Romans 6:16-23
“But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted,” vs. 17
Those who wish to live as free men and women quickly discover that it’s not as easy as they might think. It’s not a matter of declaring ourselves free from bondage to sin and then doing whatever we please. That kind of thinking quickly leads back into slavery. The only freedom that allows us to reach our full potential comes with acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty. It’s as we submit to the power of God that the Spirit brings recreation and self-realization. And submission means obedience, something we typically don’t associate with freedom. Those who pledge allegiance to the teachings that have come from Jesus are released from the bondage of sin. By attaching ourselves to behavioral standards that have stood the test of time we bear fruit and enrich the entire world. And where do we find those standards? Followers of Jesus look to his teachings. It’s here, in his injunctions to love and serve that we can find our bearings through the twists and turns of daily life. And we can’t just pay them lip service…these aren’t just words for Sundays. Paul advised the Romans to obey them from the heart, to make these teachings the center of their beings. Indeed, as these words are established as our core, we begin to discover the only freedom worth having…and we are engulfed by holiness.
Thought for the Day: What might it be like to be “engulfed by holiness”?
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