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Romans 6:7 – Freed by Death

Posted on March 8, 2010 by Will

Romans 6:7

For he who has died has been freed from sin.

Truth to Learn

The death of our sin nature freed us from the bondage of sin.

Behind the Words

The word translated “slaves” in the previous verse is the Greek word douleuō, which is the verb form of doulos, meaning “one who is in a permanent relation of servitude to another, his will being altogether consumed in the will of the other. It refers to a person who has no rights of his own, one who exists only as the property of someone else.” Therefore, douleuō means “to be a slave.”

The word translated here as “freed” is the word dikaioō, which means “to justify” or “to declare righteous.” The word is expressed in the perfect tense. As we pointed out a couple verses back, the perfect tense in Greek refers to completed past action with a resultant state of being, where the emphasis is on the resultant state of being. The word following dikaioō, however, is apo, meaning “from.” When used in this way, the word dikaioo refers to our having been “freed from something” with the emphasis on the resultant state of being (we have been and, therefore, are now free from sin).

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse Paul told us that since our old man (our sin nature) was crucified with Christ, we should not serve sin. He is telling us that previously (before our salvation) we were not willingly serving sin but we were under bondage as a slave to sin. We had no choice but to obey our sinful lusts because of our sin nature. That is, we had no free will when it came to deciding whether we would obey our sinful nature or not, we had to!

Now that we have crucified our sin nature, however, we no longer have to be subject to sin. That’s what Paul is saying in the current verse, “he who died (our old man) has been freed from sin.

So, the point that Paul is making is, since our old man was crucified with Christ and is now dead, we are no longer forced to be a slave to our sin nature or to sin. We are now freed from that slavery. Do you see the point? We no longer have to obey our sinful impulses. We now have a choice. That is, we can choose to obey God or to obey our sin nature. Before we were saved we did not have this choice.

Does that mean that we always choose to obey God? Unfortunately, the answer is no. All too often, we choose to obey our sin nature instead of obeying God. That, as Paul taught us in the previous chapter, is where grace comes in. Even though we follow our own desires instead of God’s moral law, we have been declared righteous and we need not fear the wrath of God. But … we should not continue in our sinful ways. Our sin nature has been crucified so we have a free will to choose good over evil.

Application

This entire chapter of Romans is about recognizing that we are freed from the slavery of sin. We have a choice every day whether or not we will voluntarily submit ourselves to God. If we don’t submit to God then we will be submitted to sin, there is no middle ground.

Whom do you want to be submitted to?

In God’s service, for His glory,

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

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Romans 6:6 – A Servant’s Choice

Posted on March 7, 2010 by Will

Romans 6:6

knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

Truth to Learn

We are no longer slaves to sin. We don’t have to submit to it.

Behind the Words

The word translated “old” is palaios, which is an adjective of time, meaning “in the past, long ago, or that which is old.”

Meaning Explained

Paul starts off this verse talking about “the old man.” What he is talking about is our sin nature, which we have inherited from Adam. You may recall what he said back in verse 19 of the previous chapter: ”For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners.” The reason we were made sinners is because we inherited the sin nature from our father Adam. Paul refers to this sin nature as “the old man,” and he tells us here that our sin nature was crucified with Christ.

He talks about this old man in a couple of other places in the New Testament as well, and in each case admonishes us to put off the old man.

that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, (Ephesians 4:22-23)

Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, (Colossians 3:9-10)

From these passages it is clear that Paul uses the expression “the old man” to indicate our sin nature, which was corrupted by the lusts and inclinations toward evil that existed in each one of us before we were saved.

Paul tells us that this sin nature was crucified with Christ so that the body of sin might be destroyed. There has been much debate over what exactly is being referred to by the expression “body of sin” but I believe that it is simply a personification of our sin nature just as “the old man” is. And, if our old man was crucified with Christ, then he died just as Christ died. If our old man is dead then we can no longer be a slave to him. We are free from him!

