In Romans 6: 15-18 it says "15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 18You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness."
What is the first things your mind pictures when you hear that word slave? I picture a person bound in chains at the mercy of their master's command. In this verse Paul put forth an interesting idea about how one should live a life of obedience but not just any obedience, obedience to God! My question to you simply is "what are you a slave to?"
Why do we allow sin to be our masters? What is it about sin that we think will satisfy our heart? Sin is defined as missing the mark. How does missing the mark seem attractive? If we are honest with our selves it doesn't. In James 1:14, it says "That we are dragged away and enticed by our own fleshly desires." Why do we allow ourselves to be ruled by what we "think" we want? If you examine your desires today, what desires seem to constantly be in the forefront of your mind? Lust? Greed? Success? There is a common theme here isn't there? A self-centered attitude plagues our society like cancer! Growing sometimes undetected, it spreads to every thought, every action, every fiber of who we are. We unfortunately live in a very narcissistic society. It is all about what I want, when I want it, and I want it right now. In this age of hurry up, we tend to loose sight of why we were created to begin with. We were created to bring God glory. To bring forth His glory by being his vessels of salt and light into the world.
So how does one truly live a life of glory to God? By sacrificing our own wants to what God desires for us to do. You might say, that doesn't sound very satisfying? In your spiritual life you will find the most fulfillment, joy and pleasure in carrying out our Lord's commands! Make sure that you live a life of obedience which leads to righteousness.
When you live a life of obedience you will put others before yourself. It is the simple command in Matthew 22:39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' We have no problem loving our selves bu sometimes loving others is often difficult. Oswald Chambers said it like this "The example our Lord gave us here is not that of a good person, or even of a good Christian, but of God Himself. ". . . be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." In other words, simply show to the other person what God has shown to you. And God will give you plenty of real life opportunities to prove whether or not you are "perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." Being a disciple means deliberately identifying yourself with God’s interests in other people. Jesus says, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" ( John 13:34-35 ).
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I love this line.."Being a disciple means deliberately identifying yourself with God’s interests in other people." No one wants to admit they are a slave to anything and yet when we look around most are bound in chains. Keep preaching the truth--God has called you to it! Thanks for speaking the truth in love.
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