The Bryce Crawford Podcast - Freedom From Sin (EP 14)

Episode Date: February 19, 2024

In this episode, Bryce talks about freedom from sin and how to stop

What's going on, guys? Welcome back to another episode of the Bryce Carver podcast. I'm Bryce, and today we have such an exciting episode. We're going to be talking about freedom from sin. This is a topic and a subject that a lot of people are afraid to talk about. But in reality, I think this is the most important concept to get outside of just being saved and knowing Jesus. I think this is crucial. There's a lot of freedom.

There's a lot of power in this. A little bit of a different style today. we're going to be just hitting the words, some scriptures that the Lord has placed on my heart. Normally I'm like reading off my phone, like an outline and going off of what the Spirit's leading. But today, just a little bit different. We're just going to see what the Spirit has in store. We also got a little bit of a different podcast set up going on. Our lava lamp is gone.

I broke the lava lamp. So no more lava lamp. We have this figurine Jesus that the Mormons have left at our apartment. And we had some Mormons try to visit us. And they left this figurine Jesus. And of course, we have this lovely poster in the background for Jesusinthestreet.com, which you can get this shirt from and other shirts and hoodies. So you should go to Jesusinthestreet.com and get your hoodies, shirts a day,

rub some fire Jesus merch. Unofficial official sponsor of the podcast is Jesusinthstreet.com because it's my website. And so if you want to support what we're doing our ministry, support it in such a way, go check out the website, Jesusinthestreet.com. Go get something to fire. From now on, let's talk about freedom from sin. This is crucial because in John 8, Jesus says something very important in John 8. John 8, Jesus says, and you know the truth, the truth will set you free here.

Let's just go to John 8 really quick, because John 8 is powerful. All right, Jesus is talking to the Pharisees and the disciples here, and he goes, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. And then Jesus answered them again. He says, truly I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin the slave does not remain in the house forever the sun remains forever so if the sun sets you free you're free indeed now this is crucial because there's another translation the nLT where it says a slave is temporary but a son is forever and so for someone who says i sin i sin i sin i can't stop sinning i can't do this this isn't that the bible is saying jesus says whom the sun sets free is free indeed So if you're listening or watching this podcast and you think that the things that you struggle with are an incurable disease, you think your depression, your anxiety, your sin issues are an incurable disease,

then death is your savior and not Jesus. Because you think you have to die to get free from your issues. But no, Jesus already paid that price so you can be free today. So when Jesus ascends in the heaven and gives us the Spirit of God, he shows us that we can be free today. Because if Jesus says, whom the sun sets free is free indeed, and the death and resurrection of Jesus has freed us from sin, then we can be freed today. We don't have to wait until we die.

So imagine this. Imagine like someone goes to jail. They go to jail. They're on a sentence right now. They are on trial. They're guilty. And they go to jail. And then they get out of jail.

And then they have an ankle monitor on. Are they really free? No, they're not free. They're still being tracked. They're on house arrest. They can't leave their house. They've got an ankle monitor on. That's not freedom.

That's partial freedom. and that's how a lot of Christians live. A lot of Christians live as if, oh, I'm a Christian, I'm born again, but the sin issues just latched on to me like a leech, so I can't do anything about it. But Jesus is saying, no, you can be free from it today. So when you fast forward to John 15, one of the most famous passages in the Bible,

Jesus says, I am the true vine, and my father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away. And every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me and I in you. Now that's kind of random. Because Jesus is given an analogy here and verse three comes out of nowhere where he says already you're clean because of the word I've spoken to you. Then he goes back into the analogy. To abide means to remain. And so Jesus is giving us a call as Christians and

believers to remain in his love. And actually a call to anyone like hey if you want to remain in my love, do so remain in my love but the reason he gives this little detour click where he says already you have been made clean by the word i've spoken to you he's saying this because it's easy to remain in god's love when you know you've been made clean how many times have you pushed away god because you feel dirty and you feel like he can't fix your issues so you say i'm too dirty i can't come to god but rather god is saying come to me and let me clean you up let me make you pure the fruit of sin is death the fruit of righteousness is sanctification. Which one do you want? When you know you're walking in righteousness, you know because you're being made holy. Sanctification is the process of being made holy.

