No longer under the power of sin
For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness. For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under the law but under grace. Romans 6:10-14
From the text, the Apostle Paul reminded Christians in Rome that they should live their lives based on the new life they have in Christ. Once we accept Christ as Lord and Savior, we are no longer a slave of sin but a slave of Christ. This new life in Christ provided us a new sense of purpose. Our whole being becomes an instrument for God’s glory. God commands believers to stay away in every form of evil. “Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22). The death of Christ on the cross once and for all has broken the power of sin over those that surrendered their lives to Christ. It is not easy to break away from sin’s invitation. Left on our own, we do not have the capacity or the strength to resist the call of temptation. We cannot take for granted the cunning craftiness of the devil. God does not want us to tolerate sin because it cost the life of His Son Jesus Christ on the cross. Sin had caused countless lives, destroyed relationships, and resulted to unbearable pains. When we treat sin lightly we are devaluing what Christ’s death on the cross had accomplished. Let us not disregard when God convicts us to remove ourselves to a possibility that we might be tempted and later on regret the consequence. It might be a relationship, or an ungodly influence, or an environment that scoffs at sin. We can only win over the power of sin when we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us. He is the one who will help us to have the discernment to make the right decision. It is by allowing God’s word to permeate our heart and our mind which will help us overcome temptation. “Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said” (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21).
Blessings,
Noel De Guzman
www.my-wbc.com
