WORD From The Woods
Romans 6
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
This is one of the greatest passages in the book of Romans! Paul just finished talking about the awesome grace we experience in Christ. And, the temptation for us as sinful humans is to take advantage of that grace, to be cavalier with sin. On one hand, if we continue to live in sin, it would seem on the surface to highlight the power of grace. But, Paul’s answer to that is “by no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” This is where my personal favorite verse, Galatians 2:20 fits in “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” When we place our faith and trust in Christ for salvation, we’re placing our old life on the cross so it can be put to death. When we’re baptized as believers, we’re proclaiming what Christ did in the tomb, when we’re raised out of the water, it’s a picture of being raised to newness of life in Christ. At this time it’s a spiritual resurrection, but we look forward to a future bodily resurrection like that of Christ’s. A lot of people want to have salvation just for the death insurance that comes with the job. If you’ve ever hired or worked with someone who only hired on for the benefits, you know they’re not usually the most committed employee, and they can be a real hazard in the woods. They’re only there for themselves. There are a lot of people who approach Christ in the same way. God doesn’t just want our death, He wants our life, He wants our whole heart! Just like a great logger is one who is there not just for the benefits, but because he loves the job and has his heart invested in it! A lot of that can depend on the guy leading the crew……. If we truly have a God and Savior like Paul claims we have, then we should be compelled to live a life that is aligned with His will. This is what he’s talking about when he contrasts being a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness. Not that we strive to be self-righteous or holier than thou, we strive to be righteous because we love our Creator God, our Lord and Savior, the Master, who has given us the Holy Spirit to live in our hearts and guide us through this life! There is so much more I could say about this, the awesomeness of our Master is limitless! Friends, we must live a life according to the ways He has called us to. The folks we work around and interact with every day are watching us. What will they see? Will they see a life that’s enslaved to sin or a life that has been set free by Grace and exemplifies the fruits of the Spirit?
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-
Romans 6
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
This is one of the greatest passages in the book of Romans! Paul just finished talking about the awesome grace we experience in Christ. And, the temptation for us as sinful humans is to take advantage of that grace, to be cavalier with sin. On one hand, if we continue to live in sin, it would seem on the surface to highlight the power of grace. But, Paul’s answer to that is “by no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” This is where my personal favorite verse, Galatians 2:20 fits in “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” When we place our faith and trust in Christ for salvation, we’re placing our old life on the cross so it can be put to death. When we’re baptized as believers, we’re proclaiming what Christ did in the tomb, when we’re raised out of the water, it’s a picture of being raised to newness of life in Christ. At this time it’s a spiritual resurrection, but we look forward to a future bodily resurrection like that of Christ’s. A lot of people want to have salvation just for the death insurance that comes with the job. If you’ve ever hired or worked with someone who only hired on for the benefits, you know they’re not usually the most committed employee, and they can be a real hazard in the woods. They’re only there for themselves. There are a lot of people who approach Christ in the same way. God doesn’t just want our death, He wants our life, He wants our whole heart! Just like a great logger is one who is there not just for the benefits, but because he loves the job and has his heart invested in it! A lot of that can depend on the guy leading the crew……. If we truly have a God and Savior like Paul claims we have, then we should be compelled to live a life that is aligned with His will. This is what he’s talking about when he contrasts being a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness. Not that we strive to be self-righteous or holier than thou, we strive to be righteous because we love our Creator God, our Lord and Savior, the Master, who has given us the Holy Spirit to live in our hearts and guide us through this life! There is so much more I could say about this, the awesomeness of our Master is limitless! Friends, we must live a life according to the ways He has called us to. The folks we work around and interact with every day are watching us. What will they see? Will they see a life that’s enslaved to sin or a life that has been set free by Grace and exemplifies the fruits of the Spirit?
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-