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Romans 6:15-23

 ¹⁵What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! ¹⁶Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? ¹⁷But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. ¹⁸You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

 ¹⁹I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. ²⁰When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. ²¹What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! ²²But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. ²³For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We are all slaves to something, that’s what it shows in this passage. We sometimes think we rule our own lives, as the famous song goes “I did it My Way.” But the truth is, if we’re not doing it God’s way, then we are slaves to sin & the devil instead. We may not notice this because we are being fooled by a world which tells us that getting what we want leads to happiness, and it’s all about how we feel and everything should revolve around “me, myself and I.” But as soon as we are slaves to anything else but Jesus, we are on a path to destruction. When we are slaves to righteousness, and obeying God, that’s when we are on the path to freedom and eternal life.

When we think of God’s amazing gift of Grace, we realise we are so blessed to no longer live under the old law, but we must be so careful not to take God’s gift of Grace as a free ticket to do whatever we want, knowing that we can come to God in repentance and be forgiven whenever we choose. It’s true that if we are honestly repentant then we will of course receive forgiveness for our sins, but whilst we are “abusing” God’s grace in this way, we are walking away from God and down a destructive path. We will hurt ourselves, our relationship with God and quite likely other people too. Plus the further we walk down this path of “licence”, the harder it will be to turn back to God in repentance, the sin will create a block between us and God, and although God will be calling us back to him the whole time, our spiritual discernment will weaken and we will find it a lot harder to repent and get back on track.

We also need to remember the cost of God’s Grace – Christ dying for us – and the significance of this: Our Holy, unblemished God choosing to take on all our sin even though he was totally perfect and blameless. Would we choose to heap even more sin on Christ’s shoulders just because we can get away with it?

Christ died so that we would be totally set free from sin, not so that we could dabble with it without taking any blame! We should want to flee from all sin and walk in obedience to Christ because of his wonderful sacrifice for us. We can then be so thankful and humble when we do mess up, because God is quick to forgive, abounding in grace and love.  

God’s way is perfect – when we live in obedience to him, trusting him and walking in his laws, then we see that he designed these laws not to spoil our fun, but for our enjoyment, freedom, protection and fulfilment. Read some of the Psalms and you will see how much God’s laws were loved and respected. In these guidelines we see that lives work out for the best, and peace and joy come as a result of following them.

Psalm 19:7-8

 ⁷ The law of the LORD is perfect,
       reviving the soul.
       The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
       making wise the simple.

 ⁸ The precepts of the LORD are right,
       giving joy to the heart.
       The commands of the LORD are radiant,
       giving light to the eyes.

If you don’t feel this way about God’s laws ask yourself a couple of questions. Is this because you are trying to fight them? Are you picking & choosing the ones that suit you, and not fully submitting to God’s will?

I challenge you for the next 40 days of lent – Try it! Walk in total obedience to Christ. It won’t be easy, you will slip up now and then, but you’ll realise what a blessing it is to be in step with God and to have that closer relationship with him because of it!

But always remember :

You’re not earning God’s love by your obedience  - God already loves you completely!

You’re not working out your own salvation – Jesus has already done it on the cross!  

That’s God’s amazing Grace!

What you are doing is understanding that God’s way is the best way to live your life, acknowledging that He knows better than you do (!), and trusting that if you follow his ways you will find fulfilment, joy and peace for your soul.

Luke 23:39-43

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

As we approach Easter I wanted to spend a few moments looking at the extravagance of Jesus’ amazing grace and to remind ourselves of the cost of the cross.

These few verses above really sum up Jesus’ love, grace and forgiveness. Everything that Jesus lived out on earth was summed up here whilst he was in total agony hung on that horrific cross, doing a terrible, beautiful thing for mankind.

Jesus was hung between two criminals. One of whom believed that Jesus really was who He said He was, this criminal proclaimed Jesus’ innocence in front of the people who mocked him, he also openly acknowledged his own sin admitting that he himself deserved to die for his deeds, unlike Jesus. Then he turned to Jesus and humbly asked Jesus to remember him. The other criminal had the same opportunity but instead chose to mock Jesus.

