Freedom from Sin (Romans 6:12-23)

On July 2, 2023June 6, 2023 By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master because you are not under the law, but under grace.

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (New International Version)

The word “sin” is mentioned 10 times in these 12 verses of Scripture. It’s an important word, and so, we need to understand something of it. Discerning the concept of sin in the Bible is crucial to our spiritual growth and development as believers in Jesus. A better grasp of sin’s nature and power will help us to better understand and appreciate God’s grace and how to live the Christian life.

Sin Is Everywhere

We see the evidence of living in a broken world every day. Disaster, disease, and death are realities we all must deal with. The presence and power of sin is everywhere – in our hearts, our world, our institutions, and our families. It’s on television, the internet, social media, and moves in-and-out of smartphones. If it takes one to know one, we are all experts on being sinners.

Definitions of Sin

From the Bible’s vantage, sin is things we do (1 John 3:4) as well as things we leave undone (James 4:17). Sin is both actively breaking of God’s commands, and passively avoiding them.

Christians throughout the ages have generally understood that the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) and Christ’s law of love (Luke 10:27) constitute a brief summary of God’s holy and moral instruction for humanity. These laws are based in the character of God as a holy and loving Being.

Sin, then, may be defined as anything in a person, group of people, an institution or a system, which does not express, or is contrary to, the basic character of God. In short, sin is a pervasive force which exists everywhere, defined in the following acrostics:

Sinful actions	Sinful thoughts	Sinful inaction
Stress	Stupid	Spiritual
Induced	Inward	Insidious
Narcissism	Noodling	Narcolepsy

Sin Is Contrary to God’s Character

All sin, whether active or passive, is self-centered and lacks self-awareness. Sin exists wherever a person, group, or organization thinks more about itself than of God and God’s love and justice. Sinful attitudes bring consequences such as:

Obsession with lust (1 John 8:34; Galatians 5:16) Lust is the stance of having to possess something, instead of appreciating it without ownership.
Broken relationships (Romans 3:23; Galatians 5:17) Wanting something without any concern for it’s cost leaves a trail of broken relationships with God and others.
Bondage to Satan (1 Timothy 3:6-7; 2 Timothy 2:26) Obtaining the object of our lust brings slavery, not freedom
Spiritual death (Romans 6:23; 8:6) Death is separation from God and estrangement from others
Hardening of the heart (Hebrews 3:13) A hard heart happens by stubbornly holding on to what we want, irrespective of what God wants
Deception (1 Corinthians 3:18; James 1:22, 26) To be deceived is to believe that other people, even God, are the problem whenever things go sideways

This may all sound like a total Debbie-Downer. Actually, it’s total depravity. Being depraved does not mean we are never capable of doing good; it means that sin has profoundly touched everything in our lives, without exception.

Sin Is Not the Last Word

Paradoxically, experiencing true joy and comfort comes through knowing how great our sin is. We live above sin by being set free from it by the grace of God in Jesus Christ. To be redeemed from sin, a provision is needed. In Christianity, sin has been dealt with once and for all through the person and work of Jesus. Christ is our representative, taking our place and delivering us from sin (Galatians 4:4-5; Ephesians 2:5-6; Colossians 2:9-15; Hebrews 2:17-18; 1 John 2:1).

Jesus Christ is our ultimate substitute (Romans 5:8)…

Which resulted in our redemption (Galatians 5:13)…

Leading to a satisfaction of all justice (Romans 3:25)…

Bringing reconciliation with God (Romans 5:10)…

And putting sin to death, making us complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10).

Although sin destroys everything it touches and leaves terrible consequences in its wake, sin does not have the last word: grace does.

Words for Sin

There are 33 different words for “sin” in the original Greek language of the New Testament. Only one of them is used in the verses from Romans: ἁμαρτία (“HA-mar-tee-ah”) literally means “to miss the mark,” or to “fall short.” (Romans 5:12-21; 1 John 1:8-10; 2 Corinthians 5:21)

The concept of missing the mark gets to the heart of why persons, groups, institutions, and systems fall short of God’s standard. We fail to see who we truly are and what God has truly done for us in Christ. And so, sin deceives us into believing that our needs can be met outside of God.

Metaphors for Sin

Obstacle. Sin obstructs a truly good and beautiful life. It’s like a blockade that prevents us from entering the kingdom of God; or like large hurdles we have to jump to move forward. Sin is like a bear on our back which slows us down to a crawl.

Let us rid ourselves of everything that gets in the way, and of the sin which holds on to us so tightly, and let us run with determination the race that lies before us. (Hebrews 12:1, GNT)

Addiction. The word “sin” is an attempt to meet a legitimate need in an illegitimate way. Sin is an energy which we become fixated on in order to meet our needs for love and acceptance. If unchecked, the sinful method for meeting the need becomes the need itself.

