Romans 6:23, Don't Work for the Enemy

Romans 6:23

Matthew 20:1-16

Imagine how difficult it would be to work hard all day for an employer and to then be beaten or killed for your efforts. We protest (as we should) the injustice of those who are not payed a living wage and struggle to make ends meet, yet we continue to work for our own enemy who pays us in the end with death. The day laborers in Jesus' parable protested because they were not given above and beyond the normal daily wage only because the full amount was given to those who had worked for a significantly shorter time. Sin offers us the same wage regardless of the work we accomplish for our own enemy. In contrast, God also offers the same gift of eternal life whether we turn to Him early in our earthly life or late. We've already earned sin's wages; will we continue working for sin or will we decide to accept Christ's offer of a way out? His offer is not a wage--the difference between "wages" and "gift" is important--but we still need to leave our former boss behind.

Romans 6:22, Are Any Weeds Growing?

Romans 6:22

Exodus 30:22-29

I just hope my self-examination
doesn't turn up even a hundredth of
the plethora of weeds in my yard
and garden

Just as the fruit of sin is death, the fruit of being a servant of God is sanctification and eternal life. If I am truly His servant, then I will walk, think, speak, and act as someone set apart as sacred to Him. Just as the holy oil described in Exodus made everything it touched holy, I should be open to the Holy Spirit touching every aspect of my life and my being to make it holy. It is time to consider then, are there any portions of my life that are not being sanctified: that I have told the Lord He may not touch? Have I given my life "fully" to Him except for particular areas which I hold back for myself? Is there anything that makes me want to say, "Lord, I'll do anything for You, just please don't ask me to __________"? The "plant" called "being God's servant" cannot produce un-holy fruit. So if the fruit I'm producing is not sanctification, then I need to look at whether I've planted a different seed in my life and I need to weed it out. Hopefully it hasn't grown too big and will be comparatively easy to remove. Weeds do tend to send deep roots which are nearly impossible to remove entirely, but if I consistently prune as much of the weed as I can then I know the plant will eventually die and never return.

Romans 6:21, Plant According to the Fruit You Want to Harvest

Romans 6:21

Luke 6:43-45

If my strawberry plant began producing eggplants, I would most certainly pull it out of my garden. I would never expect a plant to produce something other than what it was designed for. Squashes produce squashes, strawberries produce strawberries, roses produce roses, tomatoes produce tomatoes, eggplants produce eggplants. If I don't like eggplants, then I shouldn't grow them in my garden and I certainly shouldn't blame the plant for producing what it was designed for rather than a different fruit altogether. In the same way, if my life is producing horrible fruit, then I need to carefully examine what I've planted in it. Sin will never produce the "strawberries" I want. It will only produce death. If I want wonderful fruit (e.g. love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control), then I need to plant the seeds that will produce them (Gal 5:22-23).

Romans 6:20, The Authority That Inspires Martyrdom

Romans 6:20
Joshua 24:15-24

Authority enforced by physical strength;
ends when the body dies.

Laws are worthless unless the person who orders the law to be obeyed has the authority to enforce that obedience. If the people don't recognize the authority of that person or doubt the ability to enforce the law, then they usually choose to ignore the law. Martyrs throughout the ages have chosen disobedience of a law given by a human authority because they trust in the far greater authority of God. They look at eternity and see the comparatively short length of a person's life over which the human authority may have the ability to enforce obedience. They look at the incredibly long span of time over which the human authority cannot touch and choose to disobey that authority in favor of the One whose authority continues far beyond this life. Their disobedience may seem incomprehensible to those who see only the body's death. Yet the authority they recognize as greater can enforce His laws far beyond this body's death.

Romans 6:19, Our Creator Gave Us Freedom to Choose

Romans 6:19

Psalm 139:13-16

Genesis 1:26-27

Most of God's creation doesn't get to choose its purpose.

The One who made us created us for a purpose but He also gave us free will to accept the purpose He had in mind for us or to live our lives for another purpose. When all of humanity (though there were only 2 people at the time) chose that other purpose, God allowed us to follow the chosen path. In His mercy He opened up the possibility to change our minds: to turn away from the purpose we had chosen and return to His plan for us. As our Creator, He could have forced us to stay on His path from the beginning. He had(has) the right to do so. We don't have the right to reject His purpose for us, we simply have the freedom given by the only One who truly has the right to choose our future. He created the whole of our being, body, mind and soul. For those of us who have chosen His return path, does our whole being reflect that choice? Is every part living the purpose God designed for us? We have chosen in the past to live out our rebellion through every portion of our being, body, mind and soul. The choice to return to God is not just for our soul; it needs to be lived out in everything we do no matter what part of our being is involved.

