Sin Has No Hold on Me

We recently introduced a song called "Victory" from Gateway Worship to our congregation. It's a simple, singable song that focuses on the freedom we have in Christ - specifically, our freedom from sin. It was beautiful to hear so many voices singing out this truth on a Sunday morning. I love that every time we gather as the church we have a fresh opportunity to remind one another of who we are in Christ. This is what the Apostle Paul was getting at when he commanded the Ephesians to "speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs" (Eph. 5:20). He understood that corporate singing would be an effective means of affirming and cementing core truths.

As I was working through the lyrics of “Victory” I came to the bridge:

Sin has no hold on me
Sin has no hold on me

It’s a simple line that gets repeated several times. And it’s as if, the more I sang it, the more my heart was gripped by the reality it was affirming. I think my voice grew stronger every time I sang it out in my office. I flipped my Bible to Romans, chapter 6:

…For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. (Rom. 6:6-7)

The phrase “sin has no hold on me” summarizes the reality that Paul spells out in Romans 6. Being crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20) we now, through the Holy Spirit, are able to say “no” to sin and “yes” to God. How I need to hear this over and over again, especially in the face of those sins that so easily entangle. I need to be reminded that, in Christ, sin’s stranglehold has been dealt a mighty blow. I need to embrace this reality on a daily basis – putting off the old, putting on the new. Where once I was bound to sin (enslaved is what Paul says), I am no longer its captive.

The reality is, on this side of eternity, you and I will still struggle with sin. But when we cooperate with the Spirit’s work in our lives we can increasingly experience victory over those besetting sins. We ask for His grace and strength to keep growing in holiness as a grateful response to God’s mercy. And we know that when we fail, His mercies are new every morning.

I leave you with the words of Puritan pastor Thomas Brooks:

“The Lord has stripped sin of all its ruling, reigning, domineering, and tyrannizing power. O Christian, look upon sin as dead! It is not to be obeyed, and not to be acknowledged. The Lord Jesus has given sin a mortal wound by his death and Spirit…thus sin shall never recover its strength and shall die a lingering death in the souls of the saints.”