Mending My Ways

What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Romans 6:15

God forbid! This is a very strong phrase. The Life in the Spirit Bible says this phrase corresponds to the Hebrews, chalilah lanu, “May it be far from us!” Basically, don’t let it happen! Christ was sinless. He suffered physically and was humiliated by the power of sin because of us. He died so that sin’s influence would die too. Christ triumphed over sin and its power. That means when we are united with Him we are freed from sin’s power and can walk in newness of life.

Take time to read chapter 6 in Romans. You died to sin when you were born again and have been given Christ’s power to resist sin. We must die to it daily by putting to death the misdeeds of the body and live a new life in obedience to God. Dying daily to self is how we resist sin’s effort to regain control.

Many believe that since we have been pardoned from sin by grace, we don’t need to be careful to resist sin. Paul tells us in Romans chapter 6 that a believer must continually reaffirm and implement his or her decision to resist sin and follow Christ. Matthew 6:24 says, No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t have God with a little bit of love for sin. You are either serving God or Satan. There is not in between. There is no gray. It is either in or out.

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? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

Paul is warning believers that if they continue to give themselves to sin, they will become slaves of sin. Do we all sin? Yes, but it is about what we set out to do. God saves us from the power of sin but we must choose daily to step into God’s righteousness, resisting sin and staying covered in the blood shed for our sin. We all serve one of two masters. Be a servant of righteousness. Turn from sin and seek 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. Romans 6:21

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23