Romans 6:12-23 "Slaves of God"

Good Morning Calvary Chapel Lake City!

Thank you for those of you who prayed for Ethan as he returned to Peru, South America.

He is safely back. And, the people in Peru report that he looks very skinny and white.

A little dieting… and less sunshine will do that to you.

This past Wednesday, we had our first night of Worship & Prayer.

We had a good turnout and it was a sweet time in pray and worship of God.

Our next night of Worship and Prayer will be April 30th… once per quarter. I hope you all can join us next time.

Well, let’s now open our Bibles to Romans 6. Romans 6:12-23 today… finishing Chapter 6.

We have entered the Sanctification of Paul’s epistle to the Romans.

This is a section written to believers… sanctification is unique to believers and part of our salvation.

Upon faith in Jesus Christ…  the righteousness of Christ is attributed to the believer, making them justified (judicially accepted and NOT guilty) before God despite their own sinfulness… but their sins are not counted against them.

And, God doesn’t STOP saving us in justification, but continues to save us in sanctification…

Which is God’s continued supernatural work to rescue justified sinners from sin and to conform them into the image of Christ.

For ALL of us who are saved… this is the present work of God in our lives.

Romans is a highly theological writing. If you’re relatively new faith… or haven’t been fed theology before…

This may be a lot to take in and digest, BUT Hang in there…

Faith in Jesus Christ is a deep well… and there’s no better subject to study… and understand… because these are matters of eternity.

And, just think about the frivolous things people invest time in… that have no eternal value at all…

Like Hobby-horsing… what in the world? People have done lost their minds…

Don’t be guilty of investing time and mind in all sorts of things that may seem important, but carry no weight in eternity.

Open your mind… open your heart… press in and embrace this study of Romans…

And very appropriately… Paul… in our study today addresses the shift that happens as we move away from being slaves of sin… becoming “Slaves of God”… our message title today.

Let’s Pray!

In reverence for God’s word, please stand as I read our passage today.

Romans 6:12-23 “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Praise God for His word! Please be seated.

Last week we covered the first eleven verses of Chapter 6 where Paul addressed how in our unification with Christ… believers should walk in newness of life…

Knowing… Paul emphasized knowing… thinking… both experientially and intuitively knowing that our old man of sin was crucified… we are dead to sin…

In knowing who we were before Christ… and who we are now IN Christ… we can reckon… or count or take inventory…

… we take it in as fact… and reckon ourselves dead to sin, but alive to God.

As a result… today… we will read this allows us to present ourselves to God as instruments of righteousness…

And the best way to express that is to be a slave to God… and only in being a slave to God will we be free from sin.

The key words of this chapter take us on this journey in life.

Those key words being: know, reckon, present, and slave.

There’s much to know in this chapter in relation to sanctification… in relation to victorious Christian living.

So… we continue the thought progression of Paul… and come to the word “Therefore” in V12… Therefore… or Consequently… or For that reason…

Because of all Paul just said…

“… do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.”

To allow something to reign is to give it control. Reign literally means “to be king.”

And your “mortal body” refers to this life right now…

It’s mortal… meaning “subject to death”… this is your physical life at present.

NLT reads, “Do not let sin control the way you live.”

So, the question is, Is sin the king of your life…? Or is Christ?

There are only two options.

And if you are tempted… even in the slightest… to think… Well neither… I’m not a slave to sin… Nor am I a slave to Christ… I am my own person.

Friend… if that is your mindset… you’ve deceived yourself. That’s not an option… that thought falls under the category of “sin reigning in your mortal body.”

If YOU are the king of your life… that falls under the category of sin. You’ve missed the mark.

Because you’ve dethroned Jesus and put yourself on the throne… which is idolatry… which is sin.

There can only be ONE KING to reign in your life… one hearts posture of worship that IS NOT SIN… and that is to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ…

… for Him to sit on the throne of your heart… and for worship to be offered to Him alone.

We either let Christ reign… or we let sin reign… there’s no third option.

So Paul ever so softy… ever so gently suggests… “Therefore do not let sin reign...”

Is that what Paul is doing? Whispering a soft suggestion “do not let sin reign”?

As Paul would say, “Certainly not!”

