“Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” Rom. 6:13-14
Good morning, family. It is clear to me that we all from time to time struggle with our faith. Perhaps one of the biggest struggles comes down to this; many of us struggle to reconcile our desire to please God with the fact that we still sin. We ask the question, “God, will I ever be able to please you?” On one hand, this question ought to lead us to repentance on a daily basis because in this fallen world, living with a fallen nature, this will always be true until Christ comes again.
But on the other hand, the Apostle Paul makes it clear in Romans 6 that we are no longer under the control of sin. The grace of God has brought new life to His own that enables us to no longer seek first to engage in sinful pursuits or passions. The Holy Spirit resides within us now so that we CAN live for Him…so we can do His will…this is His promise.
The word is clear on this, sin no longer has dominion over us; we are no longer slaves to sin. This is a powerful statement…one that we would do well to dwell on and remember especially in those dark moments. Yes, we all stumble and fall. But we do not have to remain defeated. We do not have to grovel in the dirt of our discouragement or surrender to repetitive failure…in fact, we MUST NOT! We must stand firm in the faith by God’s grace. We must engage our sin by repenting and recognizing that we are not yet what we will be…and also, that the dark voice in our head is correct…we are sinners. But the good news is Jesus died for us to have a home with Him and that is a guarantee. He conquered death so that we are assured of life.
God has granted us new life that is not powerless to resist sin. We have been freed from the guilt and power of sin. So, instead of groveling, we focus on believing; instead of surrendering, we start anew, in His strength…by His grace. We must believe the Bible’s promise of power for a new life, and we must at every turn reject Satan’s lie that there is no hope or help for us. Then, by believing we can, we start to live again in the power that is ours by Christ’s grace.
This ought to be at least part of our prayer today: Lord, thank you for delivering me from slavery to sin. Help me really to believe in that deliverance so that I start this day presenting myself to you as one who has been brought from death to life in Christ. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!
God Bless y’all today.
In His Grip,
Pastor Mike
