December 8, 2002 Volume 3 Number 49
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How To Live The
Christian Life Romans 6:12 “ Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.”What is God trying to tell us? It is commonly taught that a believer will sin and not be able to always obey God! Sin we are told is a fact of life, "as long as you are living, you will be sinning!" If this be true then what did the apostle mean by "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body” I believe the answer can be found in this chapter, let us search for the answer.God starts off chapter six with a question from the apostle, Romans 6:1 “ What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” This is a rhetorical question, Paul, often uses this approach in his writings. In Romans chapter four and five, God went to great lengths to advance the fact that our salvation can not be earned or granted by our effort at obeying the law! And now, the apostle Paul didn’t want anyone to think that he was saying that sin was normal, or that God didn’t mind sin now! So the apostle asks the question "Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” Let’s look at his answer to this very important question. Romans 6:2: "God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” This is preposterous, how is it possible for anyone born of God’s Spirit to even consider continuing on in sin! Is not "REPENTANCE" the very thing that God demands from us in order to forgive our sins? What is repentance? A sorrow about sin? NO! Repentance is turning from sin.When we are born again, we are set free from sin. No one would want to go back into bondage. Romans 6:3 “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?” When we follow the Lord Jesus Christ into baptism, we are giving testimony to the world that we have died to sin (self will). We are saying to the world "our old self (man) will not rule us anymore, Jesus is the Lord of our life now! Jesus will now rule us!” Why are we buried with Jesus?, Romans 6:4 “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”God expects us to walk in newness of life, Not continue in sin! If we follow Jesus in dying to ourselves (not letting our old self (man) to rule us anymore) we will walk in newness of life. Here is the promise: Romans 6:5 “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:” Now remember I didn't say this, God did. When God promises something He will do It! No longer do we need to be in bondage to sin or anything, "who the Son sets free, is free in deed!”Romans 6:6 “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. Read this carefully, do you Know this about yourself?” Is your old man crucified with Christ? If so, you no longer have to serve sin. Look what the Lord wants us to do, we are to "walk in newness of life.” Are you “walking in newness of life?” Romans 6:7 “For he that is dead is freed from sin. Have you died to self? Is self-will and stubbornness absent from your life?” Romans 6:8 “Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him:” It is important that you not miss this very important experience.Have you died with Christ? (meaning "to self") Romans 6:9-11 “Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” This word “reckon” is important, it means to consider it done. We are talking faith here, You must believe God and "reckon" yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin. When you do, you allow God to perform a mighty work in you! Let me add this comment, for many years I searched for a way to be "dead indeed unto sin” only to find that I was very much alive the next day! Self-will was alive and well in me, the one who wished to be "dead indeed unto sin.” The answer to this dilemma is to see the folly of man, to find out for yourself that all of your effort at being a "Christian" will end in failure! That in order to live the Christian life you must be a Christian! Christ must truly be alive in you! He must be leading your life, He must be your life!All of the above statements seem simple, and they are, but until you discover that your best efforts at obeying God and living a right life will always fail! That nothing good dwells in you until Christ dwells in you, you are not fit for buzzard bait when it comes to living a righteous life! Until you are born again of the Spirit of God, you never will be. You must see yourself as not just needing a little help from God, but needing the grave, and then being born again. You must give up trying to be a Christian with your Flesh or "old man", and only when you realize that your best effort is a stench in the nostrils of God, will you cry out "Who will deliver me from this body of death!" Then and only then, when you come to know yourself will you be willing, nay In wholehearted agreement with Christ being the master of your life, of allowing the Holy Spirit to guide you. After you come to know yourself, and submit to God, you are ready for God’s next commandment. Don’t forget, when God commands you to do something He will move heaven and earth to help you do it! Who can stop God? NO ONE! Now here is the commandment, Romans 6:12 “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.” Here it is, God has commanded us to not allow sin to rule our lives, and we can do just that God said it, I believe It, and that settles it..Romans 6:13 “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” Now that God has set you free, stand in the freedom wherewith God has made you free! “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness” What is meant by “members”?Your EYES; don’t look at anything that is filthy. Your EARS: Don’t listen to anything that is filthy or wrong. Your HANDS: Don’t do any thing wrong, steal, hit, etc. Your FEET: Don’t walk into a wrong place. Remember God never commands us to do something that we cannot do. The fact that God commanded it, is the proof that we can do it! Romans 6:14 “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Many people say that this means our sin is not counted against us because we are under grace. This line of reasoning is ridiculous!Listen to the apostle Paul as he explains this to us. Paul begins with another rhetorical question: Romans 6:15 “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.” God never meant for us to think of grace as a "license to sin" but rather a "license to be FREE FROM SIN"! Romans 6:16 “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Now listen to God carefully here, “If you yield to sin” (Self Will) “you will die.” But if you yield to God you will gain righteousness. Look at the choice that the people at Rome made. Romans 6:17 “But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.” Romans 6:18 “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” Notice that the Bible doesn’t even hint at us continuing in sin, but rather becoming “servants of righteousness.” Romans 6:19 “I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.” Romans 6:20 “For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.” Romans 6:21 “What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.” Romans 6:22 “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”If you have tried to walk without sin, and had no success, you need to read Ezekiel 36:25-27 Take note of the fact that God is the one who does all of these things “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.” What a promise! God will cleanse us from all of our filthiness! That word filthiness means sin! But that’s not all, God will remove all of the idols in our life! Then God will remove our heart of stone. The Bible uses the word heart to refer to man’s will, the place we make our decisions (the decision to obey or disobey God). “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.” Notice here that God refers to a stony heart, this means a stubborn, rebellious will (heart). We won’t stop being rebellious and stubborn on our own, so a God of love removes this rebellious (heart) from us and replaces it with a moldable (heart) “And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do [them].” And now after heart surgery, we are ready to receive the most precious gift anyone could possibly receive, God’s Spirit! ( “And I will put My spirit within you.” ) But God knows that this is still not enough. Look at the next part of this promise. “And cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do [them].”Now God has committed Himself to cause us to obey Him! What more need we ask of Him? This is the faith part. Will you believe God? Will you take Him at His word? Will you place your faith in Him, now, today? The Dress and Adornment Of The Christian The attire of the Christian is a very important part of their character. Having obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ, we have given our lives in service to Jesus Christ. This means that we should no longer seek to dress and adorn ourselves as the world does, but rather to glorify God with our bodies. This point is made clear in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 - "Or 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? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." The Lord wants His disciples to know that their body's are members of Christ and what we do with our body's matters to Him. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit whom we received from God when we were baptized into Christ. (Acts 2:38,39; 5:32) We are to glorify God with our bodies realizing that “we are not our own.” Disciples of Christ made a covenant with God to put Him first in their lives in everything. That covenant is to regard our lives as complete before Him and in accordance with His will. The argument people use about having the right to dress and wear what they desire is not acceptable to God. God said, "You are not your own." Why? Because Jesus Christ died to redeem us and we were "bought at a price." The price of the life of God's Son is why we have no right to dictate to God what we shall wear or what we shall put on. He - and He alone - has that right. Paul then states - "Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." Does it matter what I wear? What does my attire and adornment say about me? Consider what the Bible says about what statement is made in what I wear. Proverbs 7:10 describes the harlot in this fashion: "And there a woman met him, with the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart." The attire of a harlot is the statement made by a harlot by the way she dresses. Judah thought Tamar was a harlot by the manner of her apparel. (Genesis 38:13-15) Isaiah described the children of God in their wantonness and wickedness: "Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with outstretched necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, making a jingling with their feet." (3:16) The truth is very clear - even to the minds of people today - we show our lives by the way we dress. The attire of the Christian is not based upon the world's fashions or cultures. The attire of the Christian is found in the love of God and obedience to Jesus Christ. 1 Timothy 2:9-10 says, "In like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works." The attire and adornments that some Christians wear is not modest, it has no propriety, without moderation, it is gaudy and lacking godliness. To see women who profess to be children of the Most High God exposing themselves with the lack of clothing, is a shame and disgrace to the blood of Jesus Christ, it is unbecoming godliness. Their dresses worn so short, parading around town in shorts so tight and short, the last thing anyone would think of those women is their godliness. Godly women need to be found in the church that are willing to dress like godly women. Men are not exempt in this. Godly apparel is glorifying God - what many wear today does not glorify God - and bring shame to the body of Jesus Christ. Likewise men who adorn themselves as the rebels, “gays”, effeminate, and Satanic cultists of the day, with their markings and piercings that identify them with sin and worldliness rather than Godliness must change, must yield to God’s right to be worshipped. "You are bought at a price!" Post that on the mirrors where you get dressed. Fathers need to dress their daughters and wives in godly apparel. "You are not your own" says that I must dress as God would desire me to be. Let's stop kidding ourselves trying to find solace in the fashion of the day. Women - if you are not dressed in godly apparel – be ashamed. Men – stop bringing shame upon Christ by the way you dress and adorn yourselves. Be Christians - be godly! (Adapted from an article by Kent E. Heaton Sr.) We
hope you find this bulletin useful in your Bible study. 2
Sam 22:31
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