Romans 6:18, Don't Be a Worthless Slave

Romans 6:18
Matthew 25:14-30

We have freedom to choose one master or another, sin or righteousness. Once I've chosen my master, I have an obligation to serve wholeheartedly.
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How many marriages turn bitter or end in divorce because one person complains endlessly about the spouse? The woman chose her husband; no one forced her to marry him; why should she spend all her time complaining about who he is? So maybe he's not perfect; neither is she. Maybe marriage isn't easy; neither is the single life. Complaining about the person I've married is entirely counterproductive. I've promised to love him "in good times and in bad" not only when he acts the way I would like him to. In the same way there is no point in complaining about the Master I've chosen to serve. I chose to serve Him, so why should I waste my time complaining about the service? It's not like He's a bad master; the other option certainly doesn't appeal to me. Now that I've accepted His protection and His talents I have an obligation to serve Him and invest His talents wisely. Without bitterness. Without complaint. This is the life I have chosen; I should live it wholeheartedly.

Romans 6:17, Free Indeed

Romans 6:17
John 8:31-36

I wonder how often a well-treated slave forgets his slavery. Perhaps not one who lives and works every day with the master, but someone who isn't obviously a slave but might as well be, such as an indentured servant or medieval land tenant. He could work for months or even years with others like himself and little interference from the master. Yet something comes up: the owner decides to sell the land he's working; a planned marriage is thwarted by the master; the master dies and his son turns out to be much crueler than his father ever was. Then the slavery is recognized and the distinction between "slave" and "free" becomes important.
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Have we forgotten our slavery also? Everyone on this earth is born a slave to sin. We cannot hope for freedom without Jesus Christ. Enjoy that freedom by obeying God's instructions with all your heart. Do not let go of Him and return to your slavery! Outside of Christ is sin and all sin is slavery.

Romans 6:16, Choose the Right Slave Owner

Romans 6:16

Deuteronomy 15:12-18

It seems incomprehensible in our society that someone would choose to be a slave. I suppose the Hebrew who is choosing to remain a slave for the rest of his life has had six years to experience what that is like under this particular slave owner and doesn't see his prospects improving out on his own. I suppose this particular owner has treated him exceptionally well and become a family. But living in a country where freedom is held so highly and where our fairly recent experience with slavery was not beneficial to the slaves, it is hard to understand that someone would choose to be a slave when they had another option. And yet we sell ourselves willingly into slavery to sin. We have the option of living for God, who treats us better than the kindest, most generous father in the world, and we choose instead for a master who will treat us worse than the cruelest slave owner in the world. We look down on an individual for choosing a generous human owner while choosing for ourselves a viciously cruel non-human master. Each time we sin we are choosing the cruel slave owner. Each time we obey God we are choosing family (Gal 4:7).

Romans 6:15, Call to Repentance

Romans 6:15

Revelation 2:18-23

God calls us to righteousness, to repent of our sins and turn completely away from them. He sees each one of our deeds, both the ones honoring Him and those rejecting His Lordship, and the first do not save us from judgement if we continue in the second. My sins may not be precisely the same as "the woman Jezebel", but if I refuse to repent when Christ offers me the opportunity, I can't imagine He's going to be any more lenient on me than on her. I'm certainly not willing to stake my eternal fate on the presumption that He's going to allow me to continue sinning and trusting in His mercy to forgive me when I come to Him with a superficial repentance. May my repentance be sincere and may I put forth every effort to turn away from my sin and allow the Holy Spirit to change me whenever Christ calls my attention to a sin I'm committing.

Romans 6:14, Strawberries or Eggplant?

Romans 6:14

Galatians 5:16-25

My strawberries don't look like this yet,
but they will very soon!

The fact that we are changed by the Spirit and are no longer under the Law or under the rule of sin should affect how we live, act, and interact with one another. Just as my strawberry plants produce strawberries and not eggplants, the fruit we produce is a sign of who we are in the core of our being. If I am under the rule of sin then I will produce the fruits of sin. If I refuse to let the Holy Spirit change me and produce the fruits of the Spirit, then the sin I insist on producing will choke out the growth of the Spirit in me and I will no

Not planning to grow eggplants this year...

longer be able to call myself a member of Christ's family. Fortunately, as I walk in the Spirit, He works within me to produce the good fruit I have been re-created for. By the joining with Christ in His death (Rom 6:6) the ability of sin to insist that I choose for sin and produce its fruits has been destroyed and I have been given the grace to choose for Christ instead.