The amazing fact is that the criminal who asked Jesus to remember him put his faith in Jesus right there and then on the cross, and was forgiven straight away! Jesus told him that he was to be with Him in paradise that very day!! There was nothing else that he had to do to be saved! The criminal didn’t have the chance to go back and live out a holy life, or to prove himself worthy of being allowed into heaven – that’s the beauty of it! It was (and is and always will be) all about Jesus and the truth that our salvation comes only through Him – because He paid the ultimate price, He made the once and for all sacrifice for all of our sins. We don’t deserve it, just like the criminal – we’ve all sinned and we all deserve punishment, but Jesus in his love took our punishment on himself. Salvation is a “free” gift to us, but we must always remember it was at such a cost to Jesus.

Yes it is true that once we are forgiven, a sign/result of our salvation is us wanting to turn our lives around, to stop sinning and to do good. Otherwise we are not taking the sacrifice that Jesus made seriously enough. We should want to thankfully and humbly serve our Lord because of what He did for us. It’s not the “doing good” that gets us saved though, it’s just our response to Jesus’ amazing grace!

It’s all about Jesus. There’s nothing more we can do – Jesus did it all.

Read the whole Easter story:

Luke 22 : The last supper, the betrayal & arrest of Jesus, Peter disowns Jesus, The guards mock Jesus, Jesus accused by the chief priests and teachers of the law

Luke 23 : Jesus before Pilate & Herod, the trial, the crucifixion, the death of Jesus, Jesus’ burial.

Luke 24 : The resurrection, Jesus appears to disciples, the Ascension.

I thought I would write a short post on how to know God for yourself – this is for anyone who doesn’t yet have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

1st – Do you know that you have made mistakes in your life and have lived your life without God? –> God calls this “sin” and this is what seperates us from Him. The bible says it like this: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” –Romans 3:23 (NIV). God is perfect and has never sinned, and we learn in the bible that ultimately the punishment for sin is death – which is being cut off from God for eternity. “For the wages of sin is death.” –Romans 6:23 (NIV)

2nd - There is good news! John 3:16 says “for God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” Jesus (God’s son) chose to die on a cross to take the punishment for all our sins. Then he rose again to conquer death once and for all, and to show that he really was the son of God.

3rd - YOU need to make a choice. To decide if you believe Jesus really is the son of God and really did die for your sins. If you’re not sure – perhaps go on an Alpha course or read the gospel of Mark or John in the bible (try a NIV or NLT version) to find out what God’s word says about Jesus. Then, if you want this gift of eternal life, you need to chose to ask for forgiveness from God for the sins you have committed, and chose to turn from them and try to walk God’s way (with God’s help of course). Welcome Jesus as Lord in your life and he’ll help you to do all this.

Here’s a prayer you can pray:

Father God, I am sorry for the things I have done wrong and for chosing to live my life apart from you. Thank you for sending Jesus to die for my sins and thank you that he rose again. I now choose to turn away from my sins and to live my life for you. I pray that you would fill me with your Holy Spirit to help me and guide me as I learn to live my life your way. Amen.

4th - Tell someone! It’s really important that you find another Christian to tell that you’ve made a choice to welcome Jesus into your heart. They can support you and help you find a friendly, welcoming church who pray, worship & teach the Word of God.  We can’t be Christians on our own – it’s not God’s plan

What next?

If you live near Swindon, come along to Gateway church & make sure you visit the welcome area at the end of the service! If not, do try to find a Jesus loving, bible teaching, spirit filled church who will help you in the next steps of your journey.

Pray. You’ve started with a prayer to ask God into your life, it’s not a one off prayer! God wants to have an ongoing relationship with you, so try to speak to him each day about anything and everything. Ask Him for help, thank him for all the good things in your life and generally start to build a realationship with your Father in heaven. If it’s hard – ask God to help you to pray!

Get hold of a modern translation of the bible too and start reading! Start with the New Testament – An NIV version is good, or try NLT which is a nice easy version to read. The Message is also very easy to read (although it’s not a proper word-for-word translation.) Check out my bible studies, to learn more about God, Jesus and all sorts of living God’s way type of topics!

Check out our friend Adam’s blog on Baptism too!

This story didn’t end 33 years later when Jesus died on the cross – it was just the beginning! Jesus rose again, giving each person who believes in him the right to a new beginning, a life washed clean of sin and a right to stand before God in heaven totally pure and right before God.

T herefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17

If you don’t yet have a relationship with Jesus, then perhaps this Christmas is the perfect time to ask God for a new start. To ask for forgiveness for your sins and to invite Jesus to be Lord in your life.

