Gm. Topic-You Can Be Free From Sin TEXT: ROMANS 6:1-10 All too often, people excuse their sinful lifestyle by arguing that it is impossible for any human being to be totally free from sin. Instead, they insist that God’s love and grace are ever available to forgive all their sins as often as they are committed. In the event, they miss the central point of the gospel, that the Lord Jesus Christ died to free man from the bondage of sin, once and for all. In seeking to clear this thorny issue, Apostle Paul affirmed that we cannot continue to commit sin while expecting that the grace of God to forgive will always be extended to us. The day we sought God’s forgiveness and received Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we died to sin. Its power over our lives was broken. This is sealed by water baptism which symbolized the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. As Christ died, so sin died in our lives, and as He rose from the dead, so we have now risen to lead a new life completely free from sin. When Christ was crucified, He broke the power of sin over all who would believe in Him, so that we can no longer continue to be slaves to sinful practices. Our association with Christ’s death meant that we too had died to sin and now possess the blessed hope of life with Christ in time and in eternity. And the Apostle concludes that, death, which is the just punishment for sin, no longer has dominion over Christ, or over all who have accepted Him. Once you receive Christ, God makes changes in your life that are visible to all. This is what shows that you are now a Christian. That God is ever merciful and forgiving is not a permission for you to live carelessly or become morally bankrupt. The grace of God is only an incentive for you to act right, resist sin, and treat all sinful desires as dead so you can enjoy a flourishing new life in Christ. Thought for the Day : Sin is master only to those who enjoy all it offers. @daily manna:)
Posted on: Sun, 16 Jun 2013 05:51:09 +0000