Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me. (Psalm 119:133)
People often ask me, “How can I know if I am redeemed?” To be sure, Scripture provides great insight into the confident assurance we are to have in knowing our right standing before God. However, when I am asked that question, I always direct people to read today’s verse and search their hearts to see if the request of the psalmist is their request too. Only the redeemed will request of the Redeemer that no sin will rule over them. Is this your daily request?
Sin would occupy the throne of our lives if it could, because sin is never satisfied with coming in second. But when Jesus went to the cross and cried, “It is finished,” He was announcing that Satan, death, and sin had been defeated. However, there is something every saint of God must remember about the Christian life: Inasmuch as sin no longer reigns in the life of the believer, it still remains. Sin has been defeated, yes, but it is not yet totally destroyed. As Steve Brown says, “The dragon has been slain, but his tail still swishes.”
Because the old nature is still alive within every child of God, it must be our daily prayer that no sin will rule over us. It is a battle we must be willing to fight—not just daily, but moment by moment. Each day we wake up in the crosshairs of the world, the flesh, and the devil. The battle is fierce and the enemy is ferocious; the tempter will do everything in his power to gain ground in the life of the believer.
Throughout this ongoing battle, there is something you must never forget, which is the response of the Redeemer to the request of the redeemed:
Sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. (Romans 6:14)
Will we still struggle with sin? Yes, we do and we will every step of the way into glory. But sin will never again reign in the life of the redeemed. We will be weakened and we will be wounded, but we will never be wrecked on the sandbar of sin. If we were still trying to save ourselves under the law, sin would have its way with us. It would discourage us, derail us, and ultimately defeat us. But we are not under the law. We are under grace, and the grace of God has promised to comfort, correct, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness
Regardless of where this message finds you today, keep fighting the good fight of faith against all the schemes of Satan. Know that He who began a good work in you has promised to complete what He started. Make your request each day that no sin will rule over you and know that it shall not.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 