Sanctification is the result of loving Jesus more than I love sin. Godliness is not behavior modification, but heart transformation. I cannot take three steps to overcome lust forever next Thursday at 3 PM and be forever, sexually pure. The problem is my heart desires, which are not easily changed. Channeling and protecting the desires of my heart is the foundation of growing in holiness, which is why God says, Watch over your heart with all diligence for from it flow the springs of life (Prov 4:23). 

Pete had been a Christian nearly all his life. But since his teen years he had been losing the battle with pornography. Desperately he fought his lust, but every new solution was temporary. Praying harder didn’t work. Feeling worse afterwards didn’t work. Getting married didn’t work. Feeling alone and ashamed, Pete struggled for ten years; but his bondage only increased. One day, he heard about a seminar on sexual purity and attended with his friend. On the way home Pete was even more overwhelmed with feelings of condemnation, and hypocrisy. He knew he had to bring his sin into the light to get help; but the thought of his wife and kids finding out about his secret life was too humiliating to consider. Pete’s friend listened compassionately. But it was the last conversation he would have with Pete. The next weekend, Pete committed suicide.

Countless committed Christian men wrestling with masturbation have asked a legitimate question. If Christ has redeemed me from slavery to sin, why am I still regularly giving in to lust and masturbation? Didn’t Paul say the Christian’s old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for the one who has died is freed from sin (Rom 6:6-7) and then repeat in verse 18 that Christians have been set free from sin? How can this be true when we default to lust, selfishness, resentment too easily and know that our heart attitudes are miles away from being like those of Jesus? This episode addresses the question, If Christ defeated sin at the cross, setting Adam’s kingdom free from its destructive slavery, why isn’t earth’s culture more sanctified and why am I, myself, not more sanctified?

As Christmas draws near, we hear “Joy to the world! The Lord is come. Let earth receive her King.” But if we are honest, we must admit that most of the earth has not received her king. The words continue, “Joy to the Earth! The Savior reigns.” However, news reports don’t sound much like Jesus is reigning but more like evil, hatred, secularism, and cultural Marxism are reigning. The lyrics continue, “No more let sins and sorrow grow, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found,” rightly grasping that the Messiah has come to overthrow sin’s curse upon the earth. But thorns still grow, and the blessing of God’s design of sexuality, for example, doesn’t seem to be flowing into our culture; instead, the culture is attacking it. The final verse says, “He rules the world with truth and grace and makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness,” but we see no international summit of world leaders to acknowledge Christ’s kingship. In short, is the coming of the Messiah no more relevant to the world right now than a fairytale, giving people a picture of a happy ending to the story when everybody lives happily ever after? If Christ defeated sin at the cross—why does sin have so much power to corrupt culture and overpower our hearts? Does our Redeemer’s work have any impact upon this life?

Yes. The True Tyrants Kicked Off Adams Throne Were Satan Sin & Death

From Genesis to Malachi, the pages of the Old Testament promise that one day the Anointed One (Messiah) would come to liberate God’s oppressed people. The oppressive tyrants to be overthrown always were the triumvirate of evil—Satan, sin, and death, which is made clear in the Genesis 3:15 promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head. Since Israel was constantly subjugated by foreign political powers, as it was by Rome in Jesus’ Day, its people almost always thought of the Messiah as one to overthrow their political oppression. But nations like Assyria, Babylon, and Rome were just pawns in God’s hands. The root cause of Israel’s oppression was its disobedience, as texts like this make clear:

But if you will not be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you…. The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them…. And you shall be oppressed and robbed continually. You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall ravish her. Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, while your eyes look on and fail with longing for them all day long, but you shall be helpless. and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually…. (Dt 28:15ff).

It could not be clearer that the oppressor, from which Israel needed to be set free, was not Egypt, Assyria, or Rome, but the sin that reigned after Adam aligned his kingdom with Satan’s rebellion, which cased Israel’s failure to keep its covenant obligations. Though many Israelites missed it, the Messianic prophecies were clear that the real oppressor was SIN. Listen to these familiar words of Isaiah 

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore (v

• Notice that the Second Adam takes back the governing of earth from SATAN, the Prince of the Power of the Air—the government shall be upon his shoulder.
• Note that SIN and its corruption of relationships will be overthrown. As the Prince of Peace, shalom will be restored; both justice and righteousness reign—to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness.
• Note, that DEATH, the third ally in this triumvirate, will be vanquished since this kingdom of righteousness will be from this time forth and forevermore.

Not only did Messianic prophecies point to the defeat of this triumvirate of oppressors, not a political foe, but Jesus also deliberately prefigured the overthrow of these three specific tyrants in his ministry. Concerning SIN, consider how thoroughly Jesus proclaimed what the righteousness of the Second Great Commandment required, in his Sermon on the Mount. It went way beyond the outward keeping of the law.

You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Mt 5:43-48).

Concerning DEATH, Jesus prefigured overcoming the curse upon the material earth placed there because of Adam’s sin by making the deaf hear, blind see, lame walk, and those afflicted with disease well. Decay and death were further overcome by raising Jairus’ daughter and Jesus’ friend Lazarus from the dead. Concerning SATAN, Jesus not only routinely cast out demons but in Matthew 12:26-29 interprets his own messianic mission to be the invasion of Satan’s kingdom. Jesus answers the accusation that the source of his supernatural power is the demonic world with the words,

“Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?… But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Lk 11:17-20).

Understanding Our Current Chapter in Redemptive History

One of the reasons it has been so difficult for Christians to understand and apply what Jesus taught about the kingdom of God is that Jesus was emphatic that his kingdom has already come but also spoke of it as having not yet come fully. The messianic prophecies have been fulfilled. Jesus, the second Adam, has come. He has defeated Satan, sin, and death.

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