Which is NOT a soft suggestion… V12 is a command and NOT a suggestion because the words “do” and “let” are imperatives…

Paul COMMANDS us… BY the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (and all Scripture is God breathed 2 Tim 3:16)…

DO NOT LET SIN REIGN. Not a suggestion… but a command.

If you do let sin reign… what happens? It becomes king… and you become it’s slave…

And, what does a slave do? It OBEYS it’s master.

The word obey in V12 means “to listen (as a subordinate).”

When sin is the lord of your life… it calls for obedience to lusts.… evil desires.

Lust means “desire (esp. for what is forbidden).”

In Romans 1, Paul addressed immoral people who wanted nothing to do with God… and when a person so cauterizes their conscience of God… eventually God would honor their rejection of Him.

Romans 1:24 reads, “Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,”

It’s a sad place to be… when the lust of sin reigns… and God abandons that person to serve sin.

1 John 2:16–17 is a key verse describing lust… “For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”

Our flesh is inherently drawn to worldly lusts and when our eyes behold a desire in our heart… that births temptation that you must be prepared to flee.

These three… lust of the flesh. lust of the eyes and the pride of life is how Satan tempted Eve who was deceived and transgressed.

And, these three are how Satan tempted Jesus in the desert. But, Jesus held onto Scripture… and quoted Scripture… and defeated Satan.

Be sure to have the word hidden in your heart… so the Holy Spirit can draw it to remembrance.

Last thing on this… 1 John said the “world is passing away...”

Peter declares at the day of the Lord, “… both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” (2 Pet 3:10)

How short sighted it is to obey and serve that which will perish? Lusts, sin, the world… none of these are eternal. They all have an expiration date.

It’s immensely eternally short sighted to allow them kingship over one’s life.

It robs you of bearing fruit in Christian living… because your body will be an instrument either for unrighteousness or righteousness depending on what reigns over your heart.

Look at V13 “And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”

Do not forget the context is Paul is addressing believers… so the instruction here is to believers.

The broader context in Romans Chapters 6-8 is NOT about a loss of salvation, but whether a believer will bear fruit in their life as a believer…

And about Lordship… who is the Lord of your life? Sin or Christ?

Again, there is no third option. If YOU are the Lord of your life… Jesus cannot be your Lord… therefore sin is the Lord of your life.

You may try to conceptualize your sin as something other then sin… hedonism… financial security… power and control…

However it’s packaged… it’s of the world, and not of God.

So, in V13 Paul gives an illustration of a presentation…

Present Gk. paristēmi is used 5x in Chapter 6.

Twice in V13… once in V16… twice in V19

It means “to place beside” or “to exhibit.”

The same Gk word is used elsewhere in Scripture when someone is presented before others…

As an infant, Jesus was presented to the Lord in Jerusalem (Lk 2:22)

Post resurrection, Jesus presented Himself alive (Acts 1:3)

When the disciple Tabitha which is translated Dorcas died (Tabitha is a much better name btw… don’t name your child Dorcas… unless you want them to be made fun of)…

Regardless… Peter prayed and Tabitha’s eyes opened and he presented her alive to the saints and widows (Acts 9:41)

And, when Paul writes in Rom 6:13 “present your members”…

He’s not referring to a “membership club” like Costco… this is not swiping your card to enter…

“Members” refers to your body…

Present your members… present your body…

The same Gk word is used in the opening verse of Paul’s application section of Romans…

Rom 12:1 “… present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”

And, so as we present our bodies… Paul again commands “do not present” and then commands “but present”…

V13 builds on the command of V12, but now with greater detail… adding what NOT to do… and commanding what TO DO…

“… do not present [lit. “do not continue to present”] your members as instruments [lit. weapons or tools] of unrighteousness to sin...”

In Colossians 3:5-7, Paul wrote, “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.”

Those are ways of the old man who was crucified with Christ.

That is not an exhaustive list… there are many other ways we can take part in that which is not right with God.

In 1 Cor 6:19-20 Paul wrote, “… do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

A great price was paid for our entire salvation experience… justification, sanctification and glorification…

The Father gave His only begotten Son…

The Son departed heaven… humbling Himself to come into His creation… and die a criminal’s death on a cross for the sin of the world.

You were bought at a price… a very costly price…

Our body is not to be used as an instrument of evil to serve sin… which is half of the obligation we have for being Christ’s purchased possession.

