Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Have you ever been enslaved by something? I love chocolate truffles, the ones with peanuts and caramel. Maybe for you it's sweets, maybe it's other foods. Maybe it's enslaved by TV shows or whatever it might be. A lot of things in our life can enslave us. John Calvin, the great theologian, once said, "Our heart is an idol factory." You and I have the temptation to be enslaved by many things.
The Verse of the Day today is Romans chapter 6, verse 14. It says, "Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace."
The Context of Romans
Before we look at some ways that we're going to be able to really attack the things that enslave us, Paul talks about how he's a servant of the Lord Jesus. I love Romans chapter 1 and verse 16. He's not ashamed of the Gospel, for it's the dynamite of God. Then in chapter 3, he talks about how there's no one righteous, there's not even one. Fast forward to chapter 5, and he talks about how we've been declared righteous and justified, and our relationship with God—there's no longer an enmity with God. We now have peace with Him.
Sin No Longer Reigns
Now in chapter 6 he says this incredible statement. There's essentially two ways that we can dethrone the things that want to master us. He says right there in verse 14, "Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law." First, basically, sin no longer reigns. Sin no longer has to reign in your life, or in my life. It doesn't have to be like a leash, like a dog leash on us that's controlling us. It no longer reigns, Paul says, because of what Christ has done. Even Galatians says, if we're led by the Spirit, we're not under the law.
Grace Forever Reigns
Secondly, Paul says sin not only no longer reigns, but second, grace forever reigns. He says it right there in the verse: "Instead, you live under the freedom of God's grace." Freedom is not the ability to do what you want. Freedom is the ability to do what's right under the power of the grace of God. Here, God says you have this amazing grace that forever reigns.
What Do We Do With This?
What do we do with this? How do we deal with being mastered by things? Two quick thoughts. Number one: dethrone sin. Dethrone it, kick it out, get it out of your life. It wants to control you and me. We don't want sin to control us. We don't want it to master us. Dethrone it.
Secondly, enthrone it by grace. How do you do that? Well, every sin you've ever sinned, every sin you've ever struggled with or had a victory over, or dealing with and fighting against, Jesus Christ has paid for that on Calvary. That's called amazing grace. The grace of God is what can break sin's grip. Let's dethrone our enemy—sin—and make sure that Jesus Christ is on the throne of our lives.
