Romans 6:1-7
Verse 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—
Knowing the fruit we should be bearing should help us see things in a new light. While we have been saved by grace, that grace isn’t a license to sow weeds in our lives. Christ’s death and resurrection was His conquering death and therefore sin’s hold on us. When we use His grace as an excuse to keep on sinning we are in essence mocking His death.
We need to ask ourselves why we are so eager to sin all the time. What is it about sin that satisfies us more than the Lord and why are we more satisfied with those things than we are with Him? The world around us is so consumed with immediate gratification it becomes easy to allow that thinking to trickle into our spiritual lives. We want what feels right at the moment and what will bring us the quickest satisfaction and often that includes sin.
Our sins are not all like those in the list from a few days ago, in fact one of the sins which can so easily sneak into our lives is the sin of doubting God’s goodness in His timing and provision. We want things when we want them and we want what we want. We don’t concern ourselves with if these are the things the Lord wants for us as much as what we want for our lives.
That is why today’s key verse is so important. We need to see our sinful nature as dead with Christ. We can’t be thinking it is OK to continue living as our old nature when we are brand new in Him. This is why we must embrace His grace for the gift it is, not as a “get out of hell free card” but as a reason to embrace what it means to be living the life which reflects His sacrifice for us.
Jesus put aside all He was used to as the Prince of Heaven to come to be the sacrifice for our sins, how can we think it is asking too much for us to forsake the sins which break His heart? Maybe that is why we don’t view our sin as the horrible thing it is, we are so busy thinking about how much we like it that we don’t stop to think what our sin means to Him. The truth is when we choose sin over righteousness, we are choosing self over our Savior, death over life.
Making It Personal
How do you relate to grace? Do you favor self more than Christ? What does His death mean to you?
Making It Personal Kids
What do you think grace means? Do you like that Jesus gives you grace? Do you take advantage of His love for you instead of obeying Him?
Closing Prayer
Father, we take Your grace for granted way too often. Please give us the conviction in our heart we need to hate our sin as much as You do. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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