Q4. Dying to Sin, Living for Righteousness

[Pastor Ralph]

Q4. (2:24b) If Jesus died to set us free from sin's power, why does sin have such power over us still? According to 2:24b, how must we deal with sin? In practical terms, how can we "die to sin"? In everyday language, what does "live for righteousness" mean?

[June]

I WILL TRY TO ANSWER 3 & 4 TOGETHER... WE WERE BORN BECAUSE OF SIN IN THE GARDEN SO WE HAVE A SINFUL NATURE TO BEGIN WITH. GOD COMMANDS US TO BE STRONG AND OVERCOME WORLDLINESS WE MUST NOT LOOK ON SINFUL THINGS BUT SEPARATE OURSELVES FROM ALL UNRIGHTEUOSNESS. BE A SEPARATE PEOPLE , DIE TO SIN AND NOT LOOK BACK. WE MUST PERSERVERE IN OUR SALVATION , FAITH, AND HOLINESS. LIVE WHOLLY FOR GOD AND WITNESS TO OTHERS ABOUT THE GOSPEL. GOD WILL REWARD US BY DRAWING NEAR TO US WITH PROTECTION,GUIDANCE, BLESSINGS,AND FATHERLY CARE. WITHOUT SEPARATION FROM WORLDLY THINGS WE MAY LOOSE FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD, ACCEPTANCE BY THE FATHER,AND OUR RIGHTS AS HIS CHILDREN. TURN FROM SIN AND HAVE NO PART OF IT!!!! DO NOT ASSOCIATE WITH ANYTHING SINFUL..

[kas]

Sin has power because we still have flesh. We must try not to sin. We must turn from it. It is a constant battle we must overcome. When we fall we must confess and repent in sincerety and keep moving forward. We must not make provision for sin. If we like to drink alcohol we must stay away from night clubs and people who drink - we can avoid situations that might make us vulnerable. We must live by the fruits of the Spirit; patience, love, kindness etc... We must live selflessly (not for ourselves but for others and thereby for God).

[sherrylynn]

Q4. (2:24b) If Jesus died to set us free from sin's power, why does sin have such power over us still? According to 2:24b, how must we deal with sin? In practical terms, how can we "die to sin"? In everyday language, what does "live for righteousness" mean?

Sin has power over us because we live in a fallen world and Satan prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour. We must die to sin. We die to sin by taking up our cross daily, denying our selves and living for righteousness by looking to Jesus at all times and in all things, by praying without ceasing, by studying scripture daily, by becoming salt and light.

[Patrish]

Sin has such a power over us because it is our first nature to sin. I understand that, that is why we must be born again. To deal with sin we need the help of the Holy Spirit, who guides us into all truths, etc. We call on God to come to us, He does!! Near to us as He is, we may think it us doing it, but often times I believe by default, the WORD living in us causes us to literally turn away or quietly ignore or sometimes boldly charge against sin. When we fail, we are drawn into repentance which is such an intimate encounter with our LORD. We remain His bride, His child, His friend. We must go on and "live for righteousness" which again is the LORD in us doing it.

Ps. 23:3 He guides me in the paths of rihteousness for His names sake.

That kind of righteousness is, to me, when the LORD has His way in us. Often times it appears to be a circumstance that is a bit uncomfortable in the flesh. When I recall scripture, I see that it was HIM AGAIN!! PTL!!!

[Dick Ross]

We are human-we suffer, and give into temptation everyday. Satan is always seeking ways to make us trip up and lose heart. By our faith we seek protection from this onslaught by calling on the Lord and Master Jesus. In order to live the new life-we must crucify ourselves each and every day-that we may be dead to sin and and attempt to live the Life anew. Admitting to the Father, and to ourselves, that we are sinners allows us to focus on maturing in the faith. As we begin each new day we bury the old sinful self and try to walk in Jesus footsteps, with our thoughts directed toward the Kingdom, not on the secular world.

[Julie]

For satan will not leave us alone, he tries to destroy and hinder us. We must say no to sin, we must deny ourselves, in that I mean, we must totally commit ourselves to live for the Lord, not for ourselves, to suffer even if we did no wrong, we must live for righteousness which in everyday language would mean we must have a right relationship with God and others.

[Helen Spaulding]

Q4. (2:24b) If Jesus died to set us free from sin's power, why does sin have such power over us still? According to 2:24b, how must we deal with sin? In practical terms, how can we "die to sin"? In everyday language, what does "live for righteousness" mean?

We still struggle with sin at times because we are still imperfect persons--prone to look away from our Lord and think we can "go it alone!" But we must keep our eyes on our Lord, coming to Him again and again for forgiveness when we glance away from Him. We must "die to sin". How? By turning to Him daily, asking for His guidance, then following His guidance.