And so when you are seeing yourself being made holy and righteous in his side, that's how you know you're walking that narrow path. That his word is a lamp to your feet. And so in order to remain in God's love, you have to know you're clean and you're free. And Jesus says whom the sun sets free is free. Now, one of my favorite passages on this has got to be Romans 6, 7, and 8. We're going to spend a lot of time here because this is key. Paul writes about this so heavily, and all of Paul's epistles actually write about this. And if you look, I want to make something clear here, if you're listening or watching this. When Paul writes about sin issues, he doesn't say when you sin.

He says if you sin, meaning it's subjective. you can choose whether you want to bite into the apple or not. So when temptation is thrown it your way, we have read about this earlier. We've talked about this earlier in the podcast in one of the episodes, but Jesus always gives us a door out in temptation. When temptation is thrown our way, we have the option to say yes or no to it,

which means that we have the power to say no to every temptation thrown our way, even if it's a hard no, even if our flesh really wants to do it, we can still say no, because our spirit is willing when the flesh is weak. And so when Paul writes about sin, he doesn't say when, because he says when you sin, it's a guarantee that you're going to sin and you can't stop. So if Paul says, if you sin, that means, oh, wait, there's a choice. I can choose whether or not I won't abide into this apple or not. So Romans 6 starts out, dead to sin and alive to God. What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? Some people say, oh, Jesus died and resurrected for me so I can go sin.

I can go do what I want. That's not what Paul is saying. He's saying, by no means. How can that we who died to sin still live in it? Now let me ask you a question. If you've died to sin as a believer, then every time you sin, you're just shaking a dead body. When you're born again, it's called born again. Your old self has been dead and he gives you new life.

And if you sin, not when, because I'm not speaking that over you, if you sin, Satan's going to try to convince you that you're still your old man. but in reality Jesus is trying to show you that you're shaking a dead body why are you trying to dig up a dead body that's dead in the ground and there's not enough shovels that can dig it up that's what he's trying to do that's what Satan's trying to get you to do do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death we were buried therefore with him by baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father we too might walk in the newness of life new life that's what you've been given freedom from sin now listen to to this, this is powerful. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing. Sin may be brought to nothing because he bore it on the cross. And in Deuteronomy, we know that things that hang on a tree were cursed.

So Jesus became a curse on a tree so that we might live and receive new life. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we also live with Him. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again. Death no longer has dominion over him. So now let's look at this. If the fruit of sin is death and death no longer has dominion over him, that means that sin no longer has dominion over Jesus and never did. And it means it doesn't have to have dominion over us.

For the death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. If sin is dead, then why are you still choosing to do it? Let's get real. Oh, Bryce, you don't know what I've been through. I can't stop. I mean, it's just in me. I just can't stop doing it.

Let's be real. You have a carnal mind, and Proverbs 1412 says there's a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. Every time you sin, you're choosing to gratify the desires of the flesh. every time you choose to sin. Now you can choose to bear the fruit of sin, which is death, bite off that apple, or you can choose the fruit of life, righteousness, and sanctification, which is in Jesus Christ. So that's powerful.

And then what does he say right after that? Let not sin, therefore, reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passions. This is crazy right here. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life. What does Romans 12 say? To offer your body as a living sacrifice. Whenever you do an action, whether it's sin or glorifying to God, you are offering your body to something.

So when you sin, like Paul is writing in Romans 6, you are offering your body as a sacrifice to be an instrument for the ways of the world. But when you gratify the desires of the spirit and you walk in the ways of the spirit and you love God, You are offering your body as a living sacrifice for the king of kings and the Lord of Lords to be an instrument to absolutely plunder and crush the gates of hell. Now this is powerful. Look, we're going verse by verse here because this is key. It doesn't matter what I say. It matters what the word of God says. Romans 6 continues, are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace?

By no means, do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one. whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death or of obedience, which leads to righteousness. That's crazy. You are either a slave to one or the two, sin or righteousness. Now, I want to skip to Roman 7 here because this is dope. This is really dope. I love Roman 7. I experienced a lot of freedom when I heard this. Romans 7, being released from the law, or do you not know, brothers, for I am speaking to those who know the law that the law binding on a person only as long as he lives. Now he's going to go in and he's going to give an example of a husband and a wife. And it says, likewise, brothers, in verse four, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ

so that you may belong to another in him who has been raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God. For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions aroused by the law, we're at work and our members to bear fruit for death. 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 the old way of the written code. Now, when God gave the law, the 613 laws, the law is over the Israelites head. They are looking to the law, trying to obey the law and work to be righteous. And if they mess up once, they have to sacrifice an animal. Now, the second half of Romans 7 talks about how the law is not bad.

