Although Jesus was a Son of God, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered as a Son of Man. As a result, He was made perfect as the workmanship of God for the intent and purpose of God (Hebrews 5:8-9).
“Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.” (James 1:13-15)
Sin is knowing the right thing to do, and not doing it (James 4 :17). Therefore, sin is not an entity or a thing with distinct and independent existence; rather it is an outcome or a result of an action.
Just as darkness is not an entity but a result of the absence or lack of an entity called light, sin is an outcome of not doing the right thing in the sight of God. In other words, sin is a result of disobeying God or acting in contrary to His holy nature, righteous character, and sovereign will. Therefore, sin is what results when one dishonours God for who He is and what He wills; and sin is walking in contrary to or away from the Light and Life of God. To sin is to dwell in the absence of God or in darkness away from the Light of God (Ephesians 4:17-19; Romans 1:21-32; 2 Corinthians 4:3-4; Acts 26:18).
So, sin is authored through dishonouring and disobeying God, and the author of sin is Satan, who then becomes the father and image of all those who sin (John 8:43-47).
“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” (Romans 6:12-13)
Because sin is not an entity, sin has no intrinsic life or inherent power; that is, sin has no motive force or energy of its own to hold man captive to it. The motive force of sin is the flesh – members of the body presented as instruments of sin to propagate sin and to serve the agenda of the author of sin, Satan – and the lure of sin is the lusts of the flesh. When one succumbs to the lust of the flesh, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death, as the one who sins can no longer partake of the Light and Life of God since he has chosen to walk away from God and all that God represents.
Since the flesh is the instrument that gives life, power, and opportunities to sin; if we prevail over the flesh by not living according to the flesh, we will overcome sin and become instruments of righteousness, which leads to the Light and Life of God (Romans 8:12-14).
Therefore, to live a life that is free from sin is to live a life that is led by the Spirit of God, free from the lusts of the flesh. When we are led by the truth of the Spirit, we will always know the right thing to do; and when we are empowered by the grace of the Spirit, we will always have the power to do the right thing, even through sufferings. When we progressively walk a sin-free life in subjection to the Spirit of God, we will conform to the image and likeness of Christ, and become the perfect workmanship of God.
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