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Romans 6:23 – The Free Gift

Posted on March 30, 2010 by Will

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Truth to Learn

God offers all of us a free gift of inestimable value.

Behind the Words

The Greek word translated “wages” is opsonia, which is the plural form of opsonion. This word is a compound word made up of opson, which means “meat” and a form of oneomai, which means “to buy.” According to The Complete Word Study Dictionary, “It primarily signifies whatever is bought to be eaten with bread, provisions, or supplies from a soldier’s pay. Metaphorically, it means general wages, recompense.” It is what a soldier has earned for being a soldier.

“Gift” is translated from charisma, which means “a gift of grace or an undeserved benefit.” In the New Testament, this word is only used in reference to an undeserved gift or favor from God.

The Greek for the gift that God gives us is, dzoe aionios. Dzoe is the word for “life” and aionios means “belonging to the continuance of time.” In other words, it means “perpetual, everlasting, or eternal.”

Meaning Explained

This verse is one of the pinnacles of Paul’s teaching in the Book of Romans. It is the second step in what has been called “The Romans Road,” the road to salvation. The first is found in Romans 3:23:

for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Now, after having talked at length about the fact that we used to be slaves to sin, Paul has just taught us that we are now the slaves of God. We learned that when we were slaves to sin, we were dead (separated from God).

In this verse Paul tells us why we were dead when we were the slaves to sin. He says:

For the wages of sin is death,

Paul is saying that death is what we earned for our sin (and we worked hard for it!). But, Paul says, God does not pay us what we have earned if we have received His gracious gift through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ. Instead of giving us what we deserve (what we’ve earned), God gives us a free gift that we don’t deserve (and didn’t earn).

If you stop to think about it, there is no greater gift that God could possibly give to us than an eternal existence with Him. The one constant in this earthly existence is the fact that we all will die physically some day and we will be separated from our earthly body. But because of this marvelous gift that God has given us, we will continue our existence in His presence in a heavenly body. We will join with all of our loved ones who have likewise received God’s gift, and together we will glorify God for eternity.

Application

God offers a free gift to all who will believe and that gift is eternal life! Wow!

Do you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the price for your sins? I certainly hope so!

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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Romans 6:22 – Set-apart to Him

Posted on March 29, 2010 by Will

Romans 6:22

But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.

Truth to Learn

God has set Christians apart and has given them eternal life.

Behind the Words

Throughout this chapter Paul has been making a play on words between “death” and “holiness.” Have you noticed? It’s not so obvious in English, but it is in Greek. The Greek word for “death” is thanatos, which, as we’ve mentioned before, carries with it the idea of separation. Separation of our soul from our mortal body is physical death, whereas separation of our soul from God is spiritual death.

The Greek word for “holiness” is hagios, which means “to be set apart from common use to or for a special purpose.” This is the same word that is also translated “sanctified.” Do you see the subtle difference? Death is separation from something while holiness is being set apart to something. Spiritual death is separation from God; holiness is being set apart to God.

Meaning Explained

This verse is Paul’s answer to the previous two verses and all three taken together are a summary of what Paul has been saying for this entire chapter. In verse twenty Paul said:

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.

Before we were saved we had no choice but to obey sin because we were its slaves. In answer to that he now says:

But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God …

As born again Christians we are free from the bondage of sin and have become the slaves (the personal property) of God himself. We are no longer owned by sin, but we’re not free to just do as we please either because we are now owned by God; He is our master and we are to submit to His will.

In verse twenty-one Paul said:

What fruit did you have … For the end of those things is death.

The fruit of the sin of our former way of life was death (separation from God.) In this verse he says:

But now … you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.

The fruit of our salvation now is holiness (being set apart to God for His use), which results in eternal life.

Now let me tie this all together. Throughout this chapter Paul has been saying that before we were saved, we were slaves to sin and we were separated from God (we were spiritually dead.) Now that we have received His gracious gift of salvation we are set apart to God (we are spiritually alive for eternity).

