Proverbs 5:22. The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.
This proverb says that sin is like a trap. A snare. It is like being tied to a chair by our own inner torturer. The more we struggle to break free the tighter the ropes become.
Have you ever felt trapped by sin? Have you ever felt like you were stuck in a bad habit? Are you addicted to anything? Arguing? Cheating? Lying? Scrolling? Gossiping? Have you tried to break free but just can’t seem to do it?
Solomon uses two different words to describe our sin. The first word is iniquities. At its root this word means twisted or out of joint. It refers to a person’s selfish, twisted desires. The second word he uses to describe our sin is sin. This word means to fall short or to miss the mark. Like shooting at a target and missing. Sin refers to our selfish choices and how they fall short of God’s love and goodness.
So, we might say that first we are trapped by our bad desires (what we want) and then we are trapped by our choices (what we do). Together then our desires and choices form an endless cycle of addiction. We want it so we choose it. We get it, but it’s never enough, so we chase more of it. We get it. We lose ourselves in it. Once again we need more of it. On and on and on.
Christ came to us so that we would never have to live ensnared (trapped) by sin. He came to free the captive and set at liberty the prisoner. Listen to how Jesus describes sin as a form of slavery, but how he also offered hope for freedom from sin’s trap:
John 8:34-36. 34Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
The Son sets us free. Not ourselves. In fact, the more we struggle to be free from the bonds of sin, the tighter the ropes become. Like a drowning man fighting his rescuer is the Christian who tries to set themselves free from sin apart from faith in their co-crucifixion with Christ. Freedom from sin’s slavery begins and ends with trusting that you are ALREADY free indeed!
How does the Son set us free? Well on a positional level (who we are), simple faith in Jesus gives us a whole new identity. We are no longer slaves but sons. Children of God. That is what we are. Our freedom from sin’s control is a positional promise in Christ.
On a conditional level (what we do), Christ in us sets us free from slavery to sin in a very practical way – he becomes our new addiction. He begins to satisfy every thirst, every hunger, every desire to the point that we are no longer satisfied with sin’s mud pies when we could be having a vacation at the beach. Christ in us is forming in us a contentment and a satisfaction that allows us to avoid the cords of our iniquity’s twisted desires. A joy in each moment with Jesus that breaks our hearts free from the snare of always needing more.
You: Are you living ensnared by sin today (the answer is yes)? In what way have you been struggling to get free?
You in Christ: Do you believe that you are already free indeed from sin in Christ?
Christ in you: How does faith in our union with Christ break us free from ensnaring sin?
Pray: Father, keep me out of the trap of my sin by the power of your grace and love that live in me by Christ in me. Amen.
To Live is Christ 