The other half of our obligation to Christ is what Paul writes in Rom 6:13 “… present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”

Our bodies are to be used for the cause of righteousness…

To do that which is right with God… that which is pleasing to God… these things do.

To present one’s members is to present the entirety of one one’s person.

In the Old Testament, Israelites recited the Great Shema… “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” (Deut 6:4-5)

They were to love the LORD our God with every fiber of their being… heart, soul, mind, and strength.

This was the entirety of their members they would present to God…

The OT priests (Aaron and his sons) in Exo 29 were anointed with blood on the tip of their right ears… the thumb of their right hand… and the big toe of their right foot…

Possibly symbolizing they were cleansed and wholly dedicated to God.

Of the ear to hear God’s word… of the hand to do God’s work… and of the foot to walk in the service of God.

And maybe as you examine your life… you cannot honestly confess that this is how you are living your life…

You don’t feel like your life is an instrument of righteousness to God…

… you’re not wholly dedicated as your heart is divided between the world and Him…

We’re going to take communion today… and I encourage you to use that time to honestly confess these things to God…

… And ask Him to give you the desire to be anointed unto Him… to live alive from the dead… freed from sin… and consecrated to the Lord.

And, living this way can be easier said then done.

We know we have justified by faith in Jesus Christ… that we have been set free from the penalty of sin… and yet… some Christians still feel imprisoned by sin.

Ex-cons, when released from prison, will often struggle to re-integrate into society.

Prison institutionalization is a real struggle for former prisoners.

They become accustomed to the strict rules and routine of prison life…

When they are released from prison… they often struggle with their new found freedom.

There is a loss of independence… some experience social withdraw… social and life skills deficits… mental health issues, and so forth.

And, so it is for some Christians… having lived under the bondage of sin for so long… having grown accustomed to serving sin and being an instrument of unrighteousness…

… some Christians struggle with freedom from sin and serving God as an instrument of righteousness.

Freedom stares them in the face, and yet they don’t know what to do with it.

To illustrate this point… Pastors sometimes cite the historic example of the 14th Century Belgium Duke Raynald III. Perhaps you’ve heard his true story before?

He was a very obese man, and was nicknamed “Crassus” which is Latin for ‘fat.’

He and his brother Edward got into a violent war, and Raynald’s Dukedom was overthrown.

Edward captured Raynald alive and imprisoned him in Nieuwkerk Castle… and had a rather inventive imprisonment in mind…

Edward built a reasonably comfortable room around his brother.

And, Raynald was free to come and go as he please… there were no bars on the window or doors…

However, the door was slightly narrower than a typical door… far too narrow for Raynald’s large body.

A smaller person could fit through the door, and IF Raynald lost weight he could as well.

And, IF he left… Edward vowed to restore to Raynald all he lost.

Now… here’s the rub… Raynald didn’t receive normal prison rations of bread and water…

Oh no… DAILY… Edward had the castle chefs serve Raynald with no shortage of the finest foods and drink.

You can imagine… there was a mighty the temptation to indulge.

Raynald had to choose… overcome his addiction to food and gain his freedom and Title back…

Or, remain imprisoned. The obstacle to freedom was not bars or locked doors… but was within Raynald himself.

When Duke Edward was accused of being cruel to his brother, he simply responded with “My brother isn’t a prisoner here. He may leave whenever he so wills.”

Yet for the next ten years, Raynald remained a prisoner in an unlocked cell… growing larger and larger… free to go, but unable to leave.

Edward eventually died in battle, and legend has it that the walls were cut away to free Raynald…

And, while Raynald reclaimed his ducal throne… he died only a few months later from ruined health.

And, all too often Christians live their lives just like Raynald.

Justified legally through faith in Jesus Christ. Legally free… and they should walk in that newness of life… they have been given power to not be a slave to sin.

But, when they present their body to sin… to obey it’s lusts… they remain imprisoned and serve their sin… just like Raynald.

Don’t be royalty sitting at the table of sin… staring freedom in the face for the next ten years… living a life of defeat… completely demoralized… free yet enslaved.

It’s a miserable place to be… living between two worlds… not fully committed to Jesus… nor to the world.

It’s a state of limbo… and joy is not realized in either place… not in the Lord… and not in the world. It’s a terrible place to be.

It reminds of when Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years…

No longer were they in Egypt… and nor were they in the Promised Land.

It was a desert experience… God intends more for us.