To live for righteousness means holding ourselves close to Him, studying His word and applying it in our lives so that we can become mature in our faith. We are to live for service to Him, by serving the least of mankind. When we keep close to Him, we will live more nearly like what He asks of us.

[don bowles]

Why does sin have such a hold on us? When we were saved we were not mature in the faith. Relationship with Christ is a life long walk. We are saved instantly, maturing in the faith takes time. Some grow up faster than others.

1 Peter 2: 24 tells us that Christ bore our sins in His Body, that we might die to sin". My mother died at 95, until that day she faced temptation. We will face temptation until our death. We die to sin by being an overcomer.

Last month I was suddenly faced with a temptation to commit a sin that I thought I had overcome. I finally fell on my face and cried out to God, " Lord, why am I being tempted so? Please help me !!!" I got an instant answer. The Lord spoke into my spirit James 1: 2-4 " Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." I had instant joy, the temptation was removed. Christ is my Victory.

Living for righteousness means trusting in the Word, and leaning on the Holy Spirit. It is good that we are not bogged down with past sins, that is deliverance; however, it is good that we retain the knowledge of past transgressions lest we fall back into the same sins. God alone forgets our sins, we are called only to forgive the sins done to us by others. This is the peace that passes understanding.

[millie]

We live in a world where sin is all around. But Jesus went to the Cross for our sins. He bore our sins in His body. Every day we struggle with sin. Satan wants us to slip and fall in his trap. You know all he wants to do is destroy and kill. We must die to sin. So take up your cross and follow Jesus. Satan is on his job. Do not let satan get to you.

[dcalbreath]

Sin is in the world because Satan is "prowling like a lion" and trying to tempt and trap us. We "die to sin" when we make a commitment to Christ as Savior and let the Holy Spirit rule our lives. Unfortunately, we also have free will, which means we can make some really bad choices. As we mature as Christians, sin becomes less of a problem (or the area of sinful behavior shifts and we have to learn some basic truths all over again).

[AngelOnLine]

Q4. (2:24b) If Jesus died to set us free from sin's power, why does sin have such power over us still?

Because we are of the flesh and we face temptations every day of our life. We were given the ability to make our own choices and sometimes we listen to Satan and make the wrong choices. We should listen to God more and learn to ignore Satan.

According to 2:24b, how must we deal with sin?

When we are tempted to sin we should pray to God for help in dealing with our temptations. We should also avoid the things that tempt us to sin. Just stay away from the persons, places or things that are trying to tempt us.

In practical terms, how can we "die to sin"?

When we need help in dealing with our sins, ask for His help, but then don't go out and do what WE think we should do, but do what HE tells us to do. He knows what we want and need before we even ask Him. We just have to ask.

In everyday language, what does "live for righteousness" mean?

Living for righteousness means following the examples He has given to us about the way to deal with those that want to hurt us; live by those examples and keep our focus on Jesus and the Word Of God.

[djmclaren]

Q4. (2:24b) If Jesus died to set us free from sin's power, why does sin have such power over us still? According to 2:24b, how must we deal with sin? In practical terms, how can we "die to sin"? In everyday language, what does "live for righteousness" mean?

This is a huge topic. We could have a complete study on this very issue. In the Old Testament, of which Jesus is the substance, we see that God brought Israel through the Red Sea and into the promised land. Being delivered from their captivity and bondage in Egypt they were now told to subdue and settle in Canaan. God told them that He would not drive the inhabitants our all at once Exodus 23:30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land. Basically He told them that if He drove them out all at once they couldn't handle it they needed something to push against.

Israel did not drive all the nations out that they were supposed to (Deuteronomy 7:16 And thou shalt consume all the people which the LORD thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them: neither shalt thou serve their gods; for that [will be] a snare unto thee.) and they were snares unto them to draw them away from the Lord.

We too have been delivered from sin and given everything we need to be overcomers and conquerors. We also are entering in and subduing the land before us and dwellin therein. These nations before us do not just roll over but will fight to maintain their ground. After all they were there before we received Jesus. One thing we are certain of is victory if we will continue. If we do not they will become thorns to us and grounds by which we will be drawn away from God and unable to experience the good things of this new land.

Some of these metaphorical nations are a people of giants, with chariots of iron. We have dwelt with our sin for so long and been in bondage to it for so long that the forces are strong and the roots run deep. We do not know how to be any other way, we are afraid to fight. If the truth be known there may even be a degree of love for our sin. We are familiar with it and it is what we know.

