If Jesus Conquered Sin, Why Am I Not Free of It?

An eighth grader asks, If Jesus conquered sin, then why am I not free of it? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of Core Christianity. Well, hi, this is Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. This is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day.

We would love to hear from you. And you can jump on the phone right now and call us in the studio. Here's our phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE. Just spell that on your phone, 833-THE-CORE, or 1-833-843-2673. Now, you can also watch Adriel right now live in the studio on YouTube, and you can message us through our YouTube channel. You can also post your question on one of our social media sites, or you can email us at questions at corechristianity.com. First up today, let's go to a voicemail from one of our listeners.

This is Brandon. I wanted to figure out a way to talk to my loved ones and my friends about going directly to God and the Bible about their troubles and not going to outsources like getting everything from tarot cards, getting things from supposedly magic crystals or that give off good energy, and even go as far as to say horoscopes. Are they, you know, correlate with God-like things? And if that's okay, or if not, where should we go?

I mean, it sounds like you know the answer to that in terms of those things not being okay. I mean, certainly in Scripture, we are commanded not to consult mediums, not to go into all of that sort of new age spirituality, tarot cards, whatever it is, and there's a lot of that stuff out there. Part of the problem is a lot of people are attracted to this. We really are, as a society, very spiritual. We like this idea of being spiritual but not religious.

I'm not really fond of organized religion, the thinking goes, but I want to just sort of invent my own spirituality, and so people will go to crystals and tarot cards and those kinds of things, and there really are spiritual forces at work there. There are spiritual powers there, but we are called to be discerning. John said in 1 John chapter 4, Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God, every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

This is what people need to understand. So many people in society today just assume, hey, spirituality, so long as you like what you're doing, great, go for it. As long as you're sincere, whatever spirituality you embrace, that's wonderful. The Bible says something different. The Bible says that there are spiritualities, there are spiritual practices that you can engage in that actually are going to harm you, that are bad for your soul. The spirit of the antichrist that's at work in the world today, and so we have to be discerning, and I think one of the things you can do in having conversations with friends and family members is just warning them and say, hey, what is it that you're actually getting into?

Even Satan, Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians, disguises himself as an angel of light. So there can be these practices that seem good and peaceful and nice, but which lead us away from Jesus and his word. We have the sure promise in scripture, the authority of God's word. That's where we need to go. Paul says in 2 Timothy 3 verse 16, all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. So we should go to the Lord, to the scriptures, to Christ, and there find comfort, there find true spirituality, if you will, and that's, I think, what you need to emphasize to friends and family members who are getting caught up with some of these things.

Great advice, Adriel. This is Core Christianity, and our phone lines are open right now if you have a question about the Bible, the Christian life, if you're having doubts about the Christian faith, or maybe you're an atheist or agnostic, just stumbled on this program, we're open to your questions as well. Here's the phone number, it's 833-THE-CORE, that's 833-843-2673, and of course our website is corechristianity.com. Now, something kind of cool, all this week we've been featuring questions from the eighth graders at Mr. Almeida's class at Faith Christian Academy in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. They actually listen to the program every day in their classroom, which is pretty amazing, and this question is from one of the students named Evan.

Hi, my name is Evan, I go to Faith Christian Academy. My question is, why did God give us free will and we keep on making sin and we sin all the time when Christ died for us on the cross to prevent sin? Hey Evan, so grateful that you're listening to the program, and thank you for that question. It sounds like there are actually a couple of questions there, you know, why did God give us free will knowing that mankind was going to sin? And of course Adam and Eve were given free will there in the garden. God called them to obey him, to love him, but they chose sin. They turned away from the Lord, and in Adam we fell, we sinned. Paul talks about this in Romans chapter 5 verses 12 and following, and because of that we're still willing creatures, you know, we're moral agents if you will, but our wills have been affected by the fall, and we continue to sin. We fell in Adam, but we continue to sin, and the reason we continue to sin is because we want to sin, and that's just the reality.

You know, we have these disordered desires, these inclinations because of indwelling sin, and it's something that everyone struggles with. Now God sent his son Jesus into the world to restore us, to restore our wills even, to bring us back to him so that instead of turning away from God, living in sin, we might live for him and follow him, obeying him and obeying his law. And the apostle Paul, he I think gets to the heart of your question in Romans chapter 6. You ask, you know, Jesus came to take away sin, but we still struggle with sin even as as Christians every single day. I want you to listen to what Paul said in Romans chapter 6 beginning in verse 1. He says, what shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?

By no means. How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin, for the one who has died has been set free from sin.

Evan, get this. When you believe in Jesus, when you receive Jesus by faith, having been baptized as Paul says there in in Romans 6, there's this this break between you and sin. You're no longer a slave to sin, called to be a slave to sin. Actually you're actually you're dead to sin. You're dead to sin through Jesus. So for us, for the believer, because Jesus has taken the penalty of sin, we're no longer under the curse of sin, but there's still the power of sin that we experience in our lives, an indwelling sin, and day by day we are called to, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, as Paul says later in Romans chapter 8, to put to death the sinful deeds of the body. We're going to struggle.

