Scripture:
Romans 6:17-23; 2 Corinthians 3:9-18
The interesting difference between a sinful
existence and the one that is founded in God’s righteous way, is simply in the
choice that every form of obedience demands.
For the people who follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, obedience means
that we are faithful to the way that God has laid out for us. But the sinful life
requires just as great a dedication to worldly obedience as that which leads us
to the life and way of our Lord!
So who are we choosing to be obedient to? Those who are involved in the life of their
church, they would say that they are submissive to the teachings of
scripture. But just how dutiful are we -
really? When we pray, do our words come
from the heart, or only from our mind? When
we confess our sins, and seek the Lord’s forgiveness for what we have done, do
we also ask for strength and vision to banish those things far from our lives,
as well as committing to never acting in them again? Or is our only focus on the past, while we
have no thought whatsoever of how we will live in the days to come? When we come to worship, is our entire being
- heart, mind and soul - focused on God and praising Him for the ways that He
calls us to live, serve and follow? Or
are we more concerned with what we heard or did in the previous week, as well
as what we are planning for the next few hours or days? Even critiquing the sermon with the person
sitting next to you could probably wait until fellowship time!
The point of these questions is consideration of
where our allegiance and obedience is actually pinned? Are we totally dedicated to our Lord and
Savior and the relationship that He has offered to each of us, or has our love
and celebration of Jesus taken a secondary role to the things that our everyday
life asks of us?
In our passages for today, Paul encourages us to cast
off the shackles of worldly bondage, and freely submit ourselves to joyful
“slavery” in the ways of Jesus Christ.
Read Romans 6:17-23
These verses remind me of the time when Paul and
Silas were in prison, praying and singing praises to God for His overwhelming
goodness. The other prisoners who were also
in chains heard the singing and praising, and were drawn to listen to these most
unusual goings on. After all, who ever
heard of joyful adoration being lifted up within an abusive Roman prison? These two men were completely focused on the glory
and goodness of their Lord Jesus, even while they were also bound by the evil
of the world that had brought them to this place and time. Their love and life for their Lord had taken
precedence that evening, and in doing so, the world could no longer hold any
power over them.
How do we know that?
The earthquake that would soon shake the very foundations of that
prison, the abrupt violence that would break the locks on the doors and chains and
stocks that held them all securely, would also become a testament to what
submission to God and His glory could do for the faithful. But the men knew that their release from
confinement was never meant to bring them freedom from the world’s hatred, but rather
that it was to be a testament to God’s love for the jailer and all of the prisoners
who were there that night.
They could have easily focused their lives on the slavery
of the prison and its chains, but instead, they chose to be slaves to God’s
grace and compassion. And their choice even brought the jailer to a
completely new understanding of what God could do for him and his family – he took
these men home with him, cared for their wounds, fed them, and he and his
entire household were baptized. (Acts 16:22-34)
As Paul wrote the words that we read in Romans 6, he
knew very well what slavery was all about, whether it was the oppressive Roman version,
or the general civil version that we all know about, or that which came through
his former allegiance to the Law of Moses, but more specifically, he knew and
lived in the version that comes from a commitment to the way of God by faith in
Christ Jesus. In verse 18, we read “18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” Of
course, God’s version is different, in that it is one that is grounded in love,
and kindness, and a desire to give Himself to those who give themselves to Him!
He goes on to ask if we have ever gained a single
thing of value from our slavery to sin, which includes a separation from the
Lord’s righteousness. The allure that
comes from the sinful life is simply a false sense of transient relief and
worldly pleasure, while a commitment to the righteous life that we find in
Christ Jesus will provide us with hope, joy, and an otherwise unknown level of patience
and peace that will see us through the angst that the world will constantly heap
upon us.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift
of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord! Who have you chosen as your way and Master? Eternal glory in Jesus, or hatred and death that comes from the world? Which do you think sounds
better?
Read 2 Corinthians 3:9-18
The “veil” that Paul writes about was introduced
after Moses returned from receiving the 10 Commandments on Mount Sinai. We read in Exodus34:29-35 that his face was radiant from the time he spent in
the presence of his Jehovah God. When
the people, including Moses’ brother Aaron, saw Moses, they were afraid to even
come close to him. Apparently, they fully
understood that he looked the way he did, because the man had stood in the
presence of God and survived, and they associated the change in appearance as a sign that if they approached any closer, that they just might
not survive in this changed presence. (Exodus 33:12-23)
Paul makes the comparison to the wearing of a symbolic
veil when the people hear the word of God read – that somehow, by not hearing
the Lord’s commands, they will be spared from the consequences of not keeping
them. He compares the first covenant that
was made with Abraham (Genesis 15:18),
to the “new covenant” that Jesus offered to all who believe in Him, then and through the
ages – that by faith in Him, there can be forgiveness for the
sin that grows within our lives, and eternal life in heaven with Him. By faith, the “veil of condemnation” has been
removed, including the fear that used to come when people began to live in the
presence of Jesus and His ways, and which has now been replaced with divine Grace &
Mercy!
By a living focus on God and faith in Jesus Christ,
we now have the opportunity to come into the presence of God, seeking His word,
living in His will, being filled with His glory, and knowing the forgiveness that
faith and the striving for righteous living can bring. And we need to keep our focus on Christ and
the word that He brings us.
But this also requires that we refocus our lives
from worldly thoughts and ways, and beginning to give God in Christ our complete
allegiance, obedience, trust, and hope for both this life and that which
eternity will bring.
May the Lord be praised for the freedom that He brings
to our release from slavery to the world’s sinful and destructive ways.