Application

When we fully comprehend what Paul is saying in these verses. it should produce in us the greatest praise for Him because of what He has done. Hallelujah!

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Romans 6:20 – Our Old Master

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Will

Romans 6:20

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.

Truth to Learn

Before we were saved we could not pursue righteousness.

Behind the Words

The word translated “free” is the Greek word eleutheros. We looked at the verb form of this word in verse 18. In the current verse it is the noun form, which means “one who is capable of movement;” in other words, one who is independent or unrestrained.

Meaning Explained

This verse is short and is a restatement of what Paul has been saying repeatedly in different ways for most of this chapter. Before we were saved, we were in slavery to our sin nature. We had no choice but to sin because our sin nature owned us; therefore, we had no choice but to obey our sinful impulses.

One of the things Paul has been pointing out is that there is no gray area when it comes to who our master is. It is either sin or righteousness. We can’t be part way in between. While we were the slaves of sin, we were free ones with regard to righteousness, not under its control. That is, righteousness could not influence us because we were owned by sin.

The argument that Paul has been making all along is that since we are no longer slaves to sin, that is, sin does not own us nor control us, we should be in subjection to our new master, righteousness. Unfortunately for us, though, is the fact that we have a choice as to whom we submit and old habits are hard to break. Now that we are freed from sin, we should gladly obey our new master, righteousness. But we seem to fight our new master far more than we did our former master. It’s easier to be lazy and submit to our sin nature than to put the effort into obeying righteousness.

But, and this is Paul’s point, we have no right to continue in our lazy obedience to sin because we have a new master who wants us to turn from our old ways and commit ourselves to Him. We have a responsibility to obey righteousness, not just because it would be polite, but because that’s what our Master wants us to do, and we are under obligation to obey Him.

Did you ever wonder why the world seems to be getting more sinful and wicked with each passing year? It’s because those who are of the world are slaves to sin and are constrained to obey their master. As a result, sin continues unchecked, growing stronger and more pervasive with each passing day.

But consider this, in heaven we will not have a sin nature and we will obey righteousness perfectly. We will not have to fight our tendency to sin. That’s part of what will make heaven so rewarding. We will always do what is right and our actions will always be pleasing to our Heavenly Father.

But we’re not there yet. We still have our sin nature. So, to boil it down to the essence of what Paul is teaching here, we are to submit to our new Master and commit to doing His will. Instead, we constantly try to break free from righteousness so we can “do our own thing,” which is called sin.

Application

The laziest thing for a Christian to do is to just sit back and skate through life. But, now that we have the ability to obey righteousness, we also have the obligation to obey righteousness. Let’s commit right now to resisting our old master and submitting ourselves to our new Master.

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Romans 6:18 – Slaves of Righteousness

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Will

Romans 6:18

And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

Truth to Learn

When we were saved we were released as a slave to sin. At the same time, we became the slaves to righteousness.

Behind the Words

“Having been set free” is translated from the Greek verb eleutheroō, which derived from the noun eleutheros, meaning “one who is capable of movement.” In the Roman world a slave was not permitted to travel without the permission of his or her master. However, someone who was freeborn, or a slave who had been given his or her freedom, could travel about without restraint. Thus, someone who could travel about (who was capable of movement) was considered free. It is expressed here in the aorist tense which implies past action which took place at a point in time (not continuous action) and it is in the passive voice which means that it is something done to us (we were set free).

The words “you became slaves” are translated from the Greek verb douloō. This may look somewhat familiar because we looked at the noun form of this word, doulos (one who is in a permanent relation of servitude to another), back in verse sixteen. Douloō means “to enslave.” It is expressed in this verse in the aorist tense indicating action that took place at a point in time in the past.

Meaning Explained

Once again, let’s start out by seeing what Paul is not saying. Paul is not telling us that Christians will never sin again. What he is saying is that we don’t have to be enslaved to sin.

