(Read Romans 6:12-14)
This morning we continue our series “Grace that is Simply Amazing.” Yesterday we took a look at the symbolism behind water baptism. The Apostle Paul painted a picture for us, upon the canvas of our minds, that made it painstakingly clear that we (as New Testament believers) should embrace the fact that we are dead to sin and alive in Christ. After going to great lengths to make the parallel between our water baptism and Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, Paul goes back to address both sin and the Law. In verses 12-4 the Apostle said:
“Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.”
So what does this mean to you today? A few things:
1. Grace is no excuse for sin. The Apostle Paul is arguably the Bible’s greatest teacher on Grace. But Paul, in no way, makes Grace an excuse for sin. Speaking to Born-Again believers, who are supposed to be dead to sin, the Apostle said, “Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires.” If the Bible tells you not to “let” sin control the way you live and not to “give in” to sinful desires, then YOU CAN live free from sin. The Bible will never instruct you to do something you are not capable of doing.
2. Divine Grace is released when you die to self. Paul said, “give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life.” When you GIVE YOURSELF completely to God — accepting His will over yours, accepting His standard (the Word) over your previous standards, and making His Word and will for your life the ruler by which you judge your decisions — you slowly die to self and you progressively learn to live the life He intended for you to live. When you do that, you will tap into God’s Grace and you will receive supernatural power to do what you could never do on your own.
3. Become a yielded instrument in the hands of a Holy God. Paul said, “use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.” When you die to self and you begin to live for God, you become a vessel in His hands, yielded completely to Him, and open to be used of Him in whatever way He sees fit. When you get to this point you are in the perfect position to experience the Supernatural. Powerful things happen when you get out of the way. When you are no longer ruling and running your own life, and you become a person who has surrendered their life completely to God, you will get to experience the life God destined you to have and believe me, His plans for your life are much better than anything you could have ever come up with on your own.
4. Grace frees you from the bondage of the Law and the power of sin. Paul said, “Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.” Grace frees you from the Law, but that does not mean that you are to become a Lawbreaker. Grace frees you from the power of sin, but that does not mean that you are to live as a sinner. Grace frees you from bondage so that you can be free to become the man/woman that God has called, destined, designed and desires for you to be. As you die to self you get to live for God, with His Grace, and with the supernatural power to do what He called you to do before the foundations of the world!
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for teaching me more and more about Your amazing, unyielding and undeserved Grace. You called me from my mother’s womb by Your amazing Grace and the more I die to self, the more Your Grace is able to freely flow through me. I want to become the man/woman You have called, destined, designed and desire for me to be, and I know You freely give me Your Grace to become it. I also know that I must die to self and embrace Your Grace in order to experience Your best. So by faith I declare that I pick up my cross daily, I deny myself and my old ways, and I follow You. In a choice between my old desires and the new desires You are giving me, I freely choose Yours. In a choice between my old standards and the new standard I see in Your Word, I freely chose Your standard for life and living. In a choice between my old plans and the calling/destiny You are revealing to me, there is no choice, I freely give up my old life in order to live the new life You have given me by Grace. Your plans are far greater than anything I could have ever come up with on my own. I die to self in order to live the life You called me to live and as I do, I become an instrument in Your hands, and Your Supernatural power is able to flow through me daily. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
