What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore/Because of this, we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in the newness of live. (Romans 6:1-4)
Many Christians live as “Inbetweeners”; they live between Egypt and Canaan, saved but never satisfied, living in between the cross on Good Friday, and the Resurrection Easter morning. Believing in the cross but not entering the power and glory the resurrection of Christ brings. Our union with Christ assures our future eternal salvation and our own resurrection after we die. But verse 4 teaches that we even share Christ’s resurrection power today. In Christ we have eternal life even though we are not yet living in eternity.
Sin is a terrible task master, looking for a willing servant in the human body. The body is not sinful; the body is neutral. It can be controlled either by sin or by God. A person’s fallen nature which is not changed at conversion, gives sin its arena from which it can attack us at will and trying to destroy our faith and lead us away from God.
The tendencies to presume in or even abuse God’s grace on one hand and ignore human responsibility on the other continues to be at the heart of our struggles to grow spiritually. By reading Romans chapter’s 6, 7, and 8, point to us that victory over the flesh, liberty to walk in the newness of life, and security of being sanctified in the Word of God, are all found in Jesus Christ, and what He has already done for us and not in anything we can do to earn it ourselves.
Trusting in Christ is an act of the will based on what He has done for us. It is an intellectual act, of both mind and body as completely His, not an impulsive decision nor based on an emotional level without counting the cost. We yield ourselves to God because of His grace and not by the law of performance on our part. We must not insist on always being right, but rather live righteously. Today, true Christians are walking according to the Spirit of God, abiding in His love and fulfilling His will for their lives by simply surrendering to God daily their life and their will so that Christ can be glorified in their daily walk with Him.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You have blessed me beyond measure with Your great love by giving us Your mercy and grace. Help me to live in the fullness of the Holy Spirit’s power freely given to those who fully surrender their hearts to You. And help me to be the same to others, use me to be a blessing, just as I have been blessed by You. In Your name I pray, Amen.
