Romans 6:15-23 - Free to serve

Most people think that freedom is doing whatever you want.  Most people are wrong.  People who do whatever they want are the least free of all according to Paul.  Everyone serves something or someone.  No-one has no master.  Real freedom is about serving the best master...

Romans 6:15-23

I love my job!  After a restful Easter break, I'm back to it and loving pretty much every minute.  My job is essentially to hang out with young people as much as possible, being as helpful as possible.  And I love it.  Yesterday was one of those days where almost every five minutes there was an encouragement about the importance and effectiveness of what I was doing.  And it's not because I'm unique in the way I serve or that I'm better than everyone else but it's because God is a unique master and he is better than everyone else!  It's a real privilege and joy to serve Jesus and Paul says that this is what true freedom is.

The people are wondering if it's ok to do whatever they want because they're forgiven by Jesus and don't need to worry about God's anger or punishment of sin.  But Paul says it would be a self-destructive and self-enslaving idea.  Why would anyone continue doing the things that were killing them and those around them before they were rescued by Jesus?  Forgiven destructive behaviour is still destructive behaviour and it's bad for us and those around us.  What's more, Christians have a new master - Jesus and they have an alternative to the self-destructive sin that everyone else is stuck in.  Christians have God the Holy Spirit living in them and the opportunity to choose to serve Jesus instead of sin at every moment of every day.  The possibility of living a free life is more there than it ever was but it's not a freedom that is enjoyed by serving ourselves.  That's still slavery.  It's a freedom that is best enjoyed by serving Jesus - the best, most loving, most powerful master there is.  Serving ourselves and sin leads to mess, destruction and death but serving Jesus leads to healing, wholeness and life.  Why would we go back and serve our old master that was killing us?  It would make no sense at all.

The trap we might fall into here is thinking that serving Jesus is what saves a person and makes then right with God but that's not what Paul is saying.  Paul has already made it very clear that our only hope of being made right with God is to trust and follow Jesus who died in our place for our sin.  The point he's making is about what you do next and his strong and clear advice is to wholeheartedly give yourself to serving and sharing Jesus.

The other trap we might fall into is thinking that being 'slaves to God' is a bad thing because slavery is bad.  Slavery has been made bad because of people's sin but Paul is using an example from the everyday life of his first readers.  He's asking them to imagine what it would be like if they were slaves to the most powerful, most loving master - Jesus.  That kind of 'slavery' isn't like any other slavery people experience in this world.  Living for Jesus is true freedom because we're free to serve the one who loves us most.  

Questions...
1. Are you trusting and following Jesus yet?  If not, what are you serving and what's it leading to?
2. If you are trusting and following Jesus, how are you serving and sharing him?  How's it going?

Romans blog

Gravit8 Podcast Episode 1

Gravit8 Podcast Episode 1 - Dealbreaker (Genesis 15) with Ben and Jacob

Romans 6:1-14 - Sin, grace and baptism

If sin is fun and grace is free then why stop sinning?  Paul says that's a ridiculous thing to ask for anyone who really knows Jesus...

Romans 6:1-14

Paul is saying that a Christian is someone who has died.  The death of Jesus now also represents the death of their old sinful self with all its selfish priorities and desires.  The Christian is someone who realises the seriousness of sin and sees that it leads to death.  They also enjoy the incredible forgiveness and freedom that God's grace through Jesus brings.  For someone like this, who realises the seriousness of sin and experiences the joy of grace, the idea of wanting to continue in sin is absolutely ridiculous.

For the Christian, they also have the Holy Spirit - God himself living in them and this means they have the power to make the right decisions and to live for Jesus.  Before, they were slaves to sin and helpless to stop but now, they have God himself and all his power at work in them to change them day-by-day to be more like Jesus (v6-7).

Paul describes some of the symbolism that's involved in believer's baptism.  When Christians go under the water and come up again, they're identifying themselves with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.  The water is just water but it's packed with meaning for the person being baptised.  It's a sign that they have crucified their old selves (Galatians 5:24) and it's a sign that just as Jesus came back to life, they too live a new life - not one centered on themselves anymore but on Jesus instead.  Living 'with him' (v8) is something that starts now as well as continuing forever in heaven.

Paul's advice for Christians is to count themselves dead to sin, dead to its leadership and mastery and instead to live full lives for Jesus, led by by him.  The forgiveness and freedom that Jesus brings to Christians is not what's in question here, only the extent to which Christians make the most of that freedom to live large lives for Jesus rather than small selfish lives for themselves.

Questions...
1. Are you dead to sin and alive to Jesus yet?  If not, what do you make of the idea here that you're a 'slave' to sin?  How long could you go without thinking, saying or doing something selfish?
2. If you are dead to sin and alive to Jesus, have you been baptised?  If not - what are you waiting for?  If so, how is your life and your choices showing people what Jesus has done for you (like your baptism did)?

Romans blog

Romans 5:12-21 - Two men

Paul has been explaining how the death of Jesus has made people right with God.  This leads him to reflect back to how the problem of sin got started and to draw some links between what Adam did and what Jesus has done...

