Sin No More || Who I Am || Week 4

Welcome back to our “Who I Am” series. This series is about learning our identity in Christ. Last week, we looked at four titles we can claim in Christ that remind us of how to act like Christ. We said: 

• I am a believer, and the light of the Gospel shines in my mind.
• I am a doer of the Word and blessed in my actions. 
• I am a partaker of His divine nature.
• I am an ambassador for Christ.

This week we’re looking at four more titles that remind us that Jesus forgave our sins and that we shouldn’t sin anymore.

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We’ll discuss the first title: I am an overcomer by the blood of the Lamb and the Word of my testimony. 

Revelations 12:11 says this: 

11 And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die. 

Before I get into this discussion, I want to mention the complexity of discussing the book of Revelation. Its apocalyptic, end-of-the-world imagery is brutal to interpret at face value, which is approximately my level of explanation for this series. I will attempt to explain the context to the best of my ability so that it doesn’t lose the meaning of what we’re focusing on. Remember, I’m not a theologian. I’m not a pastor of any denomination. I don’t have a bible degree. I’m a Bible nerd that enjoys talking about the Bible. With ALL that said, let’s get into it. 

Revelation 12 introduces two characters: the woman and the drag. The woman is understood to be God’s faithful people waiting for Jesus. The dragon is understood to be Satan. The child of the woman, understood to be Jesus, was taken to heaven, where there was a war. The war kicked the dragon and his angels out of heaven. When this happened, they celebrated the fact that Jesus was there. They celebrated the fact that Jesus was there, which is concluded with our focus verse today. 

The killing blow to Satan was when Jesus died on the cross. Christ won the battle with his sacrifice. We should’ve been in that place, but Jesus sat in our place. We continue the victory lap through the sacrifices we make in life because of our faith in Christ. As we battle the Satanic forces of life, we shouldn’t fear defeat or compromise ourselves with evil actions to escape the battle. We must continue to loyally follow what Christ tells us to do because he achieved the final victory. Let’s continue our discussion of this battle with Revelation 2:10, which says this: 

10 Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life. 

This verse is a part of the message to the church in Smyrna (2:8-11). John, through Jesus’s guidance, wrote to this church. John acknowledges the suffering and poverty this church is struggling with, yet recognizes their riches. Some of their people claim to be Jews, but they’re following the wrong things. This section closes with a reminder to listen to the Spirit of God and understand what he’s saying to the church. 

Our focus verse falls smack dab in the middle of this letter. John is connecting with this church in his letter. How do we know that? Smyrna is a famous town, well-known for its athletic games. Winners of those games would receive the prize, a victory wreath. John helps them understand this upcoming battle by phrasing it in ways that connect to their athletic background. John tells them that if they’re faithful, they’ll receive the prize of victory – eternal life. We receive the same message. 

John calls them to stay faithful during suffering because God controls all situations. John doesn’t want them to take things into their own hands to try fixing things, but instead, stay faithful to doing what God tells them to do. We need to release our control, lean into our faith, and do what God wants us to do, regardless of whether we want to. We can rely on the promises of victory over the hardships of life and the promise of eternal life where there will be no pain or persecution. The more we do this, the more we show how genuine our faith is. I’ve mentioned how we shouldn’t just talk about how to do things for God but put actions to our words. Showing our perseverance to others is a great way to share the love and works of God with others.

I’m walking through a battle like this right now. I got unexpectedly terminated from my job at the beginning of June, which threw my life into a flux situation. Earlier in the year, I prayed to God about my future. I promised myself (which I believe also came from God) that after ten years of ministry work, I would transfer to the finance world to start my career there. My ten years would have been in July 2023. I had this plan with God about how my transfer would take place. When my termination happened, I felt this plan wouldn’t be possible. But God has told me to stick with the plan. How am I going to do that over the next six weeks? I currently have two part-time jobs teaching me some work in finance and retail. These experiences are something that I previously never had. I’ve heard God say, “Just stick with this. Learn it. Your time is still coming.” So, I’ll continue doing what God calls. Is it where I want to be right now? No, but God’s plans are more significant than mine. His ways are higher than mine. He knows what’s best for me, and I’m seeing that play out right now. I’m also working towards getting my driver’s license, which is terrifying. Yet, God’s going to be there every step of the way. 

I told you this series was going to get personal. I’m going to change gears drastically with our following scripture. It still connects to our original point, though. It’s Revelation 6:9, and it says this: 

9 When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony. 

What does this mean? Lamb? Seals? You may be confused. Let’s talk about it. 

