I like stories. Just about the time I feel like I’ve read or seen every story, I come across another one. And this is one of the most fascinating stories I’ve ever come across—a true story about a man named C.D. “Bigboy” Blaylock, a giant of a man, 6 feet 6 inches tall, and a boxer at Louisiana State University in the early 1930s. Facing a stocky opponent from Mississippi State, he let loose with a devastating roundhouse right. But his opponent stepped in, and Bigboy’s arm whipped around in a full circle, connecting with his own chin at full force. He staggered around the ring and fell flat. The only boxer in history to knock himself out with his own punch.

That’s exactly what many Christians do in their battle against sin. We keep knocking ourselves out. But the truth is Jesus didn’t just die to deliver you from the penalty of sin; He died so you might defeat the power of sin. Three times in Romans 6, Paul declares these liberating words: “set free from sin.” On the cross, Jesus died for your sin, but at the cross, you can die to your sin. Everything about your freedom hinges on understanding four truths, and missing even one keeps you in the ring, getting knocked out over and over.