April 26, 2016 SLAVES TO GOD
Romans 6:22: “But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.”
We highly value and promote the idea of freedom and the idea of being a slave is something that is quickly rejected. However, the fact is that we are all enslaved to something; either to self or to God. In Romans 6, Paul is reminding the believers that before they became believers, they lived enslaved to self, in bondage to sin; but now that they had been freed from sin, they were to yield themselves as slaves to God. Some think of sin being some terrible act such as murder, stealing, lying, or whatever; but anything not of faith, or living according to self, is sin. We can “look good”, appear to have it all together, attend church, etc. and yet be enslaved to self. Who we obey is the one that we are enslaved to. (Romans 6:16) The question that begs to be asked is: are we obeying “self”, or are we obeying God? This is a question of great importance, because one results in spiritual death and one results in life. Paul makes it clear that all are slaves to sin, but some become obedient from the heart to the gospel resulting in being freed from sin and enslaved to righteousness. In verse 17-18 we read: “But thanks be to God that tough 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.” A person that is not a believer is enslaved to sin and only by becoming born again can he or she be freed from this bondage. However, believers must be aware of the fact that they can allow themselves to become enslaved to the flesh or to self, by yielding themselves to it. Paul was admonishing the believers to yield themselves as slaves to righteousness because they now belong to God and were no longer enslaved to sin. Yielding ourselves to God and living according to our new identity is not a one-time deal, but is something we do on an on-going basis. Jesus gave His life that we might be freed from the domain of sin and become slaves to God. It may sound contradictory, but the only way to experience true freedom is to become a slave-a slave to God. The message for us is that because we belong to God, let us yield our members (our body-who we are) as instruments of righteousness. The words we speak, the thoughts we think, and the things we do, can be, and should be acts of righteousness, expressing the nature of God. The idea of being slaves of God is not theory, or just poetic, but is real life on a minute-by-minute, day by day basis-it is what we have been called to be. Let us joyfully confess, right now, that we are indeed slaves to God and that we are blessed as we yield to Him and serve Him.
Romans 6:16 “ Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”
Blessings,
Buddy
Romans 6:22: “But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.”
We highly value and promote the idea of freedom and the idea of being a slave is something that is quickly rejected. However, the fact is that we are all enslaved to something; either to self or to God. In Romans 6, Paul is reminding the believers that before they became believers, they lived enslaved to self, in bondage to sin; but now that they had been freed from sin, they were to yield themselves as slaves to God. Some think of sin being some terrible act such as murder, stealing, lying, or whatever; but anything not of faith, or living according to self, is sin. We can “look good”, appear to have it all together, attend church, etc. and yet be enslaved to self. Who we obey is the one that we are enslaved to. (Romans 6:16) The question that begs to be asked is: are we obeying “self”, or are we obeying God? This is a question of great importance, because one results in spiritual death and one results in life. Paul makes it clear that all are slaves to sin, but some become obedient from the heart to the gospel resulting in being freed from sin and enslaved to righteousness. In verse 17-18 we read: “But thanks be to God that tough 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.” A person that is not a believer is enslaved to sin and only by becoming born again can he or she be freed from this bondage. However, believers must be aware of the fact that they can allow themselves to become enslaved to the flesh or to self, by yielding themselves to it. Paul was admonishing the believers to yield themselves as slaves to righteousness because they now belong to God and were no longer enslaved to sin. Yielding ourselves to God and living according to our new identity is not a one-time deal, but is something we do on an on-going basis. Jesus gave His life that we might be freed from the domain of sin and become slaves to God. It may sound contradictory, but the only way to experience true freedom is to become a slave-a slave to God. The message for us is that because we belong to God, let us yield our members (our body-who we are) as instruments of righteousness. The words we speak, the thoughts we think, and the things we do, can be, and should be acts of righteousness, expressing the nature of God. The idea of being slaves of God is not theory, or just poetic, but is real life on a minute-by-minute, day by day basis-it is what we have been called to be. Let us joyfully confess, right now, that we are indeed slaves to God and that we are blessed as we yield to Him and serve Him.
Romans 6:16 “ Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”
Blessings,
Buddy
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