At the moment I am traveling through Genesis and Romans. This morning I ran across some incredible words that I wanted to share some thoughts on:
Romans 6:11-14:
"You must consider yourself dead to sin"... I am convinced the reason so many of us deal with reoccuring sins in our lives is that we have yet to get to a point where we wish to choose God over that sin. We like the idea of unconditional love and the forgiveness available in Christ but those sins are for lack of better words better security than the promises of God (at least that is the lie we have come to believe).
"Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness,"... There are many ways we in the church continue to do this, even very subtle ways. None the less, the result is the same, we engage willingly in acts that are not God-glorifying or healthy for us. I have heard many say that sin is fun for a season and that sin is offering fleeting fulfillment. I have found that both are very true...but let's be honest there is still a great struggle here. This is precisely why God sent Jesus. If we could whip our sin issue we would have no need for a Savior. Our response to such great love is that we would be continually transformed by repenting and fleeing from the temptations that are so easy for us to engage in.
"For sin will have not dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace."...My prayer is that we would start to not only understand this more clearly but would start living it as the one of the foundations of our spiritual lives. I walk around far too often acting as if I am an innocent victim to sin. Justifying or rationalizing a decision or reaction to the fact that I am not perfect. When truth be told Paul has just told us that because of Jesus sin has no power over us. So is it possible that though temptation may exist, every act of sin comes from our willingness to actively engage in it? I think so.
The whole thought of this chapter is wrapped around a faulty line of reasoning. That we would sin so that grace may abound. When we live as this Paul tells us that we have not understood the reason Jesus came. He came so that we may be set free from sin and death. Our response to this is critical. 1. We become "slaves of righteousness" as a response to His great love shown first and without any deserving merit of our own. 2. We live in such a way that the world sees the difference and that The Gospel becomes a reflection of our every day life.
"Father, thank You for Jesus and for empowering me through Your Spirit to stop playing games with sin."
BAG
<><
