Psalm 63-65 Romans 6

“We know that our old life died with Christ on the cross so that our sinful selves would have no power over us and we would not be slaves to sin. Anyone who has died is made free from sin’s control.” (Romans 6:6-7 NCV)

Romans 5 leaves us with a big question: since “where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more” it would seem like a good idea to engage in sin, knowing that will trigger more of God’s grace. Paul’s answer, paraphrased, was “Are you out of your freaking mind?” Paul couldn’t imagine people experiencing the love and grace of God as they were forgiven and then turning around and saying, “That was fun, let’s do it again.” He drew a verbal line and noted that one side of the line was for those whose old life had died with Christ on the cross and the other side was for people who were slaves to sin. Many in our world would like to “broaden that perspective” and open the good side of the line to other philosophies and religions. The Christian world view doesn’t allow for that: either your old life died on the cross with Christ and you’re walking in the grace of God, or you’re a slave to sin and your life demonstrates sin’s control, not God’s.

The question Romans 6 leaves us with is “Who is your master?” Either you’re a slave to sin, doing the sinful things you’ve always been doing, or you’re a slave to God, walking in the freedom He provides His children. I know it sounds almost 1984ish when you think about freedom in life coming from being a slave to God. Perhaps the best way to understand that analogy is that when Jesus died on the cross, He bought us from the realm of sin so that we were no longer slaves of sin. He freed us from the shackles of sin and He’s given us the freedom to follow Him. We have two choices: we can accept God’s offer of freedom by following His call on our life, or we can go back to the shackles of sin that enslave us. Walking with God will give us a joyous life this side of heaven and a future home with God forever while living in the shackles of sin promises misery and in the end, sin pays you nothing but death. Choose wisely: it will affect your day to day life and your eternity.

Lord, You’ve offered me the bonds of love to take the place of the shackles of sin. Help me to live in Your love and grace as I resist those shackles. Let my life and my words influence people to leave their shackles behind as they follow You.

Scripture taken from the New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved