“ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:14-16.

God’s plan of Salvation does not involve joining the world to win the world.  The Bible says to come out from among them and be ye separate (2 Cor. 6:17).  The Lord’s plan of victory for the Believer does not involve dealing with the effects of sin but having complete dominion over our sin nature.  These are the laws of the modern day religious Pharisees, join the world to win the world and treat the effects of sin.

“Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?” Romans 7:1.  “The law” here pertains to any law we create to dominate our sin nature, not just the Mosaic Law.  Our laws, no matter the intent, will not and cannot dominate our sin nature.  They in fact revive our sin nature.  These are spiritual laws that cannot be dealt with in the flesh, yet so many continue to fight a fight we have not been commissioned to fight.

We are all born with a sin nature due to Adam’s fall.  Upon our Salvation, we are baptized into Christ, into His death (Romans 6:3).  Our sin nature remains but we are dead to it in Christ Jesus.  “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9.  By God’s grace we are saved through faith in Jesus Christ.  We are baptized into His death and are now dead to our sin nature.  Every curse, “soul tie” and bondage is laid waste by what Jesus did on Calvary’s Cross.  Whom the Son sets free is free indeed!  We are free.

Immediately religion has their list of rules.  You will notice they all deal with the effects of sin and God’s grace is no longer God’s grace but man’s law.  As we set forth to follow the laws, the rules and regulations of our religion, the yoke gets a little heavier.  We stand in the mirror and try to convince ourselves we are the righteousness of God while we perish on the inside.  We have been seduced by another bridegroom.   We”…have no root in themselves (ourselves), and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the Word’s sake, immediately they are offended.” Mark 4:17.

Religion’s laws have revived our sin nature and we no longer have dominion.  We fight the effects of sin, we make a rule designed to enable us to overcome our sin nature (fast, push ups, distraction, etc.) but our sin nature is now revived.  Our faith has been placed in these rules to have dominion over our sin nature and not the One Who gave us dominion over our sin nature, Jesus Christ.  Too many are fighting the effects of their sin nature which is not God’s plan for dominion over sin.  Blaming and fighting the “effects” of our sin nature’s dominion, places faith on the individual’s efforts to overcome the effects instead of  faith in Jesus taking our sin nature’s dominion away and nailing it to His Cross (Colossians 2:14).  Our fight is the fight of faith in Jesus, Who He is and what He did on Calvary’s Cross.  With our faith properly placed in Jesus, the Holy Spirit gives us dominion over our sin nature.  The sin nature is swiftly dealt with, not just the effects of sin.

How are you dealing with sin?  Are you dealing with the dominion of sin or it’s effects?  Has your religion made a rule to dominate your sin nature?  Are you learning more about how to overcome the effects of sin than the One Who will deliver you from the dominion of  your sin nature?  There is only one way to deal with sin and that is God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  This is a gift from God.  This is God’s plan to redeem the unredeemed and sanctify the redeemed….Jesus Christ and Him crucified, be determined to know nothing else.

“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39.

-Donna Clark Warren