September 25

So you too must count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. — Rom 6:11 BSB

Many people struggle with sin, but despite their efforts, they don’t experience true victory. They fight against the lusts of the flesh, the love of the world, and the pride of life but remain trapped. Why? Because they don’t know the secret of spiritual strength and victory over sin.

True victory only comes through a living connection with Jesus Christ. When we drink deeply from His sufferings and death, and when we receive from His fullness, then we can overcome sin, death, and hell. Think about those moments when you have felt a deep sense of the Savior’s love in your heart. In those moments, you believed with God-given faith that He was yours. His love, righteousness, and grace flowed into your soul.

What was the result? Did it lead you into sin? No, it led you into holy obedience. Sin is only truly subdued this way. Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus is a powerful example of sin being defeated through Christ’s power. Striving through vows, tears, and resolutions—these are nothing more than human efforts, like the self-punishments of old religious practices. True victory comes through knowing and experiencing the sufferings of Christ and receiving grace and strength from Him, which is made perfect in our weakness.

The Apostle Paul told the Colossians, “You are dead”—not just because the law condemned you, but because you are united with Christ in His death. “Sin shall not have dominion over you,” because you are not under the law, but under grace. Grace, through Christ, subdues sin by forgiving it. If you read Romans 6 with an understanding heart, you will see how Paul explains that the believer dies to the power of sin through a spiritual union with Christ’s death and resurrection.