Break The Power Of Sinful Habits (Full Sermon) | Joseph Prince

This exposition unfolds a gospel-centered theology of liberty from sin grounded in justification by faith. It insists that the decisive victory occurred at the cross: believers have been legally and spiritually removed from the imputation and guilt of sin and are now reckoned righteous in Christ. That status is not a call to moral license but the power source for holy living—when guilt is eradicated from the conscience the compulsion to repeat sin diminishes and attraction to Christ increases. The nature of Christ’s humanity is clarified: he was fully tested yet never under the power or enticement of sin, which vindicates his work as Redeemer and sustains confidence in believers’ standing.

Practical implications flow throughout. Faith is presented as the active posture of obedience: right believing (“the obedience of faith”) aligns a person under grace rather than law, enabling the Spirit to produce the moral fruit the law intended. Condemnation and guilt are exposed as spiritual snares; compassionate, gospel-saturated restoration—not shame—breaks cycles of recurring sin. Authority in Jesus’ name is emphasized for ministry, healing and deliverance, always as an outworking of the believer’s position seated with Christ. Technology and cultural methods of communication are evaluated as neutral tools: the Holy Spirit remains irreplaceable for intimate, sovereign ministry of heart and conscience.

The teaching calls for a posture of reckoning—counting what Christ accomplished as already true—so that believers live out of identity rather than performance. It urges churches to mobilize structures that multiply gospel impact while keeping pastoral care personal. The promise is pastoral and pastoral-adjacent but doctrinal: as believers reckon themselves dead to the guilt of sin and alive to God’s righteousness, sin’s dominion loosens, holiness becomes a fruit of grace, and devotion to Christ grows stronger over time.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Dead to the guilt of sin When guilt is removed from the conscience, the repetitive power of sin is broken. Forgiveness is forensic and experiential: knowing sins are judicially and effectually dealt with by Christ frees the heart from self-condemnation and removes the inner fuel sin uses to return. Pastoral care must therefore aim to restore persons into this finality of forgiveness rather than intensify guilt. [43:50]
• 2. Righteousness is a received gift Justification declares believers righteous in Christ; righteousness is a noun to be received, not a verb to be performed into being. Living from that declared status repositions identity—believers are now in the “prison of righteousness,” where failures do not erase the gift but prompt grace-led restoration. This shifts motivation from law-driven effort to Spirit-enabled fruitfulness. [54:15]
• 3. Obedience of faith, not law-keeping True obedience is principally right believing—embracing the gospel that places a person under grace, not the law. Under grace the Holy Spirit fulfills the moral aims of the law in believers’ hearts, producing generosity, chastity, and integrity from within rather than through mere external compliance. This transforms obedience from burden to response of trust. [68:27]
• 4. Christ was tempted but without sin Jesus experienced testing in every way humans do, yet there was no inward corruption for the enemy to exploit. His impeccable humanity proves the cross was substitutionary—bearing guilt and punishment on behalf of sinners—so believers can trust that sin’s legal charge has been exhausted in him. That reality undergirds confidence in living free from condemnation. [22:40]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:16] - Sin, Guilt, and Freedom
• [00:39] - Declaring Righteousness in Christ
• [01:07] - Destined to Reign: Book Edition
• [02:23] - Tongues and Global Mission
• [05:04] - Technology, AI, and the Holy Spirit
• [05:42] - Joseph, Pharaoh, and Divine Revelation
• [11:05] - Church Growth and Structure
• [14:01] - Beginning Romans 6: Dying to Sin
• [22:40] - The Impeccability of Christ
• [43:50] - Removing Guilt to Break Bondage
• [54:15] - Living Under Grace, Not Law
• [79:27] - Invitation, Prayer, and Blessing

Bible reading

Romans 6:1–14 (ESV)
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

1 Peter 2:24 (ESV)
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

Observation questions

1. According to Romans 6:1–2, what is the definitive response to the idea that we should keep sinning so that God can show more grace?
2. In Romans 6:11, what are believers specifically instructed to "reckon" or "consider" as a present reality regarding their relationship to sin and God?
3. Based on Romans 6:14, what is the specific reason given for why sin will no longer have dominion or "bully" a believer? [01:00:00]
4. Looking at 1 Peter 2:24, what two things are linked together by the colon after the phrase "live unto righteousness"? [50:57]

Interpretation questions

1. Romans 6:17 speaks of obeying a "form of doctrine" from the heart. How does believing the right gospel—specifically that righteousness is a gift—act like a "mold" that shapes a person’s character and life results? [01:10:15]
2. Jesus was tested in every way we are, yet he was "without sin," meaning there was no inward corruption or "lust" for the enemy to draw upon [24:35]. How does his perfect, impeccable humanity sustain our confidence that the legal charge of sin has been fully exhausted? [22:40]
3. The "obedience of faith" is described as the highest form of obedience because it honors God’s word [01:08:27]. Why is "right believing" more effective at producing moral fruit than trying to keep the law through external effort? [01:01:35]
4. If a believer is "justified from sin" and placed in a "prison of righteousness" [01:14:06], why might they still experience "nightmares" or feelings of being trapped in their old life? [53:14]

Application questions

1. When guilt is removed from the conscience, the repetitive power of sin is broken [43:50]. Is there a recurring failure in your life where you have been trying to use "shame" to change yourself? How would truly believing you are "dead to the guilt" of that sin change your approach this week?
2. Righteousness is a gift to be received (a noun), not a performance to be achieved (a verb) [54:15]. How would your daily internal monologue change if you viewed yourself as "the righteousness of God in Christ" even in moments when you stumble? [01:14:44]
3. Sin loses its dominion when we realize we are under grace, not the law [01:00:00]. Have you noticed that focusing heavily on "thou shalt not" actually makes the attraction to sin feel stronger? What are some practical ways you can shift your focus toward the "attraction of Jesus" instead? [01:17:42]
4. The Holy Spirit is irreplaceable for ministering to the heart and conscience, unlike technology or "mechanical" methods that lack feeling [08:27]. In what area of your life—perhaps in your studies or your work—have you stopped seeking God’s "revelation" and started just going through the motions? [01:18:39]
5. True holiness is a fruit of grace, such as a husband falling in love with his wife over and over again rather than just "not committing adultery" [01:02:48]. Where do you need the "overflow of grace" to transform a cold duty into a warm, living response of love?
6. We are called to "reckon" ourselves dead to the guilt of sin because Jesus died to that guilt once and for all [41:38]. What is one specific "accusation" from your past that you need to declare "finished" today so that you can live "unto God"? [01:20:19]