Genesis 22:1-14September 18, 2016
Romans 6:12-23Pastor Lori Broschat
WHEN SIN BECOMES SLAVERY
One man wrote, “It is a great deal easier to do that which God gives us to do, no matter how hard it is, than to face the responsibilities of not doing it.”[1] I wonder how many of us would take that statement to heart, really weigh the virtues of obedience versus disobedience, one based on pleasing God and the other based on alienating Him. There’s a decision to be made and quite often it’s made in haste, not considering the consequences or the responsibilities at all in the moment.
As anyone who has had a hand in raising young children knows we literally have to teach them right from wrong. Their morality should be largely formed within their family structure. They can’t anticipate outcomes and consequences of their actions until they are old enough to experience good and bad for themselves. Very young children don’t understand the concept of sharing their world with others until into their second year. Until then they rely on impulses such as hunger or pain to interact with their world.
Hard as it sometimes is to believe, as children grow they expect rules and limits and even punishment. According to psychology experts it makes them feel safe. I sure you’ve witnessed children at times being perfectly at ease in a world where there seem to be no rules. Being mildly mischievous or downright disobedient may work on occasion for a child, but when you’re an adult there’s nothing cute or funny about breaking the rules. It’s even more tragic when we break God’s rules because the penalty for sin is so very high.
The wages of sin is death, the apostle Paul wrote in no uncertain terms. Death is a reality for everyone, so why worry about what sin can do? Because, as Paul also wrote, we have died with Christ and we are dead to sin and alive in Christ. To choose life over death is not the point. By choosing sin we are committing ourselves to a lifetime of slavery. Sin will own us until we die.
Whereas when we choose obedience we become slaves to a righteous life which will continue on long after we leave this mortal life. Then life becomes eternal, endless, boundless with the presence and love of God. This is how our reading in Romans 6 began today, “Therefore, don’t let sin rule your body, so that you do what it wants.” Take charge, take control over your body and most importantly, your mind. Don’t let it lead you astray.
But if we are dead to sin why do we have to fight for control over our own selves? Why this battle of wits over whether to do right or wrong? Why indeed. I can honestly say I think we can all provide an answer to that question. We’ve all been there, under the unmistakable grip of temptation and the ease of sin. Nothing torrid, nothing lurid, just ordinary sinful actions we can commit anywhere at any time. Sin is so readily available it almost becomes second nature.
The first nature being that of obedient children to a loving Father who created us for good and not for evil, who expects us to fight evil with good. But again, why is there a need to fight at all when we have the gift of eternal life through the death of Christ? Sadly, though we may have acquired that new life, we have a difficult time putting to death the old self with its desires and drives.
There is a verb used five times in this passage; some translations say yield, others present, some use offer, but the meaning is the same. It means to give yourself to someone’s complete disposal. It is a complete and utter surrender. Just because sin exists doesn’t mean we have to be on its team. We have the power we need to fight against the overthrow of our wills and our bodies by sin. We do have to choose sides in this fight.
Prior to Christ’s death the people of God were under the law, called to obedience to doctrine and commands. Sin abounded in this system, so much so that God caused His Only Son to be given up to death and to carry sin away on a cross. Now the ruling power of our lives is grace. The law has been fulfilled in Christ. It has been perfected in Him because it was powerless over sin, and it only brought death.
From the first transgression in the Garden of Eden to the sins we committed on our way over here this morning, death has followed on the heels of sin. The difference now is that death has to keep its distance from us. We are not slaves to sin or its resulting death any more. We are on Christ’s side. Nevertheless, we are slaves regardless of whose side we are on. For the truth is we are slaves to whatever we obey.
Take a listen to what Paul said about our need to choose wisely. “Don’t offer parts of your body to sin, to be used as weapons to do wrong. Instead, present yourselves to God as people who have been brought back to life from the dead, and offer all the parts of your body to God to be used as weapons to do right.” Maybe you’ve never thought of yourself as a weapon to do right, but in God’s hands that’s exactly what you are.
God cannot work without human beings. If he wants a word spoken, he has to get someone to speak it. If he wants a deed done, he has to get someone to do it. If he wants a person encouraged, he has to get someone to do the lifting up. It is the same with sin; everyone has to be given the first nudge in that direction. Sin is looking for people who will by their words or example seduce others into sinning.[2]
The word obedience comes from two root words, under and hear. To be obedient is to place yourself under the authority of what you hear. If you listen to temptation, you are under the authority of sin. If you listen to the words of Christ, you are under the authority of Christ. Jesus is quoted in John’s gospel as saying obedience to Him was equal to listening to His word. But we can listen to and obey many voices.
