2018-06-29
Good Morning Dear Ones,
As promised I am obeying the Holy Spirit in writing about the comparison between RO 6: 1-11 and COL 2: 9-16. In the citation from Romans, we are asked, in RO 6:1 “Since we are living in sin so that God’s grace will increase? Certainly not!” Paul exclaims, (4) “By our baptism, then, we were buried with Christ and shared His death, in order that just as Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of the Father, so also we might live a new life.” (6) “We know that our old being has been put to death with Christ on the cross, in order that the power of the sinful self might be destroyed, so that we should no longer be slaves to sin.” “Death and sin no longer have any power over Christ. He lives in fellowship with God. (11) In the same way you are to think of yourselves as dead, so far as sin is concerned, but living in fellowship with God through Jesus Christ.”
We are alive in Christ, and He is supreme over every spiritual ruler and authority [COL 2: 9-10]. We have been circumcised-not with human hands, but by Christ. This consists of being freed from the power of this sinful self (11). At one time, we were spiritually dead because of our sins, and most people were Gentiles without the Law. (14) But now, we were brought into a life with Christ in which He nailed our sins to the cross. (15-16) “Christ thus freed Himself from the power of the spiritual rulers and authorities. He made a public spectacle of them by leading them as captives in His victory procession.”
It was the anti-Nomians (followers of Christ who were against the rule of law), who came up with the idea that they could have grace without license in the early church. Paul wanted to nip this kind of thinking in the bud, which explains his comment, “Certainly not!” above. Christ had imbued Paul with the mind of a righteous lawyer. He knew the rationalizations that would come up in the early church, and he was prepared to respond as the Holy Spirit directed. Paul wanted the people to know and understand what baptism is—the outward sign of an inward transformation of one’s thinking, as well as a symbolic death to the old life of sinning and the birth of a new live of being alive in Christ. Baptism alone does not save a person. That is done by Christ when one genuinely confesses sin, stops the sinful thoughts and behavior, and professes his faith in Christ. Unlike the water immersion carried out in ancient times by the Jews, this baptism is the first part of one’s transformation from the old self to the new. The second part is accepting the leadership of the Holy Spirit in one’s life. Thus, it is a baptism of both the water and the Spirit. The cited passages above show Christ’s victory over the power of the sin and our slavery to it, which is accomplished by His death on the cross. We share in His death and in His resurrection. What this means for us is that we now have the power to choose whether we sin, whereas before our baptism, we were forced to allow our human desires to lead us into sin. Yes, we can still sin, but if a real transformation has taken place; then we have lost the desire to sin. As for Christ’s victory procession making a public spectacle of those forces of evil (referred to as spiritual powers and authorities), He has removed any power they have over Him or us.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how Christ’s victory enables us to avoid or overcome temptation to sin. Christ is both human and divine. He is perfect and never sinned. Yet bravely and obediently (to God), He paid the ransom which releases Himself and us from the spiritual prison of sin. When we know God’s will from reading His word and His answers to prayer, we understand, through the Holy Spirit Who dwells within us, how to assess a temptation and either avoid it altogether or have the strength to reject it. This is an important way that we interact with the Trinity. It isn’t the only one, because we know that we can turn to the Holy Spirit at a time of decision when a crossroad in our lives is reached. We also know that the Spirit teaches us to better understand what God wants us to know. As John wrote, in JN 14: 26, “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My (Christ’s) name, will teach you everything and make you remember all that I have told you.” With time and practice at doing this, each of us can find the strength to overcome temptations that once left us spiritually dead or on a path to condemnation. That is why we are no longer slaves to sin.
PRAYER: O Lord Jesus, before we opened our hearts to Your teaching through the Holy Spirit or allowed the Holy Spirit to dwell in our souls, our life was filled with turmoil and foolishness. We were on the slippery slope to eventual condemnation. But You understood and felt that the opportunity to change that should be given to us. That is a reason why You decided to become the perfect substitute Sin-sacrifice for us. Back in GN 22: 16b-17, Abram had been commanded to offer Isaac (his only son of the promise) on the altar. Because of Abram’s obedience, You supplied a substitute to sacrifice- the ram that was stuck in the bush nearby. In that same way, You made the ultimate sacrifice by Your death on the cross. This sacrifice is why we could have a new life in You-are saved, justified, and eternally forgiven. How blessed we are to have a Lord like You! We thank and praise You for this great sacrifice and the life we embrace. You give us strength we didn’t know we could have-strength to avoid or reject temptation by the evil one. You give us the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to teach and guide us in our lives. You make us hungry for Your word, a hunger that never wavers or wanes. Our relationship with You is warm and satisfying, even though we must often make choices that don’t come easy to us. We are grateful for the grace You extend toward us. You will never abandon us [PS 9: 9-10; RO 8: 38-39]. We offer up this prayer in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: In our quest to support the teaching of the book of Colossians with Scripture elsewhere in the Bible, we will take a second look at circumcision next week. The teaching we find in God’s word is not meant to be studied as book learning only. Once we have been exposed to it, we are to apply it to our lives in an on-going basis. Because of Christ’s magnificent sacrifice, we are left with no excuse for not studying His word and applying it to our lives. We also have no excuse for rejecting Him as our Messiah, our personal Savior. There is a God-consciousness that is built into every society, whether simple or complex. This is the knowledge that there is a higher power, and we are given the ability to perceive what God has created [RO 1: 19b-20]. Moreover, as believers in Jesus Christ, we are to live for Him and think in eternal rather than only earthly terms. When we do, our Lord Jesus helps us to traverse that “hard path that leads from the narrow gate to eternal life” [MT 7: 13-14]. There is one more step we are urged by the Holy Spirit to take. That is reaching out to those non-believers who will listen with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Some people are introverts, who find this difficult. However, He asked all believers, in MT 28: 19-20, to testify to the truth. We must remember that it’s not necessary to be a great speaker or writer. All that matters working to overcome whatever stops us and be ourselves with our listeners. I like the question and answer approach, but one must use the approach that is best suited for him. We must be accurate to God’s word and listen to the replies we are given. I find it useful to try to get to know those to whom I approach with this message, especially the status of their relationship with God first. But that isn’t always possible. Praying first before witnessing is essential, for that is the way we engage the Holy Spirit’s help and advice. Witnessing has been one of the truly positive experiences of my life. Thanks be to God, for blessing us all with the Holy Spirit!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2018. All Rights Reserved.
<-- Back to Archives