Romans 6:19: I Am Speaking In Human Terms, Because Of Your Limitations

Romans 6:19
[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. (ESV)

I love how Paul approaches his audience. He tells them he is using human terms because of their natural limitations. At first this sounds like condescension or arrogance. Paul was incredibly intelligent and much of what he understood would have been over the heads of many of the people who would have listened to him. Even the Apostle Peter spoke of Paul's intellect:

2 Peter 3:15–16
[15] And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, [16] as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. (ESV)

So what is Paul simplifying for the Church at Rome? He is talking about our past life before Christ and our new life in Christ. While we may have thought that a life pursuing pleasures was a pursuit of freedom the very opposite was true. Impurity and lawlessness enslave us and they lead to even greater captivity. With each sin the shackles of slavery tighten.

Similarly, as we present our bodies as slaves to righteousness we grow closer and closer to what Christ has for us. He desires to mold us more and more in the image of himself. Our efforts to present ourselves to righteousness are not vain efforts to appease our Savior, but rather they are demonstrations of our cooperating with his perfect will.

Those who are in sin progressively become more enslaved. As believers in Jesus Christ we are to progressively grow in the process of sanctification. Surrender your will to the Lord and allow him to mold you more and more in his image.

Comments

James 2:18: I Will Show You My Faith By My Works

James 2:18 [18] But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (ESV) There are certain things in life that go together. Peanut butter and jelly. Double stuff Oreo cookies and milk. Faith and works. James raises the point that someone might argue that faith and works can be separated. "One will say, "You have faith and I have works." Is it ok for works to be separated from faith? James is making the argument that faith and works are not to be separated. James is saying to the one who has faith only, with no works, that he wants them to see his faith by his works. In other words, if you are going to claim to have faith, but have no works, you have no evidence of faith. If I am to believe that a person has genuine faith I can only see that by their works. Faith brings action. There are so many people to claim to have some kind of faith, yet when it comes down to it, their

Romans 8:18: For I Consider That The Sufferings Of This Present Time Are Not Worth Comparing

Romans 8:18 [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. (ESV) Perspective. What an important word. Let's be honest. We do not like the idea of suffering. We will do almost anything to avoid any kind of suffering. Some churches have gone so far as to preach against the idea of suffering, declaring it to not be a part of the true believer's life. Paul is not shy about the topic. Paul uses the sufferings of this present time as a means to consider the greater glory that awaits us. Perspective. Paul is not in any way attempting to diminish our suffering. A view toward eternity puts our suffering in a proper understanding. Yes, our suffering is terrible. In the grand scheme of eternity it is not even worth comparison. Maybe you are thinking that Paul does not know what he is talking about when it comes to suffering. In 2 Corinthians 11 Paul describes countless beatings, often near death,

Romans 15:20-21: And Thus I Make It My Ambition To Preach The Gospel, Not Where Christ Has Already Been Named

Romans 15:20–21 [20] and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, [21] but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.” (ESV) We need to be reminded continually that the message of the Gospel is intended to move all across the world. Jesus said that his followers were to preach the Gospel, starting in Jerusalem, and continue preaching the Gospel to the whole world. Christians have not always been good at delivering the Gospel message as far and as often as they should. In the first century church it took intense persecution to motivate the disciples in Jerusalem to bring the Gospel to Judea and Samaria. Once the disciples fled to new regions they shared the Gospel wherever they went. Would the disciples have preached the Gospel without the persecution? We may never know. Some probably would have stayed in their co

Every Day Devotion

Search This Blog