The law isn't bad, but this is what Jesus Christ did on the cross. He took the law from being over us to being in us. I'll give you an example. When I was young, I would sleep over at friends' houses, and I was very stingy about my phone. And so I would say, I'm going to the bathroom, don't hide my phone. I would go to the bathroom, I would come back and they would hide my phone. Why'd they hide my phone?

Because I told them not to hide it. I laid a law down, and the law aroused them to sin and hide it from me. So sometimes when we look at a law and someone's telling us to do and not to do something, it makes us want to do the complete opposite of it. That's what Paul is saying. But then he says it was over you, but then what does it say? We just read it. It says our sinful passions aroused by the law.

We're at work and our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law. So because of Jesus' death and resurrection, the law isn't over us. The law is in us. Jesus summarized all 613 laws into the greatest commandment. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And if that is our key focus of our life living as Jesus, then the law will naturally manifest through us because the law is written on the tablet of our heart and the law is in us. So instead of us

chasing the law of righteousness, righteousness naturally manifests in us because we're seeking to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. And then he says, what shall we say? That the law is sin by no means. Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet it. The law had not said you shall not covet. but sin seizing an opportunity through the commandment produced in me all kinds of covenness for for apart from the law sin lies dead I was once alive apart from the law but when the commandment came sin came alive and I died the very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me for sin seizing an opportunity through the commandment deceived me and through it killed me so what paul is saying he's saying that the law is good but sin will try to produce

something through something good. He's saying that something that God deemed good, Satan tried to use and pervert so that I could become jealous, so I would do this, so that I would do that. So he's saying that the law is good, but Satan tried to twist it and pervert it to make it bad. That's what he's saying. And then Romans 8, what does it say? Now there is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of Life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. It's set you free. The Spirit of Life, Christ Jesus being born again has set you free from sin. It's powerful.

Now let's go to 1 John. First John's powerful. We got a lot in 1st John. And when I started preaching this on the internet, a lot of people got upset because there's a verse in here in 1st John. He's like, well, that's not what it's saying, but we have to read the context of it. 1 John 1 is talking about walking in the light.

Verse 6, if we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. There's a lot of people out there that claim to be Christian. but they're still doing the things of the world. Oh yeah, I'm Christian, but I go out getting drunk all the time or I'm sleeping with my girlfriend or this, this, and that. And 1 John is saying,

if we claim we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness any bit of it, we lie and we do not practice the truth. We don't have fellowship with the one who brings life if we've only given him 95% of ourselves. How can we experience the fullness of Jesus if we don't give him all of us? What does it say after that?

But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his son, cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. This is where we get the slack. If we confess our sins,

he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sin, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. Now, Paul is writing 1 John, and he is saying, Oh, wait, sorry, Paul isn't writing this. John is writing this. And in this letter, John is saying that in order to be born again, you have to confess that you have sin. When he says, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. He's saying, if you haven't confessed, if you can come face to face with yourself and you say, oh, I've never sin. I don't sin. I don't do that stuff. I've never done anything wrong. Have you ever met someone that's like, I've never done anything wrong? I've met so many people that say that. When I'm talking to the street, we evangelized to a guy in a Spider-Man.

costume and he's like I'm perfect I've never done anything wrong he was like I don't poop I don't pee I'm like dude I don't even know how you can say that how do you not poop how do you not pee but he goes I've never done anything wrong so John is saying if you say that you've never done anything wrong you're deceiving yourself and then he says if we confess our sins he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and that cleanse us from all and righteousness if we say we have not sin we make him a liar and his word is not in us all of us have sin so in order receive that new life we have to confess our sins and say God I am a sin or I'm dirty. I need you to cleanse me. And then what does verse two say? My little children, I'm writing

