Slavery

So those who have had more than a couple conversations with me are probably keenly aware of my obsession with The Gospel and one particular aspect of our Christianity that goes along with it: slavery. We are slaves of Christ. In that mindset, we're on a little journey this morning:

Romans 6:16 says "Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness."

That's the set-up. Stay with me.

In the Gospel, God has cancelled "the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities an dput them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him." (Colossians 2:14-15)
John Piper, commenting on this verse says, "When Christ died for our sins, satan was disarmed and defeated. The one eternally destructive weapon that he had was stripped from his hand - namely the accusation before God that we are guilty and should perish with him. When Christ died for us, that accusation was nullified."

When we are saved, sins' power over us is neutralized. We no longer have to sin. Now, we still do sin and we are still in our bodies of flesh, but we no longer have to sin. An unbeliever sins because that's who they are. They are a slave to sin. We shouldn't be surprised when an unbeliever does something sinful. When we are saved, when we believe in the Gospel, we are no longer slaves to sin. It's no longer our first instinct. Our nature becomes new. While we may not always do the right thing, our nature is now disposed toward righteousness. When we sin, it goes against who we are. This is what the Apostle Paul is talking about in Romans 7 when he says "I have the desire to do what is right but not the ability to carry it out... Wretched man that I am." Only a saved person would struggle with sinning like this.

Paul also tells us that "no temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." (1 Corinthians 10:13)

When you process through all this, it leads us to the conclusion that we no longer have to sin. God has truly given us everything we need not only to be saved, but also to live a holy life. We have been given the ability to not sin. We can live a holy life. After all, it's what He saved us for in the first place. (Ephesians 1:4, & 2:10)

Milton Vincent writes "As long as I am stricken with the guilt of my sins, I will be captive to them... The Devil is well aware of this fact; he knows that if he can keep me tormented by sin's guilt, he can dominate me with sin's power." When we truly understand and meditate on the Gospel, we see that we are no longer guilty before a holy God. God punished Jesus for all of my sins specifically. When Jesus hung on the cross, God treated Him as if He had committed all of my sins. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

Romans 6:14 says "For sin shall not be master over you, for you are... under grace."

Let's live life every day with this in mind. We are forgiven. We are no longer guilty. The Gospel tells us that Christ suffered and died in my place so that I might know God. Satan (the accuser) has nothing left to say to or about me. I stand forgiven and free. The next time you are under the attack of the enemy, remember your standign before God. When God looks at you, He sees the righteousness of Christ. Live that way. Remember that whatever temptation you're experiencing right now is not a surprise. There is a way out. Re-focus on the Gospel and go forth and don't sin. Whether it's the temptation to gossip about someone, lie to someone, or whatever sin is before you. You don't have to do it. You have already been given a way out.

To me, that's good news! That's the Gospel.