No Longer a Slave to Sin: Walking in the Freedom of Christ

Whatever it was that Jesus Christ set you free from, never let yourself forget what He did for you. Remembrance is an intentionally spiritual and worshipful act, not a natural one. When you regularly take the time to praise and worship the Lord, you will “enter into His gates with thanksgiving in your heart”. (Psalm 100:4)

This is done by stirring up your memory, and deliberately thanking the Lord for what He did for you. The more you do this, the more you reinforce Calvary’s victory to yourself, but also to the enemy. Are you a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness? Everyone wrestles with this, but ultimately, praise will point the way to freedom!

What is a Slave to Sin?

In Romans 6:16, Paul wrote, “Do you not know that to whom you yield yourselves as slaves to obey, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?”

“You’ll hunger for what you feed on,” is how an old adage puts it.

Whatever you spend the most time with, you’ll become an emotional, mental, and even physical “slave” to. That could be anything from the principles of the Bible to the world’s depravities.

• “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he,” says Proverbs 23:7.
• Jesus put it this way: “...whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.” (John 8:34, MEV)
• In Matthew 6:21 Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart is also.“

The human heart is revealed by the actions, words, and perspectives that are lived out in the body. If you spend more time with the world than you do with the Lord, you are at risk of being a slave to sin because in Christ, YOU ARE NO LONGER A SLAVE TO SIN.

How Praise Keeps Your Freedom Secured

In Galatians 4:6-7 Paul wrote:

“…because you are sons, God has sent forth into our hearts the Spirit of His Son, crying, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”

Praise and worship are exclusively God-centered. At its core, the purpose of all praise is ministry to the Lord. By refocusing your mind and heart and spirit on the Lord daily and ministering to Him in your praise and worship, and by submitting your will to His in prayer, and by rooting your faith in Him through the Word of God, the world’s fallen condition will have less of an influence over you.

Only Satan wants to hold you in slavery. Jesus Christ came to set you free.

~Alicia Purdy~

Developing a lifestyle of praise starts with prioritizing praise before anything else. It’s a cultivated mindset, an intentional God-awareness, knowing that He is ever-present and submitting your will to His and laying down your flesh.

Only Satan wants to hold you in slavery. Jesus Christ came to set you free so you are no longer a slave to sin, but to righteousness, as Paul wrote. (See Romans 6:15-23) Now, you have a choice to make at every point in time about what your life looks like – slavery or sonship?

When you worship and praise the Lord, you are refocusing your mind from yourself and opening a unique spiritual doorway that gives you a more dynamic access to His powerful presence – the God who has paid for your freedom through His Son, Jesus Christ the Messiah.

The Slaves to Righteousness Choose to Serve

Having this regular point of contact will keep you from being a slave to sin because you’ll remain a slave to righteousness. “No man can serve two masters,” Jesus said. You were created to worship and connect spiritually with the Lord and if you don’t, you’ll serve and worship someone or something else- even if it’s yourself!

Spiritual disciplines will support your sanctification as you continually incorporate them into who you are as a person and even though you may fight against the chains the enemy wants to shackle you with, you’ll always walk free!

The regular, intentional process of remembrance is crucial in your faith for several reasons:

1. To remind you of the freedom Jesus Christ paid for:

The enemy would love nothing more than to drag you back into who you used to be, or to keep you trapped in pain from the past. You may not even realize that you’ve chosen to be a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness, but every day we have that choice! Remember this: “For freedom Christ freed us. Stand fast therefore and do not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1)

A lifestyle where worship, prayer and communion are part of how you walk with the Lord will keep your spirit constantly fresh, in a place of renewal and thanksgiving and will prevent you from forgetting or taking for granted the miracle of what Jesus Christ did for you.

Jeremiah 31:21 says this:

“Set up road marks, place guideposts. Set your heart toward the highway,  even the way by which you went.”

The enemy wants to remind you of the past, but God wants you to remember that He has a future and a hope for you!

2. To keep you from returning back:

Plenty of Christians lapse back into sin and old behaviors after salvation. Why? Because they forgot just how bad it was. They start to long for the former things, or glamorize the past, when Jesus Christ is trying to do a new thing! there is a reason you ran to Jesus!

If you have been truly set free by Jesus Christ, you are no longer a slave to sin. Do you still struggle? Many do! But remember this: Sin cannot overtake you without your permission.

“Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up,” the author of Hebrews wrote. (Hebrews 12:1, NLT) Living in a state of gratitude, which is the point of origin for worship, will prevent you from the desire to ever return to the place where Satan held you captive.

“Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away. Look, all things have become new.”

~2 Corinthians 5:16-17

3. To strengthen your spirit for the process of sanctification.

Walking away from sin, overcoming temptations and putting down the “old man” is the process of transformation and sanctification. These are usually not instantaneous acts, but an unfolding one that will continue, on various levels, throughout your life. If you are growing in Christ, some struggles will ease up while others may emerge.

You must keep your freedom fresh through worship, which is ministry to the Lord. As you continue to minister to Him from your place of gratitude, you’ll find the strength to overcome adversity and temptation. But remember- worship is not a quick-fix and the Bible is not Aladdin’s lamp and prayers are not wishes of the heart. Do you desire routine or revival?

Spiritual disciplines will support your sanctification as you continually incorporate them into who you are as a person and even though you may fight against the chains the enemy wants to shackle you with, you’ll always walk free!

Your Freedom Was Purchased By the Author of Your Faith

• “You were bought at a price. Do not be the servants of men. Brothers, let every man, in whatever condition he is called, remain there with God.” (1 Corinthians 7:23-24)

• “But now, having been freed from sin and having become slaves of God, you have fruit unto holiness, and the end is eternal life.” (Romans 6:22)

• “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)

• “…whoever commits sin is a slave of sin…Therefore if the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:34, 36)

No Longer a Slave to Sin, Continue Walking Free!

“5 Ways to Keep Your Faith Strong in the Lord”