February 3, 2002
Series: Romans Chapter 6
“THE
GIFT OF GOD”
Romans 6:19-23
I am speaking in human terms because of the
weakness of your flesh. For just as you
presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in
further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness,
resulting in sanctification. For when
you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you then
deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death.
But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to
God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome
eternal life. For the wages of sin is
death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul has just presented the fact that believers are no longer slaves to sin. By faith in Jesus Christ we are now slaves to God.
He now assures them that he is speaking in simple human terms for their understanding and ours. He reminds us that in our unsaved state we presented the members of our bodies as slaves to impurity and lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness! Now in our new servanthood we are to present our members as slaves to righteousness resulting in a life set apart to God.
When we served sin, we had no part with righteousness. He now asks a very logical question. Were we deriving any benefit from those things of which we are now ashamed – for those things lead to death?
He follows up with another logical statement. Since we have been liberated from sin and are now enslaved to God, we derive blessed benefits that lead to a life set apart to God with the outcome eternal life! Sin has wages which separate us from God but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Praisealeujah!
But one question! How do we plug into eternal life today? Paul tells us it is through sanctification. Let’s break this down a little. Colossians 3:1-3 clarifies this for us. Since we have been raised with Christ and seated with Him at the right hand of God, we are to keep on seeking the things above. We are to actively set our minds on things above and not on earthly pleasures. The reason takes us back to Romans 6. We have died and our life is hidden with Christ in God.
Beloved, where are we setting our minds these days? Are we tangled up in the lure of the world or are we actively seeking the things that please our Lord? Let’s work on that aspect.
Love
to you all,