May 14, 2018
Who's Your Master?
Romans 6:22
Rachel Crow
Central Truth
Being a slave to your sin can feel good for a little while, but being a slave of God actually means we can have freedom!
Romans 6:22
22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
Dive Deeper | Romans 6:22
As a victim of childhood sexual abuse, I believed for a long time that I would always be chained to the effects of someone else's sins. I also let their sins be an excuse for my own sinful choices.
I was bound up so tightly by my sinful anger that I truly understand what it is to be a slave to sin. Living a life rooted in sin can sometimes feel good. For me, I felt powerful in my anger. But the repercussions of damaged relationships and sometimes even property made me feel depressed and ashamed.
Sin can make us feel pleasure and happiness momentarily, even for an extended moment, but it ultimately results in loneliness, depression, and broken relationships. I know I've lost a few friends because of my sin. I've even wounded the heart of my spouse. But freedom from that sin leads to sanctification. The one who holds the key to that freedom? Christ!
Therefore, when we are slaves to God, serving Him with the same gusto with which we served our sins, we will be used for our intended purpose or "sanctified," and we can be free. And the BEST reward for believing in and serving a loving God? Eternal life! That's life without mourning or pain! (Revelation 21:4) Sounds good to me.
Living for Him—being bound to Him—pulls me out of shame and allows me to experience joy. When I use my story to share the hope for healing in Christ with other women who have been sexually abused, I find happiness that lingers more than just a moment. When I allow the Holy Spirit to calm my heart in the midst of angry feelings, I experience relief, and my relationships (especially with my husband) thrive. That is exactly why serving a loving Master is much more satisfying than serving the sin-master that drains you of your life.
This month's memory verse
13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
– Romans 6:13
Discussion Questions
1. Have you ever let someone else's sins hold you back from knowing the fullness of God? If so, what did your life look like?
2. Sin can, and often does, bring us momentary pleasure. What is the sin that has had the tightest grip on you, and how did it bring you pleasure? How did it bring you pain?
3. Have you found the key to the chains of sin that hold you in bondage? If yes, how does your life look differently since being freed? If no, how can you find freedom in Christ and who can help you on that journey to freedom?