"For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"
Galatians 5:13–14, ESV
The Bible tells us that, when we live by faith in the finished work of Christ, we have become new creations because our spirits are renewed and made right with God. However, even as we now walk with right spirits, we are still left with the struggle of our flesh that remains sinful.
It must have been disappointing to have experienced that first sin after you gave your life to the Lord. You surrendered everything to Jesus Christ and turned away from everything the Bible calls sin, and the next thing you knew, you were cursing someone for cutting you off in traffic. Does continuing to sin after saying the "sinner's prayer" mean we aren't totally saved?
The truth of the matter is that, though we are now followers of Christ, redeemed and made righteous, we still exist in a broken world and live in a broken body. Our bodies are completely wretched because of what sin has done to us. So, while our goal is to turn away from the sin and struggles we face today, it may take more time until we are set free from the occurrence of sin in our lives.
So how do we let go of certain sins, addictions, struggles, and temptations? Galatians 2:20 tells us, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (ESV).
It's funny how no matter how much we try to control our own desires, we still continue to fall and fail. That's because we cannot change ourselves by our own strength and self-control. We need the power of Christ made manifest through the Holy Spirit. The simple key to being free of a life living in sinful flesh is to stop looking to our own strength and instead depend on the Holy Spirit, and the finished work on the cross, to change us.
As simple as that may sound, it will not always be easy. However, Jesus promises that He will provide us the power to overcome, even in the midst of weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). It's not about our willpower to change; it's about relying on the Holy Spirit to change us from glory to glory, believing that we can and will see the day come when we are set free from the sins that entangle us today.
