Reading
ROMANS 6:15-23
15 Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.
19 Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.
20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. 21 And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. 22 But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Reflection
- Think about your life over the past few years. Has there been a difference in your life, your faith, your actions as a response to following Jesus? Verse 20 starts a question of who you were, but then points to who you are now. Write out a few ways that you’ve grown and changed as a result of what Jesus has done in your life.
- We must realize the cost of our sin. The Old Testament law referred to here required a specific punishment for disobedience and sin—death. God chose to provide a free gift as a way to bring us back to him and cleanse us of our wrongdoings.
- Take a second and think through the reality that your specific sin has a cost.
- Have you experienced benefits from walking in holiness?