Posts

But now we have been released from the law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.

  Good morning. Paul continues: but now we have been released from the law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter. While we are not under the law of Moses, there are some Christians who live their lives as if they are under some kind of law. They have a list of things that they must/cannot do. We are to live our lives following the leading of the Holy Spirit. No matter how long a list we have, it will never cover every situation. Besides, if we kept the list, we could brag that we were the ones living the Christian life. So if the law of Moses was so bad, was it sin? God forbid! Then what use what is it? I would not have come to know sin except through the law; for I would not have known about coveting if the law had not said, you shall not covet. Remember that earlier Paul said “until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed where there is no law“. Sin, taking opportunity through the comma...
Post a Comment
Read more

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord

  Good morning. Now one of those famous verses that all Christians know: for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. You get wages for working, and your paycheck for working all of that sin is death. You don’t have to work for eternal life; it is a free gift. As the current hit song says: I couldn’t earn it, and I don’t deserve it; still You give Yourself away. Now we get to the hotly debated chapter 7. Is Paul talking about himself, or is he talking about a generic nonbeliever? In some places it seems like he’s talking about before he became a Christian; and in others it seems like he’s talking about while he is a Christian. As Yul Brenner said in the movie “the king and I”: Tis a puzzlement. Do you not know that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives? So that does not sound like he’s talking about a Christian. You were made to die to the law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another...
Post a Comment
Read more

Just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.

  Good morning. Sometimes Paul likes to say the same basic thing two or three different ways to help you understand. Just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. The choice is up to us as to which one we present ourselves. Just as lawlessness begets more lawlessness; so righteousness begets more righteousness. Legally we are sanctified at rebirth; but it takes a lifetime to work it out in our lives. When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. People of the world are not ashamed of what they are doing; in fact they rejoice in them and encourage others to join them. But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?

  Good morning. OK so we are not under law but under grace. Does that mean we can do whatever we want? Paul says: shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? Grace is not a “free pass“ to do anything that you want. If you do sin, grace means that it’s not all over – that you won’t go to heaven. It’s kind of like with Adam. God said that in the day you eat from the tree, you will die. Eve ate from the tree, and she did not drop over dead. It gave him the boldness to try also. You sin, don’t immediately go to the bad place, so you think why not sin again - I can just ask for forgiveness. After a while, you are hooked and don’t even care whether or not you are forgiven for doing it. But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you became obe...
Post a Comment
Read more

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts.

   Good morning. I hope everything is great there. OK so we are to consider ourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus – then what? Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts. That is easier said than done. Notice that it says do not “let” sin reign in your body. First of all that says that it is a choice; it doesn’t force you to do anything. Secondly, it says don’t let it “reign”. That does not mean that you won’t ever sin again; but it is not going to be the master of you. You are to be in charge, not it. So what should we do? Do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness (we do not put ourselves into situations where we are tempted to sin); but present yourself to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. You have to choose. You are either going to present yourself to sin (as one dead), or to God (as one alive). Sin shall not be ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.

  Good morning. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. Before Christ, death was our master. It was always looming over us and was a fearful prospect. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; the life that He lives, He lives to God. Since we died with Christ, we also should be dead to sin. So what do we do?  Even so consider yourself to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. The accomplishment of that is a lifelong process. It is not just a simple step of wishing that were true. It does start with our thinking. It’s kind of like having all of your debts paid off and $1 million in the bank. You don’t go around groveling, afraid to spend a dime. You are no longer subject to the slavery of indebtedness and having no money. You are free, and must start to act like it. We are no longer slaves of sin, and s...
Post a Comment
Read more

For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin

   Good morning. Expanding on the concept of baptism: For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. If the devil tries to make us feel badly about something we did before becoming Christians, we can point to our baptism and say I didn’t do it; my old man who is now dead did it. And of course in addition to telling no tales, dead men sin no sin. It does not mean that we do not ever sin; it means that we are no longer slaves to sin – it does not control us; we choose to sin. When we are tempted to sin, we should tell ourselves that our old man is dead and resist. Sadly we don’t. We go on acting like he’s still alive and kicking. We have to get rid of that stinking thinking. Now it is great that old man w...
Post a Comment
Read more