CAPABILITIES

CAPABILITIES

Romans [GW] 6:1-23 What should we say then? Should we continue to sin so that God's kindness will increase? That's unthinkable! As far as sin is concerned, we have died. So how can we still live under sin's influence? Don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? When we were baptized into his death, we were placed into the tomb with him. As Christ was brought back from death to life by the glorious power of the Father, so we, too, should live a new kind of life. If we've become united with him in a death like his, certainly we will also be united with him when we come back to life as he did. We know that the person we used to be was crucified with him to put an end to sin in our bodies. Because of this we are no longer slaves to sin. The person who has died has been freed from sin. If we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, who was brought back to life, will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once and for all to sin's power. But now he lives, and he lives for God. So consider yourselves dead to sin's power but living for God in the power Christ Jesus gives you. Therefore, never let sin rule your physical body so that you obey its desires. Never offer any part of your body to sin's power. No part of your body should ever be used to do any ungodly thing. Instead, offer yourselves to God as people who have come back from death and are now alive. Offer all the parts of your body to God. Use them to do everything that God approves of. Certainly, sin shouldn't have power over you because you're not controlled by laws, but by God's favor. Then what is the implication? Should we sin because we are not controlled by laws but by God's favor? That's unthinkable! Don't you know that if you offer to be someone's slave, you must obey that master? Either your master is sin, or your master is obedience. Letting sin be your master leads to death. Letting obedience be your master leads to God's approval. You were slaves to sin. But I thank God that you have become wholeheartedly obedient to the teachings which you were given. Freed from sin, you were made slaves who do what God approves of. I'm speaking in a human way because of the weakness of your corrupt nature. Clearly, you once offered all the parts of your body as slaves to sexual perversion and disobedience. This led you to live disobedient lives. Now, in the same way, offer all the parts of your body as slaves that do what God approves of. This leads you to live holy lives. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from doing what God approves of. What did you gain by doing those things? You're ashamed of what you used to do because it ended in death. Now you have been freed from sin and have become God's slaves. This results in a holy life and, finally, in everlasting life. The payment for sin is death, but the gift that God freely gives is everlasting life found in Christ Jesus our Lord. [1Jn.1:1-10]

  One thing you’ll not hear me claiming is “I would never ever do ________!” This I learned from study of and involvement as a John 3:3 born-again Christian follower of the Word. Though I spoke such denials prior to, I ceased making the foolish prideful assertions.

  Indeed the indwelling of His Holy Spirit and access to God’s Wisdom endows Christians with Philippians 4:13 potential to fully serve as His 2Corinthians 5:17-21 ambassador of God’s redemptive love and grace.

  Studying the same Word we see that though we should count our old pre-John 3:3 nature as dead, it however is not; meaning that though a Christian we are still capable of all things perverse. This includes any and every sin contrary to saintly godliness. Theft, gossip, lying, destruction, fornication, murder, suicide, et al.

  Fact is that making such vainglorious congratulatory claims leaves us vulnerable to both God and Satan. (Jam.4:6; Heb.10:1-39; 1Pet.5:5-10)

  As followers of Christ we are capable of all godliness or contrariwise. God changes not our free will. As was with Adam, Eve and continuing with all since, choice is ours.

  In closing I share a passage from Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible. “Shall we continue in sin - It is very likely that these were the words of a believing Gentile, who - having as yet received but little instruction, for he is but just brought out of his heathen state to believe in Christ Jesus - might imagine, from the manner in which God had magnified his mercy, in blotting out his sin on his simply believing on Christ, that, supposing he even gave way to the evil propensities of his own heart, his transgressions could do him no hurt now that he was in the favor of God. And we need not wonder that a Gentile, just emerging from the deepest darkness, might entertain such thoughts as these; when we find that eighteen centuries after this, persons have appeared in the most Christian countries of Europe, not merely asking such a question, but defending the doctrine with all their might; and asserting in the most unqualified manner, “that believers were under no obligation to keep the moral law of God; that Christ had kept it for them; that his keeping it was imputed to them; and that God, who had exacted it from Him, who was their surety and representative, would not exact it from them, forasmuch as it would be injustice to require two payments for one debt.” These are the Antinomians who once flourished in this land, and whose race is not yet utterly extinct.”

EBB4   Monday, June 11, 2018