The Evidence of a Transformed Life

25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. – Ephesians 4:25-32 ESV

What does it look like to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Ephesians 4:1 ESV)? And what would it mean to “no longer walk as the Gentiles do” (Ephesians 4:17 ESV)? Paul doesn’t leave anything up to our imaginations.

Before coming to know Christ, we had futile minds and a darkened understanding, but all that has changed. We used to be alienated from God and were ignorant of godly things because we had hardened hearts. We were callous, sensual by nature, and greedy for more impurity. That was our old self, but when we came to know Christ, we were given a new nature, a new self, with the capacity to renew and redeem our entire way of thinking. And the way we think has a tremendous impact on the way we live. That is why Paul encouraged his readers to “put on the new self, created in the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24 ESV). Then he described what that should look like in real life.

One of the first characteristics of our new life should be truthfulness. Everything about our life prior to coming to Christ was marked by falsehood and based on lies. Our view of God, if we had one, was false. Our perspective on sin and any need for salvation was flawed and influenced by the lies of Satan. Our perspective of reality was wrong, and our perception of ourselves was faulty, causing us to believe we were good rather than bad. Our view of our own sinfulness was relative, allowing us to see ourselves as somewhat better than others.

But when we came to know Christ, we were suddenly exposed to the truth regarding our sin and the condemnation we deserved. We realized, for the first time, that any hope we had of being restored to a right relationship with God was only possible through Christ. We became aware that we were sinners in need of a Savior and came to grips with the reality of God’s unapproachable holiness and our own unrighteousness. The magnitude of God’s incredible love as revealed through the death of His Son on the cross dawned on our darkened minds and opened our blind eyes to the truth of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

As believers, we are to put away falsehood and deceit. We have to constantly eliminate the false ideas and faulty precepts on which we formerly based our lives. Instead, each of us is to “speak the truth with his neighbor” (Ephesians 4:25 ESV). While lying was a natural part of our former lives, it is uncharacteristic of our new status as members of God’s family. We are to exhibit holiness and righteousness. For us, honesty isn’t just the best policy; it is the only one.

While anger was a normal part of our pre-conversion nature, now we should view it as dangerous and destructive. We can’t completely eliminate anger in this life, but with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can learn to control it. Which is why Paul quoted a Psalm of David.

Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. – Psalm 4:4 ESV

And Paul added a reminder that unresolved anger is how the enemy gets a foothold in our lives. 

…and give no opportunity to the devil. – Ephesians 4;27 ESV

Our old nature will try to justify our anger and defend it by labeling it as “righteous indignation.” But anger simply provides an entry point for the enemy. As believers, love is to be the primary characteristic of our lives. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave His audience a primer on love, hate, and anger.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” – Matthew 5:44-48 ESV

Salvation is not just about having our sins forgiven and our eternity secured. It is about life change. It includes our ongoing transformation through God’s divine process of sanctification. God doesn’t just free us from the penalty of sin; He liberates us from its power over our lives, allowing us to live radically different lives in the here and now, not just the hereafter. As a result, the thief who comes to faith in Christ is to stop stealing and work for a living. Rather than taking from others, he is to share what he earns with those in need. His whole mindset about life is to change.

As believers, our speech should reflect our new nature. Paul writes, “Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them” (Ephesians 4:29 NLT). Again, notice the change in perspective. It is other-oriented, rather than self-obsessed. Our words are to build up, not tear down; they should comfort and encourage as we speak the truth in love. 

As believers, our conduct can grieve the Holy Spirit. When we live as we used to, according to our old nature, we reject the Holy Spirit’s direction for our lives, and this brings Him great sorrow. When bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander mark our lives, it is evidence that we are not living in the power of the Holy Spirit. These are what Paul calls “the works of the flesh” (Galatians 5:19 ESV). They are the fruit of our old nature.

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. – Galatians 5:19-21 NLT

But when we exhibit kindness, tenderness, and forgiveness to one another, it proves that the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives, producing His fruit through us. It gives evidence that we are walking in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called. We are living in unity. We are being renewed and putting on our new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness, for the good of the body of Christ and the glory of God. 

Father, You are all about life change, from the inside out. Your Son didn’t sacrifice His life just so we could have a sin-free eternity. He also didn’t shed His blood so we could have our best life now, free sorrow, sin, and suffering. In fact, He told us, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NLT). Eternal life is a wonderful thing and I am looking forward to it, but Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10 ESV). That abundant life is not just a promise of eternal life; it is the guarantee of a radically different life even as we live in this fallen world. That seems to be what Paul is talking about in these verses. But, too often, we allow our old way of living to take precedence, causing us to respond with lies, anger, harsh words, and other “works of the flesh.” But Your Son’s offer of abundant life began the moment I placed my faith in Him. He placed His Spirit within me and equipped me with everything I need for living a godly life, right here, right now. I am Your child and my actions should prove it. I have been saved, but I am also being sanctified and my life should be living proof, I am a work in process and I am certain that You, who began the good work within me, will continue Your work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns (Philippians 1:6). Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

If Not For God

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:1-10 ESV

But God…

Those two little words contain so much power and hold the key to the hopes of all mankind. In these verses, Paul expounds on the incredible gift of grace that made possible man’s redemption from hopeless enslavement to sin and his restoration to a right relationship with God. But the grace of God can be so overlooked and underappreciated.

Most people who believe in God foster the delusion that they somehow deserve His grace. While they are willing to admit that they are far from perfect, they take pride in the fact that they aren’t as bad as some other people. They somehow believe that God grades on the curve. But those kinds of thoughts are a reflection of either an over-inflated sense of self-worth or a very poor memory. 

Even those of us who have placed our faith in Christ can suffer from memory lapses, conveniently forgetting our pre-salvation condition. Time has a way of sanitizing our memories and whitewashing our minds, eliminating any traces of our life before Christ.

But Paul was determined to remind believers of their past, not to demoralize or shame them, but to help them understand the glory of God’s grace. He wanted them to understand that their salvation was entirely undeserved and the result of God’s unmerited favor and love, and he used stark imagery to make his point.

And you were dead… – Ephesians 2:1 ESV

Whether they realized it or not, that was their pre-conversion state: dead, lifeless, helpless, and hopeless. God didn’t look down and see some who were better than others. He didn’t choose the more worthy ones. The Book of Genesis records God’s assessment of mankind not long after the fall.

The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. – Genesis 6:5 NLT

David made a similar evaluation of humanity’s condition.

The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man,
    to see if there are any who understand,
    who seek after God.

They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
    there is none who does good,
    not even one. – Psalm 14:2-3 ESV

And in his letter to the believers in Rome, Paul stated, “Everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23 NLT). Jews, Gentiles, rich, poor, males, females, slaves, and freemen are all dead, and dead men are incapable of doing anything to change their condition. But Paul went on to write, “Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight” (Romans 3:23 NLT). That is the good news. All men, apart from God, are spiritually dead and headed to an eternity separated from God, which is the definition of spiritual death.

This death metaphor was very popular with Paul. He wrote the very same thing in his letter to the Colossians.

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses… – Colossians 2:13 ESV

In the next part of chapter two, Paul reminded the Ephesians that before coming to faith in Christ, they had “no hope and without God in the world…” (Ephesians 2:12 ESV). But why would Paul use such demoralizing language, and what was the explanation he gave for declaring them spiritually dead and hopeless? It was because of disobedience and many sins. They had been following the course of this world, living according to its rules and obeying the commands of its prince, Satan himself. That’s a sobering and unflattering assessment of every believer’s pre-conversion condition and is difficult to accept. But that is the truth, whether we like it or not.

Just to make sure his audience fully got his point, Paul bluntly told them they were once sons of disobedience, enslaved to their desires and passions and controlled by their sinful natures.

All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. – Ephesians 2:3 NLT

None of them were righteous, not one. All were separated from God because of their sins, and each deserved death; not a pretty picture. But Paul has good news. 

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ… – Ephesians 2:4-5 ESV

When we read Paul’s description of our condition prior to coming to faith in Christ, our natural response is to say, “But I didn’t…”, “But I wasn’t…”, or “But how could You?” We want to justify ourselves or explain that we weren’t that bad. Yet the painful reality is that, unless God had intervened, we would have remained just as we were: Dead. But the good news is that God stepped in. He did what we could never have done on our own. In His mercy and grace, He “showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8 NLT).

Two times in these verses, Paul emphatically states, “by grace you have been saved.” We were not saved based on our merits. God did not reward us with salvation because of our good deeds. We were not saved because we managed to meet God halfway, and He took it from there. We were saved despite our sinful condition. We were dead, and God gave us life through Jesus Christ. Not only that, God “raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6 ESV). Our salvation is so secure that Paul states that we already have a place reserved for us in Christ’s Kingdom. It is as if we are already there, and nothing can change that reality. Paul put it this way:

I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8"38-39 NLT

By grace we have been saved and sanctified, and by grace we will one day be glorified. It is all by grace.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. – Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV

No one can stand at the gates of heaven saying, “I deserve to be here!” No one can claim admittance based on their own effort or hard work. Just as it is impossible for a dead man to make himself alive, it is impossible for anyone to make themselves more holy. Having a quiet time does not make you more righteous. Praying does not make you more godly. Going to church will never make you more like Christ. These spiritual disciplines are simply the means God uses to accomplish His sanctifying work in us. In and of themselves, they are incapable of transforming us. More knowledge of Scripture can lead to pride. An attitude of prayerfulness can actually lead to pridefulness. But when God is at work within us, He can use anything and everything to accomplish His work in us.

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. – Ephesians 2:10 NLT

God has done great things, and He is far from done. One day, He will culminate His redemptive plan for our lives and finish what He began. All because of His matchless, marvelous grace. 

“But God…” That phrase should always be on our hearts and minds, constantly reminding us of our need for Him. Without Him, we were dead. With Him, we are alive. But God is not done yet. There is far more to come. And even though we struggle with trials, temptations, and difficulties in this life, we are loved by God, and He remains the source of all our hope and help.

Father, I could never repay You for all You have done for me, but I am grateful. The older I get, the more I realize my need for You and my hopeless condition without You. Yes, I still try to run my own life and make decisions without You, but I am quick to recognize the ignorance of my ways. I used to think I was somehow responsible for my sanctification; that I had to do my part. But I realize that, without You, I can do nothing. Any spiritual growth I have experienced in my life was Your doing, not mine. When I reflect on my faith journey, I can’t help but acknowledge Your grace and mercy. There were so many times I strayed and wandered, but You never let me go. I can’t count the many times I tried to take back control of my life, but You patiently put up with my stubbornness and stupidity. I have doubted You repeatedly, disappointed You regularly, and disobeyed You willingly, but You never stopped loving me. Thank You for all You have done and all that You are going to do. I am grateful. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Pursuit of Peace Over Personal Preference

13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. – Romans 14:13-23 ESV

Paul bookends this section with virtually the same words. He opens with “let us not pass judgment on one another” (Romans 14:13 ESV) and ends with “blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself” (Romans 14:22 ESV). The only difference is the one on whom the judgment is assessed.

We are not to judge each other, and our actions toward one another should give us no cause to judge ourselves. In both cases, the issue is about rights, and Paul used himself as an example. He declared that he had the right to eat whatever he wanted, because nothing was unclean for him. He had probably heard the story of the vision Peter received from God before Peter was sent to the home of Cornelius, a Roman army officer.

Peter went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon, and he was hungry. But while a meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners. In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds. Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.”

“No, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean.”

But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.” The same vision was repeated three times. – Acts 10:9-16 NLT

While this vision was meant to convey God’s approval of Gentiles receiving the gospel, it also conveyed a not-so-subtle message regarding Jewish dietary laws. With the coming of Jesus, a radical paradigm shift had taken place. The new was replacing the old. The law of Moses was being replaced with the law of liberty. Jesus put it this way:

“No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn’t even match the old garment.

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine must be stored in new wineskins. But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.” – Luke 5:36-39 NLT

Gentiles were now acceptable, and once-forbidden foods were no longer off-limits. Paul would also have been familiar with Jesus' teachings about dietary laws and defilement.

“It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.” – Mark 7:15 NLT

Jesus’ disciples had been confused by His words, so He provided clarification.