Before we were saved, we were slaves to sin because of our sin nature. As slaves to sin we did not have a choice of whether we sinned or not. Now that we are saved, however, we are no longer slaves to the old man and we are free to live without being controlled by sin. In other words, before we were saved we had no choice but to sin. Now that we are saved we can choose to sin or not to sin. And even though we do continue to sin, we have that choice and Paul tells that we should not serve sin any more.

Application

If you are a Christian you have the choice to either serve your sin nature (the old man) or God. You cannot serve two masters. You must choose one or the other.

So … who are you serving today?

In God’s service, for His glory,

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

Romans 6:3 – Baptized to Death

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Will

Romans 6:3

Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?

Truth to Learn

We don’t have to let sin control us. We can have the victory!

Behind the Words

The word “baptized” is translated from baptidzo. It’s easy to see that the Greek word and the English word are nearly identical. This is what is known as a transliteration. A transliteration is when a word in one language is carried over directly into another language. This Greek word means “to immerse, to place into, to dunk, or to wet completely.” For this reason alone, it is reasonable to believe that immersion is the form of baptism that was followed by the early church.

Meaning Explained

This verse and the following are an amplification of what was said in the previous verse. Paul just told us that we died to sin. What does he mean by that? When we were baptized into Jesus Christ we were baptized into his death.

Some people interpret this as saying that we were “placed into the body of Christ.” The only problem with this is that this verse doesn’t say we were baptized into the body of Christ, rather that we were baptized into Christ.

I believe that Paul is talking about “believers’ baptism,” that act in which we were immersed in water (or sprinkled with water, or had water poured on us). This believers’ baptism does not in any way save us. As Paul has told us in the earlier chapters of this book, we are saved by believing in God’s promise and by God subsequently declaring us righteous; not because we did something (like get baptized) but because we believed his message. Well, if this baptism doesn’t save us, then what does it do? It is a public proclamation of our identification with Jesus Christ. It is a proclamation that we have died to sin, and it no longer rules over us, He does.

By identifying with Jesus through baptism, we identify with both his death and his resurrection. The current verse talks about the first half of this. When we were baptized, we were baptized into (identified with) his death; therefore, with Christ we have died to sin and do not have to let it control us.

There is some comfort to be taken in this passage of scripture. The mere fact that Paul is arguing so strongly regarding sinfulness after salvation is proof in itself that we do not stop sinning when we get saved. If that were the case, Paul would simply tell these Roman Christians (and us) that the presence of sin indicates the lack of salvation. But he does not say that!

You will recall that Paul started this line of reasoning because there were some who claimed that we could sin all we want because it only makes the grace of God appear greater. It is clear from Paul’s argument that we have a choice to live a life characterized by sin or not. We will always sin because we have a sin nature, but we don’t have to let sin run our lives. We can control it through the power of the Holy Spirit. What Paul is teaching us through this section of the book of Romans is how to control our sin nature instead of letting it control us.

Application

We all battle the lusts of our sin nature, which are inflamed by this world system we live in. But, we don’t have to let sin control us. Let us all pray that the Holy Spirit of God will give us victory over our sin nature, and in return let’s give God the glory and praise that He deserves.

In God’s service, for His glory,

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

Romans 6:2 – Sin? No Way!

Posted on March 1, 2010 by Will

Romans 6:2

Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

Truth to Learn

Our lives should no longer be characterized by sinfulness.

Behind the Words

“Certainly not!” is a familiar expression with Paul. It is translated from the Greek words mē genoito. Mē is a particle of negation, meaning “not.” Genoito is a form of ginomai, meaning “to begin to be” or “to cause to come into existence.” In this expression it is used in the very rare optative mood (there are fewer than 70 examples of the optative mood in the entire New Testament). A literal translation of these two words is “May it not be!” In today’s vernacular we might say “No way!”

“Died” is from the verb apothnēskō, which is made up of apo, meaning “from” or “away from” and thnēskō, meaning “to die.” Hence, apothnēskō means “to die away from” or “to die off.”

