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As Paul will illustrate in the first verses of chapter 7 sin shall not rule over us, because we are no longer under the Law, but under grace v. Not only are there theological or positional reasons why the Christian cannot continue to live in sin—there are practical reasons as well. One such reason is discussed in verses The question is essentially the same as that in verse 1: Shall we sin because we are not under Law but under grace? May it never be! Paul lays down a very significant principle in verse 16, and that is that we become the slaves of whatever we choose to obey.
If we give in to sin and submit to it, we are the slaves of sin. If we submit to God and serve Him, we become His slaves. While we were unsaved we had no choice, but were by our very nature the slaves of sin. The fruit of such service was hardly praiseworthy, for of the things we once did we are now deeply ashamed v. When we turned to God by faith in Christ and accepted the gospel, we were freed from servitude to sin and made servants of God. We should not deceive ourselves by supposing that these two alternatives—slavery to sin, or slavery to God—are only two of many options for the Christian.
In reality, we must be one or the other. We are never truly free, but are only free to choose whether we will be the slaves of sin or the slaves of God. There is the servitude of God and there is service to sin. While servitude to sin produces unrighteousness and that which causes shame, servitude to God produces the fruit of righteousness and sanctification.
The end result of sin is death, while the outcome of righteousness is eternal life. So not only does continuing to live in sin contradict our position in Christ as dead to sin and alive to God, and our profession of this at baptism, it violates every principle of common sense, since it constitutes us as slaves of sin, accomplishing shameful unrighteousness, and following the path which leads to death. What we see in chapter 6 is not so much the method of sanctification as the motive for it. We must leave the life of sin behind and seek to offer our bodies to God so that His righteousness may be lived out in us.
We do learn from chapter 6 that the basis for our sanctification is to be found at the same place as we found the provision for our justification—at the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Just as our Lord died for sin and was raised for our justification, so our Lord died to sin and was raised to live His life to God. There is no work which you or I can perform which can earn our salvation.
That work has been accomplished on the cross of Calvary. There is no work which you or I can perform to attain to sanctification. Our sanctification is accomplished only by our identification with Christ in His death to sin and in His resurrection to newness of life.
Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. Thank you Jack Reply. Whatever touches them will become holy. There is the servitude of God and there is service to sin. How does God see the believer? The New Testament however presents the Christian life as a perpetual struggle and striving against sin and against the pressure to give up, so much so that there are constant warnings against sinning, constant encouragement to remain faithful to Christ, and the strong command to put on the whole armour of God so that, having fought and kept on fighting we will still be standing at the end. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.
What troubles me is the interpretation of this chapter that sees it as the method of attaining sanctification, rather than as our motivation for sanctification. What we shall learn from chapter 7 is that although sanctification is absolutely necessary, so it is also absolutely impossible to accomplish through human striving and effort. Sanctification cannot be produced through revivals, consecrations and dedications. The beautiful message of Romans 8 is that what we cannot do in and of ourselves, God has already accomplished through the work of His Son, and this is appropriated through the Holy Spirit by faith.
Surely we must recognize first of all the necessity of sanctification for the Christian. All too often we present the gospel as though it were some insignificant modification or addition to the life of an individual. It is like another investment we add to our portfolio, or additional insurance in case our other policies fail. The message of the gospel calls for a radical transformation of life. The call of the gospel is the call to repentance—to change. The great blemish on the testimony of Christianity has been the lives of those who have failed to realize that the gospel calls for radical change.
Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?
Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine. And to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them will become holy. That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.
To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. Consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.
Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.
For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; You shall also anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, so that the altar may become most holy. You shall also anoint the basin and its stand, and consecrate it. He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, From whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. The night is far gone; the day is at hand.
So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
What does the Bible say about sanctification? that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. All sanctified in the first sense are used by God in the second sense. .. Legalism threatens sanctification by distorting the biblical teaching about the Law to the.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
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I wish I could be like you and more in my walk with God. I admire Joseph so much, it takes a person with God to do what Joseph did, he had a gift of mercy. Jack , how do you know what gifts of the spirit god gave you? I strongly believe I have a gift of healing and have proved it and a gift of prophecy have proved it partly.
I feel it in my spirit that I have a gift of interpreting different tongues but have not as yet, I desire a gift of wisdom so much it hurts. What gifts do you have and how did you realize them if you do not mind me asking.
Nozipho, I want to thank you so very much. Your words are so encouraging. Let me say that any gifts that I do have I have no reason to boast or brag because what do I have that I have not been given? I am glad God has equipped you so well my friend. I believe that every believer as at least one gift likely more. Thank you so much. Thank you Jack for being you, for being able to say the right things at the right time.
So what do I do when I want to be certain of the gifts God has given me? How do I take a spiritual inventory test. When did you start your Evangelic work, how did you start, what prompt you, were there any signs that you are called to be an Evangelist. My feet burn, like there is a heat within the soles of my feet. This website is one of the soundest theologically that I know of to assess your spiritual gifts. The test itself is free and at:. You will have to print it out and fill it in by hand. I hope this helps. I love this and highly recommend every believer in Christ take this inventory test of your giftedness to see which gifts of the Spirit that they have.