Israel did not initially enter into the promised land because of unbelief. Although God had done such miraculous things for them they still had a preconceived notion of themselves and their situation. In unbelief they believed this instead of stepping out toward what God had told them. Numbers 13:33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, [which come] of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. So they refused to go in. We can be sure of one thing though, God will bring us back, to the same place to challenge the sin in our land. We will not enter into this rest until we do. Hebrews 4:11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

We also do not have victory over our sin because we are ignorant of who we are and what we have in Christ. We must reckon ourselves dead unto sin and alive unto God, walking in the newness of life. This word reckon carries with it the meaning that we have settled it in our mind, we have decided that this is fact. We are not playing self-deluding mental games. We are in fact dead unto sin and as such sin will not have dominion over us. The only power it has is what we cede.

It is through the knowledge of Him I.E. what Jesus did for us on the cross and our status that we are partakers of the divine nature. He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness and blessed us with all spiritual blessing in heavenly places. We are alienated from this life of God through the ignorance in us . The devil is able to deceive those who are not able to discern between good and evil. The Word tells us that God's people are destroyed and wander aimlessly for lack of knowledge.

It is necessary therefore to hide the Word of God in our hearts sot that we can weigh every thought against that sharp sword of the spirit and bring every thought into obedience to Christ, Who is the incarnate Word of God.

We must hate our sin. First we must recognize it as sin and confess it and then with all malice turn away from it, standing against it believing instead what God says to us about it. There are things in our lives that we believe about ourselves and about God that are wrong and are sin, no matter how long we have been Christians. We must be willing to be honest and confront our sin, calling it what it is. We do not have to behave or think a certain way I.E. worry, anxiety, resentment, anger.......just because that's the way that I am. It is sin. Get rid of it.

In practical terms, when we have recognized that certain thought and/or behaviour problems are sin, or are not in agreement with what God has revealed to us, we must act. We must watch and be on alert. When we perceive the pattern arising in our mind we counter it with Scripture. We have to steadfastly cling to what we know to be true despite our screaming feelings, the crush of peer, family and worldly pressure in our environment. Regardless of how true the lies that come to mind seem and how accurately the seem to describe us or our situation what will we believe? God's promises are all that is true in the darkness and confusion.

Its too late to keep this short (sorry). To live for righteousness means to me to desire the things of God and the ways that are pleasing to Him above all else. Compared to Him all else is dung. Phil 3:8 "Yea doubtless, and I count all things [but] loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them [but] dung, that I may win Christ" It means to hunger and thirst after His righteousness, His virtue and right living as newborn babes.

[cct1106]

Sin only has power over us if we let it and don't have faith. We must remember that Satan does not care about us, he uses us and we must fight and pray and tell him to get behind us. But we have to remember also that none of us are perfect and if we do something wrong, we much ask forgiveness and repent. When we ask for forgiveness we must be sincere whole heartedly.

Be dead to sin, live righteous and by those stripes we were healed.

Die to sin by rebuking it, live righteous.

Live for righteousness means to live our life by the scriptures and as God wants us to live. Keep all commandements, have faith, pray, love one another, do not judge others.

[Helen Williams]

We are still in this old sinful flesh. This flesh is always wanting what the spirit does not want. We are in a spiritual warfare daily. We might be tempted but we do not have to yield. We are no longer under the bondage of sin, we have been set free by Jesus Christ.

We are dead to sin and should try to live a good life from this day forward.

[Suzzanne]

1. Because Satin is still here on earth and we are still in human form.

2. We must die to sin and live for righteousness.

3. By being on guard at all times to the lurings/temptations of evil of any kind.

4. By doing what is right, and live my life that is pleasing to God and lifts Him up rather than myself. He must increase and I must decrease.

[Betty]

If Jesus died to set us free from sin's power, why does sin have such power over us still?

We are still in the flesh. When we are angry, mean-spirited, malicious, envious, jealous, critical, etc., we give Satan an opportunity to divide us and give Christianity a bad name.

According to 2:24b, how must we deal with sin? In practical terms, how can we "die to sin"?

We must take Christ at His Word, that He will never leave us nor forsake us and draw on His strength to get us through the situation. Just keep repeating, "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me." The Bible says we "have not because we ask not." So, it's there for the asking: Christ will give us the strength to put down sin.

Of course, we have to do our part to avoid temptation, to walk close to God, to pray for victory when tempted to sin, and keep our eyes on Jesus rather than the world.

In everyday language, what does "live for righteousness" mean?

To live a life that is so committed to Christ that those who may be tempted to lead us into sin will just give up and go away.

[Tom Nabors]

If Jesus died to set us free from sin's power, why does sin have such power over us still?

Because we have not been completely sanctified yet. Just because we are no longer "slaves to sin" does not mean that the adversary is not still reigning on earth and doing everything he can to make us sin.