We have talked before about the fact that Greek is an inflected language. That is, the form of a word indicates how it is used in a sentence. We see some of this in English. For instance “I” is a subject and “me” is an indirect object. The word translated “sin” is in the form of an indirect object. Hence, it could be interpreted as “in sin,” “to sin,” or “by sin.” Paul has already taught us that we are dead “in sin” and “by sin.” Now he is teaching us that we are also dead “to” or “with respect to” sin.

Meaning Explained

This verse is a direct response to the previous one: “Shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound?” Paul’s response is, “No way!” He is proclaiming that we should never even consider continuing our sinful ways just so that God’s grace will increase. Paul carries this even further by asking, “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” In other words, if we have, indeed, died with respect to sin, how can we possibly live with respect to sin any longer?

In order to understand this better, it might be helpful to understand what the concept of death really means. We think of death simply as “absence of life,” whereas in reality it means, “separation from life.” By looking at it this way, perhaps you can understand what Paul is saying. We who have been separated from sin (because God has cast our sins as far from us as the east is from the west) cannot possibly be continually in its presence anymore.

Before we were saved, we had no choice but to continually live in a sinful manner. After all, we were controlled by our sin nature. But, because our sins have been paid for and our sin nature has been crucified with Christ, we now have a choice as to how we live.

Application

Paul says we have an obligation to stay away from a life of sinfulness because God has declared us righteous. We also should be motivated by an intense sense of gratitude to God for wiping out our sin debt, which should cause us to want to live an obedient life that will testify to God’s grace!

So I ask you, “How do you want to live? In sinful selfishness or in grateful obedience?

In God’s service, for His glory,

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

Romans 6:1 – Don’t Stay in Sin

Posted on February 25, 2010 by Will

Romans 6:1

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?

Truth to Learn

Salvation does not mean we have a free pass to sin all we want.

Behind the Words

The expression “What shall we say then?” is called a debater’s phrase. This is a Rabbinical way of teaching which Paul no doubt learned under the teaching of Gamaliel (see Acts 22:3). The process involves the teacher asking a question like this, then encouraging debate before the giving the answer.

The word here translated “continue” is the Greek word epimenō which is a compound word made up of epi, meaning “upon, over, in, or at” and meno, which means “to stay or remain.” Hence, this word means “to remain or stay longer in or at something.”

Meaning Explained

Paul has, at length, just demonstrated that as a result of Adam’s sin, we are all sinners condemned to death and we are not justified by performing any works of obedience. He also said that the presence of the Law does not serve to make us more righteous; instead, it brings our sinfulness more into the light of revelation, making us appear even more sinful. Also, he has shown us that when we believe God’s promises (in our case, that Jesus Christ died to pay for our sins and rose again from the dead), God chooses, by His grace, to declare us righteous (wiping out any and all of our sins past, present, and future).

Do you remember the point he made back in Romans 5:11?

And not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the reconciliation.

We rejoice and God is glorified when we are declared righteous by His grace. And in Romans 5:20 he said:

But the Law entered so that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.”

A quite natural reaction for a Jewish Christian living in Rome would be, “Well, if all of my sins have been paid for and that glorifies God, and the more I sin the more that grace is demonstrated, then I can sin all I want. Then, God receives even more glory for it, and I will still be found righteous!” This is the point that Paul is now going to argue against.

As is typical of Paul, he states the anticipated objection very plainly, “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?”

What Paul is really asking is, “Should we continue to live a sinful, ungodly life like we did before we were saved so that God will receive even more glory for forgiving us as an even worse sinner than we already are?”

As you will see in the next verse, his response is an emphatic, “No way!”

Application

One of the misconceptions of believing in eternal security (once you are saved you can’t ever lose your salvation) is this notion that we can now sin all we want without repercussion. Eternal security is clearly taught in the Bible, especially by Paul. But he just as clearly argues against giving sin a free reign because we have died to sin.