Romans 6:13, Choosing Joy

Romans 6:13

Galatians 5:22-23

Simple joy from a child (2011). May I grow in joy
over simple blessings from the Lord.

I was reminded recently that I may not always decide which thoughts come into my mind but I do get to decide which thoughts I consent to entertain there. The same goes for the rest of my body: I may not have complete control over which pictures I happen to see but I do choose which tv program I watch. I might not know everything written in a book before I read it but I do choose the quality and type of literature I read. I may not know what other drivers on the road are like but I can choose to drive in a way that's considerate regardless of who they are. I don't have control over many thoughts that enter my mind and events that occur throughout my day but I can choose how I respond to them, whether I seek out things that are holy or impure, and whether the impure stays or whether I turn it over to God and actively choose the holy. As I look at the list in Galatians of how I should respond to life if the members of my body are instruments of righteousness, joy is the fruit that stands out to me. So today I want to choose joy whenever I'm faced with the possibility of impurity. Does this activity encourage joy in the Lord? Does this thought inspire joy in the way I relate to those around me? Am I actively seeking out the holy joy of a child of God? Are others encouraged to be joyful by their interactions with me?

Romans 6:12, Who Will Rule?

Romans 6:12

Galatians 5:13-16

Yes, God forgives each one of my sins. But is that any reason to continue to sin? It's one thing to slip up because I am weak; it's quite different to allow sin to be the ruler of my heart, my life, my body. I wasn't saved from sin so that I can continue reveling in it as thoroughly as before I was saved. I was saved so that I can live a different life. Loving others instead of "devouring" them is more difficult yet also more rewarding. I am happier, those I am loving are happier, and there is a domino effect that benefits even more people than the "pay it forward" proponents realize. I still don't always choose it though. Galatians 5:16 tells what I need to do differently: I need to walk in the Spirit rather than in my flesh. That more than anything else motivates me to pray throughout the day, to read Scripture, to grow in knowing the Lord better and seeking His will for my life. Unless He reigns over me, I already know that sin will reign in His place.

Romans 6:11, Don't Choose Slavery

Romans 6:11

Galatians 4:1-9

Most slaves don't have any choice. As much as they would like to leave their owners, they are forcibly trapped in their slavery with very little or no control over their lives and their futures. Slavery may look very different depending on the time period, the culture, and the individual slave owners, but never have the slaves been given the freedom to end their slavery. They're often born into it just as we were born into the bondage of sin. As heirs to the Kingdom of God, why would we choose to continue in that slavery? Christ has broken the chains that bound us yet we often choose to act as if we were still trapped in our sins. The exhortation is to put sin behind us, to be fully "dead" to it, to choose not to be subject to it anymore. Because Christ Jesus has set us free from our former master we can live in God. We have a choice. We can leave sin. We can choose the bright future of a free life with the Lord!

Romans 6:10, Who Do You Live For?

Romans 6:10
Philippians 2:5-11

Who do you live for? It's easy enough to live for God when I'm receiving His blessings; it's much more difficult when I have to struggle with something He's asked me to do, such as forgiving someone who's hurt me, loving someone who's unlovable, or acting gracious toward someone who's rude and difficult to please. Then the choice to live for God becomes an act of the will and a plea for His help. Jesus Christ endured it all and much more besides. In the process He chose humility even though He rightfully could have asserted His Kingship. I don't have that right, so it's unreasonable for me to respond with significantly less humility than my Lord Jesus. I need to choose for humility because Jesus did and He is the One I am trying to imitate. He chose in both the easy times and the difficult times to live for God. How can I choose for less?

Romans 6:9, Christ Defeated Death

Romans 6:9

Acts 2:22-24

Job 38:2,17

There is no natural power that can avoid or defeat death. Everything dies: microorganisms, plants, animals, humans. We don't like to talk about death because we have no control over it, no method to permanently prevent it's power over us. Yet Christ very clearly demonstrated that His power is greater than that of death. If death is, in a real sense, the strongest force on earth, then Christ's power over it demonstrates that His strength is greater than anything we may face. There is nothing that can defeat our Lord Jesus. When we place our trust in Him, we can know absolutely that we are protected by the One who can defeat any enemy, every enemy, all enemies that we might face all at once. There is nothing in Heaven or on Earth that can win in a battle against the One who has defeated death for Himself and for all who trust in Him.

