Joseph Prince - How to Reign over Addictions and Bad Habits Effortlessly

You’re about to reign in life over your bad habits, your addictions, amen. Whatever it is that’s binding you, you’re about to reign. Romans 6 verse 14, the Bible tells us, «For sin shall not have dominion over you, for», reason, for the cost is given, «for you are not under law but under grace». How in the world can we ever say that if you preach grace, you are telling people they can go ahead and sin. Where do you think this reasoning, which I believe is from the devil, came in? What do you think this reasoning is trying to stop the people of God from trying to enjoy, experience their liberty in Christ.

Now listen, read this verse. Logic, human logic will tell us, «For sin shall not have dominion over you, because you are not under grace but under law». Isn’t it? When you give people the Ten Commandments, you are helping them to be holy, amen? This church is so smart. Look at that. Not a single amen. Now think, I’m talking about human logic, okay? I know you are well taught. I know that. You don’t have to impress me. I’m talking about human logic. Human logic, all right? If you say, «Sin shall not have dominion over you because you are taught the law,» you are under law. You are conscious of the law more than a guy in the street. Isn’t this reasonable?

But that’s not what the Bible says. And it’s amazing that people who are looking for freedom from sin, all right, freedom from addictions, freedom from bad habits, they are trying to do it by their performance, by trying to keep the law, a set of rules. And yet the scripture says, it’s when you are under grace, sin shall not have dominion over you. And this word sin in the Greek is a noun. People placing. It’s not just an action of sin. It’s the noun that causes the actions. So you can actually put this down here. Everything that came from sin, even the author of it, Satan, shall not have dominion over you when you are under grace and not under law. So the devil is so afraid of this message because most of the church world think that the more you teach the Ten Commandments, the more people become holy. It is logical. And yet, that’s not what the Bible says.

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 56, «The sting of death is sin». Death, all right, came into mankind because the Bible says Adam sinned. What is the sting of death? What brought death? The Bible says sin. What strengthens sin? The law. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You don’t hear that preach often. By the way, the word strength is «dunamis» in the Greek where you get the word dynamite. The dynamite, the power of sin is the law. So, everyone that preaches that we are not under law but under grace is preaching freedom from the power of sin. Now freedom from the power of sin does not mean you are under no control because when you are not under law, you are under grace. I am not saying free people from the law and not put them under grace. I’m saying you are under grace. And grace is a better teacher than the law ever can be, amen.

All right, so let’s go to Romans 7 right now. Praise God. Romans chapter 7. The Apostle Paul is going to reason. So, Romans 6:14 once again. Romans 6:14, «Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law, but under grace». Now this is Romans chapter 6. You would have thought that Paul made his point, right, in Romans chapter 6, but Paul says, «No, this verse deserves a whole chapter». So in the next chapter, Romans 7, which we are looking now, Paul brings up the truths of this verse, okay? «Or do you not know brethren,» first he illustrate. See, if he can follow this illustration. «Do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband».

All right, Agree? Agree? Next verse tells us, «So then if while her husband lives, she marries another man,» while her husband lives, «If she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress». This is not deep right? Is it too deep for early Sunday morning? All right, we understand this. The Apostle Paul by the Holy Spirit is giving this illustration. «But if a husband dies, she is free from that law,» agree? Can she marry after her husband dies? Provided she didn’t have a helping hand to her husband dying, all right. Her husband dies, she is free from that law, am I right? Okay. «So that she is no adulteress though she has married another man». Is this clear so far?

This woman was married to a man who is perfect. And because he is perfect, whenever she is unclean, he cannot bend to help her. You understand? Because the law says, if you touch someone unclean and you are clean you touch the defile you become defiled. So, this woman now representing all of us, we are married to Mr. Law. Mr. Law is perfect. That’s his problem. Mr. Law cannot touch you, «Lest I be defiled». If I bend over, I am no more inflexible. Law must be inflexible. Law must be perfect, unbending, inflexible. «Woman, my eggs must be nice every morning, just perfectly nice. My coffee or tea must not be too hot, all right, where it burns my tongue, it must be perfect or else you die».

In essence, you cannot keep the law without the consequence. If you don’t perform everything in the law, all right, the Bible says, judgment is coming your way. That’s the law. If you’re under law, you cannot avoid the judgment. You cannot avoid the condemnation. The Bible says in James, if you offend in one point of the Ten Commandments, you are guilty of all. So if you are under law, make sure you keep the law perfectly. So she’s married to Mr. Law. What a horrible life. Nothing wrong with him, you understand or not? The problem with him is he’s perfect.

