Disclaimer: About This Blog

THIS BLOG IS: my personal journey of how I am rethinking some of my spiritual beliefs.
THIS BLOG IS NOT: intended to point fingers at people who I think are wrong.
I do not believe the final judgement will be based on how many correct answers we get on a theology exam. I believe many people throughout history have had genuine relationships with God, despite holding questionable beliefs and practices. I make no claim to having it all figured out or being your judge. If we end up disagreeing over these topics I pray we can find a way to demonstrate grace.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Slaves to sin or God

What's our relationship to sin now that we are part of the kingdom of God?

Paul describes it well in Romans 6. This is just my attempt to internalize Paul's teachings.

We used to be slaves to sin. We used to let our own selfish ways rule in our lives.

Now with Jesus on the throne, we are now ruled by His will, guided by the Holy Spirit. Paul uses the word slave, and in a sense we are slaves to God. (Yet I think God still gives us a free will, and at any point we can go back to our own selfish ways - so the slave analogy breaks down.)

So what happened to the sin that once ruled our lives? It died on the cross as we died with Jesus on the cross... That's hard to imagine, but in some sense my sins and I died with Jesus on the cross. My being baptized into Jesus means I am united with Him. In some mysterious way I died with Him, and rose victorious over sin with Him, and will live with Him for eternity.... Wow.

It would be foolish to let our selfish ways reign in our lives again. We know that our selfish ways lead to death, and that our selfish ways have been put to death on the cross... so why would we go back to being slaves to death when we've been given the Holy Spirit which will guide us in ways that lead to holiness and life.

Don't just take my word for any of this, read how Paul describes it in Romans 6.

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