Law of Sin or Law of God

This morning I am continuing my study of the word “body” and was brought to Romans 7. Paul is writing on the law and sin and I am struck by it as he writes in verse 7.

“⁷What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’” – Romans 7:7 (ESV)

It is true that I would not know that sin was even a thing if it had not been pointed out to me. I would have just been able to continue through through this world doing whatever I wanted, as would you, with no thought as to consequences or that anything was even wrong or “wrong”.

But, I was introduced to sin being sin. The LORD gave us the commandments to identify the basic sins and that they should be avoided in this world. As it was introduced, I now know and there is where the struggle lies, knowing and having to avoid, or not.

But Paul points out that there is a way to avoid sin and that is to live a life under God. And we can look at it this way, there is the law of God and the law of sin. The law of God is good and that is what is found in my inner self. This law of sin is of the flesh, or the body, the outer self.

“¹⁸For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. ¹⁹For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. ²⁰Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.” – Romans 7:18-20 (ESV)

Notice the words of Paul. Sin is a part of the flesh, the body. It is the law of God where we should want to do things and that is found in our inner self, not the body.

“²¹So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. ²²For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,” – Romans 7:21-22 (ESV)

I have to remember to do what is in the inner self and avoid that which is found in the body, sin. I have to rely on the one who can keep me from the sin and that is the LORD, in all of His greatness. I have obey the law of God.

“²⁵Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” – Romans 7:25 (ESV)

What are your views as relates to the law of God and the law of sin? Are you following the body into sin as you are now aware? What if you were to look to your inner self, away from the body and into the law of God as He delivers you from sin?

Sin and the Mortal Body

It is easy to speak of sin and the body when we are speaking metaphorically. Jesus died so that my sins have been atoned. This gives me the sense that I can still sin and that is okay as that sin has already been taken care of by Jesus. Well, I am writing this morning to declare that not to be the case.

“¹²Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. ¹³Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.” – Romans 6:12-13 (ESV)

Yes, my sin has been atoned through the death and resurrection of Jesus in my place. Yes, even if/when I sin, those have also already been forgiven. Still, that does not give me carte blanche to just go around sinning without consequence. I am still responsible for following the teaching of God and the example of Jesus. I still have to work to avoid sin. As Paul notes above that we should “not present your member to sin”, I have to remember not o subject my mortal body to sin.

I am not immune to consequences. When I do wrong, I am still responsible to pay for those wrongs. Just as in this world, when I break the law of man, I pay the price for the breaking of that law. With sin it is the same. If I subject myself to committing of sin, I am forgiven for that sin thanks to the blood of Christ, yet I am still responsible for the punishment that comes with the committing of that sin. When I lie and get caught, I am forgiven for lying, yet I am held to the truth as a consequence.

The best approach, as Paul indicates I to not subject myself to sin. I have to work to avoid the conscious committing of sin. I have to stay away, where I can, from sin, and subject myself to righteousness. My writing in the mornings is an example of me avoiding sin and subjecting myself to God and His will in my life. I am filling myself with the study of His Word and as a result am more easily able to avoid the temptations of sin that are all around.

It is great to be a follower of Christ and saved by His grace and free from the burden of sin. I am so relieved to know that my sins, past, present, and future are forgiven. This relief of sin allows me to progress forward, knowing that whatever I do, I am loved and accepted by God into His kingdom. Yet, I have to still do my part and work to avoid sin where I can. I have to remember to not subject myself to the consequences of sin where I am aware. I have to fill myself and my body with the Word, work, and will of God so that sin is rooted out.

What is your approach to sin? Are you progressing as though you have carte blanche to do as you please? What if you worked to avoid sin and instead filled yourself with the Word, work and will of God?

Body of Sin Dies

I am a sinner and that is as true today as it was before I accepted Christ as my Savior. I will continue sinning for the rest of my mortal life. I cannot escape sin as I am surrounded by it and the evil one continues to bombard me with the temptations of sin at every instance. Yet, even that I am a sinner, I have experienced the death of sin with Christ.

