember anymore” (Heb. 10:17 see also Jer. 31:34).
Not only does God forgive and wipe away the sins that we committed prior to our salvation; He does not even remember them. Forgiving eliminates the record of sin before the law of God, wiping away removes the trace of sin upon us, and not remembering erases the impression of our sin from God’s memory. Our sins have not only been eliminated before God’s law and removed from us; they also have been erased from God’s memory. God no longer remembers the sins that He has forgiven and wiped away. Now we are not only sinless before the law and sinless in our person; we are also sinless in God’s memory. Although it is difficult for us to forget our sins, God forgives us; He does not remember our sins because His forgiving is equal to His forgetting.
4. “As far as the east is from the west, / So far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psa. 103:12).
God forgives our sins and causes our sins to be removed from us. They are as far away from us as the east is from the west. There is no way to determine the distance between east and west on the earth, because the earth is round. Who can find a fixed starting point for east or a fixed ending point for west? This word in the Bible is marvelous! David spoke this word before people even knew that the earth was round, but even then he did not say that our sins were as far away as north is from south, because for many the earth itself is a fixed starting point. Consequently, if a line was extended north into space, the distance between north and south could be measured. Instead, the Bible says that our sins have been removed as far as the east is from the west, a distance that has no fixed points for measurement and thus cannot be measured. This means that God removes our sins from us to the point that it is impossible to connect us with them.
5. “You have cast behind Your back / All my sins” (Isa. 38:17).
God has cast all our sins behind His back. God cannot see the sins that He has forgiven, because He is a God who does not look back. If a person saw God’s face in the Old Testament, he would die. Moses saw only God’s back. If God had turned His head, Moses would have died (Exo. 33:20-23). But praise God, He does not turn His head. He does not look back. When He forgives our sins, He throws them behind His back where He does not look.
6. “He will tread our iniquities underfoot. / And You will cast into the depths of the sea / All their sins” (Micah 7:19).
God treads our iniquities underfoot and casts our sins into the depths of the sea. Treading our iniquities underfoot means that they are beneath His consideration following His forgiveness, and casting them into the sea means that He is unwilling to consider them following His forgiveness. These descriptions in the Bible show that after God’s forgiveness and removal of our sins, our previous sins have no part in His consideration of us.
1. “Should we continue in sin that grace may abound? Absolutely not! We who have died to sin, how shall we still live in it?” (Rom. 6:1-2).
After salvation we should have no thought that it is acceptable to sin. Although the grace of God abounds because of sin, we must leave our sins behind and be dead to sin. Since we have been forgiven and saved by God’s grace, how can we still live in sin?
2. “You have become well; sin no more”; “From now on sin no more” (John 5:14; 8:11).
After our salvation we should sin no more. This is the Lord’s rule and commandment.
3. “Purge out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, even as you are unleavened; for our Passover, Christ, also has been sacrificed. So then let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Cor. 5:7-8).
These verses were written with the background of the Passover as a type in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament the Israelites kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread after the Feast of the Passover by purging out any leaven in their environment. Leaven refers to sin and corruption. Therefore, purging out leaven was a type of purging out sin. Christ is our Passover lamb. When we received Him as our redeeming Savior, we kept the Passover, not in type, but in reality. At that time God’s judgment and punishment passed over us, and we received God’s forgiveness and salvation. From the time of our salvation onward, we should continue to purge out the old leaven, which is to leave the sins and corruption of our former days. We should keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, not with the leaven of malice and evil but only with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. This means that we should not participate in sinful acts but live a life without sin so that we can become a new and holy lump with all the saints.
There are many different views concerning this matter among Christians. Some say that it is not possible for believers to sin after their salvation, and others say that it is possible. However, the only answer that we should receive is the answer that is revealed in the Bible.
1. “These things I write to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins” (1 John 2:1).