Then one day she’s out there, singing a sad song, behind a tree, and a guy, I’m sorry I watch too many Hindi movies, all right, a guy is running through the field, he hears… Come here. Okay, anyway. You know how Hindi movies go, right? I watch some of these shows when I was young. Anyway, they fell in love, but she’s married. Now the thing about this new lover is that he’s perfect. He is no less perfect actually than the law that he gave, of course, he’s perfect. She’s in love with him. The thing about him is that whatever he demands from her, he does for her. He cooks that egg perfectly and makes her eat. He prepares that drink perfectly. Everything he does is perfect for her. Now she wants to marry him. But if she marries him, is she an adulteress? Regardless of the «Ha-ha». Am I right?

Come on people, talk to me. Is that adultery? Yes, it’s adultery. So what happens is this. The husband cannot die. Mr. Law cannot die. God’s commands is forever. Like God, God is eternal. His demands never change. God still demands what he demands. But men cannot keep. The perfection itself is what is the problem. Jesus came and readjusted the Pharisees' ideas of the Ten Commandments. He says that you think it’s jumping into a bed physically with a woman. No, if you undress her in your mind, you have committed adultery. What did Jesus do? He bring everyone to despair so that everyone will say, we need a Savior. That’s the purpose of the law, to bring you to the end of yourself. When Jesus gave the law to the rich young ruler, he came to the end of himself.

So, Mr. Law cannot die. He’s perfect forever. So guess what? Just imagine for a moment, this is Paul’s logic. What if the woman dies? Just imagine, if the woman dies, if it’s possible for the woman to die and then be resurrected, is she free from her husband? People think. If she dies and then she’s resurrected, is it possible? Now, in essence Jesus’s death and resurrection is for the woman and the woman is… is you and I. So, how will she die? One of the reasons for the cross is not just to carry all the sins of the world upon himself, okay, but also to provide a death by which we are free from the law to marry Jesus our Lord, the perfect one. So that today he is in us and his demands are no less. I mean, you know his holiness is perfect.

Come on. But the thing is this, we are not the ones doing it. We are resting in him and he does it. She just leans on him. And Jesus is such that when grace came, the law says, «Don’t touch the unclean or else you’ll be unclean». But grace, when grace came down the mountain, Jesus came down the mountain, a leper came to Jesus and said, «If you’re willing, you can make me clean». During that day and age, if a rabbi touches a leper, the rabbi is unclean and has to be sprinkled with the ashes of the red heifer, the offering of the temple, okay. But Jesus is no ordinary rabbi, amen. Come on people. You know, Jesus, the law says don’t touch, don’t go, don’t do, don’t, you know, there’s a law, but grace is aggressive. Grace moves among sinners. And grace still maintains holiness and purity.

So when he touched the leper, the leper caught what he had and the leper was cleansed. Jesus is healthy, he touched the leper, the leper became clean. In other words, under law, sin is contagious. Under grace, life, health is contagious. So the Bible says, «If a husband dies, she is free from that law». But we know the husband is Mr. Law. Mr. Law cannot die. So guess what? Next verse. «Therefore, my brethren,» now he’s talking to us direct, no more illustration. He comes straight to the point. «You also,» you the woman in this story, «You also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ». If your husband Mr. Law cannot die, you can die. And Jesus on the cross provided that death for all of us. All right? Are you with me so far?

«So we are dead to the law through the body of Christ that you may be married to another, to Him who was raised from the dead,» and what is the result? «That we should bear fruit to God». So, this woman is married to the one who is raised from the dead. That’s you and I, all right? «For when we were in the flesh,» now remember those days when you were in the flesh? «The sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death». God gave the law to bring man to the end of himself. Are you listening people? All right, so notice here, what aroused the sinful passion? The sinful passions when we were in the flesh, even today as believers, after you are saved, the flesh is still the flesh, is still the flesh, is still the flesh.

Don’t forget that. Any of us can fall into adultery, any of us can fall into sin, all right. The moment we miss looking at our husband, we miss spending time with him and communing with him, we still can sin. The flesh is still the flesh. Until Jesus comes in the rapture, we will no longer have that flesh, but a glorified body. And the flesh is not the body, but the sin principle in the body, it’s still there. Do you understand? But it doesn’t define you. It is not you. You are the new creation, but the flesh is still there. Okay, now, what arouses the sinful passions of our flesh? «The sinful passions which were aroused by the law». Whoa, And then the result? «Bare fruit to death». Verse 4, «Bare fruit to God». Here, bare fruit to death. Your flesh wants a law to arouse it.