“Can’t you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes). – Mark 7:18-19 NLT

So Paul, even though he was a Jew, lived his life with a newfound freedom when it came to his eating habits. He no longer lived under the strict dietary restrictions associated with his Jewish heritage, but he was willing to give up his rights for the sake of a brother or sister in Christ. It all goes back to the “weaker” brother narrative in the opening verses of this chapter.

There will always be those in the church whose understanding of the life of faith is less developed. They will retain certain legalistic expectations, believing that what they do or don’t do earns them favor with God. In Paul’s day, both Jewish and Gentile believers brought their own list of restrictions to the table. There were converted Jews who still felt it necessary to maintain the dietary laws of their Jewish faith. There were also Gentile believers who felt convicted about eating meat that had been sacrificed to pagan idols.

Paul had to deal with this issue in the church in Corinth. He told them, “We all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God” (1 Corinthians 8:4 NLT). But he went on to say, “However, not all believers know this. Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated” (1 Corinthians 8:7 NLT).

Then Paul dealt with the real issue. “It’s true that we can’t win God’s approval by what we eat. We don’t lose anything if we don’t eat it, and we don’t gain anything if we do” (1 Corinthians 4:8 NLT). But for Paul, it all boiled down to the spiritual well-being of his brother or sister in Christ.

But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble. For if others see you—with your “superior knowledge”—eating in the temple of an idol, won’t they be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food that has been offered to an idol? So because of your superior knowledge, a weak believer for whom Christ died will be destroyed. And when you sin against other believers by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ. So if what I eat causes another believer to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live—for I don’t want to cause another believer to stumble. – Romans 4:9-13 NLT

While Paul understood that certain foods were perfectly fine for him to eat, he was not willing to demand his rights if doing so would cause a brother in Christ to sin against his conscience.

It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes a brother to stumble. – Romans 14:21 ESV

It is a wonderful thing to enjoy the freedom that comes with the life of faith. Our right standing with God is not based on adherence to a long list of prohibitions and restrictions. But there will always be those who don’t understand this truth and hold strong convictions about what they eat or don’t eat, what they can and can't wear, and even which activities they can participate in or abstain from.

For Paul, the final word on all of this concerned faith.

For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. – Romans 14:23 ESV

For the immature or weaker believer, conscience ends up playing a far greater role than necessary. Rather than enjoying the freedom that comes with knowing his standing before God is fully taken care of by the finished work of Christ, he ends up operating from his own inner sense of right and wrong. So if his conscience tells him that something is forbidden by God, to violate that belief would be sin. He becomes burdened with guilt for having done what he believed was against God's will.

Paul says, “Whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith” (Romans 14:23 ESV). So rather than the stronger believer wearing his or her rights like a badge of honor, they should love their weaker brother or sister in Christ, willingly setting aside their rights so that they might not cause a fellow believer to sin against their conscience.

We are always to build up, not tear down. We are to lovingly teach and instruct one another, not boastfully and arrogantly display our rights and flaunt our newfound freedoms in Christ. Peter summed it up well when he wrote, “Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8 NLT).

Father, rights are a wonderful thing until they cause pain and suffering for others. I enjoy all kinds of rights and freedoms in Christ, but I am never free to flaunt them in the face of others or use them to condemn those who remain enslaved to guilt-enducing sins. Paul understood the freedoms he enjoyed as a Christ-follower, but he never allowed those freedoms to create barriers or roadblocks for the lost or less mature believers. He was willing to sacrifice his rights so that others might embrace the law of liberty, the freedom found in a relationship with God based on grace, not merit. Defending our rights and protecting our freedoms can actually make us slaves to them. We end up making them the focus of our faith, rather than Christ. If we’re not careful, we can replace righteousness with rights and holiness with the pursuit of happiness. But dying to self is a big part of living for Christ. Help me to see the difference and to never allow my rights to become a pretext for sin Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

Eyes Wide Open

11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. – Romans 13:11-14 ESV

Earlier in his letter, Paul quoted Deuteronomy 29:4, which speaks of the nation of Israel’s spiritual stupor or slumber. Now, he issues a wake-up call to the believers in Rome, urging them to rub the sleep from their own eyes and recognize the urgency of the moment.

This is not the first time Paul has used this kind of language when writing to believers. He told the Corinthians, “Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame” (1 Corinthians 15:34 ESV). In essence, Paul was telling them that they should know better. Their relationship with God through Jesus Christ had provided them with a knowledge of God that should have dramatically altered their behavior.

Paul wrote something similar to the believers in Ephesus.

Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said,

“Awake, O sleeper,
    rise up from the dead,
    and Christ will give you light.” – Ephesians 5:11-14 NLT

There is a sense in which all believers can be lulled into a state of spiritual stupor or slumber, wandering around half-asleep and unaware of what is taking place around us. As believers, we have been called to live in alertness and awareness, with a keen eye on the times in which we live. The apostle Peter wrote, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:89 NLT). Paul challenged the Colossian believers, “Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart” (Colossians 4:2 NLT). Even Jesus Himself said, “So you, too, must keep watch! For you don't know what day your Lord is coming” (Matthew 24:42 NLT).

When Paul wrote the church in Thessalonica, he used very similar terminology.

For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation. – 1 Thessalonians 5:5-8 NLT

There is to be a radical difference in the way in which we conduct our lives on this planet. We are no longer to live as if we were half-asleep and incapable of recognizing the dangers around us. We have had our eyes opened by the gospel, and the truth has been exposed to us. We have no excuse for living as if we are still in the dark about the seriousness of sin or the expectations of God. He has called us to live holy lives, and He has provided His Holy Spirit to make it possible.

Paul says we are to “walk properly as in the daylight” (Romans 13:13 ESV). Those who live in the dark do so to hide their sins. Thieves operate in darkness, not daylight, using the cover of darkness to conceal their actions. But we have been exposed to the Light. Paul would have us remember that the light of Christ shines in us and through us.

For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. – 2 Corinthians 4:6-7 NLT

That is why he told the Roman believers to “cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Romans 13:12 ESV). There is something protective about living in the light; it illuminates our path, guides our way, and exposes dangers along the way. When light exists, darkness cannot coexist. Paul put it this way:

How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? – 2 Corinthians 6:14 NLT

But the danger we face is allowing the light in our lives to diminish. When we take our eyes off of Jesus and forget the promise of His return, we can become overwhelmed by the darkness of this world. We can also end up compromising our convictions and becoming a “friend of the world,” as James warned.

Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. – James 4:4 NLT

Paul repeatedly used the metaphor of darkness and light to illustrate the believer’s need for living a distinctive, set-apart life. 

Don’t participate in the things these people do. For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. – Ephesians 5:7-9 NLT

For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. – 1 Thessalonians 5:5-6 NLT

Salvation should result in sanctification, the ongoing transformation of the believer’s life into the likeness of Jesus, “the Light of the world” (John 8:12). And, as believers, we should constantly consider the promise that our sanctification will one day result in our glorification. We are to live with that end in mind. That is why Paul said, “For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11 ESV). This is a reference to the culminating act of God’s redemptive plan for His children, their glorification. This is what John meant when he wrote, “Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure” (1 John 3:2-3 NLT).

Our hope should be in the promise of our glorification when Christ returns, and we should live in anticipation of that day. Those who don’t know Christ live their lives as if this world is all there is. They remain unenlightened about the reality of eternity. They are asleep, unaware of the danger lurking ahead, and when they finally wake up, they will realize it is too late to respond to the gospel.

But as believers, we know better, and so we should live differently. We have already been issued our wake-up call. Now we are to live fully awake and alert to the dangers around us and the hope that lies ahead of us.

Father, we who once lived in darkness have been exposed to the light of life and have had our lives radically and irrevocably changed. We are Your sons and daughters, children of the light who no longer have to live in the darkness of sin and under the threat of death. We know the truth and it has set us free from condemnation and future judgment. Yet, we can still find ourselves wandering back into the darkness of this world, embracing its ability to cover up what Your Son came to expose. We sometimes find the darkness comforting because it keeps our sins hidden. But Your Son came so that our sins might be exposed and expunged. He said, “God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants” (John 3:19-21 NLT). Give us the strength and determination to seek the light rather than the darkness. Never let us grow complacent with sin and comfortable with the darkness in which it breeds and flourishes. Help us live as people of the light in this sin-darkened world so that others might  discover the Light of Life. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

The Solid Rock of Salvation

30 What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written,

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;
    and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”  – Romans 9:30-33 ESV

Righteousness can only be attained by faith. That has been and continues to be the crux of Paul’s argument in these verses. Paul’s Jewish brothers and sisters were having a difficult time letting go of their strong belief that getting right with God was based on their Hebrew ancestry and their ability to keep the Law given to them by God through Moses. But Paul presents a completely different set of facts.

He insists that the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have actually received it by faith. They did not know the Mosaic Law and wasted no time trying to keep it, and yet, they had been made right with God by placing their faith in His Son as their sin substitute. In contrast, the Jews, who were busy seeking righteousness through adherence to the law, never attained that righteousness. Why? Because they could not live up to God’s exacting standards, and He never expected them to.

The law was given to reveal their sin and expose their helplessness. It had been intended to wake them up to their need for a Savior. They could not make themselves right with God, so He sent someone who could do it for them: Jesus Christ, the Messiah. But they had to believe and repent. All along, they had been placing their faith in their own capacity to keep the law. When Jesus came onto the scene, He told them to repent or turn away from their false views of sin, God, and salvation, and accept Him as their Savior. However, as Paul states, “they stumbled over the stumbling stone” (Romans 9:32 ESV).

Paul was quoting from Isaiah 8, where God warns the northern kingdom of Israel of the coming invasion by the Assyrians. The people of Israel had a long history of unfaithfulness to God. They worshiped their man-made idols in temples they had erected in Dan and Bethel. But God was fed up and was bringing punishment on them in the form of the Assyrian army. But Isaiah warned them, “The Lord has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does” (Isaiah 8:11 NLT). He told them to stop fearing the Assyrians and to start fearing God, showing Him the reverence and respect He deserves.

“Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble. He will keep you safe. ” – Isaiah 8:13-14a NLT

They needed to see God as their only hope of salvation, not some foreign ally or themselves. But Isaiah went on to give them the bad news.

“…to Israel and Judah he will be a stone that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall.” – Isaiah 8:14b NLT

The God of Israel and Judah had seen enough and was prepared to pour out judgment against His ungrateful and unrepentant people. As the day of Israel’s destruction drew closer, the equally rebellious residents of the southern kingdom of Judah remained stubbornly resistant to Isaiah’s calls to repent, forcing him to deliver a stern warning from the Lord.

Therefore, listen to this message from the Lord,
    you scoffing rulers in Jerusalem.
You boast, “We have struck a bargain to cheat death
    and have made a deal to dodge the grave.
The coming destruction can never touch us,
    for we have built a strong refuge made of lies and deception.” – Isaiah 28:14-15 NLT

“I will cancel the bargain you made to cheat death,
    and I will overturn your deal to dodge the grave.
When the terrible enemy sweeps through,
    you will be trampled into the ground.” – Isaiah 28:18 NLT

They were putting their faith and hope in something other than God, but He warned them:

Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem,
    a firm and tested stone.
It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on.
    Whoever believes need never be shaken.
I will test you with the measuring line of justice
    and the plumb line of righteousness.” – Isaiah 28:16-17 NLT

Like their ancestors before them, the Jews of Paul’s day were stumbling over the stumbling stone. Rather than seeing Jesus as a precious cornerstone, they were seeing Him as a rock of offense. They could not accept the fact that righteousness was based on faith, not works. They refused to believe that faith in Jesus was God’s intended path to righteousness. As a result, what the psalmist predicted became a reality. 

The stone that the builders rejected
    has now become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing,
    and it is wonderful to see. – Psalm 118:22-23 NLT

Centuries later, outside the walls of Jerusalem, the Son of God would be put to death as payment for the sins of mankind. He would become the sacrifice to satisfy the just demands of a holy God, and whoever believed in Him would not be put to shame.

It is that promise that caused Paul’s Jewish brothers and sisters to stumble, and it still presents a problem for both Jews and Gentiles today. The whole concept of sin and the need for a Savior comes across as ridiculous to most who hear it. It sounds far-fetched or too good to be true, which is why it requires faith.

Yet, when we believe that salvation is the Lord’s doing, it is wonderful to see, even though it makes no sense and seems illogical and unreasonable. Over the centuries, the message of salvation through faith in Christ has caused many to stumble. But there have been countless millions who have placed their faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ and enjoyed salvation from sin and death and a restored relationship with the God of the universe.

