One Verse CAN Change Your Life
“For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”
Romans 6:14 (NKJV)
I finally discovered after years and years of struggling against sin that I can’t live the Christian life. As much as I would like to, I realize it is impossible to imitate perfection with any sort of success. It cant be done so I gave up. In that moment of surrendered I became free. Like the old cliche I “let go and let God” and life has never been the same. Only Jesus can live the Christian life, all others fall short. I relate to the apostle Paul who writes in Romans 7:15-20, “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.”
The apostle Paul understood that it’s not sins plural but sin singular that dwells within us. The apostle Paul didn’t see sins when he looked at his life, but instead he saw sin, not a verb but a noun because just as our righteousness is tied to Christ, our sin nature comes directly from Adam. As a former religious person I saw the sins in my life as areas of my life I needed to work on to become a better person not realizing that was exactly the trap the devil wanted me to fall in to, and fall into it I have many times. If we focus on trying to conquer the individual sins in our lives we will never experience the freedom from sin that Jesus provides. Our freedom comes by way of Jesus! Just as the apostle Paul saw sin as a noun and not a verb, salvation comes in the form of a person too! The goal of the Christian life isn’t to clean up our act, trying to be a better person. The freedom you and I can enjoy in Christ is when we realize we are not who we once were. At the Cross our old nature was crucified with Christ and because we were raised with Christ into the newness of life we are new creations in Christ. It’s no longer I who lives but Christ in me! The goal then of the Christian life is learning to allow God to live His life in and through me and not get in the way, for me to allow Jesus to shine through me and not me trying to shine for Him. We can only reflect God’s glory, our works are never the source of it.
How do I live the victorious life that is ours in Jesus? It starts by DECLARING. Romans 6:11-14, “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” Because of God’s grace every time I am tempted, every time I start in my mind to go back to the familiar path of my old life before coming to know Jesus as Lord I say out loud so I can hear it, “Sin Is Not My Master!” Try it today. Every time you are tempted to sin say out loud, “Sin is NOT my master!”
I can say this with confidence because when I was baptized, I was baptized into Jesus death. Adam with whom all of mankind owes its existence brought sin into the world when he rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden and therefore sin spread to all men. Each and every one of us now is born in sin, we have a sin nature from birth that is hell bent on doing its own thing apart from God. When we come to Jesus we are adopted into the family of God with all its rights and privileges. Sin and death are closely related and where you see sin, death is not far behind. Where Jesus is you find life, freedom and liberty in abundance.
Because we are free in Christ and no longer slaves we have a choice to honor God, to seek Him first and to give Him first place in everything. Every day we who are in Christ have the ability to DECIDE to follow Jesus and say no to sin. The apostle Paul put it this way in Romans 6:13, “And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”
But it doesn’t end there, loved one. Our victory over sin and temptation on a day to day basis starts with a declaration, “Sin is not my master.” Jesus is! It’s also important to know that victory is also a choice, a choice God allows me to make to willfully present myself to Christ as an instrument of righteousness for His purposes each day. And finally, victory is mine and yours as we devote ourselves to God. Being fully devoted to Jesus is more than just a mental decision we make, it’s also an act of our will. It’s more than thinking the right things, its being devoted to Jesus and to walk in obedience to Him by allowing Him to lead and guide our lives by His Spirit.
When we come to Christ we are under new management. Victory comes to us as we abide in Christ. We don’t bear fruit through our own energy or effort. We bear fruit by allowing the life of Jesus to flow to us and through us. As we spend time in prayer connecting with Jesus and reading His Word learning to discern His voice we see a path in front of us that He bids us to walk and not alone in our own strength but in the strength that He provides. Sin is not our master, Jesus is our victory!
“When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”
Colossians 3:4
I LOVE YOU!
Romans 6:14 (NKJV)
I finally discovered after years and years of struggling against sin that I can’t live the Christian life. As much as I would like to, I realize it is impossible to imitate perfection with any sort of success. It cant be done so I gave up. In that moment of surrendered I became free. Like the old cliche I “let go and let God” and life has never been the same. Only Jesus can live the Christian life, all others fall short. I relate to the apostle Paul who writes in Romans 7:15-20, “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.”
The apostle Paul understood that it’s not sins plural but sin singular that dwells within us. The apostle Paul didn’t see sins when he looked at his life, but instead he saw sin, not a verb but a noun because just as our righteousness is tied to Christ, our sin nature comes directly from Adam. As a former religious person I saw the sins in my life as areas of my life I needed to work on to become a better person not realizing that was exactly the trap the devil wanted me to fall in to, and fall into it I have many times. If we focus on trying to conquer the individual sins in our lives we will never experience the freedom from sin that Jesus provides. Our freedom comes by way of Jesus! Just as the apostle Paul saw sin as a noun and not a verb, salvation comes in the form of a person too! The goal of the Christian life isn’t to clean up our act, trying to be a better person. The freedom you and I can enjoy in Christ is when we realize we are not who we once were. At the Cross our old nature was crucified with Christ and because we were raised with Christ into the newness of life we are new creations in Christ. It’s no longer I who lives but Christ in me! The goal then of the Christian life is learning to allow God to live His life in and through me and not get in the way, for me to allow Jesus to shine through me and not me trying to shine for Him. We can only reflect God’s glory, our works are never the source of it.
How do I live the victorious life that is ours in Jesus? It starts by DECLARING. Romans 6:11-14, “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” Because of God’s grace every time I am tempted, every time I start in my mind to go back to the familiar path of my old life before coming to know Jesus as Lord I say out loud so I can hear it, “Sin Is Not My Master!” Try it today. Every time you are tempted to sin say out loud, “Sin is NOT my master!”
I can say this with confidence because when I was baptized, I was baptized into Jesus death. Adam with whom all of mankind owes its existence brought sin into the world when he rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden and therefore sin spread to all men. Each and every one of us now is born in sin, we have a sin nature from birth that is hell bent on doing its own thing apart from God. When we come to Jesus we are adopted into the family of God with all its rights and privileges. Sin and death are closely related and where you see sin, death is not far behind. Where Jesus is you find life, freedom and liberty in abundance.
Because we are free in Christ and no longer slaves we have a choice to honor God, to seek Him first and to give Him first place in everything. Every day we who are in Christ have the ability to DECIDE to follow Jesus and say no to sin. The apostle Paul put it this way in Romans 6:13, “And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”
But it doesn’t end there, loved one. Our victory over sin and temptation on a day to day basis starts with a declaration, “Sin is not my master.” Jesus is! It’s also important to know that victory is also a choice, a choice God allows me to make to willfully present myself to Christ as an instrument of righteousness for His purposes each day. And finally, victory is mine and yours as we devote ourselves to God. Being fully devoted to Jesus is more than just a mental decision we make, it’s also an act of our will. It’s more than thinking the right things, its being devoted to Jesus and to walk in obedience to Him by allowing Him to lead and guide our lives by His Spirit.
When we come to Christ we are under new management. Victory comes to us as we abide in Christ. We don’t bear fruit through our own energy or effort. We bear fruit by allowing the life of Jesus to flow to us and through us. As we spend time in prayer connecting with Jesus and reading His Word learning to discern His voice we see a path in front of us that He bids us to walk and not alone in our own strength but in the strength that He provides. Sin is not our master, Jesus is our victory!
“When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”
Colossians 3:4
I LOVE YOU!
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