Accompanying the new life and new power of regeneration is a new freedom. This new freedom is the ability to say no to sin and yes to God. The truth is that we either have our face toward sin and our back toward God, or we have our face toward God and our back toward sin. One of the freedoms of regeneration is the freedom to repent and literally turn our back on sin and our face toward God to live new lives of holiness.
This new freedom is incredibly liberating and one of the great gifts of regeneration. Paul speaks of this wonderful experience in Romans 6:6, saying, “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” In Romans 7:6, he likewise says, “But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.”
As a pastor, I must say that seeing new Christians experience this new freedom is among the most encouraging parts of my job. When people realize that they need not tolerate or manage their sin but can walk away from it and toward Jesus because He has broken its reign over them, their lives change forever. Seeing this is one of the main reasons I remain motivated to continue in ministry – I know that gospel ministry is not in vain.
What bad habits have you been able to walk away from since being born again?