Romans 6:16
Don't you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.
This morning I read an interesting statement concerning the definition of addiction, provided by Luke Gilkerson @ Covenant Eyes.
"Long before the word “addiction” was adopted by 20th century medicine, the word had a different flavor—the term was not necessarily medical. The 1884 Oxford English Dictionary said addiction was the state or condition of being dedicated or devoted to a thing, esp. an activity or occupation; adherence or attachment, esp. of an immoderate or compulsive kind.”
This is one of the controlling themes of Romans 6: sin as a slave master. In Paul’s mind, this is one of the essential ways to describe everyone’s sinful condition, as a kind of slavery. It is not merely the so-called sickos and the junkies who experience enslaving compulsions. It is everyone. There is an addict in us all.
The question is not whether you will belong to a master. The question is: who or what will be your master? As Bob Dylan said, “You’re going to have to serve somebody.”
How does sin operate as a slave master? Paul explains in Romans 6, when our master is sin, we “obey its passions” (Rom. 6:12). The word “passions” is an interesting word in the original Greek language It means more than a desire or a drive; it means over-desire or overdrive. The word is not so much about desires for evil things as it is an inordinate desire for good things.
As Tim Keller says, this is the essence of “idolatry” in the Bible: when we turn good things into ultimate things, and in doing so they become our masters.
Everybody lives for something. Everyone has things in their lives that make them feel either significant or secure. Most of these things we desire are not evil in and of themselves, but the desires have become “ruling desires.” Needless to say that our society feeds these desires by the moral standards that are being torn down and replaced with new ones. New ones that only give approval to the desires that come from our fleshly nature (sin nature). Majority opinion does not always translate into good for the common man and woman.
The reason our idols rule us is because of the power of sin and the lure of the idol we have given ourselves to, to serve. For Paul, the resurrection of Christ was a ultimate moment in which the power of sin was broken. To put it bluntly, we now have a Power greater than any sin...any addiction....any pill, joint, bottle, line, needle...etc...etc...etc...that can lift the user out of darkness and give new life.
The resurrection is more than just proof that Christianity is the true religion. For Paul, Jesus’ resurrection is the ultimate truth of where all creation is heading. From the ashes of this world, some day God will resurrect a new creation. Christ is the first of those who will be raised from the dead on the Day of the Lord (1 Cor. 15:20-23). Some day, all of creation will follow and be free from corruption, decay, and death.
Paul says when Christ died and rose from death, “he died to sin, once for all” (Rom. 6:10). This fact is at the heart of Paul’s argument in Romans 6, so we can’t miss it.er we’ve given them to define us. Our idols make us feel good about ourselves, make us feel secure, and we get hooked on the affirmation, the power, and the comfort. We can only be set free when a new master comes into our life that gives us a profound new identity. Only the Jesus can do this.
Romans 6:11- So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ.
Romans 6:14 - Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law, Instead, you live under the freedom of God's grace.
Good food to chew on this morning....
God on you....
Michael b.
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