“⁶We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” – Romans 6:6 (ESV)

With my acceptance of Christ as my Savior, I have experience death with my old body and have a new self filled with Christ. Sin is the thing that died in my body. I was given new life where I know of the sin that was holding me back and I have a path forward to stay away from that sin and experience life with Christ that is new and full of redemption.

Notice that I have not and will not claim that sin is gone. I am, as noted in my first sentence here, a sinner. I will always be subject to sin, and the evil one will continue attacking me with temptations of sin. The thing is, I now have my eyes open to the sin and have the Holy Spirit with me to guide me from the sin that is presented. I have a path out away from the sin. All I have to do is keep my eyes fixed on Jesus and where I will still be attacked by sin, I have the way to pass right by it.

I have to remember that the way out is through and that way through is with focus on Christ who took my sin upon Himself to make my way easier. Jesus took the road of death for me so that I would not have to take it myself. I am still subject to the sin all around me, yet I have the way through it with my eyes fixed on Him. My body of sin was washed clean and given the newness that was only available from Christ who took on my sin to give me freedom from it.

What is in your body? Are you allowing the sin in your life to rule over you? What if you accepted Christ as your Savior, allowed your body of sin to die, and were to focus on Jesus to allow yourself to go through the sin even as it fully surrounds you?

Freedom to Serve

“¹For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery…¹³For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” — Galatians 5:1&13 (ESV)

This morning I am brought back to a passage I have been to many times. I have a number of notes in the margin and yet, I am still getting more and more each time I come to the Word of God.

God freed us from the yoke of sin with the death and resurrection of Jesus on the cross. This freedom is not from any persecution, it is freedom from death due to my sin. This freedom has provided me the opportunity to serve God without fear of what comes in this world. I have to remember to follow the freedom as it was intended and not use it for my own license to sin. I have to use this freedom to spring me into action for the Lord and not for my own gain. That action for the Lord is rooted in serving Him by way of serving others.

What are you doing with your freedom? Are you using it as some excuse to do what you want? What if you were to embrace your freedom in God and use that freedom to serve Him through your service of others?

The World is Waiting for the Freedom of Christians

I know that this is quite the statement from me. But it is not from me at all, I have gathered this from the passage I read this morning in Romans. Paul writes about future glory in Romans 8 and part of that future glory is freedom for creation.

“¹⁹For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope ²¹that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” — Romans 8:19-21 (ESV)

You see, right there in verse 19 Paul writes of the eager waiting by creation. And as you read further, you can see the waiting for the freedom that is experienced by the “children of God”.

Creation, the world itself, has been subjected to evil since Adam and Eve ate from the fruit in disobedience of God. Yes, the world is subjected to evil and has to wait for God’s redemption for the world to be relieved of the evil. That redemption of the world will be fully realized with the rapture and God’s win in the war with evil. So until that day, the world or creation will be waiting for the freedom that I have as a result of the gift of grace and salvation I have accepted from the LORD.

Yes I have freedom and yet the world does not. That is evident by simply watching the state of the world today and each day as we move forward. There is social upheaval, wars over ideologies, displays of “power” through authoritarian regimes, and just bad stuff happening all over. I have the ability to walk away from the evil and find solace in the family of God, as do the rest of my fellow Christians. The world does not have that ability and is subject to all that goes on in and around it.

The world waits on for the freedom of salvation. I can only do my part to bring the gift of the gospel and what salvation imparts to others. I present the gospel and allow others the opportunity to accept the free gift and experience the freedom that comes with it for themselves. Yet, the world must wait on the LORD to establish His freedom in the world as the world is not able to accept the freedom for itself.

What does freedom look like in you? What about your world, is freedom part of everywhere you go? What if you continued to do your part and brought the gospel to all persons and allowed them to accept, knowing that creation, or the world will not experience freedom until that day with Christ comes again?

Jesus’ Death and God’s Forgiveness, Once is Enough

It may sound a bit difficult to believe and after my writings to and understanding to continually ask for and seek out forgiveness from the LORD, but once is all it took for it all to take. Jesus’ death on the cross and God’s subsequent forgiveness of our sins only needed to happen once for the benefit to be realized.

