November 15 A READ ROMANS 6–8
God’s Power for Righteous Living
OVERVIEW
Paul, the gifted debater, anticipates the logical questions that will follow his explanation of justification by faith: Since grace abounds, may I continue to sin? Can I sin because I am no longer under the law, but under grace? Is the law sinful? After answering these and other questions, Paul moves on to discuss the constant struggle between the two powers at work within: the sinful nature and the Spirit. He concludes his arguments by revealing two liberating facts: “There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (8:1); and nothing in heaven or on earth can separate us from the love of God (8:39).
MY DAILY WALK
In the margin, write down the name of a former employer, someone you used to work for. Now suppose you were to walk into your former employer’s office and he or she were to tell you, “All right, don’t just stand there. Get to work!” What would you do?
Probably you’d do absolutely nothing . . . except walk out of the building. Why? Because you no longer work for your former employer. When you were under your former employer’s authority, you did whatever he or she told you to do. But now that you work for someone else, the old boss has lost that position of authority. You answer to another boss now.
Now read 6:16-18. Do you see the parallel? Formerly you were a servant to sin. Sin was your master, your employer. But now in Christ you have been set free from that slavery in order to become a “slave” to righteousness. Christ is your new Employer, and your responsibility is to answer to him.
Are you still taking orders from your old employer, sin, as if it had ultimate control over you? Write out the words of 6:13, put them in a prominent place, and make them your marching orders for today.
IF SIN RULES US, IT WILL INEVITABLY RUIN US.
INSIGHT
Take this Quiz | Rom. 6:1
After completing today’s reading, you should be able to answer the following questions:
• Should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? (6:1)
• Since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? (6:15)
• Is the law of God sinful? (7:7)
• Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? (7:24)
• If God is for us, who can ever be against us? (8:31)
• Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? (8:35)
INSIGHT
The Winning Team Forever | Rom. 8:37
The apostle Paul encouraged the Roman believers with these words: “Overwhelming victory is ours through Christ” (8:37). His words are still true today. No matter how bad your situation is, you can have victory over your circumstances through Christ. Let this truth encourage you daily.
Sin’s Power Is Broken
1Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? 3Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? 4For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
5Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 6We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 8And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. 9We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. 10When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. 11So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
12Do not let sin control the way you live;* do not give in to sinful desires. 13Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.
15Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16Don’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. 17Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.
19Because 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.
20When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. 21And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. 22But 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. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.