One of the most dangerous aspects of sin is the fact that it takes you captive. While you may feel like you are freely making the decisions that you want to make, that’s simply not the case. Several Scriptures (some of which we will discuss today) discuss the fact that sin is a brutal taskmaster that controls not only your behaviors, but also your thoughts, while also damaging your relationships with others. That’s why it’s so important that we find freedom from the sins that hold us captive.
John 8:34-36 (TPT)
“I speak eternal truth,” Jesus said. “When you sin you are not free. You’ve become a slave in bondage to your sin. And slaves have no permanent standing in a family, like a son does, for a son is a part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free from sin, then you become a true son and be unquestionably free!”
These words of Christ are among the most famous of His public ministry. Well, to be more specific, John 8:36 is one of the most popular phrases in Jesus’ public ministry. We often quote the part about the Son setting us free indeed, but it’s generally done while ignoring the verses that led up to that statement. Jesus didn’t mince any words here. He said, “When you sin, you are not free. You’ve become a slave in bondage to your sin.” Those are scary words, aren’t they? We like to think of ourselves as free people, and we often try to downplay the consequences of our sin behind the thin veil of the “freedom of personal choice.” However, according to Christ, sin is bondage, not the result of freedom.
None of us want to be in bondage. In fact, bondage is a direct contradiction to the freedom that humans naturally crave. That means that we need to identify ways to break away from the bondage that sin seeks to hold us under.
While we know that our ultimate freedom from sin comes from a relationship with Christ, there are also practical steps that we can take to shake off the chains of sin’s bondage that would seek to hold us captive. You don’t have to live in captivity to sin. Freedom is closer than you think.
Reading the Bible
Psalm 119:9-11 (TPT)
How can a young man stay pure? Only by living in the word of God and walking in its truth. I have longed for you with the passion of my heart; don’t let me stray from your directions! I consider your prophecies to be my greatest treasure, and I memorize them and write them on my heart to keep me from committing sin’s treason against you.
David was a man who knew about temptation. At a young age, he was anointed to take over as the second King of Israel. To make David even more relatable, it’s important to note that he didn’t always get it right. There were times in David’s life where he gave into temptation and sinned. However, he understood that there were practical steps that he could take to keep himself free from sin.
God’s Word is a written copy of His will for the lives of His people. It’s easy to say, “There’s no way to refrain from sinning.” While that’s true to a certain degree (we are prone to sin as long as we are in our natural bodies), David laid out a beautiful map for minimizing the amount of sin that we give in to.
Knowing that the Bible is God’s Word and His will, and that sin is never God’s will for His people, we can rely on Scripture to help us avoid sinful tendencies. In these three verses, David discussed how God’s Word can keep us pure, hold us in His directions, and keep us from committing sin’s treason against God.
One of the most practical ways that you can break free from the bondage of sin on your life is by spending time every day in the Word of God. Don’t only read it, take steps to memorize it. When you get more of God’s Word inside you, you’ll be better suited to resist the sinful nature that our flesh is inclined to.
Prayer and Fasting
Isaiah 58:5-6 (ESV)
Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, and undo the straps of the yoke, and let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
While most Christians know the importance of living a life of prayer, the concept of fasting often raises a lot of questions. When we look at Scripture, we see people like Moses and Jesus who both fasted for 40 days. Not only does that seem unattainable to us, but it’s also actually a dangerous concept. However, just because you can’t go 40 days without food doesn’t mean that you can’t fast.
Fasting isn’t about what you give up. Instead, fasting is about being emptied of the things that you consider important in the name of getting closer to God. In some cases, you may fast because you have a need in your life that you’re asking God to take care of. In the verses that we just read, Isaiah was calling for a fast to bring people into repentance so they could shake free of the bondage of sin.
Obviously, you can’t fast every day, but making it a regular part of your life is a great way to reduce the amount of power that sin has over you. When you fast regularly, you’re making sure that your spirit is filled with God’s presence instead of the things that we have a natural inclination to look for.
Connecting With Other Believers
Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV)
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Finally, we know that attending church is important, but in order to break free of the bondage of sin, you should truly connect with other people. It’s been said that you shouldn’t just be in church, but that you should also let the church be in you. That means cultivating and nurturing relationships with other believers who are trying to live the same kind of life that you’re trying to live.
The author of Hebrews said that we should look for ways to stir up one another to love and good works. When you have strong relationships with other believers, you can begin to hold one another accountable. When one of you is struggling with a particular sin, the other can bring the encouragement necessary to help stop the behavior before it turns into something that leads to captivity.
When you got saved, God didn’t expect you to just put your head down and try to get to Heaven on your own. Instead, He wants you to connect with other believers so that you can encourage one another, help one another, and offer correction to one another when it’s necessary.
Even if you hold to all of these tips, there will still be times where you miss the mark. Thankfully, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One (1 John 2:1).
A Closing Prayer:
Father, I don’t want to be a slave to sin. I know that through the sacrifice of Your Son, I don’t have to be. Instead, I can be a son of God, as well. Please, help me to spend more time in Your Word, and hide it in my heart so that I won’t sin against You. Help me to empty myself so I can be filled with You and surround me with others who are trying to live a Christlike life. In Christ’s name, Amen.
One of the most dangerous aspects of sin is the fact that it takes you captive. While you may feel like you are freely making the decisions that you want to make, that’s simply not the case. Several Scriptures (some of which we will discuss today) discuss the fact that sin is a brutal taskmaster that controls not only your behaviors, but also your thoughts, while also damaging your relationships with others. That’s why it’s so important that we find freedom from the sins that hold us captive.