Working Out Our Salvation

But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Romans 8:25
My sin disgusts me. I hate it, despise it, am repulsed by it. Yet I keep going back to it. The Scripture says that we who are saved are no longer bound by sin; we've been released from it and can not sin. And yet we do. Every single day. It frustrates me so much, I'm tempted sometimes to just give up trying. Why, if we are free from the need to sin, do we still run back to it?
The moment we accepted Christ, He saved us from the penalty of sin. Our sin-debt of hell was paid for, never to bother us again. But there are two other parts of our salvation: the power of sin and the presence of sin. Our salvation from the presence of sin will be completed when we see Christ--be it via death or rapture. That just leaves the power of sin. This salvation's a little more complicated because it doesn't occur at a particular time. This is the salvation that Paul tells us we have to "work out." We have to wrestle and fight our way to this one. It's a long, hard, weary journey that begins the day we trusted the Lord and won't end until we stand before Him. We don't have to sin. But the ugly truth is, we do and we will. We just have to get back up and keep going with patience, working out our salvation although we don't yet see it.