Abraham was obedient to God’s voice, even though it seems to us like he chose to sin by proceeding with the plan to sacrifice his son Isaac. In the end it was his obedience and his ability to listen to God that freed Isaac and freed Abraham to become further blessed by God. As Bob Dylan once sang, “You’re gonna have to serve somebody. It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody.”
Even though Dylan’s attempt at Christianity was never really complete, he didn’t know how right he was. Paul said something striking in verse 20, “When you were slaves of sin, you were free from the control of righteousness.” Imagine that. Not only are those engaged in sin free from the burden of having to achieve righteousness, but also free from the chance of ever knowing the effects of righteousness. Sin is a brutal master, but God is a loving master.
There is the understanding that to be set free from obligation to serve sin means entrance upon the service of righteousness. There is no middle ground, no place in Christian experience where one is free to set his own standards and go his own way. The two bondages are not the same. The one is rigorous and relentless, leading to death; the other is joyous and satisfying, leading to life and peace.[3]
Paul continued his boldness in verse 21, “What consequences did you get from doing things that you are now ashamed of? The outcome of those things is death.” What did you gain, what fruit did you bear for all those things you did that were sinful? We soon learn that the fruit is death itself. And it’s not like we didn’t know its presence. Sin’s signature fragrance is the distinctive stench of death.
According to an old fable, a man made an unusual agreement with Death. He told the Grim Reaper that he would willingly accompany him when it came time to die, but only on one condition; that Death would send a messenger well in advance to warn him. Weeks winged away into months, and months into years. Then one bitter winter evening, as the man sat thinking about all his possessions, Death suddenly entered the room and tapped him on the shoulder.
Startled, the man cried out, “You’re here so soon and without warning! I thought we had an agreement.” Death replied, “I’ve more than kept my part. I’ve sent you many messengers. Look in the mirror and you’ll see some of them.” As the man complied, Death whispered, “Notice your hair! Once it was full and black, now it is thin and white. Look at the way you tilt your head to listen to me because you can’t hear very well. Observe how close to the mirror you must stand to see yourself clearly. Yes, I’ve sent many messengers through the years. I’m sorry you’re not ready, but the time has come to leave.”
Sin has its own warning signs, its own ways of telling us that we are in danger of losing what we hold most dear. Not life, but eternal life. This is God’s free gift to us. Paul used the term wages to describe sin’s result. How many daily deaths have we earned through our sinfulness? God’s wage, on the other hand, is grace.
We know from previous places in Paul’s writings that grace is unmerited and cannot be earned. That’s why God’s gift of grace is free. I know, the words “free gift” sound redundant. Who pays for their own gift? Well, maybe a mom on Mother’s Day. But think of all the marketing schemes advertising free gifts with a purchase. God says you have to give up something to get this. You have to give up sin and you have to give your obedience to God.
It is wise to evaluate the master we choose to serve and to examine the wages he pays. In simple terms, returning to sin is stupid. Turning to sin means turning away from grace. Choosing to sin actually results in loss of control of your choices. You must not present yourself to be a weapon of sin. Do not offer your lips as agents of judgment. Do not yield your ears to be instruments of gossip. Do not present your heart to be used as a storehouse of hatred. Take control of how God’s temple is used. Do not let it be trashed.
In the words of C.S. Lewis, “Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favorite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end; submit with every fiber of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.”[4]
You have in your bulletin a two-sided insert. On one side you see a STOP sign and space to list those things God is calling you to stop doing. Use this list; keep it in your possession when you pray. On the other side you see a question mark and a list of questions. Use this list also. Keep it near you when you pray. Together, these lists should bring to your mind the nature of freedom and obedience. If you choose to be obedient to yourself, your list of actions to stop will remain incomplete. If you choose to be obedient to God and celebrate your freedom in Christ, your questions will be answered and God will be allowed to work.
Will it be wages or a gift? God be with you as you choose. Next week Paul will wrestle with overcoming sin, so we don’t have to have all the answers today. Praise God!
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[2]Barclay, William, The New Daily Study Bible, The Letter to the Romans, pg. 102
[3]Gaebelein, Frank E., general editor, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 10, pg. 73
[4]Lewis, C.S., Mere Christianity, pg. 191