I believe when we are saved we are free from the bondage of sin. Jesus said it so for freedom he set us free. If we are free then sin no longer has control over us. That means we are no longer living with sin. We are dead to sin. It has no power over us. Jesus wanted us to experience that freedom. And when we say that we still are compelled to sin after he has saved us, we deny that he has freed us from the power of sin. Jesus literally became sin.
John 3:14, just 2 verses before the well-known scripture john 3:16 says that just as Moses lifted up the bronze serpent in the wilderness so must Jesus be lifted up. Why did God use a serpent of all things? A serpent represents evil and sin? God could have used a lamb, but he chose a serpent. He did this to show us that Jesus became sin, a serpent. He did this so sin would no longer control us. And we could be made the righteousness of God through his sacrifice. (2 cor. 5:21)