Read Romans 6:12-23
12 Sin
must no longer rule in your mortal bodies, so that you obey the desires of your
natural self. 13Nor must you surrender any part of yourselves to sin
to be used for wicked purposes. Instead, give yourselves to God, as those who
have been brought from death to life, and surrender your whole being to him to
be used for righteous purposes. 14Sin must not be your master; for
you do not live under law but under God’s grace.
Slaves of Righteousness
15 What,
then? Shall we sin, because we are not under law but under God’s grace? By no
means! 16Surely you know that when you surrender yourselves as
slaves to obey someone, you are in fact the slaves of the master you
obey—either of sin, which results in death, or of obedience, which results in
being put right with God. 17But thanks be to God! For though at one
time you were slaves to sin, you have obeyed with all your heart the truths
found in the teaching you received. 18You were set free from sin and
became the slaves of righteousness. 19(I use everyday language
because of the weakness of your natural selves.) At one time you surrendered
yourselves entirely as slaves to impurity and wickedness for wicked purposes.
In the same way you must now surrender yourselves entirely as slaves of
righteousness for holy purposes.
20 When
you were the slaves of sin, you were free from righteousness. 21What
did you gain from doing the things that you are now ashamed of? The result of
those things is death! 22But now you have been set free from sin and
are the slaves of God. Your gain is a life fully dedicated to him, and the
result is eternal life. 23For sin pays its wage—death; but God’s
free gift is eternal life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord.
Think
Paul encourages us to surrender
ourselves completely to Christ; as 'slaves to righteousness.' If we consider that we were created by him
and redeemed by him then to offer ourselves to him is the right thing to do.
Pray
Lord, set me free from sin
and make me a slave to righteousness.
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