One of the most encouraging passages in the Bible about having victory over sin is found in Romans 6:2. The Apostle Paul asks the rhetorical question, "How shall we who died to sin still live in it?" (NASB). If we're a blood-bought believer in Christ, having confessed and forsaken our sins, and surrendered to the lordship of Jesus Christ, then we DIED to sin. To continue in it would be unthinkable!

The phrase "died to sin" refers an act or event that happened once in the past and is now completed. We died to sin the moment we placed our faith in Jesus Christ. Because of His finished work on the cross, the reign of sin has been crushed in our lives and replaced by the reign of grace. The cords of the enemy that held us in bondage were broken and we were set free. This is fantastic news!

Dying to sin does not mean that we are perfectly sinless now. Even despite our heightened vigilance against sin and temptation, we will still continue to succumb to our human nature and commit sin. But what this passage is saying is that sin does not have a death grip on us anymore. This means that we are no longer slaves of sin. We are no longer under sin's dominion. Sin no longer controls us. The sin that once terrorized us and defeated us has been rendered powerless in our lives. When sin controlled us, we had no option but to sin. Sin was our master, and slaves must obey their masters. But things are different now! We have a different Master!

Yes, we're going to sin. We are going to blow it. We're going to stumble and fall sometimes. But when this happens, we confess, repent and get back up. Why?! Because we died to sin. Sin doesn't reign over us anymore, God's grace does.