NO TO SIN, YES TO CHRIST

Rom. 6:22  But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God.  Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.  NLT

      We say it, but do we really believe it?  Can you honestly say that you are free from the power of sin and that you are a slave of Christ?  I believe that if we really are free from the power of sin we would live more like Christ in His righteousness and holiness.  We would say no to sin more often.  We would be more contemplative before we say and do things that may hurt others or ourselves.  We would think more Biblically and be drawn to the things that would build us up instead of tear us down.  We would do a better job of getting along with one another.

       Being a slave of God means that we are submissive to Him and obey Him.  It means that we are indebted to Him and depend on Him for our daily sustenance.  It means that we serve Him and put ourselves on the back burner.  It means that we seek His glory and not our own. 

      As His children, we should be doing those things that lead us to holy living.  It means that we daily take the time we need to feed and nourish our souls.  It means that we intentionally strive to focus on those things which are pure and wholesome for our souls.  It means that the pursuit of holiness governs our conversations and living.

     When we act like we are children of God, it results in eternal life with Him.  It is the most powerful way to live on earth.  It is the way of contentment and peace.  It holds us steady through the many ups and downs of life.

DEAD TO SIN

Rom. 6:11 So you should consider yourselves dead to sin and able to live for the glory of God through Christ Jesus.  NLT

      The first step to living a victorious life in Christ is to consider ourselves dead to sin.  We must have an attitude that sin no longer is able to lord it over us.  We must take a positive outlook on our spiritual lives.  We must see ourselves as no longer powerless against sin.  We must know that we can say no to sin and walk away from it.  We must see ourselves as better than victims of sin.  We must develop a negative attitude about sin; it is our enemy, not our friend.

       The other essential step to victory is for us to see ourselves as able to live for the glory of God through Christ.  We must know that we can stand strong and true.  We can please God in the way we live.  We can overcome the sins that plague us.  We can live in such a way that both God and man know we are children of God.  We must know that in Christ we can resist any temptation.  We can be useful servants of Christ.

      Don’t let Satan deceive you into thinking that you are too weak, that you can’t live in victory.  He knows you can and he will do everything he can to keep you from believing it.  There is great victory and great things in store for all who overcome. 

       You can’t do it alone.  You need the help of the Holy Spirit to guide you into truth and empower you to do it.  You also need the support of other believers as you strive to overcome sin.  You are not alone in your struggles.  Many have already gone through what you are going through or are now going through it.  It’s no shame to admit you are weak and need help; the shame is to not admit it and try to go it alone and fail.

SIN: ENEMY OF THE SOUL

Rom. 6:1-2 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more kindness and forgiveness? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? NLT

      A child of God in whom God lives does not live in sin. His attitude changes towards sin when Jesus changes his heart. Sin becomes our enemy, not our friend. We no longer can be comfortable when we sin. We no longer can ignore it. We no longer can excuse it or justify it. Sin becomes a very deep thorn in our hearts that causes us much pain as long as it is there. How can it be anything less? Sin is what put Jesus on the cross. It is the only reason why He had to suffer and die. It is the only thing that could have caused God to turn His eyes away from His Son for the longest three hours history has ever known.

       Indeed, how can a true child of God knowingly continue to live in sin? How dare we take such a light perspective on the life and death of Christ!! He who loves Christ will hate the sin that put Him on the cross! We cannot live in sin and when we do sin, we flee to the Lord for forgiveness. If we don't have a godly attitude towards sin, we don't have God at work in our lives. He changes the way we think about sin.

OH, THE WONDER OF IT ALL!

Rom. 5:8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.   NLT

       The wonder of salvation is this: while we were still sinners, Christ came and died for us. Thousands of years had passed since Adam and Eve first sinned. Man had become quite the sinner. There wasn't anything that was beyond his ability to do against God. He had pushed God to the limits of his patience time and time again. Mankind did not deserve a Savior! He deserved judgment, not mercy.

      Yet, in spite of what we had become and deserved, God sent Jesus to be our Savior. He loved us in spite of the fact we were so unlovable. He loved us, even though we had spurned Him and gone our own wicked ways. Don't ask me how He could have such a love for us, I can't even begin to fathom it. All I know is that God loves us with that kind of love.

      Because of sin, we are not able to love God. God first loves us and draws us to himself so that He can pour out His love into our hearts. We can only love Him through Jesus' love. When Jesus forgives us, we then can love God and experience forgiveness from God, for ourselves, and for others. There is no way to know what true love is apart from the love of God as displayed through the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord.

