Kill Your Sin

“For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the Spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”” (Romans 8:12-15 ESV)

Paul is talking about killing sin in our lives. How do we kill sin? Using Jesus’ examples from the sermon on the mount, if our eyes cause us to sin, or our hands, pluck them out or cut them off. Yet neither of these possess morality. They are skin, membranes, blood, and bone. There is no morality there. There is no decision-making happening there. It is the sin-killing power of the Spirit within those who are in Christ that kills sin. I am not talking about perfection but the warfare for which the Spirit strengthens us, enabling us to kill our sins.

It is living in the flesh that kills us; it is our partaking in these sins that kills us, and for us not to die as a result, through our salvation, we must kill our sin. Paul tells us how to kill sin in Ephesians 6, “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” We kill sin with the Word of God; that is our sword, our weapon, and protection. We cannot kill sin with a shield or a helmet, but we can run a sword through our sin, the sword of truth. But how does the Word of God work to kill sin?

We go to Galatians 3:5, “Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?” He who supplies the Spirit. We need the Spirit to teach us how to use the sword of the Spirit. This Spirit, the Spirit of God, whom Paul also refers to as the Spirit of Christ, performs miracles. We know this because the Spirit applied our salvation through Christ and resides in us. We know the Spirit does not work through the law; the law is death. The Spirit works through faith. So, how do we get the Spirit? We get the Spirit by hearing with faith. We use the sword of truth through faith.

Our faith in Christ allows us to use the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, to kill our sin and be effective at killing it. The Spirit helps us use the sword to bear fruit, not sin. Christ walks with us as we grow in sanctification, which is critical. As a new Christian, I thought we were saved, and that was it. In reality, it is not. We are saved through sanctification. We see that here, “But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. It is right there, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, saved through sanctification and belief, right? We are saved through change. So, we do not accept Christ and live like the devil. We cannot do this. Salvation is not mechanical; it is alive and grows as we become more and more sanctified through the Spirit. Sanctification allows us to kill the sin in our lives and to continue to grow in righteousness, holiness, faith, and trust. These things come by way of the Spirit.

Christ told us the advocate would come (John 14:16) and that He, Christ, would be with us; the Spirit of Christ would be in us. We kill sin by wielding the truth through trust and faith. People accept Christ all the time and go on sinning like it is free. They accepted Christ with their mouths, but their acceptance was not from the heart. They were words, just words; they meant nothing. There was no true faith, no belief. You have probably thought this about someone you know. We cannot judge, but appearances are what they are. By appearance, there is no way they were converted; you can see it. You can tell by their heart. When you have the Spirit, you hate sin. You cannot help it. You are constantly convicted of your sin. We who have true faith in the Lord continue to grow in sanctification, “but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” Sons of slavery die, and those who are adopted as sons and daughters are glorified. There is a necessary holiness for us. “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14). The writer of Hebrew tells of this holiness.

Kill your sin, live in the Word, live through the Spirit. Trust the Word as your sword to kill sin and Satan in your life. When you remain in the Word, you grow in sanctification. When you are a child of God growing in faith and trust, evil wants nothing to do with you, nothing.

Peace and Grace!