Good Morning Friends,
“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on
sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we
live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into
Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through
baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Romans 6:1-4)
Some of the Romans had a wrong idea. They
were unconcerned about the sin in their lives. Even after coming to Christ,
they continued to sin without any concern. Some even thought that sin was a
good thing. The more they sinned, the more God had the opportunity to exercise
His grace. Since grace was such a good thing, it would be a good thing to sin
more and let God’s grace be even more evident.
That idea was such a concern to Paul that he mentions
it twice in Romans 6. First, he mentions it in verse one and answers in a clear
and direct way, “By no means!” The King James catches the force of Paul’s
answer in its translation, “God forbid!” The question is repeated in verse 15, “What
then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?” And the
answer is repeated, too: “By no means!”
Grace isn’t intended to provide a license for
us to sin. And, certainly, grace is not intended to encourage sin. In fact,
quite the opposite is true: through grace, God provides release from the power
of sin and His indwelling power to say “no” to sin.
Our baptism provides a good illustration of what
grace has provided for us. It pictures our death to sin and its guilt and
consequences and our resurrection to a new life that is empowered by God’s Holy
Spirit.
The changes God makes in our lives when we
enter a relationship with Him are not immediate and are never complete, not in
this world. But a process begins from the very moment we enter this new relationship
by faith through grace. God begins to change us. It’s like starting all over
again with a new life.
Don’t be content to keep living in the
patterns of your old life. Recognize the power that is available for change.
His, by Grace,
Steve
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