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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
“For the death that He [Christ Jesus] died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.”(Romans 6.10-12).
The word reign literally means “…to be king, to exercise kingly power.” Hence, Paul is admonishing fellow believers not to allow sin to have that kind of influence on their lives. This is quite a graphic picture when one considers the words used and the effect that sin can have on our lives if we allow it. This also places the responsibility for curtailing the effects of sin squarely where they belong, i.e. on the shoulders of the believer. God empowers us to stand against sin, but the battle is ours to fight.
Consider some other Romans passages dealing with the term reign or one of its forms:
Romans 5.14 – “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.” Death reigned! It acted with deadly and indiscriminate finality. There was not court of appeals; all were guilty, and with but one exception, all paid the price of physical death.
Romans 5.17 – “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” The key point of this text is that those who obey the gospel “will reign in life.” Death might reign in other places and in other circumstances, but not so in the lives thos who trust in God.
Romans 5.21 – “So that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Grace is intended to reign; that is the hallmark of the kingdom of God and the New Covenant! While grace abounds it is true, but that is not license to sin (see Romans 6.1-2). Rather, the abounding grace is but a focal point which gives rise to joy unspeakable in the heart of every faithful Christian.
Romans 6.12 – “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.” The indication that sin is reigning can be clearly seen in how one reacts to the temptations and lusts of the flesh. God does not expect perfection (that is in and of ourselves), but He does expect us to resist the devil and his minions. He expects us to act like His children and imbibe His character as we grow in godliness. Somehow, this whole picture of striving against sin has become distorted and contorted such that God is expected to do the work; we are just innocent bystanders. Or, going to another extreme, almost nothing is sin; whatever we wish to do, God will understand! Either way, admit it or not, sin is reigning. Sin is personified, but we are not to obey it! We have another Master who truly deserves our allegiance; Obey Him!
Sin reigns in society, in politics, in the workplace, in the home (at least some homes), in many relationships, and finally in many lives. God’s will for us is that we use the Christian armor that has been given (Ephesians 6.11-18), and by so doing maintain a great relationship with Him and with all believers. Sin is real, but God has given us the wherewithal to serve sin no more!
Questions:
1. What does the word reign means as used in the focus text??
2. What does the command written by Paul have to do with man’s free will?
3. How does “grace reign”? (see Romans 5.21).
4. How can we tell whether or not sin reigns in our lives?
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