Rachel Workman: 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not
under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know
that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of
the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to
obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to
God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your
heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You
have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. Some
people turn from God because they say it's too many rules to follow. I say read
your bible. It's freedom. We are set free from once held us captive as if we
were in prison.
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John Burnett:
15 What
then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May
it never be! 16 Do
you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves
for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either
of sin [a]resulting
in death, or of obedience[b]resulting
in righteousness? Wow! Verse 16 is a slap in the face and a stark reminder
of where I used to be. Subject to the wrath of God that we all deserve.
17 But thanks
be to God that [c]though
you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of
teaching to which you were committed, 18 and having been freed from
sin, you became slaves of righteousness. People do not see sin as the steel
ball strapped to their ankle that keeps them as slaves. They are fooled
into thinking that they are free because they do what is right in their own
eyes. Everything is justifiable if we are judging ourselves based on our
standards and not God standards and this thinking leads to death.
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Allen Michaels: 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under
grace? By no means! 6:14, 15
asks us, if we’re no longer under the law but under grace, are we now free to
sin and disregard the Ten Commandments? Paul says, “By no means.” When we were
under the law, sin was our master—the law does not justify us or help us
overcome sin. But now that we are bound to Christ, he is our Master, and he
gives us power to do good rather than evil. 16 Don’t
you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are
slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death,
or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be
to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from
your heart the pattern of teaching (this “pattern of
teaching” delivered to them is the Good News that Jesus died for their sins and
was raised to give them new life.) that has now claimed your
allegiance. To obey wholeheartedly means to give
yourself fully to God, to love him “with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). And yet so often our efforts to know and
obey God’s commands can best be described as “halfhearted.” We have to ask
ourselves, how do we rate our heart’s obedience? God wants to give us the power
to obey him will all our heart. 18 You have been set
free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. All people choose a master and pattern themselves after him.
Without Jesus, we would have no choice—we would have to apprentice ourselves to
sin, and the results would be quilt, suffering, and separation from God. Thanks
to Jesus, however, we can now choose God as our Master. Following him, we can
enjoy a new life and learn how to work for him. Are we still serving our first
master, sin? Or have we apprenticed ourselves to God?
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Tomorrow’s reading for Romans 6:19-23
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