Revelation 6 is about the seven seals getting opened by the Lamb. The Lamb refers to Jesus, so Jesus is opening these seven seals. The breaking of these seals started the first of three separate judgments, each having seven separate parts. The other two judgments are trumpets (8-9; 11:15-19) and bowls (16). Each of these judgments gives a glimpse of the end times. Jesus opens each seal that sets in motion the events that will bring about the end of human history, which is scary to understand. (Remember, Revelation is heavy in apocalyptic imagery. There are many different ways to interpret this book.) The scroll is not completely unrolled until the last seal with broken. We’re looking at the fifth seal, but I’ll provide context on the other six seals. The scroll’s contents reveal the depravity (the wickedness) of humanity and show God’s authority over the events of the world.

Take a breath with me because I know this is a massive concept to understand and comprehend. Let’s take some time and briefly go over the seven seals. 

• 1st seal – the 1st of 4 living beings comes in riding a white horse, carrying a bow, and wearing a crowd. This being rode out to win a lot of battles and gain victory.
• 2nd seal – the 2nd of 4 living beings comes in riding a red horse, wielding a sword, and having the authority to take peace from the earth. This being rode out to war, resulting in slaughtering happening everywhere.
• 3rd seal – the 3rd of 4 living beings comes in riding a black horse, holding a pair of scales. 
• 4th seal – the last of the living beings comes in riding a pale green horse. The ride was named Death and had a companion named Grave. They had authority over 1/4 of the earth to kill with a sword, famine, disease, and wild animals.

Let’s pause for a second to talk about these living beings. The horses represent God’s judgment of people, sin, and rebellion. God is directing human history through these beings. The horses give us a preview of the final judgments yet to come (the trumpets and bowls). Each horse is a different color: white, red, black, and pale green. This detail is something to pay attention to. 

• The white horse possibly represents humanity’s sinful desire for conquest. The other horses represent the different kinds of judgment and what happens during conflict and conquest.
  • The red horse stands for warfare and bloodshed. 
  • The black horse stands for famine and pestilence. 
  • The pale green horse stands for death and the grave.

The fifth seal recognizes those who suffered and died for their faith. The sixth seal talks about a great earthquake where all on earth will be afraid. They will call out to die so they don’t have to face the judgment of God. It may sound counterintuitive for this when we talk about a loving God. The language you’ll read here is about those who disregarded the belief in Jesus and showed no fear of God. Those people will have to face the wrath of God. The sixth seal is in Revelation 6:12-7:17. The last seal (Revelation 8:1) reveals the seven trumpet judgments. 

Are you overwhelmed yet? I am. This blog is one of the first times I’ve dug relatively deep into any portion of the book of Revelation. Yet, this has been very interesting to talk about. This feeling means I have a future blog series to work on.

Let’s get back to what we’re talking about. The fifth seal recognizes those who suffered and died for the faith. Revelation 6:9 talks about “the altar of souls,” which represents the altar of sacrifice. This place was where people sacrificed animals to atone for sins, a common practice in the Old Testament. Instead of these animals, John saw the souls of those who died for preaching the Gospel. John says these souls knew more would die for their belief in Christ.  

What does this mean for us? God calls us to stand up firmly for what we believe in. I remember a scripture about standing up for our belief in Jesus. Otherwise, Jesus wouldn’t accept us into heaven. I don’t remember the scripture reference, but it’s in my head for a reason. Remember that at the end of the day, we must own our decisions, words, and actions to God. If the things we did or said didn’t healthily represent who God is, we need to repent and do better tomorrow. No matter what trials, headaches, or irritating people we have to deal with, the love that God has for us must still be shown outwardly to others. I have one more scripture from Revelation to share during the sixth seal conversation. It’s Revelation 7:14, which says this:

14 And I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.” Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white.” 

For context, Jesus broke the sixth seal, and the people are trying to hide from God. When things seemed bleak for them, the four beings held back the different judgments until God sealed his people as his own. When this happens, Jesus will break the seventh seal. There are similar interludes between the sixth and seventh trumpet and the sixth and seventh bowl. God wants to have as many people believe in him as possible. 

They are singing a song of praise in Revelation 7:9-17. John sees this crowd singing when one of the elders asks, “Who are these people dressed in white? Where’d they come from?” These could be the people mentioned in Revelation 6:9, or the 144,000 people (12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel) mentioned earlier in Revelation 7:4-8. Either way, these people died in what John calls “the great tribulation.” What’s that? There are two ways of looking at this: 

• It’s the suffering of believers all through the ages. 
• It’s a specific time of intense tribulation that’s going to happen. 

Either way, it’s a time of believers going through times of suffering by remaining faithful and loyal to God. 

