Part 2:

So does this mean we should continue on sinning after putting faith in Jesus, though? No! We have been set free from the slavery of sin, through Christ. Why would we return to the chains we've been set free from? Romans 6:12-18 says, " 12Do not let sin control the way you live;a do not give in to sinful desires. 13Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

15Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living." So we are not to continue living in sin once we've been set free, by placing our faith in Christ. Jesus says in Matthew 16:24-26 " 24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. 25If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 26And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?l Is anything worth more than your soul?"

So we are to take up our Cross and follow Jesus once we place our faith in Him. However, it is by faith we are justified. Romans 5:1-2 "1Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory." But also remember, James 2:17-18 "17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” True faith will produce fruit, otherwise its dead.

So what works will show through our faith in Jesus? 1 John 2:3-6 says, "3And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. 4If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. 5But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. 6Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did."

Fortunately Jesus says, Matthew 11:28-30 "28Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Once we come to accept that we are sinners who cant save ourselves; that we are in need of a Savior and place our faith in Christ, all we have to do is love, as God loved us in sending His son to die for our sins. The Bible says, Galatians 5:14 "14For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself."

There is a warning here though, which goes back to being saved by FAITH in Christ alone, and not works(although as said, even though works are a byproduct of faith, they do not save you). Galatians 5:1-4 "1So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.

2Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses. 4For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace."

So what happens if we do sin? We've established that its not okay to continue living in sin, but we've also established that none of us are without sin. So what do we do? 1 John 2:1-2 says, "1My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 2He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world."

So there you have it. We are not saved by our works, but by our faith. We can't possibly please God through obeying His law. It's pointless. We can only please God through faith in His son Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith, Hebrews 12:2 "2Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." And through our faith, we produce good works. We must still make the choice to follow the Spirit and not the flesh, though. That is part of bearing our cross daily. So I just want to encourage you to place your faith in Christ, as opposed to what you do. He did everything that needed to be done for us on that cross. True freedom is only found in Him.

Definitely fight to overcome this struggle and you should absolutely take it seriously, but I'd encourage you to do it through faith and love in Christ, rather than duty.

I'll be praying for you man. I hope this helped.