This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see. Jesus Christ, the stumbling stone and the rock of offense, has become the chief cornerstone on which our faith rests. 

My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus' name.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand:
all other ground is sinking sand;
all other ground is sinking sand. 

–  Edward Mote, “My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less,” Worship and Rejoice (2003)

Father, as You well know, the problem with sin is that it refuses to acknowledge its own existence. The enemy promotes sin as acceptable and even preferable to a life lived in obedience to Your will. His temptation of Eve in the garden began with the innocent-sounding question: “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” (Genesis 3:1 NLT). He tempted her to doubt Your word and to fulfill the desires of her heart. He appealed to her sense of autonomy and portrayed sin as the stepping stone to self-fulfillment. Yet, You had a much better plan for she and Adam. Your will for them was perfect, but it required obedience and submission. And with one bite of the forbidden fruit, they altered the course of their lives and that of humanity — for eternity. Yet, You weren’t surprised by their actions or forced to come up with a Plan B. Your decision to send Your Son had been made long before You created the universe or formed the first two humans (Ephesians 1:3-5). You gave the first couple one law to obey and they failed, and we have been following their lead for generations. But You sent the “stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense” to save us from ourselves, and “anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” You provided a way where there was no way. You made redemption and restoration possible for the unrepentant and unrighteous, and that included me. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

Our Indwelling Intercessor

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. – Romans 8:26-27 ESV

In the preceding verses, Paul encouraged us to wait eagerly, hopefully, and yet patiently for the final stage of our adoption as sons and daughters of God and for the redemption of our bodies. There is a day coming when we will be freed from these bodies of death, as Paul called them (Romans 7:24). We will be given new bodies and the long-awaited opportunity to live in perfect, unbroken fellowship with God, fully enjoying our position as His children and all the benefits that come with being heirs of His Kingdom.

In the meantime, we must continue to deal with the ongoing presence of our sinful natures and struggle against the persistent attacks of Satan and the temptations of this present world. In verse 17, Paul told us, “we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” Our glorification is coming, but in the meantime, we sometimes suffer as a result of our faith in Christ and our restored relationship with God. And as we suffer as God’s children, we naturally call out to Him as our Father. We find ourselves, at times, too weak to handle all that is happening to us and around us in this world. We are constantly experiencing and witnessing the effects of sin. So, in our weakness, we cry out for help.

But there are times when we don’t know what to pray. Our circumstances leave us uncertain as to what we even need from God. And occasionally, when we do pray, the answer to our request never seems to materialize.

In our present condition, our needs are constant, but Paul assures us that the help of the Holy Spirit is constant as well. He helps us in our weakness. As we patiently, eagerly, and hopefully wait for our final adoption and redemption, He comes alongside and assists us during this time of suffering. Paul says we “groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23 ESV). In Greek, the word “groan” means to sigh or pray inaudibly. As we attempt to live holy lives in this increasingly unholy world, we find ourselves struggling with our own sin and the constant emotional bombardment from witnessing sin’s damaging influence all around us.

So we pray; we call out, and when we do, we typically ask God to remove the cause of our struggles. We beg Him to remove sickness from our loved ones. We ask Him to provide us with resources when our bank account is low or our pantry is bare. We plead with Him to remove our pain and restore our strength when we are weak. And when He doesn’t seem to answer those prayers, we can become defeated, confused, and, at times, even bitter and disillusioned.

But Paul reminds us that we have an advocate, a helper who assists us in our times of weakness. When we don’t know what to pray, how to pray, or how to get what we pray for, the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf.

…we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. – Romans 8:26 NLT

The truth is, we don’t know what we need. Paul claims that we don’t know what to pray for. Like little children, we tend to ask for the obvious. Driven by our fallen human natures, we ask for what we want, instead of what we really need. If we have pain, we want it removed. If we experience sickness, we can think of nothing better than having it healed. Paul provided us with a personal testimony regarding this very thing.

…to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.

Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. – 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 NLT

Whatever the “thorn” in Paul’s flesh might have been, he prayed repeatedly for its removal, but God had other plans and a higher purpose. He was protecting Paul from becoming conceited, proud, and arrogant over his position as God’s spokesman. Paul pleaded for the removal of the thorn, but the Holy Spirit interceded and turned those self-centered, comfort-based requests into prayers that matched the will of God.

We are children of God, and, like all children, we rarely know what we truly need. But the Spirit does, because He knows the heart and mind of God. If you ask a small child what he or she wants for dinner, they are likely to respond, “Ice cream!” That is what they want, but that is not what they need. And a loving parent would not give in to their request, no matter how eagerly or enthusiastically they voiced it. Instead, loving parents would provide them with what they truly need, even if the child may feel their “needs” are not being met.

The difference between our prayers and those that the Spirit prays on our behalf is that He “intercedes for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:27 ESV). I don’t always know the will of God. I don’t always know what is best for me, but the Spirit does. And He is constantly taking my sighs, moans, and silent prayers, and turning them into requests that align with God’s will for my life as His child. So when His answers come, I may not always recognize them, but I can trust that they are just what I need.

I have a prayer partner who intercedes on my behalf. Yes, He knows the desires of my heart, but he also knows the will of God, and how the two can become one. Like any loving Father, God is not interested in giving us all that we want, but He is determined to provide us with all that we need for life and godliness. And His Spirit helps us pray within His will so that we can always know that we are receiving the right answer at just the right time.

Father, to be honest, I find prayer difficult, But I’m not telling You something You don’t already know. It’s just that prayer can sometimes feel unnecessary because You already know what I need before the need arises. You are sovereign and all-knowing, so there is no reason for me to inform You about anything. Yet, You have commanded us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17), to make all our requests known to You (Philippians 4:6), and to continue steadfastly in prayer (Colossians 4:2). You state that the prayers of a righteous person have great power and produce wonderful results (James 5:16). So, despite my struggle with prayer, I pray. But it is so encouraging to hear Paul’s reminder that the Holy Spirit intercedes on my behalf when I do pray. He takes my feeble, half-hearted prayers and transforms them into powerful pleas that align with Your will for me. He acts as my intercessory interpreter, making my jumbled and sometimes selfish requests make sense. As Paul told the Corinthians, “No one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us” (1 Corinthians 2:11-12 NLT). Thank You for sending the Holy Spirit to serve as my prayer interpreter and intercessor. And thank You for faithfully meeting my needs even when I pray for my wants. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

This World Is Not Our Home

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. – Romans 8:18-25 ESV

Paul has just told us that we need to accept the reality that, in this life, we will suffer with Christ “in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:17 ESV). All of us would love to avoid suffering; that is only natural. But Paul seems to indicate that suffering is part of the process that leads to our future glorification.

Much of the suffering we experience in this lifetime is related to our sanctification, God's work of transforming us into the likeness of His Son. He is constantly refining and purifying us, making our behavior comport with our status as His sons and daughters. And Paul confidently tells us, “I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6 NLT).

We are works in progress, and are not yet what we will be. Part of the problem is the earthly bodies in which we are required to live. Paul compared man's earthly body to a tent, which emphasizes its temporary nature. It is not meant to be permanent but was designed for this world, not the next. 

For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit. – 2 Corinthians 5:1-5 NLT

As we experience our time-bound existence in these temporary bodies, it is easy to become one-dimensional and focused on this life, all the while forgetting that there is a life to come. But this life is not all there is, and is not all we should think about. As we endure the suffering and distractions of this world, Paul would have us keep our eyes and our faith firmly focused on what God has in store for us. Which is why he said, “What we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later” (Romans 8:18 NLT).

As followers of Christ, we need to constantly remind ourselves that no matter how bad things may get in this life, something unbelievably better awaits us. And even the good things we may experience during our time on this earth are nothing when compared to the glory that awaits us.

Again, what makes focusing on the future so difficult is our earthly bodies. When we suffer, our bodies convince us that nothing good can come from it. We become incapable and sometimes unwilling to consider that God can and does use suffering to sanctify us. Which is why Paul adds the following word of encouragement later in this same chapter:

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. – Romans 8:28 NLT

Whether we realize it or not, our struggles in this life are proof that there is more to come. We will never be fully satisfied with life in this world, and the pain and suffering we experience cause us to long for relief and rescue. Even blessings that come in the form of material or physical things leave us empty because they are temporal and nothing more than a cheap imitation of what is to come. Everything in this world is prone to destruction and decay and will ultimately leave us disappointed because it cannot deliver what it seems to promise. That is why Jesus warned His disciples against placing too much hope in temporal treasures.

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” – Matthew 6:19-21 NLT

Our hearts will find no lasting satisfaction or fulfillment in the things of this earth. In fact, if we're not careful, the temporal treasures we think will bring us happiness and contentment will actually produce coveteousness, lust, greed, selfishness, and a host of other far-from-righteous characteristics. It is this reality that led Paul to warn the Galatian believers, “Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another” (Galatians 5:26 NLT). He also admonished them for living like they were citizens of this world rather than the one to come.

You are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? – Galatians 3:3 NLT

Living one-dimensionally can only lead to one thing: an overemphasis on this world. But we were made for glory.  He reminds the believers in Rome that, as children of God, they have an eternal future awaiting them, including glorified bodies that will allow them to live forever. 

We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it.) – Romans 8:24 NLT

When Jesus rose from the dead, He did so in a glorified body that is no longer susceptible to death, and He remains in that glorified body at this very moment. And it will be in that glorified body that He returns one day. The apostle John reminds us that when Christ returns, we will see Him in His glorified human body and recognize that we, too, have been transformed into His likeness. 

Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. – 1 John 3:2 NLT

Paul provided the believers in Corinth with further details concerning this future glorification of our earthly bodies.

…our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.

But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.

Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die this Scripture will be fulfilled:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
    O death, where is your sting?” – 1 Corinthians 15:50-55 NLT

We are to live with our hope set on the future, not the here-and-now. We cannot see what God has in store for us, but we can hope in it and for it because He has promised it to us. These bodies will decay and die, but we will receive new bodies, redeemed, resurrected bodies that will no longer experience pain, suffering, the process of aging, or the future prospect of death. Our future glory needs to become a present reality for us as God's children because, as the old hymn states: 

This world is not my home
I'm just a-passing through
My treasures are laid up
Somewhere beyond the blue.

The angels beckon me
From heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home
In this world anymore.

– Jim Reeves, This World Is Not My Home lyrics © Sony/atv Tree Publishing

Father, what a timely reminder. I woke up this morning to a temporal, time-based world. I didn’t sleep well but the alarm went off and I got up anyway. It didn’t help that my temporal, age-bound body ached and my back kept me awake most of the night. As I read through this passage, my sleep-deprived mind was fuzzy, making it difficult to concentrate. Even as I write this prayer, it’s difficult to put a sentence together. But Paul has reminded me that all of this is temporary. There is a new, glorified body awaiting me in the future. I don’t know exactly what that body will look like, but You have promised that it will be pain-free and death-defying. In it, I will experience the glory of Your Kingdom and without the debilitating effects of sin. Thank You for reminding me that “what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later” (Romans 8:18 NLT). Continue to give me the endurance to wait patiently for what You have in store for me. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

Citizens of Another Kingdom

12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. – Romans 8:12-17 ESV

If you are a child of God, you owe Him, not that you could ever pay Him back for what He has done for you, but you should live with a deep and lasting awareness of your indebtedness to Him. He sacrificed His Son on the cross so that you might have life.

For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. – 1 Peter 1:18-19 NLT

Those of us who are in Christ owe God our lives, literally. Our debt to sin was paid in full on the cross. God's righteous judgment was satisfied by the death of His own sinless Son. As a result, we are free to reject the demands of our sinful flesh. We can say no to the sin-stained desires that constantly tempt us to rebel against the will of God, but only with the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Paul makes it clear that it is “by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body” (Romans 8:13 ESV).

The Spirit is the one who gives us the strength to live righteously, even though our sinful natures are alive and well within us. We are now sons and daughters of God who have the Spirit of God living inside of us. While this new reality is difficult for us to comprehend, it is essential for us to believe by faith, because it is the key to our victory over sin in this life.

