Romans 6:13-14 ESV 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. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
It’s great to listen in to the Dave Ramsey Radio show from time to time and hear folks call in to scream, “We are debt free!” If you listen to the show you know that Dave offers a simple plan to help folks live with in their means, pay off their debt, and live debt free. As Dave puts it, “Live like no one else today, so you can live like no one else tomorrow.” Many times folks call into the show and discuss just how big their debt is. It seems like they can’t enjoy much of life because as soon as their paycheck comes in it goes out to pay for a mortgage, car notes, student loan debts, medical bills, and their consumer credit card. People are drowning in debt. Dave often quotes the prover, “The borrower is slave to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7b).
I can imagine the joy experienced as a family calls in, or drives across the country to show up live in the studio and scream out their testimony, “We are Debt Free!” They are experiencing life where the pay check comes in and it doesn’t have to go right back out! They are free from the burdens, anxieties, and even depression all because their massive debts have been paid off.
Those in Christ have something even greater to rejoice about, we have been set free from the burden of sin! We were once slaves to sin, we had a daily obligation to sinful thoughts, actions, and lifestyles. Our sin separated us from God and kept us from being free to worship Him. Yet through the response of faith to the work of Christ on the cross we are set free from our sin! We are set free not just from the punishment our past sins have earned us, but we are free to worship and glorify God!
The apostle Paul urges us here to remember that we have been set free from sin and to present our selves to the Lord. Let the Holy Spirit work in you! I can’t imagine someone still paying the credit card company long after the debt has been paid. This powerful reminder in God’s word helps us grasp that we no longer have to do the same sort of things we did before Jesus set us free. We have the capacity, through the work of God in our lives, to forgive as we have been forgiven, to love one another as Christ loved us, to encourage and support one another, and all the various commands we find in scripture. Those commands aren’t written to people who are still slaves, but people who are free by the power of the gospel to fulfill whatever commands our Savior gives us. As a friend of mind likes to say all the time, “Where God guides, He provides.” This is especially true when it comes to living the new life in Jesus Christ.
Father, Thank you that you have set me free from slavery to sin. I confess that old habits die hard. Too often I return to broken cisterns thinking they will provide what I need. I rejoice that your word reminds me today that I don’t have to keep going back to dead, dry wells but that I have all I need in you. I’ve been set free from the sins of my past, am no longer bound in the present, and have a bright future ahead where sin will be no more. I pray that I will live fully empowered by the gospel. I rejoice at your work in my life. Conform me more and more into the image of Christ. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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