|
||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
||||||||||||
Commentary on "Victory Over Sin"
Day 6: Thursday, August 12, 2010 - Fruit Unto Holiness
Overview
He knows what fallen human nature, left on its own, is capable of. Thus, again, he appeals to the power of choice—the power we have to choose to surrender ourselves and our weak flesh to a new master, Jesus, who will enable us to live a righteous life (Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide; July, Aug, Sept, 2010, Page 86).
Observations
Once again, we return to the claim that Jesus will enable us to live a righteous life. Once again, this is wrong. Our job is not to live righteous lives; it is to abide in the vine, resting in all that He is in order to allow the Holy Spirit to work God’s incredible love in us to the point that it overflows to others. Anything we contribute to the effort is tainted and putrid.
Having proven that we are no longer under Law but under grace, Paul deals with the next legalistic complaint.
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? (Romans 6:15, NASB).
People who teach the complete sufficiency of Jesus are charged with this all the time. “You know if you teach grace all you’re doing is giving people a license to sin.” As we like to say at People to People, “I never needed a license to sin. License or no, I sinned pretty well regardless!”
The second half of Romans 6 is about slavery. I hated this for a long time. I was no one’s slave. I was my own man, fully capable of choosing between good and evil.
I believed I was neutral. It was my job to exercise my will in such a way as to choose Jesus most of the time. As long as I chose Jesus, I was safe. Those increasingly few times that I chose incorrectly were covered by 1 John 1:9.
Problem was, I knew in my heart of hearts that I was living a lie. I was so far into slavery, I’d been sold down so many rivers, that I was growing more certain by the day that I was irretrievably lost.
The only alternative, the only true freedom, is to be a slave of Jesus Christ. The only way to obtain, let alone enjoy, the fruit of the Spirit, is to deny every bit of my will that tries to force its own way. I belong to Jesus in the same way a slave belongs to a master. Jesus can kill me if He wants, and there’s not a thing I can do about it. Not my will, but His be done.
This is why true Christianity is so radical. I have no will, no identity, no voice, no mind, no anything apart from Jesus. Far from needing to understand “the true force of the will,” I must wait to be told what to do, how to do it, and to allow God Himself to use my hands and feet to accomplish it. I need to bet my life that what Jesus said is true – “I am the way, the truth and the life. If you’re burdened, come to me for rest.”
This is why Paul could write in Verse 22 (NASB):
But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.
Sanctification and eternal life are the results of slavery to God. They are not the results of my efforts. They are gifts. They could never be earned, and once accepted, they never will be taken away.
It is so sad that Romans 6:23 is explained away. Rather than falling on our faces in awe at the incredible gift of eternal life in Jesus, we’re treated to three paragraphs trying to prove, yet again, that sin equals bad behavior and that our job is to overcome.
As I wrote in last week’s response, sin is not bad behavior. Sin is anything I do in my own strength, that is, not by faith. Sometimes sin results in ugly behavior. Often times, sin results in wonderful behavior, but behavior that is a lie by definition. Believing that I can replace all my bad behavior with good behavior, and thus be more acceptable to God (more “safe to save”) is the worst slavery of all.
Summary
- You are a slave – either of sin or of Jesus.
- You are born a slave to sin, and death is guaranteed. In a very real way, you are already seated in hell.
- You can choose slavery to Jesus. If you do, you will be seated with Him in the heavenlies (see Ephesians 2:6).
- This choosing, this exercise of your will, is a once-for-all decision. Once made, you will never go back. Once made, you never again need worry about how well you’re doing at removing sin from your life. Your focus has shifted from sin to Jesus.
Copyright 2010 BibleStudiesForAdventists.com. All rights reserved. Revised July 19, 2010. This website is published by Life Assurance Ministries, Glendale, Arizona, USA, the publisher of Proclamation! Magazine. Contact email: BibleStudiesForAdventists@gmail.com.
The Sabbath School Bible Study Guide and the corresponding E.G. White Notes are published by Pacific Press Publishing Association, which is owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist church. The current quarter's editions are pictured above.
Official Adventist Resources
Standard Edition Study Guide Week 7
Teacher's Edition Study Guide Week 7
Easy Reading Edition Study Guide Wk 7
Search the Complete Published Ellen G. White Writings
