Romans 6:14
For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
When Jesus came down, from heaven to earth and died on that cross, he tore the veil and took humanity from a place where they had to earn God's forgiveness and mercy. Here's something for you to take away- you're not a sinner. Sure, we've sinner, but that doesn't make us a sinner. Yeah, I've cooked myself breakfast, does that make me a chef? We continue to live under a mentality of punishment- something in us is afraid of acceptance. When we sin and mess up, we cower back and wait for God to pull out a cane and smack us across the head- no, no no! Your sin does not define whose you are. Stop looking at who you are, and start looking at whose you are! Yes, we mess up, but that isn't who God see's us as. Every significant figure in the bible came from what some people would view as the kind of past that would merit anything but a biblical figure. David was adulterous, Lazarus was dead, John walked around wearing camel and eating locusts- Jesus himself lived in the company of sinful, broken people, not because he was like them, but because they were like him. Jesus was not sinful, but they were holy. Jesus doesn't see you for who you are now and what you've done now- he is above and beyond the restrictions of time- he see's us as the finished product. Sinner = Saved.
This doesn't mean we have permission to go around sinning and claiming grace for it all- whilst yes there is grace for it, in doing so you step out of relationship with God. When you live with and under the influence of God, you are defined by that. Matthew 7:16 says "By their fruit you will recognize them.."- Sin is not our master, for we do not live under the law. Not even God's law, because Christianity is not based off law, rules and regulations now that we're on this side of the cross- our whole faith is founded off the relationship we have with God and what that means to us- God works all things for the good of those who praise his name- Our fruit is good, because we praise him! We shall be knows not for our sinful nature, which we left behind when we died to ourselves and came alive unto Christ, but rather identified by the relationship we have with our Father. John 19:30- When he had received the drink, he said "It is finished". With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. - When Jesus took the sin into himself and buried it into the tomb, it was finished. We no longer have to live with sin. In fact, we're not even fighting against Satan any more. Jesus has won that battle- we're living in the victory. We're not fighting a war, we're restoring God's kingdom on earth. That's what it means to be a Christian- bringing God from heaven down to earth, through the work of restoring his kingdom through love- through our God-given identities, not our world-given definition as a sinful being. We are no longer ruled over by sin. In fact,we aren't even servants- John 15:15- I no longer call you servants, for a servant does not know his masters business. Instead I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my father I have made known to you. We are both friends and children of the most royal, holy loving God beyond what you could ever imagine. We live in a relationship with Christ- we are friends, we are children, and we are covered with his unfailing grace. Be blessed!