The first chapter of the first Epistle of John was written to us believers so that we would not sin. Therefore, John’s word implies that we still can commit sins after being saved. If this were not possible, there would have been no need for John to write an Epistle to us about not sinning. His writings and teachings prove that we can still sin after our salvation. This is proven by the phrase if anyone sins. This word shows even more clearly that we can still sin after our salvation, even though it was John’s hope and desire that we would not sin. According to his thought, it is possible for us to sin after our salvation even though this should be neither intentional nor acceptable. This can be compared to a sheep falling into a pit of mud even though this is neither the intention of the sheep nor the desire of the shepherd.
2. “If we say that we do not have sin, we are deceiving ourselves” (1 John 1:8).
Do not have in the original Greek is in the present tense and refers to our present condition. Thus, if we say that we no longer have sin and cannot sin, we are deceiving ourselves. Although we have God’s life, which cannot sin, and His sinless nature, we still have our old sinful nature. Since we still have our sinful nature, we still can sin.
More than twenty years ago in Shanghai there was a small group of Christians who were very strong proponents of the idea that Christians could not sin after they were saved. They further believed that those who sinned after their salvation had not been truly saved. One day five brothers from this group bought four tickets to a park. Four brothers used these four tickets and went into the park, but then one brother came out with two tickets and gave the second ticket to the brother who was still outside so that he could enter the park as well. This raised a question in the mind of one of the brothers. He thought, “Is it not a sin to sneak a person into the park in this way? We say that believers cannot sin, but if this is not sin, what is it?” When he asked the others, they said that it was not a sin but only a little weakness. This answer clearly showed that they were deceiving themselves. Their answer caused the brother to realize that their understanding was not according to the truth. This shows that even brothers who say that believers cannot sin after being saved can sin. Rather than admitting this, however, they deceive themselves.
3. “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar” (1 John 1:10).
If we say that we have not sinned after our salvation, we not only deceive ourselves but also make God a liar because we can sin and have sinned as a consequence of our sinful nature, which we still have after our salvation.
4. “Brothers, even if a man is overtaken in some offense, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of meekness, looking to yourself lest you also be tempted” (Gal. 6:1).
The apostle’s word in this verse is spoken to brothers, to saved ones. If a man is overtaken in some offense means that there is the possibility of stumbling and sinning. Furthermore, the apostle says that believers should be careful when they seek to restore a stumbled, sinning brother lest they also be tempted. For example, there was a brother who wanted to restore a brother who had fallen into going to movies. He wanted to help the brother forsake movies, but when he heard the brother talk about the latest films that he had seen, he was tempted and went to the movie theater with the brother who needed to be restored. The apostle’s word shows that we still can sin after we are saved. Furthermore, it is even possible for those who are spiritual to sin.
5. “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12).
The context of the apostle’s word in this verse shows that a believer who thinks he stands is in danger of falling and sinning unless he takes heed. Those who say that a believer cannot sin after believing have not received the apostle’s warning that it is possible to fall into sin.
6. “I have made petition concerning you that your faith would not fail; and you, once you have turned again...Peter, a rooster will not crow today until you deny three times that you know Me” (Luke 22:32, 34, see also vv. 54-62).
Peter had faith in the Lord, but he still sinned by denying the Lord three times in front of Him. If Peter could fall in such a way, who is able to not sin after being saved?
7. “It is actually reported that there is fornication among you...Deliver such a one...that his spirit may be saved...Anyone who is called a brother” (1 Cor. 5:1, 5, 11).
In Corinth there was a brother who committed the sin of adultery. Although he was saved, he committed a gross sin. This shows that believers can commit sins after being saved.
8. “Demas has abandoned me, having loved the present age” (2 Tim. 4:10 see also Col. 4:14; Philem. 24).
Demas, a co-worker with the apostle, loved the world that had been condemned by the Lord and abandoned the apostle. If this is a possibility for a co-worker, how much more is it possible for a believer who has just been saved? This is a strong proof of the great possibility that a believer can stumble and sin after being saved.