these things to you so that you may not sin. So right after he says that, he says, in order to become born again, you have to confess that you have sinned and you have to state that I'm a sinner. I've done wrong. But then verse two, I'm writing these things to you to tell you you need to acknowledge your sin so that you may not sin anymore. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ, the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world if you sin not when it's if you sin you have the choice and if you jump over in chapter two he says do not love the world or the things in the world if anyone loves the world the love of the father is not in him for all that is in the world

the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life is not from the father but is from the world really interesting all of first john's powerful because he's writing about being children of light. Now, when you skip to 1 John 5, he's going to say something really powerful here, and we're going to know the key to overcome sin in this world, because we can be free from sin. Verse 1 in chapter 5, everyone who believes that Jesus Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. Okay, if you've been born of God, you've been born again. You confessed with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, and you believe in your heart, that Jesus Christ died and resurrected, you've been saved.

you've been born again. And that's what he's saying. If you believe that Jesus Christ, who believes that Jesus is the Christ, has been born of God. And everyone who loves the father loves who's been born of him. Because Jesus says, if you love me, you'll obey my commandments. And everything that Jesus does, the father does, the father would do. Jesus is the embodiment of the father. And so if we do the things that Jesus commanded us, and we love both Jesus and the father. By this, we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. for this is the love of God that we keep His commandments And His commandments are not burdensome

His commandments have our best interests at heart Now this is the key of how to overcome sin in the world 1 John 5 chapter 4 I mean 1 John 5 verse 4 Says for everyone who has been born of God Overcomes the world And this is the victory that has overcome the world Our faith

Your faith in Jesus Christ has overcome the world Everyone who's been born of God has overcome the world but here's the reality you can choose to overcome the world or not if you have faith then Jesus Christ faith is the persistent pursuit of God despite our circumstances if you have faith than Jesus Christ

then that is going to overpower your desires of the flesh if your eyes are set on heaven it's going to overpower the desires of the flesh and people are worried oh I've got to do this I'm going to do this it's not about trying not to sin it's just about loving him and when you love him, you naturally manifest righteousness through you. You don't have to work for the law.

You have to just love Jesus. And by loving Jesus, you naturally manifest righteousness and the law. And when you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, then you'll realize, oh my gosh, I'm not even trying to overcome the world. I'm naturally overcoming the world because I have faith in Jesus. It's not a trick. It's super simple. There's one last scripture I want to go to in a story to point this to you.

At the creation story, it's at the very beginning in Genesis 3. we're going to read something powerful here this was one of my favorite sermons I ever made I mean not made I ever preached on sorry now when we look at the creation story we know Adam Eve and God are in the garden God has given full responsibility to Adam and then he says Adam needs a companion gives him Eve

and it says in chapter 2 verse 15 the Lord God took man and put him in the garden of Eden to work and keep it and the Lord God commanded man saying you may surely eat of every tree of the garden but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die so god prepared a table for adam in the garden said you can eat of any tree just don't eat of that one tree you will surely die now here we go we're going verse by verse here in the creation story in chapter three because this is this is bonkers the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field

that the lord god had made notice how satan coming in handsome he doesn't come in with the devil and pitchfork and horns he comes in disguised as a beast like they're not scared of the serpent like everyone's like oh Satan's a serpent why wouldn't they notice Adam and Eve have been given dominion over all the beasts which is crazy because now through Jesus Christ we have authority over the world so the same authority that God gave Adam over the beasts of the of the creatures of the garden we have that same authority and so hypothetically, if Adam has authority over the beasts of the garden and Satan is a serpent in the garden, then that means that we have the same authority that Adam did over sin in the world.

So because we know Adam had authority over the beast, Adam had the choice to say no to him. It's crazy. Satan was a creature of rebellion. He's a creature of rebellion against God and he wants to lead humans into rebellion because he's in rebellion from God. That's who Satan is. that's who the serpent is. But the serpent went to the woman.

