When you were slaves
to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you
reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result
in death!
The two verses above effectively capture the dead-end game
of living a life of sin. When we sin, nothing truly good comes from it. It
always leads to destruction…in this life and the life to come. The realization of
the destruction may take a while, but it eventually comes around to smack us in
the face. When we let our anger take control and we rage on those around us,
what good comes from it? It may feel right at the time, but after we have
cooled down, we realize the damage we inflicted and we regret it. If we expose
ourselves to lewd, violent, and disturbing content in the name of “entertainment”,
what good comes from it? We can rationalize it as appropriate because we are
adults and can effectively “compartmentalize” the content. But in reality we “entertained”
ourselves by dragging our minds through a landfill. Nothing good comes from
that. When we use our words to criticize, judge, and tear-down other people,
what good comes from it? Nothing…they leave hurt, a relationship has been
shredded, and we stand tangibly no better for it. The devil is a crafty,
manipulative deceiver. He works incredibly well at convincing us that living in
sin feels good, feels right, and is justified. But once we have bathed neck
deep in briny, filthy lake of sin, we emerge disgusted, disappointed, and ashamed.
Thankfully, through the waters or baptism, we don’t remain covered in that filthy
lake of sin. Through our repentance in Christ, we are washed clean. Romans 6:22-23
captures the hope that we have in Christ…”But
now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the
benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the
wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.” When we profess Christ as Lord and repent of our sins, God pulls us
up from the pitiful place we have placed ourselves in. God tears us away from the
deadly grip of sin and holds us above the wreckage. May we refuse to let sin
call the shots today…may we refuse to be fooled and tricked by the crafty
schemes of the devil…and may cling to Romans 6:22-23, finding hope, strength, and
fortified discipline to live each day obedient to the Lord! To God alone be the
glory!
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