Jesus died to pay for our sins, and the Spirit lives within us to give us power over sin. Sin can no longer condemn us, but it can distract and defeat us. Which is why Paul emphatically states that we are no longer on our own when it comes to dealing with sin. We are sons and daughters of God, and we are led by the Spirit of God. And the very fact that we have the Spirit within us, convicting, encouraging, and guiding us, is proof of our new relationship with God. 

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. – Romans 8:16 ESV

When we experience conviction over sin, that is the Spirit at work within us. When we read the Word of God and hear Him speak to us, that is the result of the indwelling Spirit of God. Any time we find ourselves exhibiting love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, that is the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, and that fruit reveals that we belong to God. We are His children, adopted into His family and rightful heirs to all that belongs to Him. And while that may be hard for us to grasp, it is vitally important if we are ever going to experience the kind of abundant life that Jesus promised us.

Paul wants us to think about our future inheritance, rather than dwell on the temporary pleasures that our sinful flesh tends to obsess over. We are heirs of God, and He has something incredible in store for us that is not of this world. The apostle Peter found the very thought of it worthy of praise to God.

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. – 1 Peter 1:3-4 NLT

But there is another aspect to our inheritance. As fellow heirs with Christ, we share in the reality of our future glorification. Just as He received a new glorified body and was reunited with His Father in heaven, so will we. But during this life, we also share in His suffering. As the Son of God, He suffered on this earth. He was ridiculed and rejected by men. He was misunderstood and falsely accused. His message of salvation was dismissed, and His claims of deity were denied. Ultimately, He suffered a humiliating and excruciating death on the cross. So as children of God, we are “heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:17 ESV).

We experience suffering in this life because we are not of this world; we no longer belong here. In fact, Paul emphasized to the believers in Colossae that their faith in Christ transferred their citizenship from earth to heaven.

He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. – Colossians 1:12-14 NLT

Peter referred to Christ-followers as “temporary residents and foreigners” and urged them to “keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls” (1 Peter 2:11 NLT). Our new identity and status as sons and daughters of God put us at odds with this world and the prince of this world. As believers, we face a triad of opposition to our newfound status as citizens of heaven: The world, the flesh, and the devil.

For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. – 1 John 2:16 NLT

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. – Ephesians 2:1-3 NLT

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. – 1 Peter 5:8-9 NLT

“The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.” – John 15:19 NLT

Jesus warned us that the world would hate us because it hated Him. And His words have proven painfully true. This world is not our friend, and the more we live out our new identity as children of God, the more animosity we will experience from this world. Just prior to His death, Jesus told His disciples, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NLT).

And Paul will close out this chapter with his own words of encouragement.

No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. – Romans 8:37-38 ESV

Father, You knew how difficult it would be for us to live in this world and not be influenced by it; that’s why You gave us the Holy Spirit. You provided us with the power we would need to live as temporary residents in this alien and often hostile landscape. Yet, we find it so easy to acclimate to and associate with this world, compromising our convictions and allowing our sinful natures to seek temporary pleasures over the eternal treasures You have waiting for us. As Your children, we have so much to be grateful for, but we tend to think that this world has more to offer us. I’m reminded of what the author of Hebrews said about Moses: “He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25 NLT). That is how I want to live my life, eschewing the fleeting pleasures of sin for the eternal treasure of eternal life. Continue to remind me of my identity as a citizen of heaven. Holy Spirit, keep me focused on the reality of my future glorification. That is the goal, so that needs to be my hope. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

The Power to Change

8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. – Romans 8:8-11 ESV

Paul has made it clear that we are to live according to the Spirit of God who lives within us, not according to our old, sinful nature. But as he so honestly confessed in Chapter 7, there will be times when we find ourselves giving in to that old nature, doing the very things we do not want to do.

If we attempt to live holy lives apart from the indwelling Holy Spirit, our minds, while well-intentioned, will give in to our fallen flesh. That is why Paul opens up verse nine with the statement: “You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit.” In other words, those who place their faith in Christ have died along with Him on the cross. And because they died with Him, their spiritual natures have been set free from the control of their earthly bodies.

Christ “condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:3-4 ESV). To walk according to the Spirit simply means to live in submission to His will and in dependence upon His power. When Paul says, “you, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit,” he is not suggesting that our sin nature is gone and all fleshly desires are done away with. He is saying that God has provided us with a new way of living in keeping with His will; it is the law of the Spirit of life that has set us free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).

Paul reminds his readers that, because they have placed their faith in Christ, they have the Spirit of God living within them. NOT to have the Spirit is to be unsaved and unjustified before God.

Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. – Romans 8:9 ESV

God gives the Holy Spirit to every believer at their conversion. Paul told the believers in Ephesus, “When you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him” (Ephesians 1:13-14 NLT). It is the indwelling presence of the Spirit that provides proof of our justification before God. He places His Spirit within us, signifying our new status as His children and providing us with a new capacity for holiness that is no longer flesh-dependent, but Spirit-empowered.

While we still live in earthly bodies that are destined for death, the Spirit provides us with life because we are now righteous in God’s eyes. We are no longer under condemnation because of our sin, but have been forgiven and justified before God. Not only that, but we have received the guarantee of eternal life; never-ending fellowship with God, as well as abundant life here and now. Jesus said, “The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10 NLT).

Satan, our enemy, wants to rob us of life. He wants us to live according to our old sin-enslaved nature, which is driven by the passions of our earthly bodies. But Jesus died so that we might have true life, and the Spirit provides us with the power to enjoy that life, right here, right now. Zane Hodges nailed it when he wrote, “. . . whenever you see a Christian living the Christian life, you are witnessing a resurrection miracle!” (“The Death/Life Option,” Grace Evangelical Society News).

Because we have been made right with God through the death of Christ and have received the Spirit of God as proof of that newly restored relationship, we can conduct our lives in obedience to God’s will. Paul put it this way in an earlier chapter: “For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives” (Romans 6:3 NLT).

We have the Spirit-empowered capacity to live differently. We can actually live holy lives, not based on our feeble human effort, but because we have the Spirit of God within us. And as Paul reminds us, the Spirit who lives in us is the very same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead. 

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. – Romans 8:11 NLT

Paul wanted his readers to focus on the reality that a day was coming when they would be given new, resurrected bodies. When Christ returns, all believers will experience ultimate freedom sin, sickness, and pain. Death will no longer be a looming reality hanging over our heads like a sword. The apostle John provides us with the much-needed reminder that, despite the troubles and difficulties of this life, our future glorification awaits us.

Dear friends, we are already God's children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. – 1 John 3:2 NLT

And while we wait for that day to come, we can still walk in newness of life. We can enjoy an abundant, rich, and satisfying life on this earth, even while saddled with these earthly bodies and our old, sinful natures. Why? Because we have resurrection-inducing power available to us in the form of the Holy Spirit. He is not dormant or biding His time until the Lord returns. He is alive and active in every believer, providing guidance, encouragement, and a death-to-life kind of power that makes our transformation into the likeness of Christ possible.

Father, it’s amazing to think that the same Holy Spirit who raised Jesus back to life is resident within me. The truth is, I seldom think about the Spirit. In fact, I treat Him like a redheaded stepchild, seldom giving Him the time of day or the honor and respect He deserves. Holy Spirit, You live in me and yet I act as if You are not even there. I tend to ignore You and even when I sense Your promptings and hear Your convicting voice in my ear, I choose to plead ignorance and give in to the desires of my flesh. But You remain steadfast in Your commitment to my transformation. You do not give up and You never vacate the premises. You are a permanent resident in my life and for that I am grateful. You have proven Your power, time and time again. You have made lasting changes in my life. You have taught me so much about the Father, and opened my eyes to the truth found in the Scriptures. And I know You are far from done. One day You will give me the glorified body I need to spend eternity with You, the Father, and the Son. But as I wait for that day. please continue to pour out Your resurrection power in my life so I might shine as a light in the darkness of this world. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

The Prescription for What Ails Us

1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. – Romans 8:1-7 ESV

Back in Chapter 3, Paul shared the sobering news that “by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20 ESV). No one can be made right with God through adherence to the law. Why? Because the law is only equipped to reveal God's holy requirements, it has no power to help us keep them. Knowledge of His righteous demands does not produce righteousness; obedience does. So, the law delineates God’s expectations, but our sinful natures cause us to break those very requirements.

In Chapter 7, Paul shared his personal experience with attempting to keep the law.

I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of coveting. – Romans 7:7-8 ESV

It is impossible for anyone to be justified in God's eyes by adherence to His law because He demands perfect obedience. James clarified God’s expectation of perfection when he wrote, “the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws” (James 2:10 NLT). And while it may appear to be unjust for God to place such an impossible and unachievable standard on His people, Paul reveals that God always had a solution in mind.

But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. – Romans 3:21-22 NLT

From Chapter 3 through Chapter 7, Paul defends justification by faith. His goal is to eliminate the burden of condemnation that law-keeping produces. Trying to live up to God’s laws through sheer willpower will never produce righteousness; it can only condemn us for having fallen short of the mark. As Paul stated in Chapter 3, “everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23 NLT). The law was designed to reveal man’s sinfulness and his need for a Savior.

For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. – Romans 3:20 NLT

In Chapter 8, Paul starts off by saying, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1 ESV). God has provided a way for men to be restored to a right relationship with Him that does not require law-keeping. Those who place their faith in Christ are justified by His righteousness, not their own. They are made right with God because of what Jesus has done on their behalf. He died on their behalf as a payment for the sin debt they owed. He gave His sinless life in their place so that they might receive eternal life rather than the condemnation of death they deserved. By placing their faith in what Jesus has done for them, they cease placing their faith in what they can do for themselves. Faith replaces works. 

At the point of salvation, a new law is at work in their lives. Paul describes it as “the law of the Spirit of life” (Romans 8:2 ESV). When we hear the word “law,” we tend to think in terms of restrictions and binding requirements that keep us from doing what we want to do. But the Greek word Paul uses is nómos, which carries a much broader, less oppressive meaning. According to Strong's Concordance, it is derived from the Greek word “νέμω némō (to parcel out, especially food or grazing to animals); law (through the idea of prescriptive usage).”

In other words, it is more prescriptive than restrictive. The Mosaic law had benefits; it provided God’s directions for life and His prescribed way of living in unbroken fellowship with Him. In the 23rd Psalm, David describes this prescriptive nature of God's law.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
   He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
   He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
    for his name's sake. – Psalm 23:1-3 ESV

Through the law, God guided, directed, and protected His people. But the law’s power was weakened by man's flesh or sin nature. Man was unable to keep God’s law willingly and obediently.

So when Paul speaks of “the law of the Spirit of life,” he is telling us that God has provided us with a new way to live in fellowship with Him.

…the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. – Romans 8:2-4 NLT

The key is found in verse 5. We must “live according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:5 ESV).  As believers, we are to live our lives in obedience to and dependence upon the Spirit of God, not the flesh. The Spirit is the nómos or prescribed way God has provided for us so that we might live in fellowship with and obedience to Him. God placed His Spirit within us because our spirit (flesh) is weak and incapable of keeping His law.

Paul vividly contrasts the choice that lies before God’s children every day.

Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. – Romans 8:5-8 NLT

Our sinful nature is alive and active, but we are no longer enslaved to it. We have been set free from its control by the indwelling Spirit of God, who provides us with direction for living a God-honoring life and the power to accomplish it. But we must choose to live under His control instead of our own. We must submit to His leadership, and desire what He desires and long for those things that He has determined as best for us.

But in his letter to the Galatian believers, Paul reminds us of the constant battle going on within us.

The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other… – Galatians 5:17 NLT

If we try to please God through our flesh, we will fail. But if we live our lives in dependence upon the Spirit of God, His prescribed means for living a godly life, we will experience life, peace, joy, contentment, and the ongoing transformation of our lives into the likeness of Christ.

Father, thank You for providing Your Son to serve as the sinless sacrifice for me. And thank You for providing Your Spirit to take up residence in me, so that I might have the power to live in keeping with Your will. You knew my flesh was weak, so You provided a workaround. You sent Your Son to pay my sin debt and Your Spirit to fill the power vacuum in my life. As Peter put it, You have “given us everything we need for living a godly life” (2 Peter 1:3 NLT). My sin no longer condemns me because I stand as righteous in Your eyes, covered by the righteousness of Christ and filled with Your Holy Spirit. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

God Made A Way

7 What 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.” 8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. – Romans 7:7-12 ESV

In assessing man's relationship between the law and sin, Paul strongly emphasized that these two things are not synonymous. He did not want anyone to assume that the law must be somehow sinful because it caused man to sin. He clearly states: “Am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! ” (Romans 7:7 NLT). The law simply reveals man's sin, just as a speed limit sign exposes a driver who is exceeding the legally enforced, visibly posted limit. The infraction is the responsibility of the individual, not the sign.