In God’s service, for His glory,

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

Romans 5:20 – More Than Plenty

Posted on February 22, 2010 by Will

Romans 5:20

Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,

Truth to Learn

God’s grace easily covers the glaring presence of our sin.

Behind the Words

The word translated “entered” is the Greek word pareiserchomai. This is a double compound word made up of para, meaning “alongside,” eis, meaning “into,” and erchomai, which means “to come or to go.” Hence, it means “to come in alongside.”

“Abound” is from the word pleonadzō, which means “to make more or to increase.”

The words “abounded much more” are translated from the Greek word huperperisseuō, which is a compound of huper (or hyper), meaning “over or above” and perisseuō, meaning “to be in excess or to superabound.” Hence hyperperisseuō means “to be more than in excess” or “to more than superabound.”

Meaning Explained

In these two final verses in the fifth chapter of Romans, Paul seems to anticipate an objection that might be raised against the argument he has been making. The objection would be, “If sin was already in the world and man was already condemned, then what purpose did the Law serve?” That is the question that Paul is going to answer here.

From the word that Paul used we can see that the Law came in alongside. You see, God did not deliver the Law as something new or to replace something else. It was delivered to stand alongside the sin guilt that already existed in man.

The real question is, “Why?” According to Paul, the Law was delivered so that the offense might “abound” or “increase.” Did it actually create more sin? No, it simply made it more obvious. It’s like turning-on a light in a dirty, dusty room. With the light off, the filth is there but it can’t be seen. When the light is turned on, the dirt and dust become obvious and undeniable. That was the purpose of the Law, to make our sinfulness obvious.

The greatest news in this verse, is that where sin was in abundance as a result of having had the light turned on, the grace of God did not simply more abound, it more than superabounded. When God bestows His grace to us, it is not just barely enough to cover our sin guilt, it is way more than enough. There is no question that it is more than sufficient. It was necessary for us to see our sinfulness in the light of God’s presence so that we could not deny it and so that God’s grace would be even more evident when He saved us from that sinfulness.

Once again, we see that God did not leave us out in the dark but provided us a way to freely come into the light!

Application

Anyone who has honestly faced the fact of their own sinfulness knows that they are not just a little bit of a sinner. We know how great our sinfulness really is. But God’s grace is more than enough to cover all of our filthy sinfulness. Praise God!

In God’s service, for His glory,

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

Romans 5:16 – One for the Many

Posted on February 17, 2010 by Will

Romans 5:16

And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification.

Truth to Learn

God’s free gift of righteousness takes care of all our sins.

Behind the Words

The word “sinned” is translated from the Greek word hamartanō, which means “to miss the mark.”

As if making a play on words, in this verse Paul repeatedly uses nouns that end in ma. In each cast it indicates the result of an action. These words include:

· The word translated “gift” – dōrēma, derived from the verb dōreō, meaning “to bestow a gift.” Hence, it refers to a gift.

· “Judgment” – from krima, which is derived from krinō, meaning “to decide” or “to judge.” Whereas, it can refer to a decision of innocence or guilt, it is most often used in relation to a guilty judgment.

· The word translated “condemnation” – katakrima. The prefix kata means “down” or “against” and krima, as we just saw, means a judgment. Hence, this word means “a judgment against” or “condemnation” as we have it in this verse.

· “Justification” – from dikiōma, which is based on the verb dikaioō meaning “to declare righteous” or “to declare innocent.” Hence dikiōma refers to the result of the declaration. That is, our righteousness or justification.

Meaning Explained

This is a tough verse, so follow closely. It’s the second time Paul is contrasting the effects of the deeds of Adam and Jesus. Previously, he said that death (the consequence of sin) flowed from Adam but that the gift of grace flowed from Jesus.

A literal word-by-word translation of the first phrase in this verse is, “And the gift not like through the one having sinned.” Fortunately a couple of words have been added by the translators in order to make the verse more clear. What Paul is saying is that the free gift is not like the one sin of Adam.