Back in verse fourteen he said:

sin shall not have dominion over you.

The reason that sin will not have lordship over us is because we have been set free from sin. We don’t have to obey our old master because we have been set free from him. Then, in verse sixteen Paul told us:

you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness

When we were slaves of sin we had to obey that master. But, since we have been set free, we are now able to move away from sin and “leave it in the dust.” As a result, we don’t have to obey sin any longer.

If we combine yesterday’s verse and today’s verse we see that Paul is telling us that when we believed that doctrinal form that molded us like Christ we were immediately freed from the bondage of sin and made the property of righteousness. This is a reference to the point in time when we accepted Christ as Lord and Savior and became a Christian. At that time we were set free from the authority of sin and we became the property of righteousness (that is to say, the One who is righteousness).

In the next verse, Paul will tell us that since we are slaves to righteousness (righteousness is our master), we should yield ourselves to the lordship of that righteousness by obeying Him.

Application

This is easy to talk about, but it is not so easy to do, is it? Even though we want to obey our Lord and submit ourselves to His righteousness, we constantly seem to be slipping away and going back to our old master. Lord, help us learn to flee from sin and yield ourselves to righteousness.

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Romans 6:17 – Getting Into Shape

Posted on March 22, 2010 by Will

Romans 6:17

But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.

Truth to Learn

We are molded into Christ’s shape by Biblical teaching.

Behind the Words

The words “be thanked” are translated from the Greek word charis, which refers to “a favor done without expectation of anything in return.” However, this word is also used to express the joy or gratitude (thanks) arising from the favor received.

The word “obeyed” is hupakouō, which we have looked at recently. It literally means “to hear under.” It refers to hearing, and obeying the teaching of an instructor.

“Form” is translated from tupon, which is equivalent to the Hebrew word cabala, meaning a mold that is used to create a “copy” or “type” of the original.

The word “doctrine” is from the Greek word didachē, a noun derived from the verb didaskō, meaning “to teach.” Hence, the word didachē refers to something that has been taught. It is frequently translated as “a teaching,” “a precept,” or “a doctrine.” Some Christians have a negative attitude toward doctrine, seeing it as unbending dogma. But, as you can see here, it simply refers to something that is taught.

Meaning Explained

In talking about this verse we have to begin with what Paul is not saying. He is not giving thanks to God that we were all slaves to sin. Being a slave to sin is neither desirable nor commendable. It is a state of helpless devotion to things that are contrary to all that God is. What Paul is saying is, “Though you were slaves of sin, you have been delivered from that state.” That’s what Paul is giving thanks for. He is thankful for every one of us who has believed the gospel message and has been saved from our sins and from the mastery of sin.

The second half of this verse has been misunderstood due to a mistranslation in the past. Literally, it says,

you obeyed, from the heart, unto which you were delivered, a form of teaching.

Now, obviously we don’t talk that way in English, so we rearrange the words a bit. Now it says,

from the heart you obeyed a form of teaching unto which you were delivered.

The “form of teaching” is that which was begun by Christ and taught to His apostles, who in turn taught it to others. It includes the gospel message (by which we were made into the image of Christ), but it also includes teaching about how to live our lives. This teaching acts like a mold or a form, shaping us into a copy of the original and that original is Christ himself. As we obey this teaching we become a “type” of Christ (hence, we are called Christians). We were freed from sin and we were delivered to the new teaching. And because we have received the shaping effect of that teaching, we have been delivered from the bondage of sin.

Application

I know this is a confusing verse and difficult to understand. What we need to learn from it, however, is that we need teaching from the Bible in order to allow ourselves to be shaped into an image of Christ. Let’s all get into His shape!

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Romans 6:15 – Grateful Willing Restraint

Posted on March 18, 2010 by Will

Romans 6:15

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!

Truth to Learn

Just because our sins are all forgiven doesn’t mean we should let our sin nature run wild.

