No Longer Slaves to Sin
By Emily Rose Massey
“For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.”- Titus 3:3, ESV
The gospel is at the core of Christianity: the person, work, and words of Jesus Christ. To fully comprehend our need for the Savior and what Jesus has done for us, we must first come to grips with our sins. The world offers us an array of solutions for a better life here on earth, but many of us will realize (some quicker than others) that our souls will never be satisfied by these temporary remedies. God offers us the ultimate solution in His Son, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.
Without believing and trusting in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, ultimately, we will never experience complete fulfillment in this life. Yet, knowing there is life beyond this one, we must realize that without trusting in Jesus’ finished work of the cross and paying our debt in full, we will never have peace with God; we will be responsible for paying the debt for our rebellion against Him. This quote from D.A. Carson encapsulates the beauty of the gospel and our great need for Christ: “If God had perceived that our greatest need was economic, he would have sent an economist. If he had perceived that our greatest need was entertainment, he would have sent us a comedian or an artist. If God had perceived that our greatest need was political stability, he would have sent us a politician. If he had perceived that our greatest need was health, he would have sent us a doctor. But he perceived that our greatest need involved our sin, our alienation from him, our profound rebellion, our death; and he sent us a Savior.”
It is important to understand that we cannot fully grasp the greatness of the “Good News” of what Christ has done for us without first addressing the bad news that our sin separates us from God. As we read in Titus 3:3, the Apostle Paul instructs and encourages Titus, a young pastor at the church at Crete, to remind his congregation of who they once were before they came to faith in Christ.
“For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another” (ESV).
Intersecting Faith and Life:
Some things to note in this verse: The list of sins is not exhaustive, and one sin is not worse than another. Although Paul says we “were once” practicing these sins, we know (because of 1 John 2:1-2) that does not mean we do not ever again sin against God. Paul (and John) are talking about making a practice of these sins without repentance. Approaching this topic as a believer is much different than as an unbeliever. As Christians, we can rejoice, knowing we are no longer slaves to our sins! We have been given a new nature in Christ and the power to overcome the sin that so easily ensnares us. Hallelujah, we have been set free!
We “once were” (before faith in Christ) slaves to our sin, and we lived every day as enemies of God. Because God is holy and just, a sinner (who is not born-again) cannot stand in His presence, nor can they spend eternity in paradise with Him. Although, as born-again believers, we continue to sin against God because we are constantly at war with our flesh in this life, the good news is that we have a great advocate, Jesus Christ, who is forever our righteousness. Our position in Him as declared righteous before God will never change, yet we are still called to confess our sins (1 John 1:9), which purifies our conscience before the Lord. Is there a particular sin that you have been struggling with? Let’s pause and take some time to write it/them down and repent before the Lord, laying it all down at His feet. 1 John 1:9 says Jesus is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. Let us rejoice in the truth that Jesus is forever our righteousness despite our shortcomings!
Further Reading:
Photo Credit: Getty Images/ Daniel Balakov
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