I'm Saved...Why Do I Keep Sinning?

Romans 6:11 "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Have you ever asked yourself this question? I know I have. If you are like me you'd much rather have spiritual fruit than ugly sin in your life. The choice is ours. If we are a child of God, we are dead to sin. That means we no longer have to sin. Before we were saved we were sinners. We couldn't help but sin. It was our nature to sin. We sin now because we choose to sin. Remember...the choice is ours!!

I heard once on a documentary of a man who was in WWII and was reported as being a POW and eventually presumed to be dead. After over 30 years he came home only to find that his wife had remarried and he had grandchildren and great-grandchildren that he didn't know about. The point I'm trying to make here is the man returned dead...but very much alive.

There is quite a difference between being dead and being legally dead. In God's eyes we are legally dead...yet very much alive. The old Julie is dead. All God sees is His Son when He looks at me. Ephesians 2:1 "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;". This speaks of us before we were born again and alive unto God.

Positionally we are dead in God's sight. (Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:3-4; Romans 6:6) Positionally we are freed from sin's power.

Practically...however...we still struggle with sin. (I John 1:8; Romans 7:15-25; Galatians 5:17)

Satan was once the authority who ruled our lives. He was our master. We sinned because we were spiritually dead and did not possess the power not to sin. But that's no longer true. When we are born-again we become new creatures in Christ (I Corinthians 5:17).

Romans 6:6 "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." We are no longer servants to sin. We are to yield to the Holy Spirit. When we do this He will give us the power needed to not commit sin. Our flesh will never serve God if we yield to it because the flesh is at war with God. But the Spirit can only obey God.

For many people...the Christian life is a vicious cycle of sinning and confessing their sin, sinning and confessing again. Christ died not only to set us free from the penalty of sin in the future (Hell and the Lake of Fire)...but also to set us free from the power of sin now (Satan's bondage).

We no longer have to sin. We sin now because we choose to do so. We don't have to yield to God either. We need to...of course...but that is another choice we must make.

When we yield ourselves to God:

***We have a Captain to fight our battles for us.
***We have a Burden Bearer to lighten our load through this life.
***We have a Fortress to hide us from the enemy.
***We have a Shield to protect us.
***We have a Guide to lead us.
***We have a Comforter to console us.
***We have a Shepherd to care for us.

So the choice is yours. Are you making good choices?