20)
Moreover
the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace
did much more abound:
21)
That
as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness
unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
1)
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin,
that grace may abound?
2)
God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live
any longer therein?
3)
Know ye not, that so many
of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4)
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into
death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the
Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5)
For if we have been planted together in the likeness
of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6)
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with
him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not
serve sin.
|
O |
ften,
the human mind works in a very strange manner. Man can be delivered from sin,
know he is delivered from sin, yet persist in walking in the flesh. In is not
possible to "saved," yet not undergo a change. You see, one is saved
from something and when the Lord invests us with His power, we are saved from
sin.
Many
religions claim to be able to save Man, yet it, has been proven to us through
time, history and the scriptures that it is only the power of God that frees us
to serve Him.
"Walking
in newness of life" is not a matter of will, but rather, a matter of
submission. Many remain unhappy after salvation because they are determined to
maintain control. This type of individual easily end
up servants of that which we obey. Obviously, if one will not submit to the
Lord, he submits to the flesh—and like it or not it is "it" (the
flesh) that he will serve.
Anyone
who has been in sin knows that it brings bondage. (In other words, we all know
what it is like to bound). We also know that as long
as we were determined to follow our flesh, we remained in sin. If the people of
God would only determine not to live by the dictates of sin or flesh, we would
realize that never again would we find ourselves subjected to its rigors.
From
Adam to Moses, there was no law either outlining or condemning sin, yet man was
still held responsible for his offense. Then, grace was introduced. Contrary to
popular opinion, belief, or hopes, the purpose of grace is not to cover sin. Being
a "gift of God" we are specifically informed by scripture that it is
to bring salvation.
It
is not alright to commit sin, ask God for forgiveness, then go and sin again. In
that sin separates one from God, man cannot make intervention for himself. He
must go through another whose "connection" has not been severed. Then,
once that confession is made, man must turn his back on his sin completely—thereby,
allowing him to "walk in the newness of life" that the Lord has
granted.
Crucial
to forsaking sin is the acceptance of the fact that one born into Christ is
"dead" to sin. Reality is that dead men don't sin—or do anything else
for that matter!
Because
of what is not accepted, people, today make excuses for sin. Is there any
difference between one who says he is saved and continues to sin and one who is
unfamiliar with the concept of being "saved" and so sins?
Why
does scripture use the broad term "newness of life? Because once one is
saved, everything about him must be new. There, are no categories, noting
excluded. One's very life must be new. The only way to achieve this newness in
everything is to pattern one's life and person after Jesus. Patterning after
anyone else could lead to one's fall. Why? Because where others can and will
disappoint, Jesus will never disappoint us nor let "let us down."
If
we are ever to make clean breaks from ourselves and start anew, we must admit
to ourselves that we will do all sorts of things with no questions asked,
(e.g. smoke, drink, do drugs) yet will struggle against living saved. Only
be questioning why we do what we do and being determined to discover what
God wants will we be able to fulfill the command to "walk in newness
of life."