Look at V14 “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”

This is the second time we read the word “dominion” in Chapter 6.

Dominion lit means “to be lord of”… it speaks of the “rule” “mastery” or “lordship” one has over another.

We read in vv 8-9 “Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.”

In our union with Christ… it stands certain that just as death did not have dominion over Jesus… sin shall not have dominion over us.

Other translations read, “Sin is no longer your master”… “sin will not rule over you”… “sin will not have authority over you.”

Not that we become perfectly sinless, but we are no longer under the authority of sin.

This is possible because as we believe in Christ… we are united together with Him (v5)… and our ‘old man was crucified with Christ’ (v6)… therefore we are ‘freed from sin’ (v7).

AND, because we are “not under law but under grace.”

If believers were under law… sin would exercise mastery over them, because the law only exposes your sin… it does not give you power over it.

For Jews, when the Mosaic Law was given… it revealed that sin is an offense to God.

For Gentiles… while they didn’t have the Mosaic law… they had the law of conscience… morality is written into their hearts…

Rom 2:15 declares Gentiles “… show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness...”

Laws don’t save you from sin… they only expose sin…

Law neither has power over the penalty of sin… that’s why we need to be justified by faith in Christ.

And in our context of Romans 6… law does not free us from the power of sin.

The Law only teaches us that we’re sinners and need a Savior.

And, the point that Paul is making in Rom 6:14 is that if we were under the law… sin would have dominion over us… but we are under grace because of faith in Jesus Christ… therefore sin no longer has mastery over us.

Paul wrote in 1 Cor 15:56–57 “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Sin calls for condemnation… and the law pronounces it.

Freedom from both is found in grace through faith in Jesus Christ…

Grace produces holiness in our lives because in grace we receive salvation and the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit to produce holiness in our lives.

And, of course… in our twisted thinking some would abuse grace. Paul anticipates this and writes in V15 “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? [And Paul’s repeated emphatic response follows…] Certainly not!”

In the Phillips translation of the Bible… “Certainly not!” is translated, “What a ghastly thought!” 

I mentioned to a few of you last week after service that in the past I had a slide of Vizzini… from Princess Bride…

We know how he would have translated “Certainly not!” Inconceivable!

I last used that slide in Oct 2021. I had to dig that slide up from the archives… Your Welcome!

I don’t remember WHY I used that slide, but we were teaching through Matthew 21-22.

Extra credit if you go back and listen to those messages to figure out the reference.

The objector, here in V15, seems to be saying… “if you are a proponent for Grace, they you are providing a license or a justification TO SIN.”

Essentially they are saying ‘grace is dangerous, because people will become lawless under grace.’

Paul in NO WAY is advocating for lawlessness. In fact, in just a few verses Paul will contrast “lawless” living to holy living.

In Rom 13, Paul will advocate to submit to governing authorities…

Paul is not lawless.

Thus his strong response, “Certainly not!”…

Any rationalization to justify sin truly is a ghastly thought… truly is inconceivable… WHY?

V16 “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?”

Once again, Paul uses the word “present”, and here the illustration is of presenting oneself as to submit as one’s slave.

Slave is a key word in Romans 6… used 9x in 7 verses.

The Gk word for slave is doulos. A very familiar Greek word to many.

It means “bond-slave”… a slave is by def. “a person who is legally owned by someone else and whose entire livelihood and purpose was determined by their master.”

And, don’t wrestle with this. The word doulos is used 127x in the NT… and you’re in good company if you are a slave to Christ…

Matthew 25:23 “‘Well done, good and faithful servant...”

We all want to hear that from the lips of Jesus as we enter heaven… right?… [servant in Gk is doulos]

Romans 1:1 “Paul, a bondservant [doulos] of Jesus Christ...”

Philippians 1:1 “Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ...”

James 1:1 “James, a bondservant of God...”

2 Peter 1:1 “Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ...”

Jude 1 “Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ...”

Revelation 1:1 “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants...” [doulos]

Slavery is difficult for Americans to experientially conceptualize.

We grew up free. In a free country. Able to pursue our dreams. Able to choose career paths… and if we wanted… to change that career path.

We can build businesses… and buy homes… and live in any state of our country that we want… we marry who we want… marriages are not arranged.

Freedom is all around us… we don’t identify as being owned by someone else.