We are tempted by our own desires that drag us off and trap us. Our desires make us sin, and when sin is finished with us, it leaves us dead. (James 1:14-15, CEV)

“Seek what you are seeking – but don’t seek it where you are seeking it!”
St. Augustine

Marketing scam. Sin is misleading. It’s a scam or a branding which looks good but the product is all wrong. Sin is a deception, and it leads us to deceive others in order to make ourselves look better than we really are.

When you give to the poor, don’t blow a loud horn. That’s what show-offs do in the synagogues and on the street corners because they are always looking for praise. I can assure you that they already have their reward. (Matthew 6:2, CEV)

Overcoming Sin

Victory over sin and the dark force of this world comes through faith. Believe that you have been set free from sin.

For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (1 John 5:4-5, NIV)

We need our ultimate faith to rest in God, and not in anyone or anything else. The Scripture says:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own insight.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6, NRSV)

Eternal God, in whom we live and move and have our being, whose face is hidden from us by our sins, and whose mercy we forget in the blindness of our hearts: cleanse us from all our offenses, and deliver us from proud thoughts and vain desires, that with reverent and humble hearts we may draw near to you, confessing our faults, confiding in your grace, and finding in you our refuge and strength; through Jesus Christ your Son. Amen.

The Spirit of Faith, Not Fear (Romans 8:14-17)

On May 26, 2023May 2, 2023 By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

*Come Holy Spirit, by Ed de Guzman, 2014*

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. (New International Version)

The distinguishing mark of the believer in Jesus Christ is the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the sine qua non – the indispensable and most essential element – of the Christian life.

Christians are spiritual people, that is, people of the Spirit. Christianity is a religion dependent upon spiritual resources for life and godliness.

There is nothing more practical, beneficial, and enjoyable than the application of biblical truth to our lives each and every day.

The Spirit’s work is to point us to Christ. The application of biblical truth is an experience of getting to know Jesus Christ better, and becoming ever more aware and involved with God. This involvement, characterized by faith, hope, and love, increasingly transforms every area of the Christian’s character and life. And it is the Spirit who helps us do it.

It is not God’s will that we fail in living the Christian life by succumbing to fear.

Rather, it is God’s intention that believers have a robust faith which sings with gusto, connects meaningfully and vulnerably with other Christians, and a boldness to embody the good news of grace and forgiveness in Christ. To love God, and love the world, is to have a life of faith, not fear.

The successful Christian life is characterized by:

Experiencing inner transformation through suffering
Enjoying ministry and worship with others
Progressive deliverance from the power of sin
Continual enablement to live a holy life
Being an effective witness to the person and work of Jesus

Living this kind of life keeps believers from yielding to temptation. Life in the Spirit motivates us to read the Bible and pray; and to live above criticism and pretense.

The spiritual life helps others discern and understand what Christianity is all about. And, perhaps most importantly, life in the Spirit glorifies God, because we are then reflecting the joy and beauty of the Lord in all we do and say.

So, why don’t more Christians experience this kind of life-giving knowledge and joy?

It is possible, even with the best of intentions in living a faithful and spiritually rich life, to be stonewalled or crippled with fear and anxiety. And in our fearful state, we almost always produce incorrect actions. These mistakes end up becoming barriers to living an enjoyable and productive Christian life.

Here are just a few of the fearful and/or erroneous statements I have heard as a pastor over the years:

It’s the pastor’s job to do all that stuff (as if parishioners can live vicariously through their pastor and not have to face their fears of failure)
I don’t need to be a part of a church (as if it’s optional for Christians; and as if I can do it myself)
I don’t like reading (as if this gets us off the hook to personally learn Holy Scripture)
I think (or feel) _____ (as if my thoughts and opinions are the final authority concerning what I should do or not do).
That’s nice advice (as if what is heard in a sermon or read in the Bible does not really need to be followed)
God will lead people to Jesus (as if I have no responsibility for involvement with unbelievers)
I sincerely believe ______ (as if sincerity makes something true)
If I can’t do it 100% I won’t do it at all (as if service depends on my effort, and not on the Spirit’s power)
I might screw it up; others can do it better than me (as if the word “grace” doesn’t exist in Christianity)
That might work for you, but it doesn’t work for me (as if certain people are exceptions to the a spiritually successful life)

What might you add to this list?

What are some of the hindrances which keep you from enjoying the Lord and living in faith?

Fear disconnects us from the God of grace, that is, unless we acknowledge we are afraid and drink deeply from the fount of Scripture, letting the Holy Spirit be our divine mentor in leading us to Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life.

I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
Look to him, and be radiant,
so your faces shall never be ashamed. (Psalm 34:4-5, NRSV)

Mighty and merciful God, I humble myself before you, trusting that you shall exalt me in due time. Therefore, I cast all my anxiety on you because you care for me. May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with all your people, along with the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. And may you conspire within yourself – Father, Son, and Spirit – to alleviate our fears and bolster our faith. Amen.