These people are made perfect in heaven, washed clean of their sins by the blood of Jesus. Jesus’s sacrifice forgave all our sins to give us an equal chance to have a home in heaven. This image is an example of what heaven can look like. All the believers gathered around the throne of God, singing together, understanding each other, and worshiping the God of our salvation. 

ALL OF THIS is to say that we are overcomers by the blood of the Lamb and our testimony. We are to stay faithful to the works of God, and what he has planned for us regardless of the trials we will face through life. Sticking to God’s plan can help us share our testimony with others and help them see God in their own life. We need to hold tight to what we believe. Many other things in our life call for our attention but let’s stay close to the word of God. 

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The second title we’ll discuss today is: I am healed by the stripes of Jesus. 

Isaiah 53:5 says this: 

5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. 

Jesus went through all he went through to heal us from our sins so that we can be made whole in God. What more needs to be said? Paul has something in Romans 4:25

25 He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God. 

We give our sins over to Christ. God didn’t design us to solve our sinful tendencies by ourselves. We must give our sins to him, for he forgives us and makes our ways new again. We understand how to overcome our sins through the teachings of the Bible, the communities our church provides, and the intimacy of our relationship with God. 

The author of Hebrews also has something to say in Hebrews 5:8

8 Even though Jesus was God’s son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. 

The human life of Jesus wasn’t a script that he just followed. The life of Jesus was a continuous process of doing what God said. Jesus chose to obey, even if it led him to die. Remember, Jesus didn’t die willingly. Look at the anxiety Jesus had in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus was sweating blood, asking God to take his cup of suffering away from him. Yet, Jesus still followed God’s plan. Through his obedience, Jesus understood what we humans went through. He understood the hardships we walk through daily and got through to the other side. If Jesus could do it through God, so can we.

Remember, Jesus healed us through what he went through. We can find healing by learning Jesus’s stories, doing what he did, and connecting with God more intimately.

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We’ll discuss the third title: I am forgiven of all my sins and washed in the Blood. 

Ephesians 1:7 says this:

7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 

The death of Jesus gave us two beautiful things: redemption and forgiveness. Redemption shows us what it took to gain our freedom from sin. For Paul’s audience, redemption meant the price paid to gain freedom for a slave. For Christians, Jesus paid the price to release us from the bondage of our sin and the consequences that comes with it. Forgiveness in the Old Testament often came from sacrificing the blood of animals. We no longer have to do that. The blood of Jesus shed for us is all we needed. 

We again see a reminder of the importance of what Jesus did for us by going to the cross and dying for our sins.

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The last title will discuss today: I am redeemed from the curse of sin, sickness, and poverty. 

Galatians 3:13 says this: 

13 But Christ has rescued us from the curses pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

If you remember, in my “Punishable by God” series, we talked about how those curses are the consequences that can happen because we’re not following God. Jesus took all those consequences to the cross with him. What does it mean for those hung on the tree to be cursed? Paul is quoting Deuteronomy 21:23, which says this: 

23 the body must not remain hanging on the tree overnight. You must bury the body that same day, for anyone who is hung is cursed in the sight of God. In this way, you will prevent the defile of the land of the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession. 

So, this rule comes from the fact that you don’t want dead bodies creating a funky smell where you live. The land probably refers to the Promised Land, which is the land that God promised the Israelites after they left Egypt. God wants them to treat the land well, keeping it pure and holy. What does any of this have to do with what Paul says? How does caring for dead bodies mean we’re redeemed from sin, sickness, and poverty? The connection is through Jesus, and it comes from John 19:31. It says this: 

31 It was the day of preparation, and the Jewish leaders didn’t want the bodies hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath, because it was Passover week.) So they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering that their legs be broken. Then their bodies could be taken down. 

Again, there were following the law from Deuteronomy. They also were fighting against the lock, but the Sabbath was close, and it was against the law to work on that. So again, what does this mean for me? Look at the purity of this. They wanted to keep the land holy based on the scripture from Deuteronomy. They wanted to keep the Sabbath holy based on the scripture from John. Now, we’re kept holy based on Paul’s scripture. The price was paid for us to be pure and holy again. 

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Let’s wrap up the fourth week of our new series. We examined four statements we can claim as a follower of Christ that remind us to sin no more. Here they are again: 

I am an overcomer by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony.

I am healed by the stripes of Jesus.  

I am redeemed from the curse of sin, sickness, and poverty.

I am forgiven of all my sins and washed in the Blood.

I encourage you to go through this week and say one each during your prayer time or to yourself in the mirror and see how your mood and day change. If you do this, let me know how it went down in the comments below or message me on the Bible Study Vibes Facebook page. 

Next week, we’ll look at four more statements we can claim as a believer in Christ from understanding how we can love and be strong. Until then, stay blessed.