WHY SIN IS UNREASONABLE

"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" (Romans 6:1-2)

Devotion 10 of 23

DEAD TO SIN

Those who choose to serve the Law do not view sin as unreasonable, but illegal. To be sure, sin is unlawful, in every sense of the word. Submitting to prohibitions, however, cannot take away the desire for sin. This is precisely the point Paul makes to the Colossians. "If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the universe, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations, Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch (referring to things which all perish as they are used), according to human precepts and doctrines? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting rigor of devotion and self-abasement and severity to the body, but they are of no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh" (Col 2:20-23).

The point is that rules cannot take away the appetite for sin. That, however, is something that is imperative if victory over sin is to be realized. Those who do not hate sin will find it impossible to break free from its dominion.

Our status in Christ makes involvement in sin an absurdity! "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" (Rom 6:1-2). This is a rhetorical question, for which no acceptable affirmation exists. The point of the Spirit is this: If we have died with Christ to sin, involvement in it is totally unreasonable. It makes more sense for the risen Jesus to return to the tomb than for a person liberated from sin to again be enslaved by it. It would be easier to explain to Lazarus why he should go back into his grave than to explain why the choice was made to return to sin. It simply is not reasonable!

Notice the text. Sin is not dead to us. We are dead to it! Sin did not die. We died! When we were "translated into the kingdom of God's dead Son" (Col 1:13), we left the realm of darkness, where sin dominates. While there is a part of us that is, indeed, prone to wander, it is not recognized by heaven--and it had better not be recognized by us! When Paul sensed sin at its inception (temptation), he said, "It is not I" (Rom 7:17,20)! That is being "dead to sin," losing our appetite for it at the very core of our being. Satan does not lure a believer from deep within, but from the surface, where the "old man" is confined.

PRAYER POINT: Father, how glorious is the life that follows death to sin! I praise You in Jesus' name for raising me to walk in newness of life!

-- TOMORROW: FREED FROM SIN --