Sin cannot be blamed on the law because, as Paul says, “the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Romans 7:12 ESV). God's law was given to show man his inability to live up to the righteous standards God required. Man's sin nature was the problem; the law simply exposed it. Paul states that “apart from the law, sin lies dead” (Romans 7:8 ESV). Paul used the Greek word nekros, and while it can refer to actual death or lifelessness, it can also mean “destitute of force or power, inactive, inoperative” (Outlines of Biblical Usage).

Paul was not saying that sin was completely dead and impotent, but that until the law came, it remained dormant.

At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, and I died. – Romans 7:9-10 NLT

He was not suggesting that man was sinless before the law came, but that man sinned in ignorance. There were no speed limit signs, so to speak. So men went as fast as they wanted, with no feelings of regret or remorse. But when the law was given, God's limits became known, and man's sinful nature was exposed. Using one of the Ten Commandments as an example, Paul states that before learning the command “You shall not covet,” he would not have known that coveting was wrong. His sin nature would have coveted, ignorant of any conviction that he was doing anything wrong.

But when the law was given, it clearly revealed that coveting was against God’s will. Yet, man's sin nature resisted that command and produced an increased desire to covet. Because of man’s sinful nature, he possesses a predisposition to rebel against the will of God. You can see it in a small child when you tell them not to touch a hot stove. Suddenly, everything in them wants to do exactly what you just told them not to do. Because of the fall, humanity is wired with a relentless attraction to the forbidden. When God says, “You shall not,” we inherently respond, “But we shall!”

God gave the law to show mankind what was required to maintain a right relationship with Him and to experience true life. Because God is righteous and holy, He requires that those who desire to enter His presence be holy. He cannot tolerate sin. Just as light cannot coexist with darkness, neither can God coexist with sin. And Paul explains that God's good, holy, and righteous law, which promised life to anyone who could keep it, ended up bringing death to mankind. Paul explains why.

Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. – Romans 7:11 NLT

Sin was the problem, not the law. St. Augustine describes man’s predicament this way: “The law orders, that we, after attempting to do what is ordered, and so feeling our weakness under the law, may learn to implore the help of grace” (cited in Institutes of the Christian Religion (Book 2, Chapter 7, Section 9), John Calvin).

Paul said, “had it not been for the law, I would not have known sin” (Romans 7:7 ESV). It is our awareness of our sinfulness as revealed by the law that creates in us a desire for God's help. But sadly, many just try harder to keep God's law. Their self-awareness of their guilt simply increases their self-effort. Rather than throwing up their hands and saying, “I can't”, they stubbornly refuse to ask for help from God and push themselves harder, thinking they can somehow earn His favor. Sadly, there are others who, when convicted by God's law, refuse to acknowledge its authority over them. Sin, “seizing an opportunity through the commandment” (Romans 7:8 ESV), ultimately produces a growing list of infractions and transgressions. They knowingly and willingly break God's “speed limit.”

In the next chapter, Paul provides the great news regarding God's law. He writes, “The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin's control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins” (Romans 8:3 NLT).

The law shows us our sin. It also reveals our need for a Savior. And God sent His own Son to do for us what the law was never intended to do. Jesus came to save us and free us from the condemnation of the law. Our righteousness is found in Him, not in our feeble attempts to keep the law. God did for us what the law could not do; He saved us from sin. No amount of behavior modification or rule-keeping would eliminate our love affair with sin. Only the transformation of our hearts could produce the righteousness God demanded. 

The prophet Ezekiel records the promise God made to His covenant people, the Israelites. They had failed to live up to His holy standards and repeatedly violated His law. Yet, God assured them that a day was coming when He would perform a miracle of heart transformation that would not only restore them to a right relationship with Him, but would also enable them to live in perfect obedience to His law.

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.” – Ezekiel 36:25-27 NLT

That is what God has already accomplished in the life of every Christ-follower. And Paul reassured his young protegé Titus that this heart transformation was a guaranteed reality because of God’s matchless grace. 

Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. But—When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life. – Titus 3:3-7 NLT

Father, in Your grace, You provided the people of Israel a clear compendium of Your righteous standards. Your law revealed exactly what they needed to do to live in community with You. But they were incapable of keeping your law. In fact, the more they tried to live in obedience to Your revealed will, the more often they failed. But You were simply trying to expose their helplessness and hopelessness. You never intended the law to save them; it was designed to expose their sinfulness and their need for a Savior. They needed to understand that a sinless life was impossible without Your help. Obedience was unachievable as long as they operated in their own strength and according to their sin-prone wills. So, You sent Your Son as the cure for what ailed them. He became the means by which sinful men could be made righteous in Your eyes. As the author of Hebrews writes, “the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God” (Hebrews 9:14 NLT). You made a way when there was no way. You provided salvation when we couldn’t save ourselves. And we are forever in Your debt. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

The Often Overlooked Gift of Eternal Life

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 6:20-23 ESV

When we choose to live as slaves to sin, obeying the desires of our sinful nature, we are “free’ when it comes to doing righteousness. Giving in to our sin nature can make us feel as if we are getting the sense of satisfaction and self-fulfillment we long for, but the real outcome is far from pleasant.

Paul says, “the end of those things is death” (Romans 6:21 ESV), and the “things” to which he refers are not immoral acts. He is addressing the deeds of men who are living apart from a relationship with Christ and attempting to gain a right standing with God through their own human efforts. Their efforts are fruitless because, as the prophet Isaiah reminds us, “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment” (Isaiah 64:6 NLT).

Without faith in the saving work of Christ, men are incapable of doing anything to gain God's favor. Even their best efforts on their best day are soaked in sin and ultimately deliver the penalty of death. But even believers in Jesus Christ have the capacity to be enslaved to sin again. We can even find ourselves attempting to earn a right standing with God through our own efforts, which, in God’s eyes, is nothing short of sin because it is an act of self-righteousness. Paul warned the Gentile believers in Galatia about this very thing.

Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist. So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world? You are trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years. – Galatians 4:8-10 NLT

He was concerned they were going to return to their old way of trying to work their way into God's good graces. But their good deeds, when done in the flesh and apart from the saving work of Jesus Christ, end up being sinful in God's eyes.

Paul reminds his readers that they “have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God.” They were not just free from the sins of immorality, but also the more dangerous sin of self-sufficiency and self-righteousness. They were now slaves of God because He had redeemed them out of slavery to sin, and the price He paid was the death of His own Son.

You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. – Colossians 2:13-14 NLT

Paul wanted the Galatians to know that they had been bought out of slavery to sin and death, and now they belonged to God; He was their new Master. They lived to do His will, not their own. They had been freed from having to do the will of Satan and their own sinful natures. They were free to obey God and had been given the power to live obediently by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

Paul tells us that “the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life” (Romans 6:22 ESV). Living as slaves of God results in our progressive transformation into the likeness of Christ. By living in the power of His indwelling Spirit and according to His will, we grow in holiness; we become increasingly more set apart and distinct in our spiritual maturity. And ultimately, we will experience our final glorification when we become like Christ – completely sin-free and no longer encumbered by these natural bodies that are driven by sinful desires and prone to decay, disease, and death.

Living under the control of sin and our sinful nature produces nothing but death. In this life, it results in “sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these” (Galatians 5:19-21 NLT). And for those who have not accepted God's free gift of grace made available through His Son's sacrificial death, living enslaved to sin in this life will produce spiritual death in the next one because the wages of sin are always death. And the worst form of death is eternal separation from God.

The real outcome of a life enslaved to sin is eternal, never-ending separation from God and His love, grace, and mercy. But “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23 NLT). When we stop relying on self-salvation and turn to God's plan for making us right with Him, we gain the ability to walk in newness of life now and the promise of eternal life to come. And it is all provided for free; it costs us nothing. However, it cost God the life of His Son.

…you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.” For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began… – 1 Peter 1:17-20 NLT

God offered His Son in our place as the sacrificial payment for our sins, and all we have to do is accept His offer of salvation by faith alone in Christ alone. We no longer have to try to earn our salvation. Instead, we simply accept the salvation provided for us by God through Christ. When we do, we enjoy the fruit of our sanctification now and the guarantee of our ultimate glorification in the future.

Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure. – 1 John 3:2-3 NLT

But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control. – Philippians 3:20-21 NLT

Father, we sometimes miss the whole point of our salvation by focusing all our attention on the here and now rather that the hereafter. We make it all about this life instead of the one to come. As temporal creatures, we have a difficult time grasping the reality of eternity, so we obsess over the cares and comforts of this life. As a result, we pursue heaven on earth. We want all our blessings immediately and are surprised when the trouble-free life we long for doesn’t show up. But Your Son died so that we might have eternal life, not our best life now. He was focused on the long-term benefits of our sanctification: our ultimate glorification. Even Paul reminded us, “what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are” (Romans 8:18-19 NLT). Our best days are ahead of us. Your plan for our salvation is not yet complete because there is one last step in the process that needs to happen: Your Son’s return and our final transformation into His likeness. Help us focus on the reality of that promise because the best is yet to come. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

Slaves of a Different Master

15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. – Romans 6:15-19 ESV

Men have always had a habit of twisting God's words and using them to justify all kinds of ungodly and unrighteous behavior. And Paul knew there were those who would take all his talk about the law and our freedom from it to rationalize their sin. According to their false interpretation and skewed logic, they might conclude that if “as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant” (Romans 5:20 ESV), then it just makes sense to keep on sinning. More sin, more grace.

That is why Paul asked and answered the following question: “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” (Romans 6:1 ESV), and his answer was emphatic. “By no means!” (Romans 6:2 ESV). Because of our relationship with Christ, we have died to sin. We died alongside Him on the cross, and we were raised alongside Him to new life. That means, we are to consider ourselves dead to sin, but alive to Christ. As a result, we must no longer allow sin to reign and rule in our earthly bodies.

There was a time when sinning was inescapable; we had no choice. Before coming to faith in Christ, we were hopelessly enslaved by sin and totally incapable of doing anything about it. Jesus Himself said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin” (John 8:34 ESV). In describing false teachers who were having a devastating influence on the local church, Peter wrote, “They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you” (2 Peter 2:19 NLT). Peter then went on to describe those who accept Christ as Savior but allow their lives to be controlled by sin.

And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. – 2 Peter 2:20-21 NLT

We are all controlled by someone or something, and we end up slaves to whoever or whatever controls us. Paul would have us consider ourslaves to righteousness and, ultimately, as slaves to God. Rather than presenting our members (our bodies) to sin as instruments or tools to accomplish unrighteousness, we should present ourselves to God as “those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness” (Romans 6:13 ESV). We have a choice, but there was a time when we didn't. Paul vividly describes our pre-conversion condition.

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. – Ephesians 2:1-3 NLT

But all that changed when we came to know Christ. Paul emphatically and eagerly states, “Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living” (Romans 6:17-18 NLT). And just as there was a time in our lives when we willingly submitted ourselves to impurity and lawlessness (disobeying God's law), now we can willingly present ourselves as slaves to righteousness. And living as a slave to righteousness is what leads to sanctification — our growth in spiritual maturity and increasing Christlikeness. 

Paul gives thanks to God because all of this is a result of His grace. Even our ability to live obediently to righteousness is made possible by God. In the next chapter, Paul will describe what it is like to do battle with his own sin nature. He presents an all-too-familiar portrait of the Christian wrestling with his desire to please God and his fleshly impulse to disobey God. For Paul, this conflict was real and caused him to cry out in frustration, but also in gratitude for the victory Jesus had made possible.  

Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?  Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. – Romans 7:24-25 NLT

The answer to his difficulties and despair was Jesus. It is the gift of Jesus, made possible by the grace of God, that provides freedom from sin's power and control. This does not mean we won't sin; it simply means we don't have to sin. In fact, rather than sin, we can experience increasing holiness of character, which is what sanctification is all about.

