The Christian’s relationship to sin is like that of a host to a parasite, or a sovereign nation to an invading army. The contrast I wish to draw here is with the unbeliever’s relationship to sin. There is nothing parasitic or foreign about it. The invasion was long-ago successful. Another ruler has set up his throne and changed the country’s identity. The city’s inhabitants are slaves to that ruler unless & until something happens.
By His Spirit, I have received many sermons over the years declaring that there was nothing you could have done about your sin and sinful nature before you were saved. You could not turn yourself around (repent) because you had no control over any of it. This is not by my declaration, but the word of God.
When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. -Rom 6:20
Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. -Rom 8:8
This is why you had to be chosen. If you had any choice in the matter—if you could have stopped your sinful nature for just a moment to make a “good” choice—then the cross of Jesus Christ was unnecessary and you would have become your own savior by choosing to love God. But that was not possible and the cross of God’s only Son was your only hope. He gave up His glory as God so that He could go into the darkness, invade the enemy’s dominion, get crucified because He was a foreign invader, and rescue you to safety through His resurrection. All this occurred when, by all accounts, you were His enemy, and spiritually dead. He did it all because you could do nothing; He loved you anyway.
For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He called; those He called, He justified; those He justified, He glorified. -Rom 8:29-30
But now that you have been changed, born again by His Spirit, crucified of the sinful nature, and set free from sin, you have power by that same Spirit to avoid sin, and to turn your mortal body around (repent) when sin occurs—whether intentional or not.
We are not unwise, dismissing sin as though it were without consequences both now and on Judgment Day. You have an enemy and an Advocate. Because of the cross, the enemy’s only weapon against you is deception. But thanks be to God, His Spirit within you cannot be deceived. But we must abide in Him, pray to Him, converse with Him, and most importantly, worship Him, giving glory to Jesus Christ who sent His Spirit to be with us as a Counselor.
The law was given to convict the unbeliever, even while dead in God’s sight, that he might one day be saved. The Holy Spirit was given to convict the believer—in love. He makes us aware of an attempted invasion, draws attention to deception and its action upon our flesh that we have not attended to. Be quick to repent! Quick to thank Him! Quick to get back into His gracious power for living a life that magnifies Jesus. The miracle here is that His Spirit is all these things to you. Along with providing the awareness of sin, He provides the power to do these things—to repent, to thank, to worship—when you call upon Him, despite your flesh’s resistance.
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