15 Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.
19 Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.
20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. 21 And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. 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. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Tori's Comments:
To sum up, why would you even WANT to keep sinning?
Temporary pleasures?
Bleck.
My human nature is definitely weak, so I appreciate the illustration.
Terrie's Comments:
I immediately think of the Old Testament with this passage. God is begging us to choose righteousness, holiness, to be pure and to live for him wholeheartedly!! He is begging us to do this because he knows both sides.
It is like there is two prize doors... door A and door B... you have a choice to make but you are only given a small glimse behind each door. Behind door A there are a tonne of prizes... you win a mansion, luxury car, motorhome, lifetime supply of chocolate, endless supply of money and all the friends you could ask for (genuine of course). Behind door B there is a pile of baked beans... a lifetime supply mind you but that is all you are allowed to eat for the rest of your life. Both are made to sound awesome before you choose. The host of the show is REALLY begging you to choose A... will you choose A or B... either way your life will change.
God really wants us to live whole heartedly for him because he wants what is best for us, he loves us, he wants a relationship with us. His motivation is not to have a bunch of slaves for himself.
"Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!" Deuteronomy 30:19
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
What someone once pointed out to me is that the WAGES of sin is death, but the FREE GIFT of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. On our own, our actions earn us death. In Christ, we are given eternal life. Once again, driving home the point that our actions can't take any credit, and neither should we feel condemned when we struggle, because it's all about HIS gift to us.
ReplyDeleteI especially like that last bit you said about why we shouldn't feel condemned. It's a beautiful way of seeing it that I never thought of before! Because it isn't about us, but how great God is. I love it!
DeleteMy first thought reading this is how our generation lives in the here and now and instant gratification...this makes it even harder to realize that the here and now is not what matters. Somehow we have to change our focus to a heavenly one.
ReplyDeleteAnd even when I know this, I make it a solid fact in my life, I still have trouble saying no to those things of instant gratification, you know?
DeleteIt's hard but not impossible.
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