Cyber-Monday Is (Not) My Master (Romans 6:1-11)

On November 28, 2022October 29, 2022 By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (New International Version)

Not many Christians can quote these verses of the Apostle Paul to the Romans, even though they encapsulate the heart of Christian theology about God, humanity, and sin. Maybe that’s why so many people have their own alternative story:

So what do we do? We get on-line and do some shopping, that’s what we do!

Should we keep on missing out on sales so that the great market economy keeps on slashing prices, so I have to compete for what I want? I should hope not! If we’ve left Black Friday, where sales is sovereign, how can we avoid Cyber-Monday? Or didn’t you realize what kind of price cuts are going on?

You were baptized into the ultimate deal. When you signed up for those holiday sale alerts, you left that old country of brick and mortar sales behind; you’ve entered into the new country of one touch shopping—a new life in a new cyber world!

That’s what baptism into the market economy means. When we are immersed into the ways of the savvy shopper, we are raised up with a whole new credit line! Each of us is raised into a light-filled computer screen world so that we can see where we’re going in our new sales-sovereign country.

Could it be any clearer? Our old way of a newspaper coupon clipping life was nailed to that old printing press, a decisive end to that miserable life—no longer captive to the mail carrier’s showing up at the mailbox!

If we get included in the on-line list, we also get included in those life-saving sales. We know that when the price drops it will eventually rise again. But never again will the end of the sale have the last word. The sale’s been brought to us; we don’t have to go to it. Think of it this way: physical stores and newspapers speak a dead language that means nothing to you; Cyber-Monday speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word.

Cyber-Monday. It’s no wonder Americans keep creating new holidays centered in sales events. After all, the impulse to shop runs high in most Westerners. Shopping can quite easily move from necessity to compulsion. Before you know it, we can be consuming without much restraint.

On-line shopping, especially, is just so darn easy and can trigger the brain just as much as any addiction. There is often a very thin line between justified shopping and sinful rationalization of consumption. So, how do we say “no” in the face of competing choices? Whatever besetting sin is in our lives, how do we put it aside and rid ourselves of it?

One of the practical ways of approaching this answer is to read Romans 6, not from a generic standpoint, but make it very personal. In other words, it could be quite helpful to make all of the pronouns personal and name the specific sin when sin is mentioned. For example, it could look something like this:

“What shall I say, then? Shall I go on shopping so that grace may increase? By no means! I died to shopping; how can I live in it any longer? Or don’t I know that I am baptized into Christ Jesus and, so, am baptized into his death? I am therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, I, too, may live a new life.”

You can put your own besetting sin or struggle into the text:

“If I have been united with him like this in his death, I will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For I know that my old self was crucified with him so that shopping or gossiping or lying or overeating or alcoholism or legalism, etc. might be done away with, that I should no longer be a slave to shopping – because I have died and have been freed from the compulsive and obsessive need to shop.”

I think you get the idea. We are to count ourselves dead to all the addictions, compulsions, and activities that we use to replace the finished work of Christ. Instead, we are to reckon ourselves dead to it but alive to God in Christ.

The struggle against sin comes down to daily affirmations of faith that we belong to God through Jesus – and not to some other master. Yes, the daily work of spiritually affirming our identity might seem mundane, but it is quite necessary to achieving practical victory.

Lord God, as we begin this season of Advent, grant us grace for seeking your kingdom first; and our fiefdom of self, last. Rather than spending more money and expending more worry, help us invest our time and treasures, talent and tears into your just and right way of life. Free us to love and serve others with joy, with the same generous love and sacrificial care you lavish on us. Amen.

God and the Human Condition (Romans 1:18-25)

On November 10, 2022October 8, 2022 By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and injustice of those who by their injustice suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has made it plain to them. Ever since the creation of the world God’s eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been seen and understood through the things God has made.

So they are without excuse, for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.

Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. (New Revised Standard Version)

Exchanging Good for Bad

Nature abhors a vacuum. Everything is filled with something. If one thing is given up, another thing will take its place. Change is actually more like an exchange of one thing for another. Something is taken out, then replaced with something different.

We have exchanged:

Behavior that attends to the common good of all persons, for self-interested behavior to what is good for me and my family and/or group
Good deeds done from a pure heart, for good deeds done from an impure heart which give me an advantage or leverage over another
Steadfast committed love of others, for hustled love that gets discarded whenever things get hard
Submission to one another out of a sense of sacred reverence, for disobedience to anyone I don’t like
Dignity of being an image-bearer of God for the shame and ignominy of self-image
Majesty and worth of all persons in the world, for becoming masters of small worlds

And that’s not all, there’s more. We also have a nasty tendency to replace:

Freedom for shackles
Virtue for vice
Morality for immorality
Justice for injustice
Goodness for ungodliness
Truth for a lie
Wisdom for foolishness
Immortality for mortality
Honor for dishonor
Devotion for disregard
God for gods

These are all very poor replacements. In fact, the exchanges are so dark that they leave us in a state of guilt before God and all creation. Indeed, we all have sinned and fallen short of our intended purpose on this earth.

