Published 2/25/20
Read Romans 6:13-14
"Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace."
Reflect
How does it make you feel, knowing that sin has no dominion over you?
Even though we still wrestle with sin in this life--and won't experience the complete overcoming of it until we meet the Lord in heaven--we are no longer a slave to it. In fact, we have a new identity in Christ.
So, we have a choice to make: Yield to our old nature ... or to our new one. It's at these moments during our "life race" that things often turn ugly. Christ-followers trip, fail, and fall. Some become so discouraged they don't bother getting back up--and their spiritual growth comes to a halt. But again, there's hope for the brokenhearted. ...
According to Paul, we must continually "put off" or "put away" the characteristics of our old life, and "put on" characteristics of our new life. (See Ephesians 4:22-32.) Erwin W. Lutzer admits that these steps take loads of patience and discipline--qualities many of us lack and really need to build in our lives. "There are many ways to fail in the Christian life," he says. "But all of them begin with lack of discipline, a conscious decision to take the easy route. Paul says, 'I discipline my body and bring it under control.' The lie is that the body cannot be disciplined, for indeed it can, especially with the help of the Holy Spirit, who gives us self-control."[1]
The secret to discipline is divine empowerment, which builds internal strength. Fortunately for us, the key to God's strength is our own weakness. Through humble dependence on Jesus Christ we find the strength to put off our old life and to grow in our new one. The power pitfall is self-reliance and failure to see that without Christ we can do nothing that is spiritually significant. The power principle is that divine strength is perfected in human weakness.
Pray
Lord Jesus, empower me. Help me to resist temptation and grow in You. Amen.
[1]Erwin W. Lutzer, Your Eternal Reward(Chicago: Moody Press, © 1998). 58.
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