I have evangelism in my blood more than anything. I must share the gospel with someone every day…or I feel that I wasted the day. Tell me how it comes out my friend. Jack, am so so happy. And thank you once more for your help in discovering the gifts God has placed in me. Scred 25 on Faith and Service, Scored 24 on Evangelism, scored 23 on Hospitality, scored 22 on mercy and scored 20 on Exhortation.
Those were the ones above Nozipho, this is just so awesome my friend. Truly God will use these gifts in you. Do you have a local church home? If so, tell the pastor. You need to be somewhere in some local church helping to build up the Body of Christ. Jack, I do have a church that I am part of here at home. Its a Bible orientated church and am learning so much everyday.
I am an intercessor in my church. I and my spiritual mother on Saturdays we spend our time in church praying or at the mountain praying for pastors an keaders of this country RSA that they may be born again and that God may give them wisdom to rule the country. Do you know her? Nozipho, I can not believe that Lady Gaga is really a Christian.
She has not fruit and no works and James chapter 2 also testifies that her faith is dead not real and she will have to fact Jesus Christ some day. We need to pray for her salvation. I am a janitor and have to work to support myself since my church is small and has no money to pay me a salary and so I would appreciate God to open a door for me…more so, that I could lead others to faith in Christ.
Jack, whoever does not pracice righteousness is not of God. The Word of God says , He delights in a prayer of a righteous one, meaning God sees all that you do for His name sake, He sees your sacrifices, He sees your commitment to serving Him, He has seen all that you do for Him and at His appointed time He will give you the longings of your heart. Remember He is a God who sees and and a God who appreas in our situations.
Hold on , your breakthrough is here in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, just press on one more time.
He who planted the ear , shall He not hear, He who planted the eye, shall He not see…….. But believe Jack yours is at the door. God does not want you to be conscious of the lack in your natural circumstances. He does not wnat you to live by how much you earn or how much you have in the bank. God wants you to be concious of the abundance of resources in His Kingdom.
Jesus said the Kingdom of God is within you, meaning its not some physical place. It is within you and is where the abundance of resources is. So if you want to experience the abundance in your life,be conscious first of the abundence inside you and what is inside will become a reality on the outside. God does not want you to be conscious of the lack you see outside but the abundence within you bcos the KIngdom is within you.
Remember the story of the children of Israel and the Red Sea, when they were out of Egypt and when Pharos man were persuing them. When the Israelites lost all hope because they did not completely trust God, God made a way for them and He devided the sea into two and they passed on a dry ground to the other side.
For me there is no turning back the vehicle that I am in has no reverse gear only forward. I know the things I am telling you you are aware of but you just needed to hear them from someone other than yourself. Whenever I speak to you I feel this positive energy from you, I always look forward to your articles and these topics. God is especially fond of you, you inspire me to do more and exceedingly for God. He heard you, He knows all your worries, He knows what tries to still your peace, but He wants you to trust in only Him, He will make a way for you.
Continue receiving your blessings from God. Come before God with thanksgiving, praise and worship. My friend Nozipho, You have actually written an article here in itself. How I wish I had you in our Sunday school class to teach. Always yours in Christ, Jesus…Patty. Hey Patty, glory and honour be to God. I am actually a she. And yes am from RSA. You say your name is Zulu…beautiful meaning! Many blessings for you and your family, Nophizo! Your sister in Christ, Jesus…Patty. It is a PDF file and you will need to print it out and fill it in by hand. Let me know if this works.
May not have permission. Not giving up, Pastor Jack! Sometimes differing computers do not like certain applications or websites. Try these if you can:. Thanks so much, Pastor Jack! Explanation of the Gifts were given, too. I see that you DO have the gift of exhortation just by your comments.
That is so much needed in the church and it is exhorting others to more good works. As for giving that is something like being a cheerful giver and giving a tithe for example to the church or helping the poor but also giving of your time, talents and not just your treasure. For mercy, this is so important too…it is being a forgiving person and extending mercy to those who have sinned like we all have , to those who have hurt you forgiving them and for showing tenderness when others have made big mistakes like an abortion.
Prophecy is actually teaching and not predicting the future like most people assume. What you have learned is easily able to be taught to others, for example, you could be a great help to new Christians which is why you scored high on teaching too. And a 9 on service shows me that you will be a great help to the church…washing dishes in the church kitchen, setting up chairs, etc.
This is a thankless job but so important. Overall, you are a merciful, gifted teacher that can exhort others to more service and very giving of yourself. I wish I had you in my church! These are all so important to the church today and you will be a great asset anywhere you go. More to clarify about prophecy: Certainly, in my mind, the most disturbing aspect of the Charismatic movement and their thirst for supernatural experience and supernatural encounter is their claim that God is still revealing Himself verbally to them.