The Bible clearly reveals that believers can sin after their salvation. Nevertheless, some may wonder about the meaning of 1 John 3:9, which says, “Everyone who has been begotten of God does not practice sin,” and of 5:18, which contains the phrase does not sin. Not practicing sin means that we do not sin habitually. This speaks of the nature and habit of regenerated believers. According to nature and habit, those who have the life of God do not practice sin and cannot sin when they live according to God’s sinless life. The divine seed of God’s life within us does not have the nature or habit of sinning, but this does not mean that it is impossible for us to not stumble or sin. Although we have God’s life with its nature and habit of not sinning, we can experience acts of falling and sinning because we can still live according to our old nature. For example, wood floats on water and iron sinks, but if iron is tied to wood, the wood will sink. According to its nature, a pig lives in mud, and according to its nature, a sheep does not live in mud. Nevertheless, a sheep can briefly live like a pig because it can stumble and fall into a pit of mud. If it falls into mud, however, it will not be comfortable, and it will not stay in the mud for very long because it is not its nature or habit to roll around in mud. Similarly, sinning is not in our new nature or in our habit, even though we can fall into sin if we are not careful.
We must realize that believers have two natures, one that is new and one that is old. Our new nature comes from the life that we obtained in Christ. The old nature comes from the life we had in Adam. Although our new nature is separate from sin and cannot sin, our old nature is sin and can sin. Since believers have two natures, the apostle John speaks of the consequences of living according to our old nature in 1 John 2:1 and of the consequences of living according to our new nature, which we received when we were begotten of God, in 1 John 3:9 and 5:18. When he writes concerning sin in chapters 3 and 5, he has not forgotten what he has written in chapter 2. His words in chapters 3 and 5 are related to our new nature, which cannot sin, rather than to our old nature, which can still commit acts of sin. Thus, the teaching in his Epistle shows that believers can sin after being saved but that they should not sin.
Although there are many views concerning whether or not a believer who sins after being saved is truly saved, we must see what is the truth according to the Bible.
1. “Deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord” (1 Cor. 5:5).
In this verse the apostle clearly indicates that a believer who sins after being saved can suffer punishment and loss but that he also will not lose his salvation. Sins do not result in the loss of our eternal salvation, even if we experience God’s discipline and punishment. Paul says that the sinful brother in Corinth should be delivered to Satan for the destruction of the flesh as a punishment so that his spirit and soul could be recovered and saved in the day of the Lord. Sins committed after our salvation do not result in eternal perdition, but they can result in suffering in this age.
2. “Eternal salvation”; “By no means perish forever” (Heb. 5:9; John 10:28).
The Lord accomplished an eternal salvation for us. Furthermore, the Lord Himself is the source of our eternal salvation. Therefore, when we received the Lord and His salvation, we received an eternal salvation. The Lord’s life is also eternal. Consequently, when we obtained His life, He said that we would by no means perish forever. According to the Lord’s clear and assured word, we will by no means perish forever once we are saved. We should not allow any other opinion, even our own, to cause us to be concerned that committing sin after our salvation will result in our eternal perdition. The Bible speaks of eternal salvation. Therefore, we should believe that we are eternally saved. The Lord said, “By no means perish forever.” Therefore, we should acknowledge that we will by no means perish forever.
It is regrettable that many people teach that a believer will perish if he sins after being saved. They base this teaching mainly on Hebrews 6:1-8 and 10:25-31. This teaching, which is based on an improper understanding of these verses, openly contradicts the word of the Lord that a person who believes in the Lord and receives the Lord’s eternal life will by no means perish forever. This teaching is not according to the principles of the Bible and the nature of the Lord’s eternal salvation. The word of the Bible does not contradict itself. The Bible would not say that those who believe are eternally saved and will by no means perish forever and later say that a believer is no longer saved and will perish if he sins. The Bible does not speak of a believer perishing if he sins; it speaks only of a believer being punished if he sins.
