Is it Possible to Live Above Sin in Our Lives?

Rev. Ernest O'Neill

Many of us here think that the highest achievement of Jesus on Calvary was to cover our sins.  That’s it.  Many of us believe the highest achievement of Jesus on Calvary was to cover our sins.  So that when God came and looked he was kind of a little slow and he looked and said, “No, it’s not there.”  Many of us, loved ones, believe that the greatest achievement of Jesus on Calvary was to cover our sins.  Jesus on Calvary bore the punishment of our sins so that now we don’t need to bear that punishment and we don’t need to suffer the death that other people have to suffer.

Brothers and sisters, the Jews believed that.  Even the dear old Jews had got that far.  They had got as far as seeing that something miraculous happened in the heart of God which enabled them to exist in this world without any respite or punishment.  They knew that.  You remember it’s there in Psalm 32:1 “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”  Verse 5: “I acknowledged my sin to thee, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’; then thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin.’”  Now, loved ones, the Jews could experience the forgiveness of sins and they could experience the covering of their sin.

Now, do you remember what sin is?  Just that simple definition in James 4:17, “Whoever knows what is right to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”  That is sin.  You know what is right to do but you don’t do it, that’s sin.

The Jews were often in that position.  They would do that because they believed God would cover their sin because of his mercy.  But many of us are in that same position.  If you say to me, “Well, what’s wrong with it?” or “What did Jesus come to do?”.   Well, look at Matthew 1:21.  Jesus didn’t come to put our sins under the table and tell his Father it’s alright, there is no sin there.  Matthew 1:21, “she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

The Greek word is “apo” which means “from” -- not “en” which means “in”.  The Jews only knew salvation in their sins.  “I’ll accept you despite of your sin.”  But Jesus came to save us from our sins.  That is why Jesus died, loved ones, to save us FROM our sins.  In other words, Jesus can enable us to be delivered from our envy and our pride in our everyday lives.  The Jews had to walk in an everyday sinning and forgiveness, sinning and forgiveness.

But since Jesus died on the cross it is possible for us to live above sin in our everyday life.  Now that’s good news for wives and good news for husbands -- but probably good news for all of us.  Because it is possible because of Jesus’ death to live above sin.