And you being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quicken (made alive) together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses. Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross – Colossians 2:13-14.

As Christians, we have the privileges through the Jews rejection of Jesus Christ and the gospel to be children of God. Through Jesus’ death is our life. A state of sin is a state of spiritual death. As the death of the body is the corruption of it,  so sin is the corruption of the souls.

As a man who is dead in unable to help himself, by any power of his own, so is a habitual sinner is morally impotent. This was our state, now through Jesus’ death and resurrection is the quickening of our souls. Through Him, we have the remission of sin having forgiven us all our trespasses. When Jesus was nailed to the cross, the curse was as it were nailed to the cross. He has obtained victory for us over the power of darkness: As the curse of the law was against us, so the power of Satan was against us.

Satan and all the powers of hell were conquered and disarmed by the dying of our Lord and Savior so why would we continue in sin when He has given us the power over sin? Why is it we are still allowing our flesh to dominate us rather than the power Jesus has given us to dominate the flesh? Many Christians are living by the works of the flesh rather than the living in the Spirit (Now the works of the flesh are manifested, which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies. Envy, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have told you, in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God – Galatians 5:19-21).  Just as we believe by faith to receive salvation, we must also believe by faith that Jesus’ death and our acceptance of salvation have given us the power to dominate sin.

Many Christians have a form of godliness but no power to sustain from the world’s enticement. The Bible instructs the believer to resist the devil, and he will flee, but for him to flee, we must submit ourselves to God (Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you – James 4:7). Prayer and fasting weaken our flesh, and it cleanses our heart so that we will want to submit to the Word of God. When we live according to the world’s standards of living, we’re considered as spiritual adulterers and adulteresses (Ye adulterers and adulteresses know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever, therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God – James 4:4). This verse is not speaking of God’s attitude toward the believer, but of the believer’s attitude towards God. The difference between the world and God is so vast that as we move toward the world, we alienate ourselves from God.

This is why many times while attending church the only time Christians move is when the musicians are playing, or the choir is singing, but when the heart and the mind become conformed and transformed by the Word of God, we can praise God and get excited by hearing the Word of God. When the heart has been regenerated, we feel the Spirit of God when He moves in the church, we feel Him when He steps in our home and our cars as we communicate with Him through prayer, praise, and submission to His Word.

Jesus didn’t die for us to continue to practice sin, read the Word of God, accept the salvation Jesus gave through His death on the cross. He gave us life and power to dominate sin rather than sin dominating us.