Let me just illustrate. Look up here, people. Okay, a glass of water with dirty sediments, all right, after you leave it aside for one hour, alright, the sediments go down in the water and the water looks clear, but it’s settled down to your flesh it is there. The potential for any of us to be a murderer or whatever is there in the flesh, but it’s not you. If I have a splinter in my finger, a piece of wood, I’m not wooden, but it’s in my flesh. Do you understand people? All right? So after the sediment settles down, the water looks clear. But don’t drink it. Why? There are still sediments there.

Now, as long as the sediments are down there, people think they are okay. Many people, they don’t feel need to come to Jesus to be saved because «I’m kind of okay. I’m not like murderers. I’m not part of this group. I’m not part of that group. I don’t kill people. I’m a decent guy. I take care of my family». You know what I’m saying? «I’m an okay guy. I’m not perfect, but I’m an okay guy». You know what I’m saying? They don’t see their need for Jesus because all they have is outward. They are like that water, the sediments have settled. It looks clear, but it’s dangerous for you to drink. So God introduced the law. The silver spoon…stir. All right? The spoon, nothing wrong with the spoon. But when the spoon stirs the water, guess what? The sediments goes up.

Now, can you say the spoon produce the dirt? The spoon brings about the dirt. No, the dirt was already there. But the spoon, the law stirs it up. That’s what this verse is saying. Are you listening people? Next verse. «But now,» I’m bringing this to a close. «We have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by». People, you know what’s delivered? Delivered is delivered! We are delivered from the law. «Pastor Prince, again, this law is not the Ten Commandments». Look at the context. Context is king. Look at the context. Drop to verse 7. «What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not. On the contrary». Is the spoon sin? No. Nothing wrong with the spoon, okay. But the spoon and the stirring of the flesh cannot go together.

So he says, «On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law». What law is this? Ceremonial? Read. «For I would not have known covetousness» or lust «Unless the law had said, 'You shall not lust.'» So Paul is saying, «That last commandment got me». So the context is very clear. When it says we are delivered from the law, it’s not ceremonial law. It is the Ten Commandments. Does that mean that today we can commit adultery? We can lie on our tax returns? No. We are delivered from the law having died to what we were held by so that we should serve in newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

Let me show you what it means, all right? We are delivered from the law, in other words, to follow the Spirit. I like the Amplified translation of this. The Amplified says on that part, «So now we serve not under obedience to the old code of written regulations, but under obedience to the promptings of the Spirit in newness of life». In other words, I live by the prompting of the Spirit. The law says, «Don’t commit adultery». That’s all it says. But the Spirit says, «Today, buy something special for your wife». The spirit will say, «All right, don’t just cross her in the living room, stop for a while touch her hand and say, 'I love you, ' and then go». Do in style. Touch, say, go. The Spirit of God will teach you things like that.

So the law, «Thou shalt not commit adultery,» do you know you can keep the law outwardly and have no love for your spouse? So it’s saying we are free from the law to obey the Spirit. Are you with me so far? Okay, next verse we read this already. Verse 8. «But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire». An amazing statement that I don’t understand why people don’t preach more on this, is this, «Apart from the law, sin was dead». I tell you, this verse is memorized in the corridors of hell or wherever, the devil is not in hell yet, but wherever he is, you know.

The devil says, «Make sure you come to them religiously. They will never guess it’s you. Come to them in 'Do you want to please God? Do you really want to please God? All right, you really want to please God, all right, you must keep the commandments.'» Bring back the law, knowing full well the law will stir up the sinful passions. The law was designed, all right, to bring out man’s sinfulness so that man will see his need for the Savior. But the devil knows that, so he will try to reintroduce the law through law preachers and then you never guess what hit you.

All you know is that the joy you used to have when you got saved, when you got saved, they told you, «You don’t have to do anything. You just trust God. Jesus did everything». You say, «Really? Jesus did everything? Yeah! Yeah, man»! After you got saved, they say, «By the way, you must do this, you gotta do this and that». And after a while, you try your best and you fail, you try your best, you fail. The joy all went off. Now, does that mean there’s no instruction, exhortation in New Testament? Oh, full of it. But the thing is that we rest and obey the Spirit in the performance of it. The more you rest, the more God performs.

Don’t think for one moment that the life of rest is an idle life, is a lazy life. No one is more rested than Jesus Christ. In three and a half years, you study the gospels, he was so cool. He’s always at the right place at the right time. He has time walking to raise Jairus’s daughter who is dying. He has time for the woman to talk to the woman who was healed. He has time to go any place. He always has time. He moves in the rhythm of grace, he’s always restful and yet no one accomplish more than Jesus Christ in three and a half years. So the Christian life is a life of rest and rest means he’s active. When you work, he rests. When you rest, he works, hallelujah.