Romans 5:12-21

Christians differ as to how to properly understand the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis.  Some say it's literally true and that Adam and Eve are our first parents.  Others say it's figuratively true and Adam and Eve represent the human race.  Either way, the main points of Genesis are clear and what Paul says here about Adam's story still stands, whether it's literally true or figuratively true.

Paul talks about two men.

The first man is Adam.  In Genesis we read that God made people good and gave them freedom to choose to love him back in obedience or to go their own way and rebel.  They went against God and this brought consequences for all humankind from that point on: guilt and shame, work became toil, pain, struggle and ultimately death and separation from God (Genesis 3).  Humankind was (and still is) in rebellion against God, sinning by nature and by choice.

The second man is Jesus.  Paul says the implications of the gift of Jesus' death on the cross are far greater than the consequences of Adam. In other words - God's solution for sin is plenty big enough to deal with the problem of sin.  The first man brought sin and death but the second man brings grace and life.  The first man brought judgment and condemnation but the second man brings justification and righteousness.  The single act of the first man's rebellion against God that started all this mess is undone by the single act of the second man's obedience to God on the cross.

Paul reminds us that the purpose of the law given to the Israelites through Moses was to show sin up more so we could know just how bad we are and how far we've fallen from God's standards.  But it also goes to show just how gracious God is when he came to die in our place for our sin so we could be brought back from death to life.

Questions...
1. What are the main points of Genesis chapters 1-3, whether you take it literally or not?
2. How good is God?  How bad are we?  How does the law help us?
3. Are you following the first man or the second?  What does Paul say the consequences are for you?

Romans blog

2 together

2 together is a relationship mentoring resource I wrote for couples who don't want to wait for a marriage prep course to teach them everything they should know already! The course includes Bible passages so you can consider what God says but you don't have to be a Christian to benefit from it.

The 10 chapters cover...
Relationship with God
Hopes and expectations
Love and its languages
Agreeing helpful boundaries
Time for friendship
Honesty and trust
Forgiveness and resolving conflict
Families and their impact
Friendships and community
Moving on

Read and fill out a chapter individually, meet together to talk about your answers and then each meet with a mentor to talk about how it's going. 2 together will help you build in the foundations you need to make a strong relationship that lasts.

You can ask me for a free copy of the pdf and print your own or if you want to order the book, it'll cost you £5.19 (including postage) and is available here.

Romans 5:1-11 - Three big words

Having explained the bad news about sin and the good news about Jesus and having dealt with some of the religious hang ups some people might have had about all this, Paul continues to describe just how good the good news of Jesus really is for those who trust him...

Romans 5:1-11

At this point, it's worth understanding three big words that will help us navigate our way through a lot of what Paul says in the New Testament...

1. 'Justification' means Christians have been saved from the punishment of sin.  This is a one-time event that happens the moment a person starts trusting and following Jesus.

2. 'Sanctification' means Christians are being saved from the practice of sin.  This is a lifelong process that starts when a person trusts and follows Jesus.

3. 'Glorification' means Christians will be saved from the presence of sin.  This happens at the moment a person who trusts and follows Jesus dies in this world and goes to be with Jesus forever in heaven.

So when Paul talks about being justified through faith, he means that everyone who has put their faith in Jesus has been saved from the punishment of sin.  It's done.  We ask for forgiveness and because of Jesus, God says yes.  It's as simple and as amazing as that!  We don't have anything to boast about except for the incredible love and grace and forgiveness of God through Jesus.

This means that even though Christians still suffer the same things others face in this world, they have a hope that others don't.  Christians know they have forgiveness and peace with God that starts now and outlasts this world and everything it can do to them.  This means Christians can face the worst this world can throw at them and still have peace.  They're not left with nothing.  Not only that but Paul says they can even benefit from suffering because they develop perseverance and character through it.  This doesn't mean suffering is good (sin is still sin) but it means that God is an expert at bringing good out of evil and he does this when Christians suffer.  Suffering is still bad and sanctification is tough but God is still good and Christians still have the same certain hope they did when they first trusted Jesus.  They even have God himself living in them by his Holy Spirit so they go through nothing alone.

Very rarely will someone choose to die for others and even though it sometimes happens, Paul says Jesus' death for us is completely unique.  Jesus didn't die for us because we are good but because we are bad and he is so good that he wants to save us anyway.  Jesus on the cross is God's ultimate sign of his love for us.  Forgiveness is a free gift for us but it cost God everything.

Anyone who trusts and follows Jesus is justified - saved from the punishment for sin, made right with God.  This means God's anger and judgement on their sin goes on Jesus instead of them so they go free.  God has nothing but love for the person whose sin is not on them any more.  They were God's enemies but through faith in Jesus they are now friends with God.

Paul then does a bit of logic that goes like this... If God loved us so much when we were still his enemies that he died for us in our place, then those who have put their faith in him can absolutely expect only the very best in the end now that they are his friends!  To use our three big words... Paul's saying that for Christians, justification is theirs and though sanctification is gruelling, glorification is certain!

Romans blog