SCRIPTURE: ROMANS 6
Bible Verses:
“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Romans 6:1-4)
“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Romans 6:8-9)
“ In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” (Romans 6:11-14)
“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:22-23)
DEAD TO SIN ALIVE IN CHRIST (vs. 1-14)
Some argue that if God is gracious, then we can sin more so that we can receive more grace. This is entirely wrong! When we are baptized with Christ, we are identified with Him by the Spirit into His death, burial and resurrection. The old life is buried and dead. We must not offer our body to sin of wickedness but rather offer to God as instrument of righteousness. Since we are not under law but under grace, so sin shall no longer be our master.
SLAVES TO RIGHTEOUSNESS (vs. 13-23)
Before, we used to be slave to sin but since we have been set free from sin, we become slaves to righteousness that leads to holiness resulting in eternal life. “For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (v. 23)
THOUGHTS:
When we are dead to sin and identified with God, we have a new position in Christ. Therefore, we should reckon that what God says is true in our life. We must rest on the Word of God and act upon it. Then, we must prove our faith by yielding ourselves to God. Yielding is an act of our will in obedience to the Lord. As we yield to Christ, He comes to control our lives to bear fruits unto holiness.
In summary, the three steps that leads us to daily victory over the flesh are:
- Know that through faith in Christ, we stand acquitted and no longer live under sin’s power.
- Reckon by resting in His Word. We must obey His word with all our hearts and give ourselves fully to God.
- Yield ourselves to God’s control. We no longer want to pursue our plans, desires and goals. Now, we want to live for the glory of God.
Salvation and eternal life are gifts from God. All you need is accept Christ as your Savior and master. It is your choice. Are you willing?