Friday - Romans 6 - Victory Belongs to Us (part 2)

 

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O, God's grace dominates our situation. As a result, we are the inheritors of eternal life. We have a license to do whatever we want to do now, right?  Well, sort of.  The real question is: what do you want to do? When we come to Christ, He gives us a new set of desires.  The old set of evil passions is still in us, but a new set of holy aims also exists in our mind. Good things can't appeal to our old nature (Romans 7:18). Evil things can't appeal to our new nature, because our new nature is the nature of Christ Himself (1^st John 3:9). And we know that He is perfect. The Spirit of Christ in us is incapable of sin. Still, there is a real sense in which we are now free from the penalty of sin, so can't we just forget the law and do whatever is convenient or comfortable in any given situation?  After all, isn't God's grace more magnificently obvious in the salvation of Rahab the harlot, David, or Peter than it is in salvation of Abel, Joseph, or Daniel (Romans 5:20)?

 

Paul's answer to this soteriological conundrum is simple. If we are saved from sin (and if we are now dead to sin), could any reasonable person conclude that God has saved us so that we can now freely return to the filth from which He rescued us (like Judah did foolishly, as is recorded in Jeremiah 7:9-10)? No, God has given us a new nature; new life, which is more than just a possession. Our new life is more than a ticket to heaven. It is more than a pass, or a get-out-of-hell-free card. It is all these things, yes, but He has saved us unto good works.  He has given us the power and ability through His Spirit to walk in the truth; to live daily in spiritual victory (Romans 6:10 & Ephesians 2:10). My old desires and all the punishments which they merit were nailed viciously to the cross.