Freedom from sin. The second of the nine heavenly treasures we will mention is freedom from sin.

We are commanded in this life to utilize every opportunity the Spirit gives us to put to death the deeds of our body. We are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for our flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

We are not debtors to our flesh that we are obligated to live according to the desires of the flesh. If we live in the desires of our flesh we will die spiritually. If we walk in the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Life, we will not spend our time and energy satisfying the lusts of our flesh.

Our physical body is dead to the Spirit of God because of the sin that dwells in it. Paul cried, "Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" referring to the bondages of sin in his flesh (Romans 7:24).

At the Lord's coming He will deliver us from the curse of sin, from the morally impure compulsions dwelling in our flesh. He will set us free provided we are putting to death the deeds of our body today.

And every man that hath this hope in him [the hope of being like the Lord at His appearing] purifieth himself, even as he is pure. (I John 3:3)

If we are not putting to death the deeds of our body today we will not be set free from sin when the Lord comes. If we live according to the lusts of our flesh we will reap corruption, not life and righteousness, in the Day of the Lord. We indeed will receive the things done in our body.

If we have been faithful in the little we will be entrusted with the greater. To him who already has achieved substantial freedom from sin will be given complete freedom when the Lord appears. From him who has not been diligent will be removed even the small amount of freedom he has.

Deliverance from the chains of sin always is the gift of God's grace. It is not something we can accomplish by our self-will, although we are commanded to exercise self-control in every situation to the extent we are able.

The counterpart of the heavenly gift of freedom from sin is bondage to our fleshly sins. Many who believe in Christ are unwilling to give up their fornication, smoking, drinking, profanity, filthiness, murderous rage, jealousy, envying, unforgiveness, bitterness, partying, and sorcery. These are their treasured possessions on the earth.

If we would gain the marvelous treasure of complete freedom from sin then we must, in the present hour, faithfully put to death through the Spirit the deeds of our body. It is certain that each of us will receive the things he has practiced in his body, whether they have been good or bad.

To be continued.