IBS Application for Romans 6:16

“Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?”

This is one of the times in Scripture in which an ultimatum was delivered unto the audience. In this case, it is fairly straightforward: You are either a slave to sin or a slave to Christ. There is no middle ground here.

More specifically, Paul is saying here that being a slave to Christ means living a life of obedience to God. And as we saw in yesterday’s IBS on Acts 5:29, the price of obedience can be great. Peter and the other apostles got persecuted repeatedly and received a beating in that section of Scripture alone. But they bore this burden gladly.

By contrast, we have another example in Acts 12 of one who was a slave to sin and was lead to death because of it. Herod the king was struck down by the Lord for his arrogance and his refusal to give glory to God. The contrast here is that the apostles, who were slaves to Christ, faced persecution, but ultimately were made righteous by their obedience, whereas Herod stayed a slave to his own sin and was killed for it.

Scripture paints a pretty clear picture as to what happens when a person chooses either obedience or sin. This isn’t to say that a violent death like the one experienced by Herod is going to happen to every person who chooses sin, and it doesn’t mean that  a Believer isn’t going to have an easy time in their ministry, either. The difference is that obedience to Christ grants you the righteousness of Christ and that slavery to sin won’t keep you safe from eternal death.

The more immediate and important thing to note about this passage, though, is that I find it encouraging, particularly within the context of the past couple of days. Pastor Mike reminded us that those who’ve been freed in Christ are forever free from the bondage of sin, even when it doesn’t feel like we’re free. I struggle with feeling bound to my past at times, but if Paul and Pastor Mike are right, then I am free and anything else is a lie from the enemy.

I’ve been more obedient to Christ during my time here than I’ve ever been before. I’ve noticed the change, but I’ve also been more aware of when I stumble. But I’m not a slave to sin anymore. I’m a bond servant of Christ. Nothing can change that.


For my application, I’ll write “Free in Christ” on my hand to remind myself throughout the next week that I no longer live in the condemnation of sin, but in the freedom and righteousness of Christ. I’ll also pray for mental protection throughout the week in the hope that I don’t fall victim to the enemy as he seeks to make me question my freedom.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

IBS Application for Jeremiah 23:23-24 “Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.” There is something comforting and humbling about this truth. God is a God who is always close. He is immanent in our lives, meaning He is everywhere. There are some other places in Scripture where the idea is expressed that the heavens cannot contain Him. He is never not present; there is no place in the universe where He is not. As such, there is nothing we can do to escape from God. David, in Psalm 139, mentions this idea: “Where shall I go from Your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from Your presence?” God is everywhere. It logically follows that He is intimately aware of all that we are doing and what is happening to us. I know that in this case God was addressing the faithlessness of Israel’s prophets, who were prophesying falsely i
Read more
IBS Application for 2 Timothy 2:2 “...and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.” We, as Class 14 of Ignite, have been truly blessed to be a part of the Lord’s plan to build his kingdom. We’ve not quite finished our training, and the Lord is still working in us, but the reality of what we’re getting ready to do our in the field is setting in. We’re all about to step out into the battlefield, where the real spiritual warfare is happening. And like good soldiers, we need to be able to remain strong and steadfast both in the heat of battle and to not become entangled in the civilian pursuits of the world. As I write this, we’ve all just received our commission, just last night, in fact. We have the mission to go start making disciples of the nations. That much was stated by Christ prior to His ascension. But what does that mean for us? “What you have heard from me in the presence of many wi
Read more
IBS Application for Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” I wanted to do this study with a bit of a broader emphasis than my more recent studies have been. It’s been kind of hard to come up with a broader, more practical application than the more recent ones have been because they’ve been more akin to coming to understand what a Scripture is saying by coming to see it in a new light, then realizing that God is asking me to walk in those truths. So, I will attempt to make use of the discernment that the Lord has given me and come up with a more practical application for this verse. To start, this is from a section of Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, towards the end of the letter. In this specific section he is trying to encourage these Romans to accept the comfort of the truths of the gospel. Having explained and espoused the essential doctrine that Paul desires fo
Read more