Romans 8:1-4 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. (2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. (3) For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, (4) that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
So is it possible for believers to overcome sin in the flesh, and if so how do they do it? In the passage of scripture quoted above the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul teaches us that Jesus has condemned sin in the flesh. So what does that mean, and how did Jesus condemn sin in the flesh? The scripture tells us that Jesus did that by living in a body with the same likeness of sinful flesh as ours. In other words Jesus body was subject to the same sinful temptations as ours are. The difference is that Jesus never committed any sin, for He was the only man that ever lived and never let sin reign in His mortal body. In other words Jesus overcame sin in the flesh, because of which He has condemned sin in the flesh. So why was it necessary for Jesus to condemn sin in the flesh? This passage tells us that Jesus did that so that the righteous requirement of the law could be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but walk according to the spirit. In other words Jesus condemned sin in the flesh for us so that we could walk in His righteousness. And so we can see that had Jesus not condemned sin in the flesh for us it would not be possible for the saints to walk in righteousness in this life. Nevertheless because Jesus has condemned sin in the flesh every believer who abides in Christ is also able to overcome sin in the flesh, for Christ in them enables them to walk even as He walked i.e. free from sin (1 John 2:6).
Michael E.B. Maher
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