Romans 6:15-18 (NIV)
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!
16 Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey--whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.
18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
In verse 14 Paul reminds them that they are under grace and not under the law. Paul knows that this truth can then be used to justify sin and so he takes this head on. We are out from underneath the burden of having to fulfill the law in order to gain access to God and heaven. For this truth of freedom in Christ we should rejoice, but we must understand that Christ has standards for us to live by. If we fail to live up to these standards this does not mean we are tossed aside. God's grace will bring us back and show us forgiveness in Christ. The language that Paul uses is very strong in order to help followers of Christ to be enlightened on this subject of sin. If we obey sin then we are slaves to sin. Paul then says, "You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness." Are you a slave to righteousness? We are free when we are a slave to God and his righteousness. One time I was sharing with a friend who did not go to church and he said to me, "I want God and Satan to leave me alone and let me live my life as I see fit."
It seems to me this friend of mine sums up the spirit of the age which is: "I only want to serve me and everyone else leave me alone". It is counter intuitive thinking to propose that true freedom comes by way of being a slave to righteousness.
Freedom does not mean I am able to do whatever I want to do. That’s the worst kind of bondage. Freedom means I have been set free to become all that God wants me to be, to achieve all that God wants me to achieve, to enjoy all that God wants me to enjoy.
Warren W. Wiersbe
Friday, April 30, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Romans 6:11-14
My prayer today is that you pay attention to God's Word. Please do not forget to do the Martin Luther method of praying where he used these four words: instruction, thanksgiving, confession, and prayer for going through the ten commandments or the Lord's prayer.
Romans 6:11-14 (NIV)
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.
13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.
14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
Right now before you make another move, count yourself dead to sin. You may not have experienced this truth to the degree that you should have, but you can experience more of it than you have already. Paul is telling us that we must reckon this truth as a fact of our life and live by faith in that truth. The nitty gritty of this truth is laid out when Paul lets us know we have an active part in this truth. If we are dead to sin then sin must not rule in our life. Righteousness must rule in our life. Our part in this act of faith is to not offer our body as a vehicle to accomplish sin. Our sin does not originate from another person and it does not act out through another person--it is us. We must instead offer our bodies as a vehicle to accomplish His righteousness. This is best done through prayer. You can offer your hands, your feet, your tongue, your whole self in prayer to God to be an instrument for righteousness. Paul, I believe, does this in Romans 12:1-2, when we are encouraged to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. Perhaps, now would be a good time to pray and offer yourself to God as an instrument for righteousness. Before you do that ask God to show you any sin that may be in your life and confess that to Him, then offer yourself to God.
Christ died to save us, not from suffering, but from ourselves; not from injustice, far less than justice, but from being unjust. He died that we might live—but live as he lives, by dying as he died who died to himself.
George Macdonald (1824–1905)
Romans 6:11-14 (NIV)
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.
13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.
14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
Right now before you make another move, count yourself dead to sin. You may not have experienced this truth to the degree that you should have, but you can experience more of it than you have already. Paul is telling us that we must reckon this truth as a fact of our life and live by faith in that truth. The nitty gritty of this truth is laid out when Paul lets us know we have an active part in this truth. If we are dead to sin then sin must not rule in our life. Righteousness must rule in our life. Our part in this act of faith is to not offer our body as a vehicle to accomplish sin. Our sin does not originate from another person and it does not act out through another person--it is us. We must instead offer our bodies as a vehicle to accomplish His righteousness. This is best done through prayer. You can offer your hands, your feet, your tongue, your whole self in prayer to God to be an instrument for righteousness. Paul, I believe, does this in Romans 12:1-2, when we are encouraged to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. Perhaps, now would be a good time to pray and offer yourself to God as an instrument for righteousness. Before you do that ask God to show you any sin that may be in your life and confess that to Him, then offer yourself to God.
Christ died to save us, not from suffering, but from ourselves; not from injustice, far less than justice, but from being unjust. He died that we might live—but live as he lives, by dying as he died who died to himself.
George Macdonald (1824–1905)
Monday, April 26, 2010
Romans 6:11-14
I hope you are reading your Bible and asking God to help you understand it and apply it to your life. God's Word is one of His most magnificent gifts to us.
Romans 6:11-14 (NIV)
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.
13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.
14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
There is what God has done and there is what I must believe and obey. I believe that a follower of Christ is both passive and active. Notice take another look at verse 12,
"Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires." We are commanded to make sure that sin no longer holds sway over us. Christ did not die on the cross just to release us from the penalty of sin. If it was only the penalty of sin then we would still have to live in misery. However, Christ came to release us from the power of sin. This is some of the best good news you will here or share. We can really have a better life right here in enemy territory. We have to remember that we belong to Christ. We no longer belong to this world and it's ways. We no longer belong to ourselves. We belong to Christ and His kingdom! Let's look at this passage in the Message.
Romans 6:12-14 (MSG)
12 That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don't give it the time of day.
13 Don't even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you've been raised from the dead!—into God's way of doing things.
14 Sin can't tell you how to live. After all, you're not living under that old tyranny any longer. You're living in the freedom of God.
The only lasting treasure is spiritual; the only perfect freedom is serving God.
Malcolm Muggeridge (1903–1990)
Romans 6:11-14 (NIV)
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.
13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.
14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
There is what God has done and there is what I must believe and obey. I believe that a follower of Christ is both passive and active. Notice take another look at verse 12,
"Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires." We are commanded to make sure that sin no longer holds sway over us. Christ did not die on the cross just to release us from the penalty of sin. If it was only the penalty of sin then we would still have to live in misery. However, Christ came to release us from the power of sin. This is some of the best good news you will here or share. We can really have a better life right here in enemy territory. We have to remember that we belong to Christ. We no longer belong to this world and it's ways. We no longer belong to ourselves. We belong to Christ and His kingdom! Let's look at this passage in the Message.
Romans 6:12-14 (MSG)
12 That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don't give it the time of day.
13 Don't even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you've been raised from the dead!—into God's way of doing things.
14 Sin can't tell you how to live. After all, you're not living under that old tyranny any longer. You're living in the freedom of God.
The only lasting treasure is spiritual; the only perfect freedom is serving God.
Malcolm Muggeridge (1903–1990)
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