The emphasis in Hebrews 6:1-8 is on the matter of a believer’s growth in life after his salvation. When we grow, we can be useful to God and blessed by Him, but if we do not grow and our condition is not proper, we can be punished by God and suffer loss. Growth requires that we leave the word of the beginning of the teaching of Christ’s salvation. This beginning involves repentance from dead works and faith in God. Repentance and faith are basic teachings. When we were saved, we received these basic teachings; that is, we repented and believed. If we want to grow, we do not need to return to these basic teachings and lay another foundation. The foundation has been laid. If we stumble, we do not need to repent for the sins that we committed prior to our salvation and believe again. Instead, we should be brought on to maturity (v. 1). If we fall away from the Lord’s teaching after we are saved, having been enlightened by God, having tasted of His heavenly grace, having gained His Holy Spirit, having tasted that God is good, and knowing the powers of the age to come, we simply need to get up and go forward. We do not need to return to our initial experience of Christ’s salvation and repent of sins that have already been forgiven. We do not need to start over because it is impossible to even do this. After we have repented and believed initially, we do not need to repeat these experiences. Even if we wanted to repent and believe again, this would be an impossibility because God has already forgiven us of those sins. This can be compared to the impossibility of a person being born of his human life a second time. When a person falls, he simply needs to get up from where he fell and go forward from there. He does not need to start from his birth again. Even if he wanted to do this, it would be impossible for him to be born a second time. It is regrettable that many Christians who sin after their salvation think that they need to go back to the position of a new believer by repenting and believing again. When they do this and then fall again, they again try to go back to the beginning to start all over. Since it is possible for believers to commit sins, they are never able to leave the starting point in order to go on and grow to be useful to God. They are like a field that has received so much rain that it grows more thorns and weeds than useful vegetables. This uselessness brings in God’s punishment because they have no capacity to be used by God. They are saved, and they will be eternally saved, but they will experience a salvation that must pass through the fire, that is, through punishment that causes suffering and loss. First Corinthians 3:15 speaks of this when it refers to a believer being saved yet so as through fire. A field that grows useless things often is burned, but the field itself is not destroyed. Only the useless things growing in it are burned. Hebrews 6 does not speak about eternal perdition for those who sin after being saved. It speaks about receiving God’s punishment for not being brought on to maturity after our salvation.
Hebrews 10:25-31 was written to Hebrew believers who were returning to their Jewish background and environment. Although they were Hebrews, Israelites, who had previously worshipped God in the Jewish religion according to the law of the old covenant, they had believed in Jesus and were serving God in the church according to the new covenant. But they also were being persecuted by those in Judaism because of their belief in Christ. They also esteemed the offerings and rituals that God gave to their forefathers in the old covenant. It was very difficult for them to put aside these things, and with the added persecution of Judaism, they were faced with the temptation to return to Judaism to worship God according to the law of the old covenant. Thus, the apostle wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews to tell them that God had annulled the old covenant (8:7, 13). He pointed out that all the offerings in the old covenant were types of Christ. Since Christ came and accomplished an eternal redemption, there was no need for offerings according to the old covenant; the old covenant was over (9:9—10:18). He charged them not to return to Judaism to worship God with offerings according to the law of the old covenant but to assemble and serve God together with Christians according to the new covenant. Once this truth is known, a believer is willfully sinning when he ceases to assemble and serve with other Christians according to the new covenant and goes back to Judaism with its sacrificial types of Christ’s redemption under the old covenant. In effect, he is returning to a covenant that God has ended through the coming of Christ and His redemptive death. Thus, if he goes back to Judaism to worship God with offerings, he will not only lose the new covenant blessing but will also be punished by falling into the hands of the living God (v. 31). Going back to offer the blood of bulls and rams for redemption is also a treading on and a despising of the Son of God, because it treats His blood as something common, like the blood of bulls and rams. Furthermore, abandoning the new covenant insults the Spirit of grace (v. 29) because the Holy Spirit, no doubt, inwardly operates and forbids such a return to Judaism. For this reason he will receive a worse punishment. This passage in Hebrews 10 does not say that if we willfully sin after being saved, our sins are no longer forgiven, and we are no longer saved; it says that once we know God’s will according to His new covenant, we should follow it or be prepared to suffer punishment.
