He condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:3-4 (NIV)
If God’s rescue only included saving you from your sins, saving you from hell, and granting you entrance into heaven forever, what kind of rescue would that be? What would it be like if God saved us from sin’s penalty, but not from sin’s power?
To the man with a bad temper, God would be saying “I will not send you to hell, but unfortunately your wife, your kids and your colleagues will have to endure your anger, and you will go on having a bad temper for the rest of your life. You are weakened by the sinful nature and that’s not part of the rescue.”
To the person struggling with lust God would be saying, “The blood of Christ covers your foul imagination. You will not go to hell because of these things. I will grant you entrance into heaven, but you will remain enslaved to your passions for the rest of your life.”
What kind of rescue is that? The condemnation in eternity is removed, but you are left living with yourself as you are, weakened by the sinful nature! That would mean that you go on being defeated by sin until God takes you to heaven.
God’s rescue means not only that the condemnation of sin’s penalty is removed, but also that the condemnation of sin’s power is broken. This is the gospel! When God rescues you, he sends his Holy Spirit into your heart giving you the power to live a new life.
Are you living as if sin’s penalty were removed AND sin’s power were broken?
