Romans 6:12-23 (NRSV)
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Verse 12Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. Verse 13No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. Verse 14For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. Verse 15What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Verse 16Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? Verse 17But 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, Verse 18and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. Verse 19I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification. Verse 20When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Verse 21So what advantage did you then get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death. Verse 22But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. Verse 23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Devotion
I once worked in a small appliance repair shop in downtown Minneapolis run by a husband and his wife. They both helped customers at the front counter and passed the appliances to be fixed on to the staff. Sometimes their promises left me with conflicting demands on my time. Which boss had priority? To satisfy both was sometimes impossible. I finally realized that the husband was the real boss and gave his orders top priority.
In Paul's letter to the Romans, he explains that Christians have conflicting calls. Our old nature is called upon to obey the orders of sin. But in Christ we have died to sin and its demands. United with Christ, we consider ourselves "slaves of righteousness." We have a new master who works for us and with us to bring about a better "us" and a holy goal. The end result is our sanctification and eternal life.
Prayer
Master, may we hear and follow your call. Amen.