Mastering Sin

 "If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it." (Gen 4:7NASB)

This quote is taken from the Account of Cain and Abel found in Genesis 4. Abel brings a sacrifice of the first of his flocks to the Lord. Cain also bring a sacrifice of the fruit of the ground. God was pleased with Abel's offering but did not regard the offering of Cain. 

Cain was angry, and thus this warning from God. Sin was crouching at the door, desiring to control Cain. He must master it. Sadly, Cain gave in to his anger and killed Abel his brother. How different things could have been if only he had listened to God and controlled his temper.

Likewise, we also must heed this warning. Sin also seeks to dominate our lives and we also must not let it master us, but instead master it. We read this in Romans, Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin (Rom 6:6-7). Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace (Rom 6:12-14). Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness (Rom 6:16-18).

It is through our surrender to Christ that we find freedom to overcome sin and live in victory. In John 8:34-36 Jesus states that the one who commits sin is the slave of sin, but the one whom the Son sets free is free indeed.