Romans 6:11-16 – Still the Servants of Sin?

Romans 6:11-16
11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

-Freedom is perhaps the most basic of human rights.  Did you know that in certain countries it is not illegal to attempt an escape from prison because the law recognizes that freedom is so basic to human nature?  Yet when it comes to the most important matters, spiritual matters, many of us continually choose to remain in bondage.  Our chains have been torn asunder by the victory of Jesus Christ.  If you’ve been saved then you have been set free and even if you are not saved, you are free to come to Jesus even now.  So why do we live our lives as if we are still bound?  “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1)

John 3:16-18 – He That Believeth on Him is Not Condemned

John 3:16-18
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

-The question is often asked, “How could a loving God send people to Hell?”  As the Lord reminds us here in John 3, we are all already under condemnation and on the way to Hell.  The Lord wanted to keep us from that fate so badly that He sent His own Son to take our place.  Consider that evidence of how committed the Lord is to keep us from Hell.  As we learn in 2 Peter 3:9, the Lord is “not willing that any should perish.”  Not once do we find in scripture where the Lord says, “I hope you don’t get in, you belong in Hell” but instead, He left us with 66 books saying, “whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”  (Revelation 22:17)

Psalm 12:6 – Pure Words of the Lord

Psalm 12:6
6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times

Psalm 119:103
103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

-Oh to have a mouth like the Lord!  A mouth free of lies, free of spite, free of foul language.  When the Lord speaks, you can count on righteousness to proceed forth.  You can expect wisdom and instruction and edification.  How unlike the lowly human race?  Our “tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” (James 3:8)  Have your words ever cut like a knife?  Have you ever said something that you regret?  The Lord can forgive and cleanse us from those indiscretions.  We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13) and that means there is no reason why we cannot have pure and honey-sweet words of our own.

Matthew 8:5-10,13 – Will He Find Faith?

Matthew 8:5-10,13
5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

-Like a precious gem, the rarer faith becomes, the more valuable it becomes.  Think about the question Jesus asks in Luke 18:8, “when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”  The question almost sounds as if the answer is still undecided, which of course is not the case, for the Lord will always reserve unto Himself a faithful remnant. (1 Kings 19:18) The reason Jesus’ question sounds as if the answer is undecided is that the question should be taken personally.  He is asking each of us when He comes, will He find faith in us?

Jeremiah 23:30-32 – False Prophets

Jeremiah 23:30-32
30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my words every one from his neighbour.
31 Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say, He saith.
32 Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord.

Jeremiah 29:11
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

-The world is full of those who will do or say anything to bring hardship and even destruction to their neighbors; sometimes because they are hurtful, but oftentimes because they are just selfish.  They lead millions astray every day with lies and fanciful visions and they tell all those lies under the pretense of ‘religion.’  It is important to realize this so that we can be prepared to defend against it.  The Bible warns us to “believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1) It is also important to recognize that the Lord does not commission or condone those who would use His holy name to do you harm.  The Lord is not looking to confuse you or trick you when it comes to trusting in Him. (1 Corinthians 14:33) His thoughts toward us are ones of peace and not evil. (Jeremiah 29:11)

Psalm 62:1-8 – Not Be Moved

Psalm 62:1-8
1 Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.
2 He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.
3 How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? ye shall be slain all of you: as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence.
4 They only consult to cast him down from his excellency: they delight in lies: they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah.
5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.
7 In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.
8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah

-Do you see the progression of David’s faith here?  In verses 1 and 2, he declares his confidence in the Lord and decides that his problems may move him, but they won’t move him greatly.  He starts thinking more about his situation in verses 3 and 4 but by verses 5 and 6 he is dwelling on how great and high the Lord is, and his confidence peaks.  Where once he was resigned that his problems may affect him slightly, now he is certain that they won’t move him at all.  His problems didn’t change, the only difference was a firm grasp on the fact that the Lord is a defense from all trouble.  The next time you feel like telling God how big your problems are, don’t forget to tell your problems how big your God is.

2 Peter 1:16 – Not Fables

2 Peter 1:16
16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

-From the beginning, the early Church leaders were careful that the message of Jesus Christ was delivered in its pure form.  That means not mixed with human wisdom, not mixed with interpretation, limited to that which they saw Jesus do and heard Jesus say, and were urged by the Holy Spirit to record.  If you’ve ever played the game where you pass a message through a can and string, you’ll understand why this is so important.  Just as the message passed along the can and string changes slowly until someone ends up with a completely different message, so too can the Word of God be changed by introducing a new idea here, an allegory there, until someone ends up with a completely different message.  Some of us may have grown up with a diluted Word and may have still heard enough truth to get saved, but what happens to that generation that inherits more falsehood than truth?  Keep God’s word clean and pure because His Word is the only thing that He said would accomplish that which He pleases. (Isaiah 55:11) He never made such a promise about anyone else’s word.

Proverbs 16:7 – Please the Lord

Proverbs 16:7
7 When a man’s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

-To what lengths will we go to impress people and make them like us?  We tailor our personality to be approachable to others and tailor our appearance to be likable by others.  I wouldn’t judge anyone for that, I do the same things, but I wonder if we put nearly as much time and effort into impressing God and making sure He likes us?  We try to win favor with those around us while forgetting that the heart of every person is in the Lord’s hands.  He can make a person like us or He can stir up a person’s wrath against us.  If we seek first the Lord and His Righteousness, He can easily give us favor with everyone we meet.

Isaiah 52:3 – Redeemed Without Money

Isaiah 52:3
3 For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.

-If we were separated from God due to a certain financial debt, the remedy would be easy; simply get together enough money to pay off the debt.  While it is debatable whether or not any of us could actually get enough money together, still the solution would be straightforward.  But the Bible tells us that we were not sold for money, but rather we sold ourselves because of our sins (Isaiah 50:1).  How do you buy back something that was sold for sin?  We know that money won’t work because we just read in Isaiah 52:3 that money would not be involved.  Hebrews 10:4 tells us that “it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins”, so that’s not going to help the situation.  But, 1 Peter 3:18 teaches that “Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God”, and from there we learn the nature of the transaction that had to occur, “the just for the unjust.”  The only way to buy back the sinful is with the sinless and that is why Christ had to suffer. Since “there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not” (Ecclesiastes 7:20), “the Holy One and the Just” (Acts 3:14) had to come from Heaven.  

Isaiah 7:14-15 – The Savior’s Humanity

Isaiah 7:14-15
14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 
15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.

Hebrews 5:8-9
8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

-During His time on the earth, Jesus experienced the worst aspects of the human condition.  He was betrayed, hated, beaten, and ultimately crucified.  What do these things have in common?  They are all things that would be completely foreign to Almighty God.  God could certainly have knowledge of them, but to really experience torment, trauma, temptation, and the taste of death takes a human mind and heart.  That’s what Jesus did for us.  He took on humanity and all of the frailties that come along with it so that He might live the sinless obedient life that was necessary to fulfill the law and please God.  “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).  But, He does more than just pay for our sins, He also provides real help and companionship during life’s journey.  “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).  “For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to [help] them that are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18).