Paul now shows why the one sin is not like the free gift. Here’s what the remainder of this verse says,

for (on the one hand) the judgment is out of one (deed) resulting in condemnation, but (on the other hand) the free gift is out of many transgressions resulting in justification.

Though the grammatical construction is a bit awkward in English, Paul is saying: “on the one hand the judgment that came from one deed resulted in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift that handles many transgressions results in justification.”

If we were to sum up this verse it would be to say that death (the consequence of sin) flowed from one transgression (one sin), but the gift of grace is effective over many transgressions resulting in our justification.

Application

Once again, we should be driven to our knees in prayer giving thanks for the gift of the sinless life of Jesus and the gift of grace whereby we will one day stand in the presence of God as righteous saints, not as condemned sinners!

In God’s service, for His glory,

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

Romans 5:13 – Sinless Without Law?

Posted on February 14, 2010 by Will

Romans 5:13

(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

Truth to Learn

We don’t have to break the Law of Moses to be sinners.

Behind the Words

“World” is from the Greek word kosmos, which is probably derived from komeō, meaning “to take care of.” Kosmos specifically refers to “an orderly arrangement.” This word is used in the New Testament to refer to the world system, not the physical world.

The word “imputed” is similar to a word we saw in the previous chapter. It was the word logidzomai, meaning “to credit to someone’s account. This word is ellogeō, which is sometimes used synonymously but it has a subtly different meaning. It means “to take into account” or “to take into consideration.”

Meaning Explained

Remember that this letter was originally written to Christians in Rome who were predominantly Jewish and who were still tied to keeping the Law, even after their conversion to Christianity. Throughout this letter Paul has been showing them (and us) that righteousness before God is not attained by keeping the Law but by the free, gracious gift of God, which comes only after we believe His promises.

In the previous verse Paul told us that sin (and death as a result) entered the world through Adam, and death passed on to all of us because all of us have sinned. Since the recipients of this letter were convinced that sin was a result of not keeping the Law, Paul now points out to them that sin existed in this world even before the Law was delivered to Moses. In other words, sin did not commence with the Law, sin commenced with Adam.

Now look at this carefully! Paul then says that sin is not imputed (taken into consideration) when there is no law. If we read this too quickly we might want to respond, “If sin is not imputed where there is no law then it wasn’t imputed to those who lived before the Law was delivered!” This is precisely the argument that Paul is refuting. You see, since death is the penalty of sin and death passed on all men after Adam, then all have sinned. Therefore there must have been a “law” (not “the Law”) that was transgressed even before the Law of Moses was delivered.

For those of you who think we Christians have to keep the Law (the Ten Commandments) in order to be “right” with God, you will find that Paul is arguing against you. Keeping the Law (or even keeping God’s higher moral law) is not what makes us acceptable (righteous) in God’s sight (for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God [Romans 3:23]). Only the righteousness that God gives to us when we believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as payment for our sins can make us acceptable in His sight.

Application

We don’t have to keep the Law of Moses to be righteous, but we don’t have to break the Law of Moses to be sinners either. However, if you know that you are a sinner and believe that Jesus died to pay the penalty of your sin, then you are reckoned as righteous in God’s record book.

In God’s service, for His glory,

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

Romans 5:12 – Ancestral Sin

Posted on February 11, 2010 by Will

Romans 5:12

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—

Truth to Learn

Our sinfulness is a result of our being a descendant of Adam.

Behind the Words

The words “just as” are translated from the Greek word hōsper, which is used to introduce the first member of a comparison. However, Paul never grammatically introduces the second member, although it is clear that he is comparing the sin-producing work of Adam with the atoning work of Christ.

“Entered” is from the Greek eiserchomai, which is composed of eis, meaning “into” or “unto” and erchomai, meaning “to come” or “to go.” Hence, it means “to come into.” It is expressed in the aorist tense indicating an action that was completed at a point in time in the past.

The word “spread” is dierchomai, which is composed of a form of dia, meaning “through” or “throughout” and erchomai, meaning “to come” or “to go.” This word is immediately followed by the preposition epi, meaning “upon.” So, we see that Paul is saying “came through upon” or “spread to.”

