Freedom from sin even if not free of it.

"And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin." - 1st John 3:5

"For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." - Romans 6:14

Sin is the real culprit in our failed relationships and broken lives; most understand this but find it impossible to avoid.

Jesus brings forgiveness and the ability to refuse to obey sin's call - he gives the ability to say, "No". That fact is not diminished even when we still sometimes say, "Yes".

Dallas Willard has a helpful way to look at this; take a moment to think about what he wrote.

"The psychological condition established in us by the influx of Christ's life--a psychological reality--allows us to rise above our "old person" for the motivation, organization, and direction of our physical existence.

Even if we waver and turn back to the "old person"" upon occasion, we still are able to do otherwise. People without the new life have no choice. but we have a new force within us that gives us choice. In this sense we are free from sin even if not yet free from it. Doing what is good and right becomes increasingly easy, sweet, sensible to us as grace grows in us."¹

-fritz

^{1 - Dallas Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines (HarperCollins 1998) by Dallas Willard (emphasis is mine)}