The Blood and the Cross: Finding Freedom from Repeated Sin
Orientation
The feeling of being trapped in a cycle of sin and guilt is not a sign of failure, but the very place where Christ meets you.
- Your confession of powerlessness is a crucial spiritual truth, not a defect.
- The desire for sin to stop is a gift from your new nature in Christ.
- Running to Christ each time you fail is faith in action, not a failure of willpower.
This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. (1 Timothy 1:15)
— 1 Timothy 1:15
Clarification
The solution is not mustering more strength, but seeing that Christ's work has already settled both your guilt and sin's power.
- Guilt is cleansed by Christ's blood, not by your remorse or promises.
- Sin's dominion was broken at the cross, where your old self was crucified with Christ.
- The main battle is believing this finished work is more real than your failure.
How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:14)
— Hebrews 9:14
Structure
Paul's gospel reveals a two-fold freedom: the blood cleanses your conscience, and the cross breaks sin's dominion.
- The blood of Christ provides immediate, eternal cleansing from guilt, purging the conscience.
- Your co-crucifixion with Christ freed you from sin's reign; you are to reckon this as true.
- Growth is a slow learning process of believing these truths until they become more real than failure.
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. (Romans 6:6-7)
— Romans 6:6-7
Weight-Bearing Prose
The core issue is a lack of knowledge—specifically, the knowledge of Christ and the power that comes through it. Many believers have only half the gospel: the blood that forgives guilt. They are starved of the cross that breaks sin’s power. Without both, the cycle continues. Paul’s revelation in Romans 6-7 is definitive. Your ’old man’—the self bound to sin’s reign—was crucified with Christ. This was a judicial destruction of sin’s authority. You are now ‘freed from sin.’ This is not a self-improvement program but a legal reality to be reckoned as true. The flesh, where sin dwells, has no good thing (Romans 7:18). Therefore, the power for change does not come from within you but from the knowledge of your union with Christ in His death and resurrection. Your conscience is perfected by the blood, not by achieving a clean record. Your freedom is maintained by knowing you died, and a dead man is free from his old master. The demand is not on your performance; it ended at the cross.
Integration
Your job today is not to stop sinning through grim determination. Your job is to agree with God: ‘Lord, I cannot overcome this. I throw myself on Your mercy.’ Thank Him that you are forgiven, accepted, and loved right now because of Jesus. Keep running to Him just as you are. Every time you look away from yourself and thank Jesus for His cleansing blood, you are training your conscience to rest in His finished work. This continual looking is faith. As you focus on Him rather than the sin, His life in you becomes more real than the pull of the old habit. Growth in Christ is this slow, gentle learning process. There is no pressure to advance, only an invitation to rest. Christ is your sanctification. He is your peace. You are safe here.