You're going to struggle. We're going to struggle for our entire life as Christians, drawing near to the Lord, seeking to honor him. Paul talks about that struggle in the very next chapter in Romans chapter 7, but here's what you can know. You can know that through Jesus's death on the cross, you're no longer under sin.

You've been set free in a very real sense. You're justified by faith so that you're pure in God's sight, and now you're called to live in light of that reality. We all are as Christians, to live in light of that reality, and that's where the struggle comes in. As I said, it's going to be a lifelong struggle, but when we're in the presence of the Lord, that struggle will be over. We'll be made perfect in holiness, and we'll always obey, if you will. That's what Christ has accomplished for us, won for us, and we're already beginning to experience that now by the power of the Spirit and through faith in him. So may God bless you as you continue to walk with Jesus.

Thank you so much for that question, and I would say meditate on those chapters of the book of Romans, Romans chapters 6 through 8, because those passages in particular get to a lot of what your question was about. God bless. Hey Evan, thank you, and to all the students there at Faith Christian Academy in Pennsylvania.

We appreciate you listening to the program. Well, we're coming up on Thanksgiving just about a week away, and shortly after that we're all gearing up for Christmas. Starting on the 1st of December, we have a special devotional that you can go through leading up to Christmas that will really help you focus on what Christmas is all about. Yeah, it is so important that we direct our gaze on Christ and his work for us, not just during the month of December, but really, you know, every month of the year.

But we want to help you do that during the month of December. So this devotional is called The Promised Seed, and it's a 25-day devotional starting on December 1st that focuses on that promise that we have in scripture that the seed of the woman is going to crush the head of the serpent. Friends, we need that reality to be plastered before us, to go deep into our hearts that Christ, I mean, I was talking about the previous question, that Christ has conquered sin for us once and for all, and so we can rest in him and rejoice in him. And this devotional is going to help you to do just that. And so get a hold of it, The Promised Seed, and you can get it at corechristianity.com for free. This was actually put together by our own director of content, Kendra Dahl, who we appreciate so much here at Core Christianity.

She did an excellent job, and you can get this free download of the Christmas devotional by going to corechristianity.com forward slash christmas, that's corechristianity.com forward slash christmas, or call us at 833-843-2673 for help getting any one of our offers. And of course you can call us if you have a question today for Pastor Adriel about the Bible or the Christian life. We're going to be taking calls for another 10 minutes or so, so get on the phone right now and call us at 833-THE-CORE. Let's go to Tony in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tony, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Okay, so I have a question.

I have listened to a deal that was online. This gentleman was saying that a Roman gentleman back named Heromia had a conflict with a saint whose name was Lucifer, and when he was transcribing the Isaiah 14-12, he actually called the devil who, it's actually like in the NIV, it's the son of the day star or the morning star, but yet when he translated it, he translated it into Lucifer and he says that's the only time that Lucifer or the devil has ever been called Lucifer and that it was because it was a argument between this scribe named Heromias and his enemy named Saint Lucifer. Yeah, hey Tony, thanks for that question. Now regarding that history, I'm not entirely sure if that's totally accurate, but I don't think it makes much of a difference in terms of, you know, identifying the evil one. Isaiah chapter 14 is the text you're referring to, and in the context there's this rebuke on the haughty king of Babylon who was sinning against the people of God and against God himself, and it was exalted but fell, had this great fall. So Isaiah chapter 14 verse 12, this is the ESV, how you are fallen from heaven, oh day star, son of the dawn, and in the Latin Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible, that is translated as Lucifer. How you are cut down to the ground, who laid the nations low, you said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven above the stars of God, I will set my throne on high, I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will make myself like the most high. In other words, you have here the great fall of Satan, an illustration of what we read in Proverbs, if you will, pride comes before a fall, there's this great haughtiness, there's this great arrogance, and this individual had this high position, the day star. In antiquity, the day star referred to Venus, the brightest of the morning stars or planets, if you will, that heralded the coming day.

You could see it early in the morning. This position of prominence, and yet here, you have this terrible, terrible fall rooted in pride, and I think that's the point of the text. Really, as I said, an illustration of what Proverbs tells us, pride comes before a fall, and the sin of pride being the sin of Satan, if you will.

And so that's the main focus, whether or not we refer to the evil one as Lucifer or the devil or Satan, I don't think it makes much of a difference. The thing that we're called to see here is the danger of pride, how demonic pride is, and so I appreciate your question, brother, and God bless. You're listening to Core Christianity, and if you have a question about the Bible, the Christian life, doctrine, theology, or how your faith intersects with your daily life and today's culture, we'd love to hear from you. Our number is 833-THE-CORE. You can also email us anytime with your question. Here's the email address.

It's questionsatcorechristianity.com. Here's an email from Mary Adriel. She says, I need help with God's providence and sovereignty. As a family, we've experienced a great deal of grief. Five years ago, our young adult niece died in an accident, and a few days ago, her brother died. All of us are brokenhearted.

