“Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed’” (John 8:34-36).
In the verses leading up to Jesus’ statement above, He explained that the truth is able to make us free (John 8:32). Free from what? From sin. Sin enslaves those who commit it.
How does this happen? It does not somehow remove our free will. Even after we sin, we still have the ability to “choose…whom [we] will serve” (Joshua 24:15) and be persuaded to follow the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:11). So how does this “enslavement” happen?
In this article, we will notice seven ways that sin enslaves us. As we consider these, remember that most are actually accomplished by the devil and his ministers, who tempt us to sin, but they are attributed to sin itself.
Sin Enslaves Us by Telling Us There Are No Consequences
This is what Satan did in the Garden when he tempted Eve to sin. He told her, “You surely will not die” (Genesis 3:4), in an attempt to convince her that violating God’s law was inconsequential. Yet there are eternal consequences, as Paul pointed out, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Even in this life, sin produces hardship. The wise man said, “Good understanding produces favor, but the way of the treacherous is hard” (Proverbs 13:15). But it is much easier to continue in sin if we are led to believe that there are no consequences for it.
Sin Enslaves Us by Telling Us There Is No Chance to Overcome
Many portray the battle to overcome sin as being completely hopeless. They may even cite Paul’s words to make this point: “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me” (Romans 7:19-20). However, applying this passage to our lives as Christians ignores the context in which Paul described life before he was “in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). God has promised a “way of escape” with every temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13). To reject that is to disregard the fact that “God is faithful” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Furthermore, Jesus has shown us how to live a life “without sin” despite being “tempted in all things as we are” (Hebrews 4:15). Rather than remaining enslaved to sin, we need to follow the example of Christ and take the way of escape when we are tempted.
Sin Enslaves Us by Telling Us of All the Pleasures of Sin
Moses was cited as a hero of faith because he chose to give up “the passing pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:24-26). There is no point in denying that there is some pleasure to be derived from certain sins. Yet any pleasure we receive from sin is temporary. Therefore, we need to develop self-control and learn to deny self (Luke 9:23) so that we can avoid doing what is wrong.
Sin Enslaves Us by Telling Us That Everyone Is in the Same Condition
Sin is a universal problem: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). However, some act as though Christians are still like the world with regard to sin. Even though we “have sinned” (Romans 3:23), we are not to “continue in sin” since we have “died to sin” (Romans 6:1-2). We are to be different from the world, as Paul wrote, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2). Our lives have been given to God and must not be handed back over to sin.
Sin Enslaves Us by Becoming a Habit
When we do something often enough, it becomes our default behavior. This is dangerous with sin because we eventually reach the point where we no longer “know how to blush” (Jeremiah 6:15) and sin without thinking seriously about it. However, we must take care not to become “seared in [our] own conscience” (1 Timothy 4:2). Instead, like Tabitha, who was “abounding with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did” (Acts 9:36), we need to develop a habit of doing what is right.
Sin Enslaves Us by Becoming a Coping Mechanism for Hardships in Life
Satan thought this would work with Job because it works so often with others. The tempter believed that if Job lost all of the blessings he had received from God, then he would “curse” God (Job 1:8-11). However, despite all that he suffered, “Job did not sin with his lips” (Job 2:10). Even so, this temptation is very effective against many. Yet when we face hardships, we need to turn to the Lord instead of away from Him. Peter said we must “[cast] all [our] anxiety on Him, because He cares for [us]” (1 Peter 5:7). The more we focus on God’s promises, the “lighter” our troubles seem (2 Corinthians 4:17), and the easier it is to avoid sin.
Sin Enslaves Us by Shifting Our Focus Off of Jesus
Remember that when Peter walked on the water with Jesus, he began to sink when he lost focus on Christ (Matthew 14:21-31). By “fixing our eyes on Jesus,” we can “lay aside…the sin which so easily entangles us” (Hebrews 12:1-2). As we noted earlier, Jesus left us with a perfect example (Hebrews 4:15), and we are to “follow in His steps” (1 Peter 2:21-22), not “continually” go astray as we did before (1 Peter 2:25).
Conclusion
Jesus came to set us free from sin, and this is possible through the truth He proclaimed and His sacrifice on the cross. However, in order to take advantage of this freedom, we need to understand how sin enslaves us so we can learn to overcome it.
Even after being set free from sin, we do not want to become enslaved again. So understanding how this happens can help us be on guard against it.
