Bible Study with Danelle

Are you a slave to sin or to righteousness?

That is the question that Paul continues to discuss in these next verses. He continues to explain to the Romans (and us) that we can’t serve two masters. We can’t continue to live our lives in sin and be in a relationship with Jesus.

We are either a slave to either sin (doing things our own way, living for the world instead of God, not following the commandments, etc.) or we are obedient to our God. He does not give any in-betweens.

When I read this, I find it freeing to think about and then impossible when I think about the world we live in today. How to we strive to be obedient when the pressure around us to conform is constant?

I don’t have all the answers. I am still trying to work on this myself, but the one thing I do know is that each day I have to remember I am a Child of God. I am imperfect, but he makes me righteous by his grace. To honor Him, and to honor the sacrifice that Jesus did for me, I have to make a conscious effort to not commit the same sin that I have already be forgiven.

What do I mean by that? Once I acknowledge and go to God with a sin that I know I have done or held in my heart, I have to work daily to not repeat it. To not be a slave to it.

Paul is telling the Romans that even though we are saved by grace, that doesn’t mean we do not have to be careful to resist sin. I think that we see a lot of that today. People repent, but then keep doing what they said they would not do. It is a cycle of sin and we all can be guilty of it.

I love the way my pastor has taught us to root out and repent of sin in our lives. Find a quiet place and take a few deep breaths. As you breathe in, ask the Holy Spirit to fill your heart and root out anything that you need to acknowledge and repent for. Don’t dredge up the past, let the Holy Spirit do the work. When things come to mind, acknowledge the sin and release it. By acknowledging it and going to God with it, you can be free from it thanks to His forgiveness and grace. But you have to truly acknowledge it and be willing to let it go. To not repeat it and be a slave to it. Then, ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with the fruits of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. When we live in the Spirit, we have all the help we need to be free from sin.

I pray today that you will spend some quiet time with God. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you root out the sin that we have been a slave to and fill you with the fruits of the Spirit as that you help you to live your life free from sin and obedient to God.