       Do you know the love and forgiveness of God today?  Do you?  Do you know that God so loved you that He let Jesus die in your place on the cross of Calvary so your sins could be forgiven?  Do you know that what kept Jesus on the cross was not the nails, but His love for you? 

      Oh, the wonder of it all that God loves you and me!  Such amazing love, how can it be?  I don’t know, but that is the God we serve.  Never forget, Jesus went to hell and back for you.  What are you doing for Him?

TROUBLES? GOOD FOR YOU

Romans 5:3-4 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us--they help us to learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation.  NLT

       It is easy to gloss over these verses without really embracing them.  We know problems and trials are a part of living.  We know that they are unwelcome intrusions in our lives.  None of us purposely goes out seeking after them.  If we had our way, they would not exist at all.

       But wait a minute.  The Lord says that they are good for us.  In other words, if we don’t have problems and trials along the way it is bad for us.  How can that be?  How can life’s difficulties be good for us?

       It is when we go through life’s difficulties that our character is formed.  We need to go through suffering in order to develop strong character.  We need strong character in order to make it to the end of our lives with confidence in our salvation.  We need tough times to help us to learn to lean on Christ for our strength and power instead of our own.  We need to learn that the Lord is dependable to help us.  We need to learn that the Lord is always true to His Word. 

       As unpleasant as problems and trials may be, think about the bigger picture when they come your way.  Understand that God uses them to help us.  Learn to appreciate them for they are always good for us in the long run.  Learn to give the Lord thanks for them and for His presence with you through them all.

REJOICE WHEN TROUBLED

Rom. 5:3-4 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us--they help us to learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation. NLT

      Wait a minute!  When was the last time you rejoiced because you were having problems and trials?  If you are like most people, probably never.  Instead, we tend to complain about them and feel sorry for ourselves because of them.  We often will do everything we can to avoid problems and trials, even though we know they come, usually unexpectedly.

      The Apostle Paul really suggests something radical here in today's verses.  He says that we can REJOICE when troubles and trials come.  Rejoice?!!  Yes, rejoice.  How is that even possible?  Well, we need to look beyond the moment and at the bigger picture of our lives.  We need to ask ourselves what we might learn from our troubles.  If they were caused by something we said or did, then we can learn not to do it again.  If they happened because of something out of our control, then we can learn to deal with them in a manner that would honor Christ and strengthen our faith. 

      Some of us are slow learners, but if we are looking to get better at all, we do learn.  One of life's most important lessons is to learn from our experiences.  We learn to endure what we are going through, knowing that better times are ahead of us.  No matter what it is, it doesn't last forever and we are better for having gone through it.  Endurance helps us build strong character and strong character helps us to know that the most important thing in our lives is our salvation, that the moment will pass away but our salvation will last forever. 

      The next time you face problems or trials, think about these things.  Lean on the Lord for your wisdom and strength.  He will see you through the moment and your faith will grow as a result of it.  There is much good through the tough times of life, if we will but have eyes to see it.  Rejoice, for the Lord is with you and will see you through to the other side of all your trials and tribulations.

       Rejoice, for no matter what troubles or trials you may face in life, great is the reward in heaven for those who persevere in the Lord.  

       We are overcomers when we put our confidence and trust in the Lord.

PEACE WITH GOD

Rom. 5:1  Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.  NLT

       There is no other way to be made right with God other than by faith.  In fact, without faith, we have no clue as to what is really right in God's sight.  It is God who makes it clear how we should live.  It is God who gives us understanding and guides us on how to apply to life His ways.  Without faith, living to please God is nothing more than guess work, hoping we get it right.  Without faith, everything we do is based on our efforts and the work of Christ at Calvary is rendered meaningless.

       Even if it were possible to live right before God on our own, we would still have our sin problem.  It is impossible for right living to take away our sins.  Right living may be able to cover up our sins in such a way that no one would ever know what we have done, but God knows.  God knows every sin we have ever committed and holds us accountable for them, unless we turn to Christ and let Him take them away.  Only the righteousness of Christ can wash away our sins.  When Christ deals with our sins, God then sees Christ in us instead of our sins and we are deemed to be righteous in His sight. 

       God makes it very clear that we cannot save ourselves, no matter how hard we try.  We must trust in what God has done on our behalf and on what He can do in our lives.  We must trust in His ability to do what we can't do, get rid of our sin problem.  We must believe that Christ's righteousness alone is our salvation.  Rejecting Christ as the way, truth and life condemns one’s soul to hell. 

       There is no greater comfort than to know all is well with our souls before God.  There is a deep, abiding peace that only a righteous heart can know.  It is a peace that sees us through whatever may come our way in life.  It is a peace that passes all understanding and it is only found in Christ.