“¹⁴For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified…¹⁷then he adds, ‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’ ¹⁸Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.” — Hebrews 10:14 & 17-18 (ESV)

Here in Hebrews the writer reminds us of what I wrote above. The Jesus died and gave Himself as an offering of sacrifice for our sins and God recognized that sacrifice and forgave us. This one act took the place of all other sacrifices for sin that had, were, or will be offered. There is no longer the need for sacrifice for my sin as that has already been done and accepted.

But, that does not mean that I am without sin any longer. This is where the continued need for forgiveness comes in. Even with the one sacrifice and forgiveness event for my sins, I am still a sinner and in need of forgiveness. I have to recognize my sin and repent of it to the LORD in acknowledgment of His grace and salvation. I have to know that now that I have accepted grace and salvation from the LORD, I will not be plucked from His loving arms, I also have to remain humble and know that I will continue to sin and need His love each day.

Once was certainly enough for my salvation. I still need to present myself daily to the LORD on my knees in reverence of what He has given to me and ask that it continue as I will always be in need.

What process are you following for forgiveness? Are you continuing to offer sacrifice in belief that the next one will do it for the foreseeable future? What if you accepted that Jesus’ death and God’s Forgiveness was enough in the one instance and that we still need to present ourselves to Him recognizing that we are always in need?

Forgiveness, Continued Please

This morning I was brought to Hebrews and the passage titled, “Redemption Through the Blood of Christ”. Where I am thankful for the passage, I felt compelled to simply ask for continued forgiveness this morning.

As I sit here in Texas, USA, I am afforded freedom and protection (presumably) from other world actors and entities. I am up this morning reading God’s Word and blogging here without immediate fear of persecution. I am, thanks to the shed blood of Christ, have been forgiven of my sins from yesterday and of those I have yet to commit. I am a part of the family of God and know that I will not be plucked from His hand.

All of the above said, I am asking this morning for continued forgiveness and protection in this world that seems to be falling apart as we watch. Regardless of what is going on in this world, my world is protected by God, thanks to the grace and salvation that was offered by God and that I accepted to join Him in glory. And even with the grace and salvation acceptance, I still continue to ask for forgiveness as one time just is not enough in my heart to make things right with God (even though from His perspective it most certainly is enough).

You see, I know that we are in a difficult time and there are a lot of forces drawing us into the evil that is in the world. I am not going to blame anyone or any others for the position we are in, I will only apologize and ask for forgiveness and mercy from the LORD for me and His people as He is who is in control of all events and knows the outcome even now as things escalate. God is the only one who will save His people, and He will do just that, as our role is to give it to Him to do so and then do as we are asked as a part of His plan.

Our Father, thank you for your provision and blessings in our lives. Forgive me for where I have failed you and where I continue to fail you. Please have you hand of grace over your people and guide us as to where you would have us in your great plan, as it is your plan and we are here to do your will as pertains to that plan. I ask this in your name and glory, Amen.

What is your view of your standing in this world? Have you been forgiven? What if you ask for continued forgiveness, grace, and salvation and maintained your pledge to do the will of God?

Just Thanks for Forgiveness

This morning I only wish to say Thank You for the forgiveness that has been provided to me. And that thank you is directed to God the Father in heaven.

“¹³He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” — Colossians 1:13-14 (ESV)

There is not much to my thoughts, only the deep heartfelt thanks for the forgiveness of my sins that I have committed and will continue to commit. In fact, just this morning I confessed of a sin that I slipped into yesterday. I have struggled with this sin in my life and due to idleness, I allowed the evil one to draw me back in. I have no excuse for slipping, it was fully in my control and I allowed it to happen. Even in that slip, I know that my acknowledgment and repentance this morning leads to my forgiveness.

I am so glad that even in the disappointment with my sin, the LORD still forgives me. He loves me and knows that I am a sinner and will slip from time to time. What He is looking for from me is the acknowledgment that I have sinned and show repentance to be forgiven. At that repentance, from the heart, I will be forgiven. And, then the next step is to work to not sin again.

Thank you Father for the forgiveness that you heap upon me daily in my failures. I am ever grateful for your love and understanding of my sinfulness. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

What approach do you have as relates to your sin? Are you repentant of your sins? What if you were and were also thankful to the Father for the forgiveness of those sins?

