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SCRIPTURE:
Romans 6:20-23; 20 For when
you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 Therefore
what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now
ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. 22 But now
having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit,
resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. 23 For
the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
“What’s in it for me?” is a statement often heard in our culture.
We want to know how things will affect us before we give any attention to
them. It is difficult for me to think of Christianity in terms of benefits
since it should be not about me but about God. Yet, Paul brings it to our
attention contrasting the benefits of being out of God’s favor as
opposed to being in His favor.
A. Our Position Out of Favor
Romans 6:20 For when you were
slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 Therefore
what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now
ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death.
1. Slaves to
Sin vs. 20
Theologically, that would be called Total Depravity. It has to
do with the fact that from our birth we were bound by sin in every aspect
of our humanity. Here is David’s testimony;
“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.” Psalm
51:5
2. Free from
Righteousness vs. 20
Being enslaved to the sin principle within us makes it impossible to
achieve any standing of righteousness before God. He simply cannot
understand spiritual things. See 1st Corinthians
2:14;
“But a natural man does not accept the things of the
Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand
them, because they are spiritually appraised.” In a manner of
speaking, he is dead to spiritual matters and therefore hopelessly lost.
See Ephesians 2:1,2; 1 And you were dead in your trespasses and
sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of
this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit
that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
3. Shamefully Engaged in
Sin vs. 21
“Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from
the things of which you are now ashamed? . . .”
Has your past been giving you grief? Do you
have a sense of guilt for the way you have lived your life? Perhaps
it's time to get all of the sins of the past before God for His
forgiveness.
4. Eternally Condemned in Death
vs. 21
“ . . . For the outcome of those things is death.” Of
what benefit is that? The Apostle John speaks of it as eternal fire. “And
death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second
death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in
the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation
20:14,15
B. Our Position of Favor
vs. 22
1. Freed From Sin
- “But now having been freed from sin . . .”
2. Enslaved to God
- “ . . . and enslaved to God, . . .”
3. Beneficial Blessings
- “ . . . you derive your benefit, . . .”
God has wonderfully spelled it our for Us!
- “ . . . resulting in sanctification,
. . .”
Christ is your sanctification! See 1st
Corinthians 1:30,31;
But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to
us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,
that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
- “ . . . and the outcome, eternal
life.”
What greater benefit can be imagined than to spend all eternity in the
presence of Almighty God?
C. Our Position in
Contrast vs. 23
- “For the wages of sin is death, . . .”
Sin will have its ugly outcome. Everyone is under its initial curse.
See Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God,”
- “ . . . but the free gift of God is eternal life
. . .”
Eternal Life is freely offered at great cost to God. See
John 3:16
“For God so loved the
world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him
should not perish, but have eternal life.”
- “ . . . in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
There is no other way to have God’s favor. There is no salvation
apart from that so freely offered in Christ Jesus. See Acts 4:12 “And
there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven
that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.”
God would also have us to be blameless. By that we mean that we
should be living day by day without blame before Him. We may do
that by a conscious effort to recognize sin in our lives and confess it
to God immediately for cleansing and forgiveness. See 1st
John 1:8&9
“8 If we say that we have no sin, we are
deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess
our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
The word confess in the Greek means to speak
along side or to say the same thing. In effect it means to line up
our thinking with God; to see our sin exactly as He sees it. That
will bring remorse and change of attitude as well as forgiveness and
cleansing as He promised.
If you have never entrusted your life to Him, why not come to Him today
for Salvation. That's the first order of business.
"And
there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven
that has been given among men, by which we must be
saved." Acts
4:12
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