As followers of Christ, we should be convicted by sin. That Spirit-induced conviction should produce confession. As we confess, we acknowledge our need to repent. Repentance is a willing decision to turn from sin to righteousness and Christ-likeness. We turn our back on the false promises of sin and renew our hope in God’s promise of new life made possible by faith in Christ.

In his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul called them to mirror the life of Christ by taking on His mindset.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Though he was God,
    he did not think of equality with God
    as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
    he took the humble position of a slave
    and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
   he humbled himself in obedience to God
    and died a criminal’s death on a cross. – Philippians 2:5-8 NLT

Though He was the Son of God, He did not use His esteemed position like a get-out-of-jail-free card to escape His Father’s will. He chose to have the mindset of a slave and submit to the will of His Master. He willingly subjugated His will to that of His Father. Even as He faced His pending death by crucifixion, Jesus prayed, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine” (Luke 22:42 NLT). 

Jesus was willing to “enslave” Himself to His Father’s will. He was committed to the pursuit of righteousness, even when tempted by Satan, tested by the Pharisees, turned on by His own people, and taunted by the Romans. He was a willing slave so that we might be released from captivity to sin and freed to serve a new master: righteousness.

Father, You have called us to live in obedience to Your will. But You didn’t  leave it up to us to fulfill Your righteous standards. You didn’t raise the bar of expectation then demand that we jump high enough to clear it. Instead, You sent Your Son to do what none of us could have done. He became a man with “a body like the bodies we sinners have” (Romans 8:3 NLT) and lived a life free from sin and fully committed to doing Your will. And because He was faithful and fully compliant, He became the sinless sacrifice, the unblemished lamb who died for the sins of the world. And our faith in Him allows us to become increasingly more like Him. As we live in this life and submit to the Holy Spirit’s promptings, we become more like Jesus. And as we become more like Him, we take on His character, that of a willing and submissive slave to Your will. It isn’t easy and it doesn’t come naturally. But, thanks to Jesus and the power of Your indwelling Holy Spirit, we can lives as slaves to righteousness. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

Sin No Longer Has Dominion

12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do 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. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. – Romans 6:12-14 ESV

It seems obvious that Paul knew the power and reality of indwelling sin. He would not have told his readers, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body,” if the possibility of it happening had not existed. In verse 16, he writes, “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (Romans 6:16 ESV).

Each day, Christ-followers have the choice to give in to and be enslaved again by sin or to live in obedience to their God-given, Spirit-empowered new nature. The temptation to give in to sin is ever-present, and that’s why Paul warned his readers, “Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desire” (Romans 6:12 NLT).

There is a conscious choice that must be made. We can present our bodies to sin as instruments for unrighteousness or to God as instruments for righteousness. We can allow our sin nature to determine our actions, or, through the power of the Holy Spirit, use our bodies as instruments of God’s will. These physical bodies in which we live are the means by which we can accomplish God’s work in this world. With these bodies, we can love others as Jesus commanded, or we can lust after one another. We can use these bodies to accomplish God’s will or to selfishly fulfill our own.

Following the natural inclination of our sinful nature can produce some very damaging and destructive fruit. In his letter to the churches in Galatia, Paul described the outcome of a life in which sin is allowed to reign. 

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. – Galatians 5:19-21 NLT

If you allow sin to dictate and dominate your behavior, you will end up obeying its passions and desires. Paul understood the power of “the flesh” and took steps to keep his physical body in check.

I discipline my body and keep it under control. – 1 Corinthians 9:27 ESV

Paul stresses that, as believers in Jesus Christ, we have died to sin; it was as if we were crucified alongside Christ.

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. – Galatians 5:24 NLT

The sinful passions and desires that emanate from our sinful nature no longer have control over us. And yet, our physical bodies constantly tempt us to satisfy our basest instincts. We have to fight the constant cravings and desires that stand opposed to God’s will for us. Paul put it this way:

The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other. – Galatians 5:17 NLT

But Paul also gives us the key to resisting the urges of our flesh:

…let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. – Galatians 5:16 NLT

We can choose to live under the Spirit’s control and influence, or we can allow our sin nature, working through our physical bodies, to dictate our behavior. That is why Paul so strongly encourages us to “put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world” (Colossians 3:5 NLT).

He warns us, “Run from sexual sin!” (1 Corinthians 6:18 NLT). He encourages us to “throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy” (Ephesians 4:22-24 NLT).

We belong to God. We have been purchased by the blood of His Son, and while these earthly bodies are temporary and will one day be replaced with new, redeemed bodies, we are obligated to use them for God’s service as long as we live on this earth.

At one time, Paul had used his earthly body to persecute Christians, throwing them into prison and even putting some of them to death. But once he was redeemed from his old way of life by placing his faith in Jesus, he radically reversed course. Having been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, Paul determined to make his body his slave and to use it for the glory of God and the good of His Kingdom. Rather than live as a captive to his body’s desires, he made his body his slave, using it to accomplish God’s will.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Paul made his sin-prone flesh an instrument for righteousness. And that is God’s call for all believers. He has not yet redeemed our physical bodies, but He wants to use them for our good and His glory. Paul describes our current condition in these terms:

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. – 2 Corinthians 4:7 NLT

Sin’s dominion or control over us takes place primarily through our physical bodies. It is with our bodies that we fulfill our sinful passions. We use our tongues to lie and deceive. We use our eyes to lust and covet. We use our bodies to commit immoral acts. We use our hands to steal. We use our feet to take us places that are against God’s will for us. We use our brains to think inappropriate thoughts and plan unrighteous acts.

But as gospel-transformed, Spirit-empowered believers, we have the capacity to use these fallen bodies as instruments of righteousness. We can use our hands to serve others. We can use our eyes to see needs and meet them. We can use our bodies to accomplish God’s will. We can use our tongues to encourage. We can use our feet to take the gospel across the street and around the world. Because sin no longer has dominion over us. 

How great the chasm that lay between us
How high the mountain I could not climb
In desperation, I turned to heaven
And spoke Your name into the night
Then through the darkness, Your lovingkindness
Tore through the shadows of my soul
The work is finished, the end is written
Jesus Christ, my living hope

Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There's salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ, my living hope

“Living Hope”, Phil Wickman, Brian Johnson, Bethel Music Publishing, Phil Wickham Music, Simply Global Songs, and Sing My Songs (administered by Essential Music Publishing

Father, every day is a battle. I sense Your presence and I am aware of Your Spirit’s prompting in my life, but I still feel those constant urges to give in to my sinful flesh. Anger can come far too easily and quickly. Improper thoughts can manifest themselves at the blink of any eye. Jealousy, envy, coveteousness, greed, pride, and revenge jockey for prominence and dominance in my life. And yet, I enjoy regular time in Your Word and an increasing awareness of Your Spirit’s power and provision. The truth is, this life can be a roller-coaster existence of spiritual highs and lows. But, as Paul said, sin is no longer my master. I don’t have to give in to my basest desires or buy the lies of the enemy that tempt me to prioritize my will over Yours. That is the power of the gospel. I am a new creation, and I have a new capacity to live in keeping with Your will. Not in my own strength, but in the power of the Holy Spirit. Yes, it’s a daily battle, but one that I am able to win because Jesus has conquered sin and death. He has not only made my new life possible, but highly achievable. And I have You to thank. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

Death Has Lost Its Grip On Me

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We 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. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. – Romans 6:5-11 ESV

For Paul, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus were more than historical events; they were the key to his salvation, sanctification, and ultimate glorification. As he stated in Chapter 1, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16 ESV).

The gospel, God's abounding grace as revealed through the sacrificial death of His own Son, had not only justified Paul in God's eyes but also given him the power to say no to the old sin nature that waged war against the Spirit of God within him. Paul knew that, for believers, “our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives” (Romans 6:6 NLT).

Paul stresses that, in placing our faith in Christ's substitutionary death on our behalf,  we are united with Him “in a death like his.” And, if that is true, then we are also “united with Him in a resurrection like his” (Romans 6:5 ESV). From God's perspective, we died alongside Christ. Not only that, we were raised with Christ, to “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:5 ESV). His death put an end to sin's vice-like grip over us. No longer do we live as slaves to sin, unable to resist its influence in our lives. Because we died with Christ, sin's claim on our lives has been broken. We have been ransomed out of slavery and freed to live in the newness of who we are as children of God.

Paul brings up the logical conclusion that anyone who dies is immediately freed from the power of sin. Death eliminates their ability to sin because it brings an end to life. Dead people don't sin because they lack the power to do so. That is why he states, “We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.” (Romans 6:6 NLT).

As Christ hung on the cross, He bore the penalty and spiritual weight of our sins. And He died a gruesome, painful death. When He was placed in a borrowed tomb, He was lifeless, limp, and powerless; death had been victorious over Him. But then, three days later, something remarkable happened. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was brought back to life, but He was not just resuscitated; He was resurrected to new life with a new body. Yes, the nail prints in His hands and the wound in His side remained, and He was still recognizable to the disciples, but He was also different.

In His resurrected form, Jesus was no longer susceptible to pain and death. He had the capacity to move about freely, unencumbered by the physical constraints of the normal human body. He had conquered death and, in doing so, made it possible for those who believe in Him to also undergo a spiritual resurrection to new life. As Paul puts it, “so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin” (Romans 6:6-7 ESV).

In his letter to the church in Colossae, Paul encouraged them to focus their attention on the reality of Jesus’ resurrection and its implications for their earthly existence.

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. – Colossians 3:1-3 NLT

He went on to tell them, “put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you” (Colossians 3:5 NLT). This new life in Christ is not without its struggles. We still have our old, sinful natures lurking within us. We still have the capacity to sin. But Paul's point is that we are no longer enslaved to sin; we have a choice. The key is to remember the reality of our new life in Christ. Paul put it this way to the church in Galatia:

My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. – Galatians 2:20 NLT

It is a matter of faith, not human effort. In my flesh, I lack the power to conquer my old sin nature. I can no more sanctify myself than I could have saved myself. Martin Luther described it this way: “Our spiritual life is a matter not of experience, but of faith. No one knows or experiences the fact that he lives spiritually or is justified, but he believes and hopes in this. We live unto God, that is, in our spiritual and new life to eternity” (Martin Luther, Commentary on Romans).

Paul's main point in this section seems to be that our new life, made possible by Christ's resurrection, is to be lived for God. We are to “think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth” (Colossians 3:2 NLT). As Paul stated, each believer is to “put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you.” He tells us to “put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him” (Galatians 3:10 NLT).

Our new life in Christ requires constant vigilance, including putting off the old self and putting on the new. We are to pursue righteousness and flee from sin. We are to constantly consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God. We belong to Him, and we exist for His glory.

We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:10 NLT

In Christ alone! – who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied –
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine –
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

Stuart Townsend & Keith Getty Copyright © 2001 Thankyou Music

Father, Your Son’s death, burial, and resurrection accomplished it all. He did what none of us could do. He lived a sinless life and was able to serve as the unblemished sacrifice for the sins of mankind. He paid the debt we owed and satisfied Your just judgment against our rebellion against You. Before Jesus took on human flesh and died on behalf of sinful humanity, sin ruled and reigned. Men and women were doomed to live enslaved to sin and condemned to eternal separation from You. But You changed all that when You sent Your Son to conquer sin and death on the cross. Now, we are free to live in obedience to Your will and fully capable of exhibiting the fruit of righteousness through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Sin has lost its grips on us. It no longer controls and condemns us because we have been set free by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, and we are eternally grateful. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

New Life In Christ Never Gets Old

1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. – Romans 6:1-4 ESV

Jesus' death on the cross was not just substitutionary; it was representative. He died in our place and as our legate or legal representative. Paul has already said, “Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone” (Romans 5:18 NLT). Although Adam's one sin caused death to reign over all mankind, “even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17 NLT).

Everyone who receives or believes in God's gift of grace made available through His Son's death and resurrection has had their relationship with sin radically and permanently changed. While Christ died alone on the cross, He did not die for Himself alone. In fact, it was not for His sins that He sacrificed His life; it was for the sins of mankind. And because He paid the price in full and propitiated or satisfied God's righteous judgment against sin, those who believe in Him share in His death and resurrection vicariously. It is as if they died alongside Him and were raised just as He was, to walk in newness of life.

Paul makes it clear that we have “died to sin” (Romans 6:2 ESV).  We have been “baptized into his death” (Romans 6:3 ESV), “were buried,” and “just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4 ESV).