Meaning Explained

This passage, beginning here and continuing through verse twenty-one, has been described as one of the most difficult parts of the New Testament. Unfortunately the brevity of these daily devotional studies will prevent us from going into the depth necessary to have a full understanding of this passage.

The first thing we see in this verse is that sin entered this world through one man, Adam. Adam was commanded not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam disobeyed, thus sinning against God. Up until that time sin had not existed in our physical world.

The second thing we see is that death entered into this world by this sin. Paul will tell us in the next chapter that the result of sin is death. Here he tells us that it was through Adam’s sin that death became a reality to us all. We see by implication that had Adam never sinned, he never would have died. In fact, God warned him about death being the consequence of disobedience when He first commanded Adam not to eat of that tree, “for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” [Genesis 2:17]

The third thing we see in this verse is that from Adam’s sin, death spread to all of us. There is no disputing that all men die. Paul is simply telling us here that this death that Adam suffered as a result of his sin is passed on to all of his descendents. The reason that we all die is because we all sinned.

In this passage Paul does not say whether he is referring to physical death or spiritual death, though his implication is physical death based on the next few verses.

Now, hang in there because there’s more to come in the following verses.

Application

We are sinners because we are descendants from Adam. We can blame Adam for our sinfulness, but we can’t blame Adam for our sins. That’s why we need a Savior.

In God’s service, for His glory,

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

Romans 4:8 – Blessed Through Faith

Posted on December 16, 2009 by admin

Romans 4:8

Blessed is the man to whom the lord shall not impute sin.”

Truth to Learn

God considers those who believe His promises as sinless. As a result, He shows His favor to them.

Behind the Words

The word translated “Blessed” is makarios. We looked at the verb form of this word two verses back. It refers to one who possesses the fullness of God’s favor. Aristotle contrasted this word with endeēs, meaning “one who is lacking or in need.”

Another translation element that we want to look at is the word “not.” This is the translation of the two Greek words ou me. The word me indicates relative negation and the word ou indicates absolute negation. In English, a double negative is not proper, but in Greek it is a form of emphasis. So the expression ou me means “absolutely not” or “no way.”

“Impute” is from a Greek word that we have looked at before. It is the word logidzomai, which means, “to put to one’s account.” It is sometimes translated as “impute, reckon, credit or count unto.” It is an accounting term meaning that someone’s account has been (or hasn’t been) credited as having something. In this verse it says that the person unto whom God will not credit sin is full of God’s favor.

Meaning Explained

This verse is directly tied to the previous verse and it contains the crux of what Paul is trying to demonstrate. These two verses are quoted from Psalms 32:1, 2. In both these verses David describes the person as blessed. This is different from one who is happy because happy implies good luck (the root hap means “luck as a favorable circumstance”). A blessed person is one who is in the world but not of the world. That is, his or her satisfaction comes from God, not favorable circumstances. A person who is blessed of God is someone who experiences peace with or without pleasure.

What David is saying is that the person whose sins and acts of lawlessness are forgiven and the person unto whom God will absolutely not credit with sin is a recipient of God’s greatest favor. What is just as interesting is what David said at the end of this particular Psalm:

Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; but he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him. Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; and shout for joy, all you upright in heart! (Psalms 32:10-11)

David tells us to be glad, to rejoice, and to shout for joy because we have not been credited with sin.

What Paul is getting to is this: the person who does not earn (or deserve) salvation but believes God, not only does not have sin credited to his or her account but does have righteousness credited to his or her account. Let’s see, do I want God to see me as a sinner or as sinless? Hmmm. That’s not very hard to decide, is it?

Application

Deep down inside we all know that we are sinners and God knows us even better than we know ourselves. But through faith, the blood of Christ covers our sins and God sees us as righteous and without sin. That’s God’s grace, that’s God’s supreme favor, that’s blessedness!

In God’s service, for His glory,

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