Emancipated or Enslaved?

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Opening Prayer

Lord God, You are Sovereign Lord and King over all. I acknowledge You today and offer You my praise.

Read Romans 6:15-23

^[15] What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! ^[16] Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey-whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? ^[17] But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. ^[18] You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. ^[19] I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. ^[20] When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. ^[21] What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! ^[22] 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. ^[23] For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Meditate

“Free at last! Free at Last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last” (Martin Luther King, Jr., “I Have a Dream,” Aug. 28, 1963). Praise God for the freedom and hope he has given you in Christ.

Think Further

Paul asks twice whether experiencing God’s free grace means that sin does not really matter any more (1,15). He explains that we have been set free from sin in order to live a new life of holiness. But what precisely does it mean to live under the rule of God, living a life that seeks to put into action both freedom and obedience? Might we sometimes presume on grace and not live in obedience to God in our attitudes and actions?

Paul makes it clear that there are only two masters to serve: sin or obedience. Paul also makes it clear that moral demands are laid on the believer, and serving obedience leads to righteousness, whereas serving sin leads to death (16). Yet it is not a neutral choice whether the believer sins or obeys (17). Paul uses the passive form of the verb at the end of v. 17–believers have “been entrusted” or “been handed over.” The verb is used elsewhere (Matt. 26:15,16; 27:2) to describe Jesus being “handed over” to the chief priests and the Romans. God has already given believers over to obey his teaching.

Verse 19b is the focal point of this passage. God has put us into a new situation (17,18) and we are reminded of that same status in vs. 20-23, but Paul wants us to realize that God’s act means that we are still required to respond. It is not a matter of “letting go and letting God.” We have a responsibility to win the battle against sin. Yes, God has taken the initiative, and through his grace, has acted to save and help his people; but he asks us to respond. Christians are called to become what by God’s grace, he intends them to be.

Apply

Reflect on areas of your life where the battle to live God’s way is hardest. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s power to overcome, and thus be truly free.

Closing prayer

Father, I sometimes feel I’m ineffective as a Christian. I know Satan works to deceive me into defeat. Today, I claim victory and embrace again my new life in Christ.

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