Some of you are thinking… “you’ve never met my husband… or you’ve never met my wife… OR you’ve never met my boss!”

WORK is probably the closest comparison we have to slavery, but even that comparison falls short.

In work, we trade time and skill for money…

BUT, you are not OWNED by your boss.

So, from an American perspective… slavery has not truly been experienced… or even observed…

We don’t look out and see people being led around by chains… or being branded with their owners mark.

We only read about these things… or see movies depicting scenes of slavery.

Slavery is alive an well in the world, but NOT up close and personal.

But, when Paul wrote to the Romans, this comparison was easy to grasp… and observe… slavery was all around them…

Probably upon entering the home of a friend… they were greeted by a doulos who washed their feet prior to entry.

NOW… when Paul speaks in terms of slavery here in V16… he speaks on spiritual terms.

Each person spiritually speaking is either a slave to obey sin… and the servitude to sin leads to death.

OR, one is a slave to obey God leading to righteousness… bearing fruit to holiness and the end, everlasting life (which Paul spells out in V22).

Those are our only two options.

Sin is destructive… it leads to death… which is separation from God… and it’s sad… it’s bewildering how many Christians still want to allow sin back into their lives… even in small doses.

Justifying… well it’s just one night… I deserve to let my hair down every once in a while… I’m under grace… God will forgive me… right?

In John 8:34-35 Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.”

Who do you serve? Sin or God. The fruit reveals the root.

Playing with sin is dangerous… it bears rotten fruit. Many Christians, even unintentionally, become ensnared by sin.

James 1:14-15 reads, “… each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”

There’s a process… before you know it your sitting at the table of sin staring at freedom… but unable to pass through the door.

But, Pastor Marc… aren’t these strict standards legalism?

NO… by definition legalism is “bringing law into the case of Justification.”

Don’t use the term ‘legalism’ as a justification to sin… it’s the wrong term.

Legalism adds rules and regulations to achieve salvation and spiritual growth and is essentially opposed to grace.

And grace is NOT an advocate for sin. We just read in V15 “Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!”

Setting up hedges to avoid sin… and fleeing from sin… and having a strong conviction NOT to sin is NOT legalism… it’s holiness…

It’s being set apart from the world and dedicated to God.

In the very definition of “holiness” you find the words consecration, sanctification, moral purity…

These things are good and right by God.

In fact, Paul praises God for the believers in Rome being set free from the bondage of sin…

Look at vv 17-18 “But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”

Praise God when anyone obey… not just outwardly… but from the heart… when they truly obey wholeheartedly the doctrine… or the teaching of the Gospel of grace… and Scripture.

MacDonald wrote, “Correct doctrine should lead to correct duty.”

If there is sin in your life… as we soak in Romans… as we read these words today… what YOU going to do with it?

Be free from sin… pray to God for freedom if sin is dominating your life. You are called to be a slave of righteousness.

Of all things right with God… NOT a slave of sin… of missing the mark.

Wouldn’t that be a terrible reputation?… “He or she was close, but they just always missed the mark.”

I think of all those Israelites who fled Egypt… and were so close to the promised land, but never entered. So sad that they couldn’t walk in faith with God.

And, in the New Testament, Egypt is a type… representing our old life of slavery to sin.

And, when the Israelites were freed from bondage and slavery in Egypt… what did they do repeatedly?

They complained! They murmured against Moses and against God!

Complaining, “it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians...”

Complaining… because in Egypt they “… sat by the pots of meat and… ate bread to the full!”

They has a selective memory about life in Egypt… forgetting the slavery and abuse… and they romanticized the past… because they had meat and bread.

Don’t make the same error… don’t romanticize sin.

Sometimes we are thick headed to understanding truth… and Paul must have anticipated this with his readers and writes…

V19 “I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.”

Paul uses the familiar illustration of slave and master because of the difficulties his readers… and WE… face in understanding truth… there is a intellectual… and even more a spiritual difficulty in taking in truth…

So Paul tries to meet them on their human level… and implores them… continuing in V19…

“For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.”

In the past, we served impurity and lawlessness… which just led to more lawless deeds… more wickedness.

NOW… present your members… your body… your very life as a slave of righteous living which results in holiness… some translations read “resulting in sanctification.”

Sometimes we see a sign that says, “Under new management.”

You’re under new management. Embrace that.