For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me . . .
John 6:38

Christmas Part 2 : An Amazing Sacrifice

You may be thinking that I’ve gone slightly mad and I’m getting Easter and Christmas confused! However, by coming to earth as a baby Jesus set aside his majesty, not giving up his glory & majesty, but choosing not to excercise it, in order to serve others instead. If he had come in all his majesty everyone on earth would have bowed down and worshipped him immediately, but he chose to put His love for others before his right to be worshipped and praised, this in itself an amazing sacrifice.

It’s like if you were famous and lived in an amazing country, inside your own a huge impressive mansion (with no mortgage or bills!) which had everything you could ever want in it, then choosing to leave it all behind and live on the streets with the homeless, not offering them money but just to go through it with them.

Yet for God it was so much bigger than even that picture. He came to serve, to lead by example rather than from His throne in heaven, to show us the way. To be a living sacrifice on earth, and also to ultimately die for our sins because he loves us so much.

He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
John 2:2

What small/big thing could you do this Christmas time as a sacrifice for others?

Deuteronomy 4:29
28 There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. 29 But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and obey him. 31 For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath.

Generally speaking I think I’m a little half-hearted about things. I want to be more passionate, to put 100% into whatever I’m doing, but for some reason it just doesn’t come naturally to me. I sit and read my bible, and at the same time write a shopping list. I sit and pray and get distracted and start thinking about what I’m going to cook for tea. My mind doesn’t focus that well, esp when it comes to God stuff… God must get so frustrated with me!!!

Sometimes I wonder why it can be so hard to feel God’s presence and to know he’s listening to my prayers. It’s even harder to hear from God. I think though my problem is with me! If I’m half-heartedly praying, well I’m probably not listening that hard, or even that passionate about what I’m praying for! God doesn’t want this, he doesn’t want me to be luke-warm (check out Revelation 3:15-16 if you want a fright!)

Yet in the times when I really “wrestle” to be in God’s presence, to push for it and not give up easily, I always find him. He’s there, it’s just a lot of the time it’s me who’s not! It says in this passage “you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and all of your soul” – how much of your heart & soul do you usually use when seeking God?

Yet he has shown us that even in those times when we are lazy, half-hearted, when we walk away or disobey him, he’s still there waiting for us to return to him and he will be merciful on us. He doesn’t “abandon or destroy” us for our unfaithfulness. When we choose so many things above Him, our “man-made Gods” he waits.. he has patience with us while we go running after all these things. Then, eventually, we realise that these things let us down or cause us even more problems and we finally turn to God. In his mercy he holds out his hands of love and welcomes us home.

What a wonderful God we have!

Mark 2:17 : It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous but the sinners.

I just wanted to simply remind people of this verse. I’m not sure why. Perhaps there’s some of us who are feeling that we aren’t good enough for God, or that we keep messing up? If so, you need to be reminded that, although God’s desire is for us to be perfect, Jesus came and died for us sinners. Perhaps there’s some of us who are feeling righteous and “better” than others? If so, you need to remember that, even if you may be comparing yourself to others and coming out “on top,” actually if you compare yourself to the perfectness of Jesus, you’ve also fallen a long way short!

So lets not judge for ourselves who God wants in His kingdom, or who “fits” or doesn’t fit into His church. That’s up to God and I know that Jesus loves to forgive anyone who turns to him, no matter what they’ve done and what they are struggling with… You know the phrase – “Jesus, friend of sinners”

And lets not judge ourselves too harshly either, or write ourselves out of the script. If you know you are a sinner, but have chosen to turn and follow God, and if you believe that Jesus died for you and rose again, then you are forgiven – you qualify!

It goes without saying that as Christians we should strive (with God’s help) to mature in our faith and live to please God – to follow the ways that Jesus set out for us. If we are choosing all the time to turn away from God then we will be disciplined. However, we live by Grace and if we sin, but turn back to God in repentance, then the slate is wiped clean with the blood of Jesus.

Praise God that Jesus came for us sinners!!

Praise God that I know I’m a sinner – knowing who we are and what God has done is the best ever starting place. Then we can follow Jesus with thankful, humble hearts knowing that it’s all about HIM and what He’s done! (and not about us and what we’ve done…)

Big it up for the big J.C.!

Psalm 51: 7-12
7 Take away my sin, and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Make me hear joy and happiness. Let the bones that You have broken be full of joy.
9 Hide Your face from my sins. And take away all my wrong-doing.
10 Make a clean heart in me, O God. Give me a new spirit that will not be moved.
11 Do not throw me away from where You are. And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Let the joy of Your saving power return to me. And give me a willing spirit to obey you.
Do you know, deep in your heart, that you are forgiven for all your wrong-doings? That God will take away your sin and wash you whiter than snow if you just turn to him and ask him?

