Our sin ruins us in two ways. It makes us guilty before God, so that we are under his just condemnation; and it makes us ugly in our behavior, so that we disfigure the image of God we were meant to display. It damns us with guilt, and it enslaves us to lovelessness.
The blood of Jesus frees us from both miseries. It satisfies God’s righteousness so that our sins can be justly forgiven. And it defeats the power of sin to make us slaves to lovelessness.
While Jesus was a powerful example, and we are commanded to imitate him (John 13.34), he was more. He first rescued us from the guilt of sin and the wrath of God. Then He rescued us from the power of sin. That is we were first justified and then sanctified (Rev 1.5-6; Heb 13.12).
This is liberating. By His power we who were once slaves to lovelessness are now made slaves to righteousness and loveliness (Rom 6.18; Gal 5.22-23). Sin no longer has dominion over us (Rom 6.14). Instead we are under grace. We still 'work' but it is initiated and completed by grace (1 Cor 15.10).
Thanks be to God!
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