I'm wrestling, particularly for my niece and nephew's mother. Please share any thoughts that might help us. I'm so sorry to hear about these tragedies, Mary. Let me just pray first for you. Gracious Father in heaven, I pray for Mary and for her family and everything that they've been going through, Lord, the pain that they're experiencing because of these sudden losses. I ask God that you would comfort them with the comfort that only you can give by the grace of the Holy Spirit. I pray, Lord, that you would set their eyes, their hope on you, on your love, on the fact that you know all things, Lord God, that nothing surprises you, on the hope that they can have through Jesus, the one who has conquered death and sin. So I pray that you would be again with Mary, with her family, and ask that you would comfort them now in Jesus' name.

Amen. Providence and sovereignty. Of course, Mary, as you know, there are strange and difficult providences that we experience in life as Christians. Anyone who thinks that Christians, because we follow Jesus, we're not going to suffer, we're not going to experience the kinds of pain that are out there in the world is just not true.

And yet we can have hope, and I think you can have hope, your family can have hope. God is very clear in his word, Jesus is very clear in his word about the love of God for his creation, the fact that God rules over all things providentially. When we talk about providence, we're talking about how God sustains all things in the world, how he cares for them, how he governs all things. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 10 verse 29, are not two sparrows sold for a penny?

Not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your father. That is, God knows everything. He knew these circumstances before they happened, but even the hairs of your head are all numbered, Jesus said.

Fear not, therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows. I think also of what the psalmist said in Psalm 139, in particular in verse 16. David said, your eyes saw my unformed substance, and your book were written every one of them the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. In other words, with these children, God knew every day, every single hair on their head. Now, we ask the question, why God? Why did this happen?

Why was this allowed to happen? And so often, we don't have that answer, not this side of heaven. We don't understand why certain things take place. What we cling to is what God has revealed to us in his word, that he is good, that he cares for us, that he's able to make all things work together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. We cling to that. We cling to the gospel. We say, God, sometimes I look at these circumstances around me, and I wonder, how is it that you love me? Do you love me?

Why did this happen? We have to go back to where God has demonstrated his love to us most clearly, and that is at the cross, in Jesus his son. And so, go to the Lord, lament. That's what we do in times like this. We lament. We say, Lord, have mercy. We cry out to him. We support one another. I think supporting your family at this time and just being present is really, really important. Continuing to pray, but clinging to what God has revealed in his word. These things didn't surprise the Lord, and they don't mean that God doesn't love you, and that he didn't love these children.

No, not at all. We don't understand the circumstances here, why God allowed certain things, but we can trust what he's revealed to us in his word, and I would encourage you to do that, and we'll continue to pray for you and for your family, Mary. Some great advice and some great comfort, Adriel. Thank you for that. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Let's go to Malachi, who's calling in from Kansas. Malachi, what's your question? My question was, I followed a couple of other religions for a couple periods in time, and I noticed how much dedication they show, whether it be Muslims and how many times I pray, or Buddhists, and the disciplines that they practice, and just seeing how dedicated they are, and the same way as Christianity I am now, I'm just curious, are all those people gonna go to heaven? Because, you know, Christ says the only way is through him, so what about all these other people that have just been misled due to either where they were born or how they grew up?

Hey, Malachi, thanks for that question. Yeah, what does God do with sincere people and other religions? You think all the religions of the world and folks who are practicing those religions sincerely, trying to do the right thing. Sincerity is not what saves us, right?

Neither is the amount that we work, the amount that we do. That's also not what saves us, Malachi. Now, that doesn't mean that we, you know, just sort of diminish or look down upon others, but it's just the reality, right? The reality is we can only be saved through Christ. Jesus himself said in John chapter 14 verse 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

The book of Acts, right? There is no other name given under heaven by which men must be saved. It's the name of Jesus Christ, and so the good news is Christ calls all people everywhere, regardless of what they're doing, what religion they're part of, to himself. He extends his grace to them, and as I was listening to your question there, it reminded me of what the Apostle Paul said about the Jews in his day who he loved. He wanted to see them come to Jesus. In Romans chapter 10, he says, brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.

That should be your heart's desire and prayer for others too, friends in other religions, that they may be saved, for I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For being ignorant of the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. There are a lot of people out there who are sincerely trying to establish their own righteousness.

They're building their way to God through works of charity, good deeds, whatever the spirituality it might be, whatever the religion it might be. The gospel Jesus reveals to us something totally different. We can't establish our own righteousness. We've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. It doesn't matter how many of the pillars of Islam that we keep or how many acts of charity that we do, that's not what makes us right before God. What God has done for us is the only thing that can make us right in His sight, and that is the justification that we receive, the righteousness that we receive solely through Jesus. I would say here, when we have these situations, here's what we do, we trust that God is good, that He's drawing people to Himself, that He's calling all people to faith and repentance, and we pray like the apostle Paul prayed here for them that they may be saved. That is, that they might come to the knowledge of the truth so that instead of trying to establish their own righteousness, as sincere as they may be, they may come to receive the gift of righteousness that God gives to all those who call upon His name, the free forgiveness of sins through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, so that they might be justified and know the one true and the living God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

That's what we pray for, for them and for all people. God bless. Thanks for listening to CORE Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at corechristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833-The-CORE. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program. And be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's Word together.