You don’t work for sin anymore. You have a new boss now.

If the old boss… who was fired… were to call you up and tell you what your schedule for the day was… it would be inappropriate.

You’d say, “You’re not the boss of me!” … “You were dismissed.” … “I’ve got a new boss now.” … “He is righteousness… He is truth… His name is Jesus Christ.”

No longer do you have obligations to the old boss. Your time and loyalties are now invested in serving the new.

Earlier we sang a song which is based off the hymn "Take My Life, and Let It Be"…

Frances Havergal wrote the original hymn in 1874 and it’s associated with verses like Rom 6:19.

The hymn explores the meaning of surrendering to Christ.

“Take my life, and let it be Consecrated, Lord to Thee...”

Take my moments and my days… Take my hands…

Take my voice… Take my silver and my gold…

Take my will, and make it Thine… Take my love; my Lord.

Each stanza consecrates the singer's life, moments, and physical body.

The issue of living a victorious Christian life rises or falls upon the issue of Jesus‘s Lordship in one’s life not for salvation, but for victorious Christian living… for having freedom over sin.

And, when we get to Romans 8… thank God Paul will also share the work of the Holy Spirit in sanctification, because who can do it alone?

I’m insufficient for these things.

My best is just that I can surrender it to God.

It’s the presentation of our members… all of me… take it Lord… set it apart for You… for that which is just and right and holy.

Maybe that’s your prayer today… when we take communion in a few minutes.

But, first Paul has some final words… taking a moment to now look back on the former life and the desperate condition we found ourselves in before Christ.

vv 20 “For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.”

Prior to faith in Christ and being justified as righteous… you were a ‘slave of sin’… and Paul writes, ‘you were free in regard to righteousness.’

Which is NOT a good thing. Prior… our relationship was with sin… NOT with righteousness.

This is a miserable place… enslaved to evil… and free from all that is good.

Had we died in that state… we would have forever been separated from God.

Paul continues, V21 “What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.”

The fruit of sin is shame and death.

Don’t look back upon the passing pleasures of sin without first taking an inventory of the fruit of that former life.

One scholar summed up such an inventory as follows:

“Faculties abused. Affections prostrated. Time squandered. Influence misused. Best friends wronged. Our best interests violated. Love outraged—especially the love of God. Or to sum it up in one word—SHAME.”

The amount of time and money and love that is wasted on sin is shameful… it’s embarrassing.

Why ever go back… even for a night?

In contrast V22 “But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.”

As we believe Jesus is our Lord and Savior… we are set free from the slavery of sin…

And, now we are slaves of God… which is good.

Because God is a loving Master.

In Deut 15… a freed slave who loved their master and serving his home… could choose to symbolically have their ear pierced and become his servant for life.

We all serve something… either sin leading to shame and death…

Or, God leading to righteousness, holiness… and the end… everlasting life.

There is NOT a more loving Master than serving God.

Paul concludes what we call Chapter 6 in V23 with this famous verse, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Paul summarizes his thoughts here with a colorful contrast…

We choose…

Sin or God… death or life… wage or gift.

Which master will we serve? Sin or God.

That choice results in either death or life.… now and eternally.

And the means by which we obtain that result is either by wages or gift.

The best of your good works always falls short of the glory of God… the wage one earns by attempting to earn salvation is death.

Salvation is a gift only obtained through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If you’ve never placed your faith in Jesus Christ… come and pray as we sing our last song…

There is great joy in heaven even when one sinner repents. Make today your day of Salvation.

Let’s Pray!

As it is the first Sunday of the month, we are going to take communion.… remembering Jesus’ sacrifice.

1 Cor 11:23-29 “...the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.”

Please distribute the elements...

Communion is a time for us to look three directions…

We look back remembering Jesus’ sacrifice… His broken body and shed blood for the remission of our sins.

His new covenant. Salvation by faith and in grace.

Look forward in hope of His imminent return… we proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. He is coming.

And, looking inward to examine ourselves… to take communion in a worthy manner.

Time to do business with God.

Once you have prayed… take the communion elements individually.

Our worship team will play one worship song, and then close us in prayer.

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If you have never accepted Jesus as Lord...

...either let the cup pass and do not partake in communion -or- the better option...

…first accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior today.

Our Elders will be up front to guide you in a prayer of faith… to confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

… then take communion.

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