Adam had total authority in the garden. Responsibility was given to Adam. Satan went to Eve. And he said to the woman, did God actually say, you shall not eat of any tree in the garden. Now listen, watch carefully to this verbiage, because we just read where God gave the commandment to Adam before Eve was created that he can eat of any tree of the knowledge of,

he can eat of any tree in the garden. but he can't eat from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He told that Adam, then Eve's created. So then you come into the story, the sermon goes to Eve. Now, if Adam was given full responsibility in the garden, then it was his responsibility to communicate to Eve what God had spoken to him. And the woman said to the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,

but God said, you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden. Neither shall you touch it lest you die. God didn't say that. God didn't say if they touched it, they would die. God said if they ate it, they would die. Already there's miscommunication there from Adam, so Eve doesn't really know the full truth here. And the serpent said to the woman,

you won't surely die, for God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be open, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. Now, what do we talk about earlier? Satan said when you eat of it, not if you eat it. He said, when? Satan is implying it. She's already going to do it.

Let me give you an example. If I wake up in the morning, I look at my roommate, and I say, hey, when are we going to the gym? he is more implied to go to the gym because I am implying that he's already coming with me versus if I say hey are you able to go to the gym I don't know I can't do it today I'm not really feeling it if I say hey when are we going to the gym I'm implying that he's coming with me no matter what so when Satan says when you eat of it he's forcing his hand on eat when you eat of it God doesn't want you to know that you'll become like him

so when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and it was a delight to the eyes that the tree was to be desired to make one wise. She took of its fruit and ate it. And then she also gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate. Then the eyes of both were open and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves lonely cloths. Now think about this. Adam and Eve had perfect unison in the garden with the father.

So they're always looking up at God. Yeah, I'm looking at him. They're naked the whole time they're looking at him. They're not aware of their nakedness. They don't care. Nakedness isn't an issue because they're looking at him. Then they look straight ahead because the serpent is in front of them. them with an apple and temptation, you should bite the apple. They're looking straight ahead. And then when

they bite the apple, they look down at themselves and they realize they're naked. So when Jesus makes you born again, he takes your chin from looking down at your nakedness and your selfness and your selfishness and you're full of yourself. You're looking at yourself and you're realizing that you're naked and you're guilty and shameful because guilt, shame and fear enter and they cover themselves with cloth and they hide from God. He takes their chin. He takes our chin when we get born again. And he lifts our chin back up to look at him, to point him to him because he realizes that we are free from sin. He's trying to show us that. the first thing God does, he doesn't yell at them. He goes, where are you?

He asks, where are you? So if you're watching or listening to this and you're in sin, God's just calling you home, where are you? He's not condemning you. He's just saying, I have so much better for you. Now listen, when God does this, where does he go? He goes to Adam first. If you read the story, he goes to Adam first

because he gave Adam responsibility. And Adam goes, I didn't do what the woman did it. He blames it on the woman. Then God goes to Eve. What happened? And she goes, it wasn't my fault. The serpent made me do it. Now, because of sin, justice would mean we deserve punishment. Now, God gives us a way out of our sin, Jesus Christ. So there's punishment for Adam and Eve, pain and childbirth and death. But because of Jesus, we have a door on the other side of death.

But the curse is on the serpent. God curses the serpent. He doesn't blame human beings. He blames the serpent because sin comes from the devil. So he says Satan is responsible. He goes, because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock? He says that to Satan. Satan is destined for defeat. He's already been defeated. So listen, you can be free from sin.

Paul writes, if you sin, not when. And so I want to pray that God will give you conviction of sin in your life, that you can repent for, come to full repentance, saying, God, I want to be a children of the light. I want to be a child of the light. I want to be in unison with you. And I want to walk in your ways and walk in the spirit. I'm going to pray that God is going to bless you

and everyone watching and listening to this. Jesus, I thank you for everyone watching and listen to this. God, will you just bring supernatural conviction to every aspect of sin in anyone's life who's listening or watching this? God, will you just bring freedom and restoration? In Jesus' name, we thank you for people watching and listening to this.

God, we love you, we bless you. Jesus, we thank you that we can be free from sin. God, thank you that our struggles don't have to bind us here forever. that we don't have to die to be free from sin, that we can be free from sin today. God, we love you. We bless you.

We thank you. We thank you so much for listening and watching. If you want to follow along, we post the clips on Instagram, Bryce Crawford podcast, Bryce Crawford podcast on YouTube and on Spotify and Apple Music. Guys, go support what we're doing, support our ministry.

Go to Jesus in the street.com. Get some fired Jesus shirts and hoodies. We love you guys. Thank you guys so much for listen. We'll see you guys next time.