1. “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2:1-2).
If we commit sins after our salvation, we have the Lord Jesus as our Advocate and as the propitiation for our sins. Consequently, we should not be discouraged or lose heart. We can be recovered by the Lord because He Himself is the basis of our propitiation with God.
2. “The blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin” (1 John 1:7).
John spoke this word to believers, not unbelievers. The word cleanses in Greek denotes a continuous cleansing. The blood of the Lord Jesus continually cleanses us from every sin. If we sin after our salvation, we should seek the cleansing of the Lord’s blood.
3. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
The Lord Jesus is our Advocate before God and also the propitiation for our sins. He is propitiating for us in every situation so that we can be in fellowship with God, and His blood constantly cleanses us. As a consequence of all these matters, we can be cleansed of our sins before God at any time. If we sin, we should confess our sins to God, depending on the Lord Jesus as our Advocate and receiving the constant cleansing of His blood. When we confess our sins, according to His word and based on the Lord’s blood, God forgives us of our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. This is a matter of His faithfulness and righteousness.
1. “We must all be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done through the body according to what he has practiced, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10).
As believers, we will be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ to be judged for our living and work. We will receive what we have done through the body according to what we have practiced, whether good or bad. The good will be rewarded, and the bad will be punished. Therefore, if we sin after our salvation, we should confess quickly, depart from the sin, and receive God’s forgiveness. If we do not, we will be punished when the Lord comes to execute judgment. This punishment is not related to eternal perdition but to the loss of the Lord’s reward. All believers are saved, but some will suffer loss (1 Cor. 3:12-15).
2. “Shall be liable”; “Whose end is to be burned”; “A certain fearful expectation of judgment and fervor of fire” (Matt. 5:22; Heb. 6:8; 10:27).
There are passages in the Bible, such as Matthew 5:22; Hebrews 6:8; and 10:27, which speak of punishment for believers who sin. This punishment will be meted out when the Lord returns. Therefore, according to the teaching of the Bible, if we sin and do not deal with it through confession and by departing from the sin, we will be punished when the Lord returns. Of course, if we sin and deal with it through confession, God will forgive us and not punish us in the future.
Since we have examined the question of whether it is possible for believers to sin after salvation, we need to consider whether it is possible for believers to avoid sinning after salvation.
1. “Sin will not lord it over you, for you are not under the law but under grace” (Rom. 6:14).
Even though the Bible speaks of believers sinning after their salvation, it also speaks of believers avoiding sin. It is possible for a believer to sin and also to avoid sin. Avoiding sin is different from being incapable of sinning. A person who can refrain from speaking is different from a mute person who is incapable of speaking. Although the Bible does not speak of believers being incapable of sinning, it does speak of them avoiding sin. After we are saved, we still can sin, but we can also avoid sin.
We can avoid sin because we are not under law but under grace. Under the law means that we are using our own strength to refuse sin, but our strength is insufficient to free us from the bondage of sin. Under God’s grace, which is the life of God in Christ and is just God Himself, we can be freed from the bondage of sin in order to avoid sin. Under the grace of God and with God in Christ as our life and power, sin cannot lord it over us; consequently, we can avoid sin.
1. “He who has died is justified from sin” (Rom. 6:7).
Only death can enable us to avoid sin because death frees a person from sin. For example, it is difficult for a person who is addicted to opium to break this habit, but when he dies, he is freed from this habit. Therefore, we must die in order to avoid sinning. We do not need to be zealous to do good or strive to refuse sin; we must die in order to avoid sin. The way in which we die is revealed in the Bible.