Behind the Words

The expression “What then?” is from two Greek words, ti oun. The first word, ti (a form of tis), in an interrogative pronoun means “who?” or “what?” or “which?” Oun is used between two clauses or sentences to show a connection between them or a cause and effect relationship. Paul is using it here to express a question that shows the relationship between what he has just said and the rhetorical question to follow.

“Under” is translated from the pronoun hupo (or hypo), which can mean physically “under” or “under the influence or dominion of” as it is used here.

Meaning Explained

Paul now asks another one of his rhetorical questions. His purpose for asking the question is to answer an objection that might be raised. He has just declared that we are not under the dominion and power of sin any longer because we are no longer under the Law but under grace. Remember, the people to whom he wrote this letter were predominantly converted Jews living in Rome. They had been brought up believing that the way to righteousness was by obeying the Law. When they were saved, they continued to believe that it was necessary to obey the Law.

But Paul has skillfully demonstrated, not only are we no longer bound to the Law, but we are no longer under the lordship of our sin nature. We are freed from the bondage of the Law, and we are freed from the dominion of sin. To a Jewish Christian who has felt the weight of the Law and sin his or her entire life, this would sound like a freedom cry and permission to sin without repercussion.

So Paul asks his rhetorical question: Shall we sin because we are not under Law, but under grace?

In his typical style, Paul immediately answers the question with the Greek phrase, “me genoito” which, as we have seen before, means “May it not be!” or “No way!”

We Christians are funny people sometimes. We labor for years under the false impression that we will be punished for our sins. We are very careful to be as obedient and faithful as we possibly can for fear of reprisal from God, as if He were a giant ogre just waiting for us to slip up so He can pounce on us and make us pay. But as soon as we learn that all of our sins are paid for (past, present, and future) and that we are no longer under condemnation, but are declared to be righteous, we immediately want to throw off the mantle of self restraint and let our sin nature run wild.

Instead, we should endeavor to be as obedient and faithful as possible, not because we will be punished for sinning, but because we have been set free and we owe it to our Master and Lord to act the way He wants us to act.

Application

We should be so grateful for having all of our sins forgiven that we willingly restrain our sin nature and live for Him the way He wants us to! But that’s not the way we think, is it?

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Romans 6:14 – Freed by Grace

Posted on March 17, 2010 by Will

Romans 6:14

For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Truth to Learn

Christians do not have sin ruling over them.

Behind the Words

The phrase “shall not have dominion over” is the translation of the Greek word kurieuō, which we looked at back in verse nine. It is the verb form of kurios, meaning “master, lord, or owner.” Thus, kurieuō refers to “lordship or ownership.” However in the current verse this particular verb is in the “future active indicative” form. The “indicative” is called the mood of the verb in Greek. There are four moods in the Greek language which are indicative, subjunctive, optative, and imperative. The indicative expresses the writer’s portrayal of real action whereas the others express the writer’s portrayal of potential action to varying degrees.

“Law” is translated from the Greek word nomos, which is the noun form of the verb nemō, meaning “to divide among” or “to parcel out.” So, technically nomos refers to that which has been parceled out, which someone has in his or her possession. It is also used to express regulations that have been delivered or parceled out, such as the Law of Moses.

Meaning Explained

Paul started off this chapter telling us that we were buried with Christ by baptism and that our old man (our sin nature) was crucified with Him. As a result we should consider ourselves dead to sin so that we won’t be brought under the constant control of sin. Back in chapter four Paul made the doctrinal declaration that we are no longer under the Law, rather we are set free from the Law by the gracious gift of God when He declared us as righteous.

Since we were figuratively buried with Christ through baptism and our sin nature was crucified with Him, Paul now tells us that sin will not have dominion over us.

So why did we spend so much time and energy on a Greek grammar lesson regarding the verb kurieuō? It’s because of what is being said in this verse regarding sin having power or control over us. Since this verb is in the indicative mood it refers to real action, not potential action. So, Paul is not saying that sin may not have dominion over us or that sin should not have dominion over us but that sin will not have dominion over us.

