Living Victoriously

Living Victoriously

Romans 6:12-23

When we die to sin and become alive in God through Christ Jesus we experience a lifestyle change. When we die to sin we gain the ability to live a victorious life free from sin and death. Being alive to God means we should start building a new lifestyle, we should start building some new and healthy relationships, we should start changing how we act, how we talk and where we play.

Once we are saved, once we accept Jesus into our heart and decide to follow him we begin a lifestyle change, for some it’s easy but for others it’s pretty hard. When we begin a lifestyle change from focusing on, self and worldly things to begin focusing on God and his kingdom believe me when I tell you it’s hard. Things will come up that tempt you, people will call you and want you to do things when you know you should be doing something else. Times will arise when folks even try and get you to neglect going to church.

Let me tell you when you’re trying to live a holy life you will face temptation. Temptation is going to look good it’s not going to be ugly. If you go on a diet you’re not tempted by a rice cake, or a bowl of oat bran. No, you’re tempted by something that looks good like a chocolate lava cake with a big scoop of ice cream, or some fried chicken just like grandma used to make. When we are tempted it’s going to look and taste good and let me tell you it’s going to be subtle, it’s going to sneak up on you before you even know it. Do you think families are destroyed because of addictions and affairs because that’s what the people set out to do? Do you think people who are addicts or alcoholics woke up and said I’m going to become an addict or a drunk? No!! It was subtle and smooth and everything looked good. That’s how it works. You think Adam and Eve wanted to be kicked out of paradise?

But we have this. When we are alive in Christ Sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace

Jesus is on our side, He’s got our back, and He’s paid the price. So what does it really mean to be under grace but not under law? Does it mean we don’t have to worry about sin? That we can just do what we want and have no consequences for our actions?

No, that’s not what it means at all, what happens is that because of Grace we should want to do what’s right.

When we were living a worldly life without Christ we were a slave to that lifestyle, we lived it up and did whatever we wanted not caring about who it affected or what it may cost. But once we accepted the pardon that God gave us through Jesus we became loyal to Him. Our allegiance was no longer with Satan but to Jesus because of the sacrifice he made and His death on the cross should be enough for us to want to follow Gods commandments.

But some people think because of grace they should be able to keep on sinning, but this is a false presumption. In John 14:15 Jesus says if you love me you will keep my commandments.

Let me try and explain the difference of being under law and being under grace in a way that maybe will help us understand it a little better.

A guy is on death row for murder, at midnight he will face the executioner. There is no way for him to get out of his sentence under the law. He murdered someone and the punishment is death. There is no way the man can walk out of this prison under the law.

But the governor comes in at 11:30 and issues a pardon due to extenuating circumstances and the man can leave a free man, under the pardon issued by the Governor. Now does that mean the man can go commit murder without any punishment? No, he still has to follow the law and will probably be more apt to follow it due to the grace he has already received.

That’s how it is with us. We still must follow the commandments set forth for us and should gladly do so because through Jesus we have acquired a pardon from God.

Being alive in God means we have a new future.

When we were in sin our future was death. But now that we have been freed from that life of sin the new future we get is sanctification, our future now is not death but eternal life. This is summed up nicely in the last verse for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life.