Praise God for His Forgiveness

“³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,…⁷In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,” — Ephesians 1:3&7 (ESV)

Paul, writing to the churches around Ephesus, praises God and tells them why he praises Him. There is more to it than just the couple of verses I have quoted above, yet the message is clear in just these two. Praise God as He forgives us for the sins in our lives that we have repented, and that only comes from His grace which He freely gives to you and me.

I think that it is too often that when something good comes of our situations, we are relieved and then we move on to the next and experience the more difficulty and that leads to even more anxiety in our lives. It seems as though there is not always the acknowledgment of the relieving of the difficulty, not to mention where that relief comes from.

I believe that the relief comes from the grace of God in those times when we have repented of the sin in our lives and allow Him to do the work He does as we do the work we are tasked with doing for Him. I look to my own life and recent events where I have experienced the relief. I continue to pray daily praising God for His glory and the provisions and blessing in my life. No, I have not been made rich in monetary means, but I am rich in love. I daily repent for the sins I know I have committed and even those that I may not be cognizant of that have impacted the Him. I ask Him for forgiveness for the sins I will commit, and then again for those I did, all the while raising Him up.

In my life I have recently been promoted to a new position and found additional relief in other areas of my life and relationships, to which I know only came from the relationship I have with God and His continued provision and blessing on my life. I praise Him for it all and will continue to praise Him for who He is not what He does. I continue to ask for forgiveness even when I know that He already has forgiven me. I praise Him for that forgiveness and continue to ask for more, knowing that it is only He who provides and blesses and it is due to the relationship, acknowledgment of sin, repentance of sin, thanksgiving to Him for it all.

Without forgiveness, there would be no provision or blessing from God. Yes, there may still be prosper in certain aspects of life, financial or status and the like, but it is short lived and that leave one continually searching for that prosper. Without forgiveness, we are slaves to the next thing and not able to move forward with praise and thanksgiving.

Paul gives the example to you and me that we are to praise God for the provision and blessings in our lives thanks to our repentance of sin and His forgiveness, grace, and salvation that he pours out on us freely and in abundance.

What is your approach when you have found relief in your life? Are you praising God for the relief? What if you praise God for the forgiveness of your sins and praised Him for the relief as a result and then asked for more forgiveness through repentance?

Forgiveness for All

This morning I continue in the book of Acts in my study of “forgiveness”. I am in chapter 10 at the passage titled in my bible, “Gentiles Hear the Good News”. I am drawn to this passage and title as I feel as though Peter is speaking directly to me as a Gentile.

“³⁴So Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, ³⁵but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.’” — Acts 10:34-35 (ESV)

What a great opening to the passage. God is for all who acceptably do what is right and within His will. Peter makes it known right away that the gospel, grace, and salvation are for everyone and not just a select few. It is only required to repent, be forgiven, be baptized to be accepted into the family of God.

It seems like a simple thing, and it is. There are other parts that may make it more difficult, yet once one has been accepted into the family of God through forgiveness of sin, those more difficult things would become much less daunting. The prospects of contentment are solidified through the knowing that God will care for all of our needs and the rest just gets in the way or can be used for His glory. Take the instance of the young rich man who rejected Jesus as he could not part with all of his riches to follow Jesus (Matthew 19:16-22). As he was looking at only the physical, he missed out on the opportunity to enjoy and be a part of the family of God. He was not excluded based on God, but based on his own. He was not willing to do what was acceptably right in the eyes of God. It was his actions, or lack of actions.

I have to remember that ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). And that is not just those who are “bad” but every one of us. Knowing that I have a better view of the words of Peter here at the end of the passage in Acts.

“⁴³To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” — Acts 10:43 (ESV)

“Everyone” is afforded the opportunity for the forgiveness of sins. The pathway is clear and is noted continually throughout God’s Word. Grace and salvation is for ALL who, repent, are forgiven, are baptized to demonstrate the new, clean self, and then going to do the work of God wherever He asks you to go.

What do you know of those who are or have the opportunity for salvation? Are you of the opinion that only certain people are afforded the opportunity? What if you instead took the approach that ALL have the opportunity for grace and salvation through repentance, forgiveness, and baptism?