The Gospel's Answer To The "Power" Of Sin - Part One

The Gospel Of Christ And The Problem Of Sin
The Gospel's Answer To The "Power" Of Sin
(The Gift Of The Holy Spirit)

We are continuing to examine how the gospel saves us from the problem of sin. We have seen that the commands of the gospel effectively deal with various aspects of sin:
The command to believe when obeyed solves the problem of the love of sin
The command to repent when obeyed solves the problem of the practice of sin
The command to be baptized when obeyed solves the problem of the state of sin
And we have also begun to notice that the promises in the gospel relate to different aspects of sin's problem; e.g., the promise of the remission of sins takes care of the guilt of sin. In this lesson, we shall examine another promise given to those who obey the gospel of Christ: the gift of the Holy Spirit!

Before we can really appreciate the part the Holy Spirit plays in the life of the Christian, we need to understand the power of sin. Sin’s power is vividly described by Paul. Paul describes the condition of one under the power of sin - Ro 7:14-25. I understand Paul to be describing the dilemma of one outside of Christ even though he speaks in the first person. From the context I believe he is demonstrating how the Law of Moses was inadequate to deal with the sin problem - compare Ro 7:7-14 with Ro 8:1-4. Others feel that he is describing the inner warfare that goes on inside of everyone, including Christians (which is certainly taught in Ga 5:16-17). But the reason I take the view that I do is seen as we continue on. Notice that the person in this text is described as:
"sold under sin" (14) "We know that the Law is spiritual. But I am merely a human, and I have been sold as a slave to sin."; having "sin that dwells in me" (17,20) "So I am not the one doing these evil things. The sin that lives in me is what does them." "And so, if I don't do what I know is right, I am no longer the one doing these evil things. The sin that lives in me is what does them."; in "captivity to the law of sin which is in my members" (23) "But in every part of me I discover something fighting against my mind, and it makes me a prisoner of sin that controls everything I do."; "wretched man that I am" (24) "What a miserable person I am. Who will rescue me from this body that is doomed to die?"; in a "body of death" (24). Is this the condition of one in Christ? Not in light of what Paul goes on to say in chapter 8.

This is the power of sin and the condition of all who do not have the help of God! Sin’s power affects everyone, for "All" have sinned - Ro 3:23 "All of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory.". Even Christians must confess they often sin - 1 Jn 1:8 "If we say that we have not sinned, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth isn't in our hearts.", 10 "If we say that we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and his message isn't in our hearts." For it continues to play a strong role in our lives. It prompts the flesh to wage war against the soul - 1 Pe 2:11 "Dear friends, you are foreigners and strangers on this earth. So I beg you not to surrender to those desires that fight against you." Sin’s power tries to take advantage of our desires, and if it does, can lead to spiritual death - Ja 1:13-15 "Don't blame God when you are tempted! God cannot be tempted by evil, and he doesn't use evil to tempt others. We are tempted by our own desires that drag us off and trap us. Our desires make us sin, and when sin is finished with us, it leaves us dead." If not controlled, sin will continue to enslave us! - cf. Jn 8:34 "Jesus replied: I tell you for certain that anyone who sins is a slave of sin!"

Now that we have looked at the power of sin we will next look at the gospel’s answer to overcoming this power. We will look at the wonderful promise the gospel gives us to deal with the power of sin in our lives; the gift of the Holy Spirit, in our next portion of this lesson.