Romans 6:12-14 –
“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 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.”
Now whenever you see the word “therefore” in the Bible you have to ask yourself the question, “what is it there for?” So we have to look back to the last message from Romans 6:1-11, and we have our answer. In church or among Christians, you may have heard people talk about their “identity in Christ”. That’s what the last message from Romans 6:1-11 was all about. As a believer in Christ Jesus, your identity is rooted in His death, burial, and resurrection. You have been born again by the Spirit of God. In the book of Revelation we are told that we are even given a new name by God (Rev 6:17). Perhaps there is no clearer explanation of how as Christians our “identity” is in Christ than what we see in Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Romans 6:12-14 is all about believing, trusting, hoping in, the good news of Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord and manifesting your new identity in your life. If your faith is more than words, if the Spirit of God dwells in you, there will necessarily be a disdain for sin and a yearning for Christ. For you, Romans 6:12-14 will not be “work”, but a reminder that you are free in Christ and have the freedom to pursue joy in fellowship with Christ rather than your sin.
My encouragement is by way of reminder that we as Christians are in the business of killing sin by pursuing joy in Christ. Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you. There are three people I’m now talking to:
The first is the person who is actively pursuing Christ, yearning for personal obedience and righteousness for the glory of God. Keep watch, keep going, and stay vigilant – we have an enemy that roams about seeking to destroy us.
The second is the believer who was running well for a period of time, but now finds themselves engaging in sin, and their joy in salvation is diminished. Stop believing the lie that joy is found in your sin and return to Christ. Read the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32. God is jealous for you and wants to restore you to Himself. You are not alone, all Christians struggle, but each day is a new day and God is abundant in mercy and steadfast love. Pray through Psalm 51, read your Bible, and surround yourself with some Christians to encourage you.
The third is the professing believer who loves their sin and wants to rationalize their sin rather than repent from it. For you, this passage seems like a burden rather than delight. It’s burdensome to you because you don’t really want Christ, you want your sin, and giving it up would seem very painful to you. I have both a warning and an encouragement to you. I would say as a warning that there is a mountain of scripture from God’s word in which we are told that as Christians have a battle to fight again sin and evil. We are also told that there are some who profess belief, but their faith is not real and is evidenced by their sinfulness (Matt 7:21-23 and the entire book of 1 John). Each of us should be on guard against our sin of immorality and self-righteousness, not because we seek to escape hell, but because we love Jesus and want more of Him in our lives. If this is you, I would ask you to seriously consider 2 Corinthians 13:5 – “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”
As an encouragement, I would tell you that Jesus’s offer of salvation from sin and joy in fellowship with Him is for you today. Acts 2:21 – “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”. I call upon the Lord every day, because I’m as much in need of Him today as ever. “Today” is the day of salvation. When tomorrow becomes “today”, it will be the day of salvation for me. When next month becomes “today”, it will be the day of salvation for me. We rest in the finished work of Christ “today” and everyday, “today” is the day for you to turn from your sin and enter the rest of Christ.
Hebrews 4:1-7 – “Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, “ As I swore in My wrath, They shall not enter My rest,” although His works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: “ And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; and again in this passage, “ They shall not enter My rest.” Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, He again fixes a certain day, “Today,” saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, “ Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.”
Wherever you are today, as you read this today, know that as followers of Christ, the infinitely love of God rests on you. Keep running with endurance, and know that you’re prayed for.
Grace and Peace,
Adam
Following the Way 