Romans 6: Pick Your Master

" ¹¹In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. ¹²Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. ¹³Do 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. ¹⁴For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

 ¹⁵What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! ¹⁶Don'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? ¹⁷But 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. ¹⁸You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

 ¹⁹I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. ²⁰When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. ²¹What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! ²²But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. ²³For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Often times Christians live by the phrase "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission." Romans 6:14 may lead some people to believe that this could be true. After all, it says that we don't live by "rules" anymore, we live by "grace", or forgiveness. So... that must mean we can live-it-up and not worry about any consequences, right? We can be forgiven for anything we do, so why not have a little fun??

However, Paul seemed to know exactly what we were thinking. He goes on to say that, while we are not subjected to "rules" in the same way Old Testament believers were, we still have to choose our Master carefully. He says we are all slaves to one thing or another---be that God's Righteousness or Life's Sinfulness. Whichever master we choose, we must obey by default. 

We can't merely pay verbal homage to God and say "Yeah, I'm a Christian" but live a life that says otherwise. We must choose to either follow Christ or follow the world, and in that choice we commit to our "master" through our actions. Do we obey the will of God, or do we obey the demands of the world? 

Paul makes it clear that the choice is ours. We all start off "slaves" to the world. We have all lived that sinful life, we've all had a taste of what that life has to offer. The question is posed: what does that life really have to offer? Temporary selfish pleasure in exchange for permanent sorrow? A self-centered life that leaves you feeling empty and unfulfilled? A life of meaninglessness? 

How much better off we are to choose a new Master. To choose Christ! Yes, we may have to give up some things the world considers "valuable" and "fun", but in the end we're much better off. We know our life has purpose. Our life can have authentic JOY and HOPE! And to top it all off, our life has a happy ending---an eternity living side-by-side with God, finally experiencing what perfection really is... not the world's burdensome definition. 

When we're told that we are no longer subject to rules, God isn't saying that we throw away our moral code and live a life of anarchy. Rather, He's saying that we no longer need rules because we have the Holy Spirit to guide us in living a righteous life and Christ's grace to forgive us for our short-comings. When sin cracks its whip at us and we falter and bend to its will on occasion, Christ is there to forgive us and the Holy Spirit is there to get us back on the right track. Sin has no power over us anymore. 

This is indeed a comforting thought for a Stumbler like myself. All too often I feel sin creeping back into my life. It offers temptations, and when I reach for them... that's when my walk with God becomes clumsy. That's when I really start to stumble. These temptations surround me daily, and I stumble all too often... the juicy gossip to pass on, the allure of success and money, the desire to be important and respected, the sting of jealousy of others, the sharp words on the tip of my tongue, the hatred for an unkind person...all of these things have sin whispering sweetly "Give in, you'll feel better... you deserve better...look out for #1." However, if I commit to obeying righteousness 100%, these temptations will be fleeting annoyances that I can dismiss easily, rather than having any real power over me and my actions.

Thank-you God for freeing me from sin and the consequences a sinful life would have held in store for me. I ask that you'd help me not to give into the demands and delights of this world. Help me to realize that the temporary pleasure I may get out of any sin is just that---temporary. I know you offer a permanent joy and peace that nothing in this world could ever offer.

Help this Stumbler become more steady on her feet,

-Me

Sin distracts you with shiny objects while binding you in chains. God gives you hope while freeing you from chains. Which master would you rather follow?