And why will sin not have control over us? Because we are no longer under the dominion of Law; rather, we are under the grace of God. We have already been declared righteous! Knowing this, it would seem easy for us to cast aside all restraints and live as sinful as we want because we’re no longer bound by Law. But if we did, then we would be letting sin have lordship over us. And, this brings us right back around to the beginning, doesn’t it? If we are truly saved then we have died with Christ and sin will not have lordship over us.

Application

Since sin is no longer our master, we should be demonstrating by our attitude and actions that we have been freed from the bondage of sin! Is that what your attitude and actions are demonstrating?

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Romans 6:12 – Who’s Your Ruler?

Posted on March 15, 2010 by Will

Romans 6:12

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.

Truth to Learn

Don’t let sin take control of your life.

Behind the Words

“Reign” is a word we looked at in the final verse of the previous chapter of Romans. It is basileuō, which means “to be king or to have ruling power over.” It is expressed here in the imperative mood indicating it is a command, “do not allow sin to rule over your mortal body!”

The word translated “mortal” is thnētos, which is derived from the verb theēskō, meaning “to die.” Hence, thnētos refers to something which is subject to death.

“Obey” is from the Greek word hupakouō, which is made up of hupo (or hypo) meaning “under” and akouō, meaning “to hear.” Hence, hupakouō literally means “to hear under.” It is a picture of a disciple listening to, hearing, and obeying the teaching of his or her master.

The word, “lusts” is a translation of the Greek word, epithumia, which is made up of epi, meaning “above or over” and a form of thumos, meaning “the mind.” As we put these together we see it means “to have overly strong thoughts or desires.”

Meaning Explained

This verse and the next form a two part summation of what Paul has been saying in the past few verses with some explanation added. He just told us that we should consider ourselves dead to sin, but living to God. Here he tells us what he means by considering, or reckoning, ourselves dead to sin. He says, “Don’t let sin reign in your mortal bodies.” In other words, the way we reckon ourselves dead to sin is to not let it have control. If sin is reigning in our life, it is ruling over us and we are submitting ourselves to it; we are letting it control us. If we are dead to sin, then we are separated from the dominion of sin and we will not live in obedience to it.

The second half of this verse has been viewed by some Biblical scholars as questionable. They believe that it has been added and was not part of the original letter. Others, and I agree with them, believe that it rightly belongs here since it appears in most reliable manuscripts.

Paul says that the way we keep sin from reigning in our mortal bodies is by not obeying it in its lusts. God has put desires within us that are necessary for survival, such as the desire to eat, the desire to rest, and the desire to procreate. However, when we allow these thoughts and desires to get so strong that they overcome us and control us, then they become sinful to us. The Apostle John says that these desires (lusts) are not of God but are part of the world system:

For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. (1 John 2:16)

We should not allow these desires to control us.

Application

If you are living to God through Jesus Christ then you must have control over your sinful desires. Don’t let the world system stir up your desires. Don’t let the world system rule over you. Take control of your life by submitting to God!

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Romans 6:11 – What’s Your Choice?

Posted on March 14, 2010 by Will

Romans 6:11

Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Truth to Learn

We don’t have to live in sin. We can choose to live to God.

Behind the Words

“Likewise” is from the Greek word houtōs which is from the pronoun houtos, meaning “this thing.” Houtōs connects what follows with “this thing” which has just been talked about. It is most often translated as “likewise” or “in this manner.”

“Reckon” is a word that Paul has used repeatedly. It is from logidzomai, meaning “to put together with one’s mind.” It is usually translated as “to consider, to reckon, or to impute.”

The word translated “alive” is zaō, meaning “to live.” It is expressed here as a participle so it should be translated as “living.” So this verse should say “… reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but living to God …”

Meaning Explained

Just as Jesus is now dead to sin, Paul says we ought to also consider ourselves dead to sin. Because of His death we are no longer under the bondage of sin; we have been freed from that master. But, we still have our sin nature to battle and it gives us the propensity to sin. We are still inclined to sin because our sin nature tempts us to act on our desires, which then become sins (see James 1:14-15).