Guilt and Shame

Our response must not exchange guilt for shame because they are different words:

Guilt is assigned by God so that repentance and reconciliation might happen.

Shame, however, is introduced by us; we are the ones who label ourselves as a bucket of pig slop, not God.

Guilt is a function of the conscience, letting us know when we have said or done something wrong or hurtful; it is specific to a particular action or lack of action.

Shame, however, is a function of the “inner critic.” It interprets bad words or actions as we ourselves being bad, focusing not on actions but on our very personhood in the form of judgmentalism leveled at myself.

Guilt says, “I have done something bad.”

Shame, however, says, “I am bad.”

Guilt serves a redemptive purpose through alerting us that we need to deal with a wrong.

Shame, however, damages our spirits through telling us we are flawed and unworthy of love and connection with others.

Because guilt and shame are not the same, they need to be dealt with in different ways.

Guilt, if not faced and dealt with, becomes gangrene of the soul. Over time it festers and poisons our spirits, leading to significant emotional and sometimes physical problems. Forgiveness (both in apologies and in forgiving oneself) is the primary tool in dealing with guilt.

Shame, however, lives in the shadows and feeds on secrets. If shame persists, we withdraw from others and experience grinding loneliness. Therefore, the path out of shame is to openly name your shame and tell your story – thus taking away shame’s power and giving it back to yourself. Vulnerability is the tool which erases shame.

“Shame, blame, disrespect, betrayal, and the withholding of affection damage the roots from which love grows. Love can only survive these injuries if they are acknowledged and healed.”
Brené Brown

Emotional Creatures

In the absence of light, there is darkness. Purging oneself of belief in God merely means that another god will take her place. Scripture labels this “idolatry.”

What’s more, in the absence of feeling, in the quest to absolve oneself of unwanted emotions, there still remains emotion – because humans are emotional creatures.

People mostly rid themselves of any god concept because of how they feel about it. In fact, we do just about everything in life based on our emotions. This is a good thing, not a bad thing. We get into problems and fuss about emotions mucking up things, only because we never faced those feelings to begin with.

A person will never know God unless they understand this. The worship of God and the practice of Christianity is not only to engage the mind and the spirit, but also the body and the emotions.

Emotions and feelings are not like foreign microbes that enter the body as unwanted interlopers. They didn’t enter humanity as part of the world’s curse, after Adam and Eve’s fall into disobedience. No!

Rather, we are our emotions, just as much as we are our body, mind, and soul. Therefore, every emotion which exists, resides in us, all the time. We cannot purge ourselves of our emotions any more than we can remove the heart, the brain, or the bowels, and then expect to live.

Denying our emotions, suppressing feelings, and leaving them unacknowledged is terribly unhealthy and will slowly kill us – because our emotions are vital to our very existence.

Getting Rid of God

There are millions of spiritually dead zombies walking the earth who have jettisoned God altogether – either deliberately or unwittingly – because they discarded their emotions, long before they exchanged the sacred for the secular.

We all sometimes get physically ill; it’s part of the human condition, and we all understand that. So, we go to bed, or to the doctor, or to the hospital’s emergency department – depending upon the severity of our illness. We even go to a physician when we are healthy, just to get a check-up and make sure everything in the body is working as it should.

We also all get spiritually and emotionally ill; it’s part of the human condition. But we all don’t understand that. So, we soldier on, going about our regular business as if everything is hunky-dory. We don’t attend to our emotional selves. We don’t slow down and address what’s going on, or go to a church, or go to anyone. Instead, we suffer in silence.

Just as it ludicrous to get rid of the body altogether whenever we get a disease, so we must not rid ourselves of God whenever we get spiritually and emotionally sick. We face the illness and deal with it. It might require surgery. Recovery will hurt. That’s all part of facing it.

Ignoring God is about as smart as ignoring a heart attack. It might go away for a short time, but it’ll come back with a vengeance and do you in.

Emotions aren’t to blame when things are rough. Neither is God to blame when bad stuff happens. Both our emotions and God are realities we must deal with.

Just like the force of gravity is always there and needs to be respected (by not simply walking off the roof of your house, believing you don’t need gravity anymore) so the person and the power of God is always here and we absolutely need to come to terms with that reality, instead of walking away.

What will you do?…

Rev. Tim Ehrhardt

Tag: romans