I like this prayer in Psalm 51. The humbleness of it and the honesty, but also the knowledge and trust that God is faithful and willing to forgive and wipe the slate clean in our lives. I haven’t put the whole psalm down, but do read it in your own time if you want to.

let the joy of your saving power return to me - I’ve been a Christian for about 9 years. I remember the joy and excitement of first becoming a Christian, but after a while it becomes more “normal” and we can so easily forget where we once were and what God has done in our lives.

· Do you still have that joy of knowing you have been saved?

Sometimes we need God to refresh us with the knowledge that Jesus died for us and conquered death, and that we should be filled with such joy because of his salvation! Ask him to give you that joy once again.

And give me a willing spirit to obey you - I like this short request! God help me to be willing! That’s where it all starts isn’t it? God can use us and grow us and change us, if only we say – God I’m willing. Yet this prayer is one step before that, even if you know you are not 100% willing, you can ask God to help you to be – and he will! )

Take away my sin, and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

· How long has it been since you’ve really asked God for forgiveness in your life?

Why not spend a few minutes in prayer. Ask God to show you anything you need forgiveness for (if you don’t already know) and then to thank him for forgiving you because Jesus has already taken your punishment on the cross, because of His unconditional love, His compassion, His grace and His faithfulness.

Make a clean heart in me, O God. Give me a new spirit that will not be moved.

· What do you think it means to have a “clean heart?”

Ask the Holy Spirit to continue what he has already started in your heart when you became a Christian, and ask Him to give you a strong spirit so you will not be shaken by troubles and things of the world. Philipians 1:6: he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Please do let me know if you have any questions about anything I’ve written, or if there’s anything you don’t understand. If you don’t yet know the joy of being saved through Jesus’ death & resurrection, but would like to, please do speak to me or another Christian friend so that we can talk and pray with you.

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EXTRA BITS
A couple of other verses that I was reminded of when writing this study:
Exodus 34:6-7: The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.

Colossians 2:13-14 When you were dead in your sins, you were not set free from the sinful things of the world. But God forgave your sins and gave you new life through Christ. We had broken the Law many ways. Those sins were held against us by the Law. That Law had writings which said we were sinners. But now He has destroyed that writing by nailing it to the cross.

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Romans 7:21-23 21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.

I love this passage because it’s honest and real to how we are. We really want to do what is right, but often let other things get in the way, including our own sinful nature & desires, as well as listening to the lies that pop into our mind. Awareness is a good place to start. Paul here is very aware of his weaknesses and this means that he is alert to the things that may cause him to fall into sin.

- Have a think about what your weak areas could be. Things like temptations, weaknesses and selfish desires. Do you see them coming or do you usually only see them once it’s too late?

- Do you know when the devil tries to put lies into your mind? Are you aware of the areas he uses in you? E.g your insecurities, pride, intellect, laziness, even family members or friends that don’t know Jesus…. Ask the Holy Spirit to guard your mind and to show you the Truth, so that you can reject any lies that come into your head.

Romans 8:1-2 : …Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

Isn’t it utterly un-thinkable that even though we do what is wrong and give into our sinful natures, because Jesus died for us and we put our faith in Him, we will have no condemnation? How Great is our God!

- Do you trust in what Jesus did for you on the cross? Or do you condemn yourself when you sin & dwell on your mistakes? Don’t be weighed down with guilt (it’s not what God wants!) go straight to God and ask his forgiveness and ask him to help you to start again – that’s all it takes! If you have anything that you feel you haven’t forgiven yourself for (or asked God’s forgiveness for) take a few minutes to ask God for his forgiveness & ask him to help you forgive yourself! (Mmmmm that reminds me of a Locate Zer0 song!!!)

Romans 8:5-6 : 5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace

What Jesus has done for us on the cross should make us all the more keen to do what is right and good and not be led by our sinful natures. God gave us the Holy Spirit so that we could be led by Him rather than our own desires. Praise God for giving us a helper and guide throughout our time on earth! Ask the Holy Spirit to: lead you, guide you, help you to walk away from temptation and protect you from the evil one. You can use the Lords Prayer to do this!

Romans 8 v 14 ..because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

WOW! I wanna be walking in step with the Holy Spirit as a son/daughter of God – do you?