2. “Our old man has been crucified with Him” (Rom. 6:6).
We have already been crucified with Christ. This fact was applied when we were baptized. We do not have to put ourselves to death because we have already died with Christ. We were crucified with Christ on the cross of Christ. We do not have to crucify ourselves; we have been crucified with Christ on the cross. If we see this fact and receive this fact, we can be freed from sin and will be able to avoid sin.
3. “Reckon yourselves to be dead to sin, but living to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:11).
If we see and receive the fact of our crucifixion with Christ by faith, we can reckon ourselves dead to sin but living to God. When Christ died on the cross, we were included in His death and crucified with Him. In ourselves we are not dead, but in Christ we are dead. Thus, in Christ we can reckon ourselves to be dead. If we look only at ourselves, we are still alive, but if we reckon ourselves in Christ, we will be dead to sin. Therefore, we should not look at ourselves; we should only reckon ourselves in Christ. If we reckon ourselves as being alive, we will be under the bondage of sin and will sin. If we reckon that we are dead in Christ, we will be freed from the authority of sin and able to avoid sin.
4. “Do not let sin therefore reign in your mortal body...but present yourselves...and your members as weapons of righteousness to God” (Rom. 6:12-13).
Since we have seen the fact that we have been crucified with Christ and since we reckon ourselves dead in Christ, we should not let sin reign in our mortal bodies or let it have any place in us. We should present ourselves to God and present our members as weapons of righteousness to God. After we have seen and received the fact of our death with Christ, we should consecrate ourselves to God, completely giving ourselves and our bodies to Him. Such a consecration is a declaration to sin that we will not cooperate with it, and it is a declaration to God that we will cooperate with Him. We can take our entire being back from the control of sin and give it to God to let Him rule us and use us. Our death with Christ causes sin to lose its authority over us so that we can be freed from sin, and our resurrection with Christ makes us living to God, causes us to live in God, and gives Him a position in us. Therefore, we can refuse to allow sin to reign in our body, and we can present ourselves and our bodies to God to be completely possessed and gained by Him. If we are willing to reject sin and cooperate to present ourselves to God, we can be freed from the bondage of sin and avoid sin.
5. “The law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death” (Rom. 8:2).
After we see and receive the fact of our death with Christ and consecrate ourselves to God, we should live according to the law of the Spirit of life. The law of the Spirit of life causes us to enjoy the resurrection power of God’s life and frees us from the law that makes us sin unto death. Therefore, we must live according to the law of the Spirit of life in order to avoid sin.
6. “Walk...according to the spirit...Mind...the things of the Spirit” (Rom. 8:4-5).
If we want to avoid sin, we must also walk according to the Spirit and mind the things of the Spirit. This is to live in the Spirit and in the fellowship of the Lord’s life. The reality of our death with the Lord is available in our experience of the fellowship of the Lord’s life. The law of the Spirit of life is in the Spirit to manifest its function of freeing us from sin. Therefore, we must walk according to the Spirit, and we must mind the things of the Spirit in order to live in the fellowship of the Lord’s life, to be freed from sin, and to avoid sin.
We avoid sin by being freed from sin, not by subduing sin or overcoming sin. The Bible never tells us to overcome sin but rather to be freed from sin. The Lord’s salvation frees us from sin. The Lord’s way of salvation does not eradicate sin; it releases us from sin (Rom. 8:2; 6:18, 22). Even though sin still remains, we can be freed from it. Thus, we can avoid sin.
The way for us to avoid sin and to be freed from sin is to see the reality of our death with Christ, to reckon ourselves dead in Christ, to consecrate ourselves to God, to live according to the law of the Spirit of life, and to live in fellowship with the Lord by walking according to the Spirit and minding the things of the Spirit.