The Romans and the Jews were not ultimately responsible for Jesus' death; it was the result of God's judgment and wrath against sin. They were compliant and complicit, but their evil actions were sovereignly ordained by God the Father. In the book of Acts, Luke records the following speech that Peter gave to the Jews in Jerusalem immediately after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” – Acts 2:22-23 ESV

It was God’s will that Jesus die so that sinful men might live. And Peter went on to give the good news regarding Jesus’ vicarious, substitutionary death.

“God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” – Acts 2:24 ESV

Peter wasn’t absolving the Jews of their sinful actions toward Jesus. In fact, when given the opportunity to address the high priest and members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish religious council, he showed them no mercy.

“The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed him by hanging him on a cross.” – Acts 5:30 NLT

But in his letter to the believers in Rome, Paul wanted them to understand that Jesus' death was God’s will, and that Jesus was fully compliant and committed to carrying out His Father’s redemptive plan. Jesus was not murdered; He gave His life willingly.

The apostle John quotes Jesus declaring His compliant submission to His Father’s will.

“No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.” – John 10:18 NLT

God sent Jesus to die for the sins of many, and He faithfully completed His task. Why? So that our bondage to sin and death might be broken. His death was our death. His punishment was our punishment. The prophet Isaiah predicted and described the death of the coming Messiah.

But he was pierced for our rebellion,
    crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
    He was whipped so we could be healed.
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
    We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
    the sins of us all. – Isaiah 53:5-6 NLT

Because of what Jesus did for us and in our place, we now have peace with God. Our wounds, caused by sin, have been healed. Death and sin no longer have a stranglehold on our lives. It is because of what Jesus did on our behalf that we are able to walk in newness of life. The NET Bible translates that phrase as “we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:4 NET).

According to verse 20 of Chapter 5, the grace of God has super-abounded (hyperperisseuō) in the face of man's persistent and ever-increasing sinfulness. God's grace, in the form of Jesus' substitutionary death, has provided believers with the capacity to live new lives, even in these old, sin-stained bodies. We still battle with our indwelling sin natures, but we are no longer slaves to sin.

Paul would have us know and believe “that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT). In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul encouraged them to, “put on your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy” (Ephesians 4:24 NLT). The apostle Peter provides the following reminder of the ongoing transformative power made possible by Jesus’ death and resurrection.

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. – 2 Peter 1:3-4 NLT

In his Commentary on Romans, Martin Luther wrote: “But to hate the body of sin and to resist it, is not an easy, but a most difficult task.” We each have an active sin nature, and as Paul told the believers in Galatia, “The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other” (Galatians 5:17 NLT).

As believers, we recognize that Jesus died and was buried, but then was made alive and given “newness of life.” But through our relationship with Jesus, we, too, have been raised to new life and been given a new capacity to live holy and righteous lives. We have the indwelling Holy Spirit to instruct and empower us, and God assures us that “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 ESV).

Because of what Jesus did for us, we can and should live new lives. Our speech and actions should be distinctively different and stand in stark contrast to our former lives. We are new creations, and our ability to walk in newness of life is proof that we have received new life in Christ. It is a grace gift, given to us by God through Christ. So, as Paul says, “anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT).

Father, while I don’t always live the way I should, I do live differently than I once did. Your Spirit’s presence in my life is obvious because He has changed my attititudes and transformed so much of my behavior. Despite my frequent failure to listen to the Spirit’s voice and to submit to His will for my life, I have seen His power on display. He has produced fruit in my life. He has produced the fruit of righteousness in me and through me. And His ability to generate love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in my life gives testimony to the efficacy of Christ’s saving work on my behalf. I am being changed on a daily basis. I am walking in newness of life, not perfectly or always willingly, but consistently — because of Your grace, mercy, and love. Thank You! Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

All Have Sinned and Need a Savior

12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. – Romans 5:12-14 ESV

As Paul continues to defend the doctrine of justification by faith, he draws an interesting comparison, contrasting Adam's sin and Jesus' sacrificial death. It was through Adam's one act of unrighteousness that sin came into the world. While Eve was the first one to give in to Satan’s temptation to eat of the forbidden fruit, Adam was standing by her side and was fully complicit and compliant. As the God-ordained head of his household, Adam was responsible for keeping God's commands and protecting his family. It was to Adam that God gave the command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; Eve had not yet been created.

The book of Genesis records, “And the Lord commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die’” (Genesis 2:16-17 ESV). In the very next verse, God decides to make Adam a companion.

Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.’” – Genesis 2:18 ESV

So Adam was responsible for communicating God's command to Eve and ensuring that she adhered to it. But he failed.

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her. – Genesis 3:6 ESV

The result of Adam's actions was death, not immediate physical death, but spiritual death or separation from God. He and Eve immediately experienced shame and, for the first time, noticed that they were naked. In a sense, their eyes were opened, and they began to view the world through a different lens. Until that moment, they had not seen their nakedness as a problem. But now, they attempted to cover their nakedness with leaves. Suddenly ashamed, they tried to hide from God. But He found them and meted out punishment for their disobedience.

God cursed Adam to a life of labor accompanied by futility, ending in death.

“By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” – Genesis 3:19 ESV

Rather than enjoying the fruit of all the other trees that God had provided, they were cast from the garden and left to provide for themselves through back-breaking work. And, ultimately, their lives would end in death. Which is why Paul writes, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin” (Romans 5:12 ESV).

It was Adam's sin (original sin) that brought death into the world. Paul is comparing Adam's one act and its result with Jesus' one act and its subsequent outcome. He contrasts Adam's disobedience with Jesus' obedience. The first brought death. The second brought life. Adam's action resulted in separation from God (spiritual death). Jesus' action brought reconciliation and regeneration (spiritual life).

But Paul's main point in these verses is that men had been dying (suffering the penalty for their sins) long before the law had been given to Moses.

…people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. – Romans 5:13 NLT

Mankind not only inherited death as a result of Adam's disobedience, but they also inherited his sin nature. But their death was due to Adam's sin, not their own. From God's perspective, they sinned “in” Adam. The penalty for his sin was passed down to his descendants. So Paul states, “ everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did” (Romans 5:14 NLT). Long before the law was given, men sinned. They may not have sinned in the same way that Adam did, but they still faced the same penalty of death. They still experienced spiritual separation from God. Why? Because Adam “was a type of the one who was to come” (Romans 5:14 ESV).

Prior to Moses receiving God’s law on Mount Sinai, men still experienced the penalty of death for disobedience. All men knew death was inevitable and unavoidable; they just didn't know why they had to die. They feared death because they were uncertain about what would happen next. Death was an enigma to them, and it appeared to have no purpose. Death was to be feared and avoided at all costs.

But when God gave the law, it revealed the righteousness that God demanded of mankind. It provided a non-negotiable list of God's requirements for escaping the penalty of death. With the giving of the law, God made His righteous requirements unequivocal and non-negotiable. No longer was man allowed to dictate his own set of rules for life. Morality and justice were not subjective and left up to the opinions of fallen men; they were the province of God. 

However, man's sin nature made it impossible for him to keep God's law. Before the law was given, man sinned in ignorance. After God’s law was made known, man sinned knowingly. Like Adam, the Israelites knew God's commands but disobeyed anyway. They knew the consequences for disobedience, but sinned all the same.

But Paul builds on his comparison between Adam and Jesus by illustrating that God provided a way out.

The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin's control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. – Romans 8:3 NLT

That is the gospel of God that Paul has been talking about. Adam's disobedience brought death; Jesus' obedience brought life. Death reigned, but through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God declared an end to sin's control over us. Martin Luther summarizes Paul's contrast quite succinctly.

“Christ has become a Dispenser of righteousness to those who are of Him, though they have not earned any righteousness; for through the Cross He has secured (righteousness) for all men. The figure of Adam's transgression is in us, for we die just as through we had sinned as he did. The figure of Christ is in us, for we live just as though we had fulfilled all righteousness as He did.” – Martin Luther, Commentary on Romans

Adam’s sin did not come as a shock to God. In His providence and sovereignty, God knew that the couple He had made in His image would succumb to Satan’s temptation and rebel against Him. The incarnation of the Son of God was not a knee-jerk reaction by the Father; it was not His Plan B. The fall of man did not catch God by surprise. In fact, Paul reminds us that God’s plan of redemption had been in place even before He made the world or Adam and Eve.

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. – Ephesians 1:3-5 NLT

Paul reiterated this claim to his young protegé, Timothy.

For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News. – 2 Timothy 1:9-10 NLT

Long before Adam was created and made the fateful decision that led to death, God had ordained the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son as the solution. Man, left to his own devices, is incapable of living up to God’s righteous standards. Sin was inevitable, and mankind’s need for a Savior was unavoidable. But God had the plan in place before the universe was formed and man was created, and “Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners” (Romans 5:6 NLT). Adam sinned and brought death. Jesus died and brought life. Adam disobeyed God and was cursed. Jesus “redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’” (Galatians 3:13 BSB). 

The sin of Adam was restored by the last Adam. 

Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like[i] the heavenly man. – 1 Corinthians 14:47-49 NLT

Father, thank You for Plan A. I don’t fully understand why Adam and Eve did what they did, but I have a feeling that I would have done no better if I had been in their place. Sin comes naturally for us. Even as a believer, I find myself succumbing to the temptations of the enemy. Like the Israelites, I know Your will and have Your Word to guide my life, but I still choose to disobey You on a regular basis. Yet, I stand before You as righteous because of the blood of Your Son. His death paid the penalty for my sins — past, present, and future. He redeemed me out of slavery to sin. He has set me free and restored me to a right relationship with You. I am no longer condemned or under a curse. Without Jesus, I would still be trying to earn Your favor and acceptance through obedience to Your holy law. I would be caught in the dead-end pursuit of righteousness by my own strength. But long before You made me, You had a plan to save me, and all I can say is thank You! Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

Weak, Unworthy, and Without Hope

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. – Romans 5:6-11 ESV

Peter tells us, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit” (1 Peter 3:18 ESV).

The sinless one died for sinners. The innocent died for the guilty. The righteous sacrificed His life for the unrighteous, and not after we got our proverbial act together. Paul emphasizes the out-of-the-ordinary nature of this selfless, substitutionary act. 

…most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. – Romans 5:7 NLT

As human beings, we would find it difficult, if not impossible, to give our lives even for someone whom we deemed to be righteous. We might do it, but we would have to give it some serious thought. But Jesus died for us while we were mired in our sinfulness. He didn't die for us because we were righteous, but so that we might become righteous. In fact, when Jesus was asked why He hung out with tax collectors and sinners, He replied, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick…For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matthew 9:12, 13 ESV). That was the scope of His mission.

The implications of this are staggering. We live in a world where justice is defined as everyone getting what they deserve. We are taught that any good we experience in this life is ultimately earned and a direct result of our good behavior. But Paul turns that philosophy on its head, saying that our salvation was the result of God's mercy and love, as expressed through the sacrificial death of His own Son. Rather than giving us what we deserved: death, God gave us what we didn’t deserve: eternal life through faith in His Son.

We deserved condemnation, but He provided pardon. We merited alienation from Him, but He made us His sons and daughters. We had earned His righteous wrath and just judgment, but He poured out His grace and forgiveness. And the amazing thing is that He did it out of love.

God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. – Romans 5:8 NLT

In his late-night discussion with the Pharisee, Nicodemus, Jesus attempted to explain His God-given mission to save the world. 

“…this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” – John 3:16-17 NLT

Years later, the apostle John would record his post-resurrection understanding of what Jesus accomplished through His death.

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. – 1 John 4:9-10 NLT

Christ died for the ungodly. However, despite this gracious act of kindness, humanity refuses to come to grips with its own ungodliness. We struggle with the idea that we are sinners in need of a Savior. We hate the thought of being helpless, weak, and unable to save ourselves. We desperately want to believe that we can somehow earn our way into God's good graces. But Paul will have none of it, because God refuses to grade on the curve or lower His standards in order to allow men to squeeze in under the bar.

It was the death of Jesus, His shed blood and broken body, that makes our right standing with God possible. Through the willing sacrifice of His own life, Jesus provided a way for sinful men to be made right with God and freed from ever having to face His righteous, holy wrath again. As Paul writes later in this same letter, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1 ESV).

