Memorize: Sinful nature is crucified
Key Verses: 1-2, 5, 6, 11, 12, 14, 18, 23
Paul poses the question that would flow from knowing that grace covers all our sins. He answers with a resounding ‘NO.’ Dead people don’t practice anything. We are dead to sin and sin dead to us. Our relationship with sin has been terminated. We are no longer bound to it. We can make a choice to travel without it. It is like we used to have one of those prisoner anklets attached to us that only allowed us to travel in a certain area has been removed. We are free to choose not to sin. Before we had no choice. Everything we did was bound to sin.
But now that connection has been broken. Baptism marked an end to the old and a new start, just like Jesus’ death and resurrection did for Him. Part of us died when we accepted Jesus into our lives. We now have a choice. We can choose to do the right thing, and the power to follow through comes from grace. God actively works through your choices that are motivated by faith in Him. We obey, He empowers. It is as though there is a stream on each side of you, both moving in opposite directions. You can now choose which stream you want to enter. The sin stream leads to Hell, and the grace stream lets you enjoy heaven right now. There is power in each of the streams to move your toward that goal. You must choose to enter the grace stream.
Our master has changed. Sin used to be our slave driver. Sin whipped us if we didn’t yield. Now righteousness is our master, and there is no whipping. Righteousness calls us forward, closer to Him. At the end of the sin river is death. At the end of the righteousness river is eternal life. And we must choose. We can now choose, whereas before we had only one choice: sin and death. Our choice for righteousness brings freedom.
The Arnold Journey 