Overheard at the door of the church one Sunday: “Vicar, I didn't know what sin was until you came to the parish.”
Or, as Paul writes, “do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires” (Romans 6:12).
Well that’s all very well to say, but I’m human, I can’t help it. Even when I don’t want to, I still seem to end up sinning. And Paul himself reminds us that as signed-up members of the human race, we are all tainted by sin. We simply can’t avoid it.
What is sin? “Sin is basically a matter of putting my will above God's will, my satisfaction above my neighbour's." (Kate Rhodes)
So what does Paul teach us? ‘Sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under law but under grace’ (Romans 6:14). God has done it for us. Through faith in Jesus, we are made slaves to righteousness.
Oh course, we’re human. Paul knows: we can’t avoid sin. It affects each and every one of us. So how does this ‘slaves to righteousness’ bit work? As Jesus was nailed to the cross, He cried aloud, 'Father forgive them, because they don't know what they're doing.' Through faith in Christ our sin is forgiven. Through faith in Christ, we have a new master – no longer a slave to sin, but now a slave to righteousness. Jesus fulfills God’s ultimate solution to the problem of human sin. Righteousness – living as God’s person.
“God loved the world so much, that he gave His only Son” (John 3:16). God has done His bit. We now must respond. Do we want to be a slave to sin or a slave to God?
This begins to make sense when we consider the nature of God. God is love. He is a just and kindly master. To be yoked to Christ is to discover true freedom. He calls us to service, but this is a liberation. “His service is perfect freedom,” as the Collect for peace reminds us.
As a slave to righteousness, we discover a new and perfect relationship with God. Set free from sin to become a child of God, with the added benefit that holiness is conferred upon us as well as the gift of eternal life.
Sin leads to death; righteousness leads to eternal life. Praise God, he releases us from sin, and through faith in Christ, He confers the benefits of righteousness upon us.
“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
Let’s pray for this gift – for this freedom to be a slave to righteousness. By God’s grace, we can do it.
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