We have been reconciled with God. At one point, we were His enemies, but now we are His children. Because of Christ's death, we have had our broken relationship with God restored — in this life. Because of Christ's resurrection and ascension, we are assured a permanent right standing with God — for eternity. We are saved from the eternal wrath of God; that is the eventual lot of all men who refuse to accept His gift of salvation made possible through the death and resurrection of His Son.

Paul tells us that this reality should cause us to rejoice because “we have now received reconciliation” (Romans 5:11 ESV). It was the ancient writer, Origen, who said, “Paul stresses the now in order to indicate that our rejoicing is not merely a future hope but also a present experience” (Origen, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans). We are reconciled with God. We are free from His wrath. We are righteous in His eyes. We are no longer His enemies. We are justified by God. All these things are present realities that hold future significance.

Ambrosiaster, a Christian author who lived in the middle to late fourth century, provides a wonderful analysis of Jesus’ gracious act of kindness on our behalf.

“If Christ gave himself up to death at the right time for those who were unbelievers and enemies of God … how much more will he protect us with his help if we believe in him! He died for us in order to obtain life and glory for us. So if he died for his enemies, just think what he will do for his friends!” – Ambrosiaster, Commentary on Paul's Epistles

God loved us while we were still mired in our sin. Christ died for us because we were sinners. And we can trust God's love to carry us through to the very end. We can rest on the truth of Paul’s declaration, “God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6 NLT).

Father, it is so easy to overlook and underappreciate the significance of the gospel. Even as a believer, I am tempted to minimize my own sinfulness and elevate my self-righteousness. But before I came to faith in Christ, there was nothing redeemable about me. I had done nothing worthy of Your love, grace, and mercy. I was unworthy of being saved but fully deserving of Your righteous condemation. Yet, out of love, You opened my eyes to the truth of the gospel and my need for a Savior. You helped me see the wretchedness of my condition and my inability to do anything about it. Through Your grace, I was transformed from a sinner into a saint, from being Your enemy to being Your adopted son. And one day, You will complete the process of my sanctifaction with my glorification so that I can spend eternity with You. That truly is amazing!   Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

The Only Righteousness That Matters

21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. – Romans 3:21-26 ESV

Inevitably, the book of Romans is about how man can be made right with God. The first few chapters build a case for man's unrighteousness, proving that no man can live up to God's holy standards because his sin nature prevents him from keeping God's law. Even those parts he does manage to keep, he does so from the wrong motivation, out of a sense of obedience or obligation, not love. His law-keeping ways are insufficient to earn him any merit with God. His acts of goodness come across to God as worthless because they are tainted with sin. So Paul concludes, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 ESV). That includes Jews and Gentiles, pagans and the pious, reprobates and the religious, and everyone in between.

But Paul contends that God's brand of righteousness has been revealed apart from the law. In other words, God revealed His righteousness through the gift of His grace, not as a form of compensation for man's efforts. In Chapter Four, Paul states, “Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due” (Romans 4:4 ESV). If our righteousness can be earned, then we are simply receiving what we are owed. If it is based on our efforts, then God is somehow obligated to pay us what we rightly deserve.

But Paul clarifies the truth about the gospel and the righteousness that God approves.

…people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners. – Romans 4:5 NLT

In fact, the Scriptures point out that “Abraham believed god, and it was counted to him as righteousness” (Romans 4:3 ESV). The kind of righteousness God is looking for is based on faith, not works; it is God-dependent, not self-dependent.

God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. – Romans 3:24-25 ESV

Man-made righteousness is insufficient; it can't measure up and falls far short of the goal that God has established. Augustine writes, “The Law was given, in order that we might seek after grace. Grace was given, in order that we might fulfill the Law. It was not the fault of the Law that it was not fulfilled, but the fault was man’s carnal mind. This guilt the Law must make manifest, in order that we may be healed by divine grace” (Augustine, Concerning the Spirit and the Letter).

We are justified through faith by grace. As Paul says, it is a gift, unearned and undeserved. Christ's death solved our problem. He paid our debt, and redeemed us out of slavery to sin and propitiated or satisfied the holy demands of God. Until Jesus showed up on the scene, God had willingly overlooked (passed over) the sins committed by men.

…he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. – Romans 3:25-26 NLT

This does not mean that He accepted or tolerated their sins. What Paul is inferring is that God restrained Himself from dealing with the sins of men according to His own justice. He put off the inevitable. He delayed His wrath so that He might reveal His righteousness through Christ.

As Paul says, “It was to show His righteousness at the present time” (Romans 3:26 ESV). God knew it was “impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4 ESV). So, the author of Hebrews writes, “when Christ came into the world, he said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, “Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book”’” (Hebrews 10:5-7 ESV).

God the Father sent Jesus Christ to do His will and die for the sins of men. The righteousness God demanded of men was only possible through faith in the sacrifice of His Son. The book of Hebrews reminds us that, “by that will [the will for Christ to die] we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10 ESV).

In sending His Son to atone for the sins of men, God remained just. He was able to punish sin in the way that His holy standards required, while at the same time justifying those who, though sinners, placed their faith in His Son's saving work. God provided the righteousness man needed. It was a gift, unearned, undeserved, and unmerited in any way. And this free gift assured that no one could boast about having earned his way into God's good grace. No one could take credit for their salvation or claim to have played a part in their sanctification. And no one can say they had a hand in achieving a right standing before God. It was all done for us and in spite of us.

Father, Your grace truly is amazing and Your plan to atone for the sins of mankind is beyond comprehension. Paul said that when the crucifixion of Christ is preached, “the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense” (1 Corinthians 1:23 NLT). It makes no sense, sounds far-fetched, and comes across more like a fable than the truth. But we know it is the truth because our lives have been transformed by this remarkable gift of Your grace. We couldn’t have earned it and, most certainly, didn’t deserve it. But You showered sinful mankind with Your love, mercy, and grace in the form of Your Son’s sinless sacrifice on our behalf. It reminds me of that familiar old hymn, “Marvelous Grace of Our Loving Lord.”

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt,
yonder on Calvary's mount out-poured,
there where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.

Grace, grace, God's grace,
grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God's grace,

Marvelous Grace of Our Loving Lord,  Julia H. Johnston (1910)

Thank You for Your grace. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

Unrighteous But Not Without Hope

1 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. 3 What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4 By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written,

“That you may be justified in your words,
    and prevail when you are judged.”

5 But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) 6 By no means! For then how could God judge the world? 7 But if through my lie God's truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just. – Romans 3:1-8 ESV

With the opening of Chapter Three, it is vital to remember Paul's words from Chapter One: “The righteous shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17 ESV). Paul was quoting from Habakkuk 2:4, where God said to His prophet concerning the nation of Babylon, “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4 ESV).

Faith has always been the means by which men attain the kind of righteousness God expects; it has never been based on human effort or achievement. Back in the book of Genesis, when God commanded Abraham to institute the rite of circumcision as a sign of His covenant with the people of Israel, He said, “I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God” (Genesis 17:8 ESV). Circumcision was a sign of ownership, an outward symbol of their unique position as God's possession, but circumcision would not make them righteous. In other words, adherence to the rite of circumcision would not earn them favor with God; that was only possible through their faith in God’s promise to give them the land and to transform them into a great nation.

In Chapter Four of Romans, Paul further explains the role of faith, using Abraham, the father of the Hebrew nation, as an example. He clarifies that Abraham was justified before God, not because he had been circumcised, but because he had faith.

For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” – Romans 4:3 ESV

But Paul asks the question: “How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised?” (Romans 4:10 ESV). Paul is asking whether God's declaration of Abraham's righteousness was pre- or post-circumcision. Was his righteousness the result of his obedience to God's command to be circumcised? Paul answers his own question: “It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised” (Romans 4:10-11 ESV).

Paul’s point is that God has always measured man's righteousness by faith, not works. The fact is, the Old Testament saints were expected to live by faith just as much as we are. Paul says, “The Jews were entrusted with the whole revelation of God. True, some of them were unfaithful; but just because they were unfaithful, does that mean God will be unfaithful?” (Romans 3:2 ESV).

In his commentary on Romans, Martin Luther writes, “Circumcision was of value to the Jews because they believed the divine promise (connected with it) and so they awaited its fulfillment” (Martin Luther, Commentary on Romans). Abraham was declared righteous because he had faith in God's promises. Again, Paul writes in Chapter Four, “God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith” (Romans 4:13 NLT).

The author of Hebrews elaborates on this all-important matter of Abraham’s faith.

It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God. – Hebrews 11:8-10 NLT

It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” – Hebrews 11:17-18 NLT

The kind of righteousness God requires has always been based on faith. The kind of righteousness He requires is only available through faith in His promises. When God told Abraham, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing … and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3), Abraham had no way of knowing the full extent of that promise. But he believed; he had faith, and it was counted to him as righteousness.

But there were many Jews who failed to trust in the promises of God and who falsely believed that their righteousness before God was based on their own effort or merit. Quoting what must have been a common view in his day, Paul writes, “Some might say, ‘our sinfulness serves a good purpose, for it helps people see how righteous God is. Isn’t it unfair, then, for him to punish us?’” (Romans 3:5 NLT). They had reached the erroneous conclusion that if sin reveals God’s righteousness, there is no reason for Him to punish the sinner. But Paul exposes the flaw in their thinking.

If God were not entirely fair, how would he be qualified to judge the world? – Romans 3:6 NLT

In His holiness, God cannot turn a blind eye to sin; He must deal with it justly and righteously. And in Chapter Six, Paul clearly states the divine indictment that sin deserves.

…the wages of sin is death… – Romans 6:23 NLT

Paul didn’t come up with this judicial judgment against sin; he got it from God Himself.

“For all people are mine to judge—both parents and children alike. And this is my rule: The person who sins is the one who will die.” – Ezekiel 18:4 NLT

Sin is an act of rebellion against His sovereignty and must be punished appropriately. Yet, there were those who wrongly concluded that their sin was somehow beneficial.

“The more we sin, the better it is!” – Romans 3:8 NLT

But Paul refuted their false assessment, writing, “Those who say such things deserve to be condemned” (Romans 3:8 NLT). Their sinful conclusion only served to prove God’s just judgment of them. He deals with this false assumption again in Chapter Six.

Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? – Romans 6:1-2 NLT

Our failure to acknowledge sin, or any attempt to justify or rationalize its seriousness, will never negate its effect. God takes sin seriously.

Paul’s point is that while some failed to have faith and lived in unrighteousness, their decision only proves the truth or reality of God's brand of righteousness. His righteousness is faith-based, not works-dependent. The Jews had been given the promises of God, but most of them failed to believe. They placed their faith in themselves, other nations, false gods, and their unique identity as God's chosen people. But Paul states that their unfaithfulness did not nullify God’s faithfulness.

God will keep His promises; He will fulfill every covenant commitment He made to Abraham. In fact, in his letter to the believers in Galatia, Paul writes: 

The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God. What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles right in his sight because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.”  

So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith. – Galatians 3:7-9 NLT

Paul began his letter by quoting the book of Habakkuk.

The righteous shall live by his faith. – Habakkuk 2:3 ESV

But don’t misunderstand Paul’s point. He is not suggesting that our righteousness produces faith. We don’t achieve our righteous standing before God through self-effort. Our faith is not a byproduct of our self-induced righteousness. In fact, the New Living Translation provides a more accurate rendering of the text that helps to clarify Paul’s point.

“It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” – Romans 1:17 NLT

Faith produces righteousness, not the other way around. The ability to live righteously is a gift given to us by God as a result of our faith in His promise of salvation through grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Father, what a relief it is to know that I don’t have to earn my way into Your good graces. I am not obligated to live up to Your holy standards in my own strength and according to my limited will-power. If that was the case, I would fail miserably. You don’t judge me based on my capacity to live righteously. If You did, I would have no hope. But Your mercy toward me is based on the faithfulness of Christ. He died in my place and paid for my sins. He sacrificed His sinless life so that I might have eternal life. And all I have to do is believe. Nothing more, nothing less. And even my ability to believe comes from You. Faith is not something I produce in and of myself. It too is a gift of grace provided by the Holy Spirit. Paul made this point clear when he wrote, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT). I can’t even take credit for my faith because You provided it. Which is what makes salvation so amazing. You alone make it possible from beginning to end. There is no aspect of my salvation for which I can take credit. I didn’t deserve it, earn it, and I can’t boast about it. I am perfectly okay with that. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22