Breaking Free from Cycles of Relapse in Christian Life
Breaking Free from Cycles of Relapse in Christian Life
The Christian life is marked by a tension between the believer's new identity in Christ and the ongoing struggle with sin. The apostle Paul writes in Romans 12:2, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" [1]. This transformation is rooted in the believer's union with Christ, as Paul explains in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me" [2].
This union with Christ is not merely a forensic declaration but a transformative reality that enables believers to break free from cycles of sin and relapse. According to the Tyndale House commentary on Galatians, the Christian has "laid aside the old self, which strove to achieve merit by keeping the law" and now lives by the indwelling power of Christ [3]. Similarly, Adam Clarke comments on Romans 6:9, stating that believers "should sin no more" because they have died with Christ and been raised to new life [4].
The biblical basis for this understanding is rooted in passages such as Galatians 5:1, where Paul exhorts believers to "stand firm therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and don’t be entangled again with a yoke of bondage" [2]. The Jamieson, Fausset & Brown commentary on 1 John 3:6 notes that those who abide in Christ "sinneth not" because their life is characterized by a vital union with Him [5].
The process of breaking free from cycles of relapse involves putting off the "old sinful nature" and putting on the "new nature" (Colossians 3:9-10) [6]. This is not a one-time event but a continuous process of transformation. As the Tyndale House commentary on Colossians 3:9 explains, believers must "strip off their old life and put on Christ’s new life, allowing him to be Lord and to guide the way they live" [6].
The believer's union with Christ is not limited to their spiritual experience but extends to their physical bodies. The apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:15-17 that believers' bodies are "parts of Christ" and therefore should not be used for immoral purposes [7]. This understanding underscores the importance of living a life that honors Christ in all aspects.
While believers are not immune to falling into sin, they are not irreparably lost. According to John Gill's commentary on Hebrews 6:5, true believers may fall into sin, but they are secured by a "threefold cord" — God's love, their election in Christ, and the covenant of grace [8].
The Christian life is characterized by a dynamic tension between the believer's new identity in Christ and their ongoing struggle with sin. However, through their union with Christ and the transformative power of the gospel, believers can break free from cycles of relapse and live a life that honors God.
Sources
- Romans “Romans 12:2 (BSB) — Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”
- Galatians “Stand firm therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and don’t be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. -- Galatians 5:1”
- Galatians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Galatians 2:20: 2:20 A law-free Good News does not lead to lawlessness, as Paul’s opponents argued (2:17), because lawlessness is a response of the unredeemed. The redeemed Christian has been crucified with Christ. See also Col 2:11-14, 20-23. A Christian has laid aside the old self, which strove to achieve merit by keeping the law (cp. Rom 7:4-6). • It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me: Christians, having experienced Christ’s death and resurrection (Rom 6:1-14), have new hearts (see Jer 31:31-34; 32:38-41; Ezek 11:19-20; 36:24-31) by the indwelling power of the ”
- Romans (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Romans 6:9: Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more - So we, believing in Christ Jesus, and having a death unto sin, and a life unto righteousness, should sin no more. If we be risen indeed with Christ, we should seek the things above, and set our affections on things above, and not on the earth. The man who walks in humble, loving obedience, to an indwelling Christ, sin has no more dominion over his soul than death has over the immortal and glorified body of his Redeemer.”
- 1 John (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 1 John 3:6: He reasons from Christ's own entire separation from sin, that those in him must also be separate from it. abideth in him--as the branch in the vine, by vital union living by His life. sinneth not--In so far as he abides in Christ, so far is he free from all sin. The ideal of the Christian. The life of sin and the life of God mutually exclude one another, just as darkness and light. In matter of fact, believers do fall into sins (Jo1 1:8-10; Jo1 2:1-2); but all such sins are alien from the life of God, and need Christ's cleansing blood, without appli”
- Colossians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Colossians 3:9: 3:9-10 your old sinful nature . . . your new nature: Paul contrasts old and new identities (see also Rom 5:12-21; 6:6; Eph 4:22-24). Believers strip off their old life and put on Christ’s new life, allowing him to be Lord and to guide the way they live.”
- 1 Corinthians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on 1 Corinthians 6:15: 6:15-17 To be a Christian is to be spiritually joined to Christ in both life and death (cp. Rom 6:3-11). As a result, believers’ bodies have become parts of Christ (cp. 1 Cor 12:12-28; Rom 12:4-5). This spiritual union (cp. John 14:20; 17:21-23) means that they are not free to violate their bodies by physical union with a prostitute.”
- Hebrews (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Hebrews 6:5: If they shall fall away,.... This is not supposed of true believers, as appears from Heb 6:9 nor is it to be supposed of them that they may fall totally and finally; they may indeed fall, not only into afflictions and temptations, but into sin; and from a lively and comfortable exercise of grace, and from a degree of steadfastness in the Gospel; but not irrecoverably: for they are held and secured by a threefold cord, which can never be broken; by God the Father, who has loved them with an everlasting love, has chosen them in Christ, secured them in the covenant of gr”