Daily Reading: Roman 6:1-13

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“…as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

Romans 6:4b

There is a certain glory in the death of Christ, but it pales in
comparison to the glory of the empty tomb. Have you ever seen an
image of Christ hanging on the cross? Have you heard messages
preached where one might think Christ is still on the cross? Sadly,
I’ve experienced both of these situations. If you and I understand,
and place our faith in the death of Jesus – believing that we died to
sin and are no longer slaves to it, we do well. This is a very
important truth and one that I preach often as God gives me the
opportunity. The previous devotions spoke definitively of being freed
from the grips of sin having died (become separated) from it, but the
message does not end there.

Christ
did not free of from sin that we may do whatever we want – ignoring
His character and our purpose. In order to set the stage for our
understanding of the resurrected life, that is the new life we have
in Christ, we must remember the very purpose for which we were
created. The father created us, that we might enjoy life, worshiping
Him; we are created for worship! Let’s be clear about this one thing,
and this deserves and entire series of lessons, worship is neither
boring, dull or painful. Worship is not one thing – it is everything.
Every beat of our heart should be to the worship of God; our
decisions, our lifestyle, the things we do, and the thoughts we
think, should be – must be, to the glory of God. Living a life that
brings glory to God will result in an incredible peace.

The
death of Jesus then, did not set us free from sin to live as we
desire in the flesh (the old man and his sinful desires), rather He
did this that we might live to and for Him – to worship Him. Of
course that “old man”, the sinful man, is still present and will
remain so until the Lord takes us home. You likely see him every day
pulling you and nudging you through your desires to do that which
does not bring glory to God. Rest assured, the sinful nature is still
present in us until we are glorified and go to be with the Father.
The difference, however, is that we are no longer a slave to those
desires. Notice again, “knowing this, that our old man was
crucified with Him… that we should no longer be slaves of sin.”
You are no longer a slave to sin; rather you have the ability (v.13)
to, “present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and
your member as instruments of righteousness to God.” Notice what
Paul said, and didn’t say. He did not say that we died to sin so we
might live to self. We died to sin that we might live to God – that
we might glorify Him as “instruments of righteousness.”

Are
we living as instruments of self-pleasure, or are we living as
instruments of righteousness?

You’re Alive – Part 1 - 4TheWord Radio.