Romans 6:8, Bride Adorned For Her Husband

Romans 6:8

Revelation 21:1-5

How do you get to be one of those living in the New Jerusalem, adorned as a bride for her Husband? That life comes to those who choose to die with Christ. The two are connected so if I want the new and wonderful life Christ offers, I need to allow my sinful nature to die as wholly and completely as possible. In one sense this is immediate but at the same time I struggle with this each and every day. I still sin (again and again and again). When faced with a temptation I find it helpful to remember why I would choose to reject that temptation; why I would choose to say no. I want to live with Christ. I want to be in that New Jerusalem. Each and every time I choose God's way rather than giving into sin, I am choosing for life. I'm still tempted but remembering the bigger picture gives me a little extra strength to do what God wants despite the desire to sin.

Romans 6:7, Treasure Worth Losing My Life

Romans 6:7

Luke 9:23-25

Giving my life to Christ means losing everything. There's no use pretending that Christianity means otherwise. Baptism in Christ means joining in His death and surrendering myself to God means He has control of my whole future. He calls me to pick up my cross; a very heavy and often shameful burden that I'd just as soon leave by the wayside. It's not easy and sometimes it's not what I want to do. But the truth is that I am going to experience death eventually. I will lose everything regardless of how much I may fight to keep it. And everyone is carrying one cross or another; ignoring or complaining about it won't make it disappear. And so, as the Jim Elliot quote says, "He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to give what he cannot lose." Even if I could surround myself with every luxury this world has to offer, what would its value be at the end of my short life? But if I can give that life (however long it may be it's not much in comparison to eternity) and receive a treasure in return that I will keep forever, then I have made an excellent trade. Choosing death with Christ and receiving full pardon for my sins? Yeah, that's a trade worth losing my life for.

Romans 6:6

Romans 6:6

Colossians 3:3-5

Why do we hold onto our slavery so tightly?? I know I will feel better and enjoy life more when I choose not to sin and I know I have the grace from God to reject sin, yet still I find myself freely and consciously choosing what is wrong. There is something very familiar about slavery. I've been here all my life; I know what it's like. It's easier. But it's not joyful. I have to work to live out the freedom Christ has given me but it's freedom. It's worth the struggle. 

Romans 6:5

Romans 6:5

Colossians 3:1-2

Christ's resurrection changed Him and it should change us also. If our focus and our goal is in this life, we are missing out on the wonderful transformation God wants to give us. This life, including its distractions and its blessings, should bring us to Heaven. Life on earth is always to be treasured and protected but it offers a mere glimpse of what awaits us in eternity. We have been joined together with Christ Jesus in His death so that we can be joined together with Him in His resurrection.
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Take a moment now to consider the implications. I go about my day doing ordinary things related to life in this world but I have the opportunity to transform them to orient myself and the people around me to eternity with Christ. The activities themselves might not change but my attitude can be more loving and cheerful, my conversations can include small references to my Bible study that day, my thoughts can focus on the small opportunities that come up to serve others. Maybe no one will notice but I will know the difference and it will improve my relationship with the Lord. Maybe someone will realize what I am doing and be encouraged to make similar changes in their daily activities. Either way, I have allowed God to work a transformation in my and focus my thoughts a little more on Heaven.

Romans 6:4, Baptized Into New Life

Romans 6:4

2 Kings 5:9-14

Jordan River

Baptism seems almost too easy to be true. We're baptized into Christ's death but we don't experience His death; it feels like nothing more difficult than an ordinary bath in ordinary water. It's really the follow-up that's difficult, when we have to let go of the old sinful nature and embrace the new Christ-like nature. There is a change that takes place that is just as significant as the healing of Naaman yet we sometimes live as if we were still untouched by Christ's death and resurrection. Would we allow the change to be more obvious if it had cost us something more significant? if we had stayed for 3 days in the tomb with Jesus or experienced the pain of the scourging He experienced or hung on a cross next to Him for a few hours? God offers us a tremendous blessing of new life. Just because He paid the price for it instead of us does not mean we should underestimate its value. It is an immense treasure; we need to appreciate it and take full advantage of it.