According to 2:24b, how must we deal with sin?

By dying to sin through being in Christ. By trading our old self and its selfish ways with Christ and allowing the indwelling Holy Spirit to control our lives.

In practical terms, how can we "die to sin"?

By turning to Christ and allowing the help provided by the Holy Spirit into our lives. By not trying to do it all ourselves.

In everyday language, what does "live for righteousness" mean?

Again, by allowing the Holy Spirit to rule our lives. By communing daily and constantly with Him through prayer, studying the Word and meditation.

[Jen]

if Jesus died to set us free from sins power why does sin have such power over us still?

Isn't this just one of the most fustrating things of the Christian walk. Now that we know sin it still has power over us (limited) because we still have the old flesh nature with us. This we will struggle with as long as we are here on this earth.

According to 2:24b how must we deal with sin.

We are to die to it and live unto righteouness. Easier said than done because of our old nature and the prowling lion seeking whom he may devour. I thinkwe can only do this through the power of the Holy Spirit. How blessed we are that our God is so all knowing and provided all we need to live righteously and dead to sin.

In practical terms how can we die to sin?

Pray and read the Word. We cannot do it on our own strength.

In everyday language what does live for righteousness mean.

I guess to me it means holy living. Looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.

God Bless,

Jen

[missionslady]

Because we are all born of sin. We are powerless to fight the sinful nature without the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Our teacher and comforter. Sin is doing our own will and not our Fathers will. It is a sruggle for us because we do not know any better of ourselves. Satan knows that also. He constantly tempts us knowing we are weak in nature. Only in constant prayer can we grow into the spirit.

[MoZes Marius]

Q4. (2:24b) If Jesus died to set us free from sin's power, why does sin have such power over us still? According to 2:24b, how must we deal with sin? In practical terms, how can we "die to sin"? In everyday language, what does "live for righteousness" mean?

So long as we are in this present homeland, we are bound to be exposed to sin. And sin will overwhelms us so long as we get attached to the lifestyle of this carnal homeland. Unless we "die to sin" by submitting and surrendering all our sinful nature to Jesus, sin will continue to have power over us. Jesus has won the victory on Calvary and its for us to CLAIM that victory over sin. By the strenght that Jesus gave us, we should be able to overcome any desires of the flesh by striving to live for righteousness through obedient to the word.

[Helen]

i We still have old behaviour and thought patterns, established over long years, in our brains. It takes time to have our minds renewed in Christ, even though we have received His Spirit. Feeding on the Word, prayer and fellowship enable us to become increasingly aware of and tuned to Jesus. Love (in this case our love for Jesus) overcomes a multitude of sins at an accelerating rate until we go to Him.

ii To be in love with Jesus is to trust Him and obey Him, for His plans are all for good. The more our heart is set on Him, the more our sins lose power over us.

iii We can die to sin by becoming more aware of (alive/responsive to, sensitive to, desirous of) His Spirit. "The things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace". "Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Having plans and goals in that area helps too.

iv "Live for righteousness" = things like "love thy law" as David did, "meditate in His word day and night," teach it to our children, model it for everyone, imitate mentors and be accountable.

[Gail B.]

The word says that the power of sin over our lives has been broken. By renewal of our mind with the word, prayer and time in the presence of God, we will eventually see the fruit and evidence of that word come to pass in our lives. By the power of the Holy Spirit as we yield to the will of God as he works in our lives, we will crucify our carnal natures submitting to Him in all areas as we are sensitive to his leadings living righteously before Him.

[Berachah]

(2:24b) If Jesus died to set us free from sin's power, why does sin have such power over us still? According to 2:24b, how must we deal with sin? In practical terms, how can we "die to sin"? In everyday language, what does "live for righteousness" mean?

Not only are we saved past tense but we are in the process of being saved present tense. That is we are saved from our sin and its guilt but we are daily working out our salvation. We are in the process of sanctification. I do not believe we have to sin all the time. Often it is an excuse to say it is because we are in this world. That can be a cop out. I am not saying we are yet perfect but I do believe we can live holy lives in His strength and athough we might fall on ocassion we have an Advocate with the Father. We should be living lives that are full His holiness and to lthe fullest extent of our understanding. We need to stay in the Word as it is our guide and when we not only read it but do our best to live it we are living for righteousness.

[dantanc]

We would be able to deal with sin, effectively, only with the guidance of holy spirit, by hiding the Word in our hearts and by following it. However the flesh is in constant fight with the spirit, which longs to be perfect and righteous. In each and every situation in our daily life, work, social, church , family and spiritual, if we can standup for Jesus and his WAY -- we can stand up for righteousness and live for it.