But Paul says that we should consider ourselves dead to sin and to the uncontrollable desires that produce sin. Since we are no longer under the bondage of that slave master, we now have a choice of whether to sin or not to sin. Before we were saved we didn’t have that choice, but since we now have that choice, Paul says “make that choice!” Determine not to let your sin nature control your life.

Have you ever had someone say to you, “Don’t think about an elephant!”? As soon as someone says that, we immediately think about an elephant. That’s the way our minds work. We can intentionally think about something but we can’t intentionally “not think” about something. God knows this, which is why whenever He tells us to quit doing something, He also tells us what to replace it with. He tells us what to think about so that we can avoid thinking about the elephant.

In this case, Paul tells us that the way to consider ourselves dead to sin is by living to God through Jesus Christ. That is, we should endeavor to emulate Jesus; we should try to follow His example. We should be humble, unassuming, committed to the glory of God, and morally pure. The trouble is, we can’t be just like Him because our sin nature and the devil still exist. But they don’t stop us from trying to live the way we should. And when we stumble, when we do sin, “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one!” (see 1 John 2:1) He’s ever pleading our case in the court of heaven and he shows our innocence with His blood; therefore, when “we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (see 1 John 1:9)

Application

Since we now have the choice, let us commit ourselves daily to be living to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Romans 6:10 – Identity Crisis?

Posted on March 11, 2010 by Will

Romans 6:10

For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.

Truth to Learn

We have identified ourselves with Jesus Christ in His death to sin. We should also identify ourselves with Him in living for God.

Behind the Words

The word translated “once for all” is ephapax, which means “once and only once.” Though the translation above seems to indicate that Christ died once for everyone, it really says that He died once for all of time and eternity.

Meaning Explained

Paul makes a couple of key points in this verse that we all need to learn. The first is contained in the expression, “For the death that He died, He died to sin.” Paul is explaining the meaning and purpose for Christ’s death. The purpose of His death is that he died to sin. That is, he died paying the penalty for sin so that sin should no longer have dominion over any of us. His death paid for all our sins so, even though sin used to be our slave master, that bond has been destroyed and we are now free from the dominion of sin.

But his death means more than just that we are freed from sin. Paul says that He died once and only once. In other words, He will never have to die again because the sin penalty has been taken care of forever by His onetime death. Since the sin penalty has been taken care of once and for all, we will never have to die after we leave these mortal bodies. We will have to die physically (unless we are raptured) in order to shed these mortal bodies, but we will never have to die spiritually because our sins have been completely paid for.

Remember that death means separation, so we will never again be separated from God – for all eternity. This is not true for those who will be cast into the Lake of Fire. They will be eternally separated from God. That, in fact, is one of the worst torments that they will face in Hell, being eternally separated from God (eternally dead!).

The second half of this verse now tells us what’s on the other side of the coin. Since Jesus Christ will never die again, He lives with respect to God the Father who raised Him from the dead. That is, His life is a testimony to the power of God the Father. Likewise, we who have had our sin penalty paid once and for all (which, incidentally, becomes a problem for those who think they can lose their salvation since it was taken care of once for all time, not just until the next big sin). We now owe this eternal life that we possess to the one who paid our penalty for us.

Paul’s point is that when we were baptized we were identifying with Christ’s death, which He died to sin. And our baptism also identifies us with His life which we should now live to God.

We are indebted to Christ for paying our penalty and we are indebted to God the Father for graciously declaring us righteous. In gratitude and in debt we should now be living our life for God and not for ourselves.

Application

Now that you have identified yourself with Christ in dying to sin, are you being identified with Him in the way you live? Or, put another way, whom are you living your life for now? And, how thankful are you for the eternal life that you now possess?

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –