Sin Defeated
Romans 6:1-14
Are you familiar with the terms emotional baggage or lingering emotional impact? People use these terms to describe feelings that rise in us when something triggers a relationship or situation from our past. Ff the boss of the restaurant for which I worked long hours during high school called my phone today, this might trigger feelings of obligation to answer and say yes to work at the restaurant tonight. Or if I go out to eat at that restaurant, that might trigger feelings of guilt for not going back to help the employees with the work.
You may also be familiar with the terms carrying forward trauma or post-traumatic stress. These concepts are similar to emotional baggage but imply a more intense or painful experience as a result of past experiences. Examples include when a person who has experienced abuse is placed into situations which remind them of things related to their past abuse, even if those things aren’t actually connected to those events in any real way.
Another example is when a person born and raised into a gang environment leaves the gang network behind as an adult. Such a person, though free from the gang, may still experience strong impulses to respond in fear or cooperation when faced with situations that trigger past memories or offer a way back. A knock at the door or ring of the cell phone, for instance, may trigger anxiety, or may even be an offer to go back into the gang.
When triggering moments occur, conflicting inner feelings and desires can rise to the surface. They form a strong impulse or urge for us to behave as we did in the past rather than accept our new reality free from those things. They may feel like going to work at the restaurant, fearing abuse, or agreeing to a gang assignment. But in each case, to do so would be acting opposite of their new and present reality. They are genuinely, truly free from these things, yet they also feel strongly as though they are not.
Illustrations like these help us understand what Paul speaks about in Romans 6:1-14 as he describes our new, daily relationship with sin. We know we’ve been forgiven by God, but we still feel as though we can’t stop sinning. How can we overcome this contradiction in our lives and live out the freedom and power that we have in Christ not to sin?
Christ’s resurrection sets us free from the authority of sin over us.
In Romans 6:1-10, Paul explains in detail how we are closely connected to the death of Christ. Since Christ died in our place, his death takes the place of our death – it is, in fact, our death. As we learned last week, this means that we are fully forgiven, then, from our sins. We should no longer live under a cloud of doubt, wondering if God accepts us, because he does – completely.
In these verses, though, Paul shows us also how we are likewise closely connected to the resurrection of Christ. Listen to how he explains this close connection:
This means that because we are so closely connected to Christ that his resurrection is not only a new life for him but is also a new life for us. We share his new, resurrected life!
One of the main results of this, then, is that we are freed from the authority that sin once had over us. Before we believe on Christ as our God and Savior – confessing our sinfulness and trusting in him completely – we are slaves to sin. But according to Paul, once we believe on Christ, here is what’s true of us now:
From this we see that because we are so closely connected to Christ’s death and resurrection, our relationship with sin is not only broken but totally dead. In other words, before we believed on Christ, sin was like a powerful, living master to whom we were slaves. We could not break free from sin’s demands. But now that we have believed on Christ, we have been united with Christ’s death and resurrection, which means that sin is now nothing more than a lifeless corpse. To give in to sin, then, is to answer to, return to, submit to, and obey a lifeless, rotting corpse.
“But wait!” you say. How is that possible? Sin is anything but dead in my life! If that’s how you feel, then let me say that we can all relate to that feeling. But that’s where the opening illustrations help. Though the appetites, desires, habits, and impulses to sin may be strong in our lives, even as followers of Christ, these strong impulses (or “lusts” as Paul calls them) have no actual, real authority.
To be clear, our impulses to sin are real desires, that much is true. Such desires won’t be removed from us completely until the day we see Christ for eternity. But another reality is also true – our strong desires to sin have no authority over us, we have no obligation to give in to them any more than we need to go to work when an old boss calls. This is the case because Christ rose from the dead, ending sin’s power over us and giving us the ability to live a new life in close relationship with and obedience to Christ instead!
In the next verses, Rom 6:11-14, Paul gives a clear and easy-to-see set of guidance for how to connect our freedom from sin to our everyday life. He does this by telling us first how to think about this new freedom, followed by three choices which we should make to put this freedom into action.
We must approach life with our freedom clearly in view. (“reckon”)
First, Paul tells us how to think about our life. He describes a new mindset, a new focus, a new mental approach that we should bring to every day, every decision, every situation.
He says to “reckon” (some translations say to “consider” or “count”) (6:11). This means we should keep our new freedom clearly in view and it is the primary instruction Paul gives here as the way we should connect our new freedom from sin to our daily life.
This word describes something like “keeping a mental ledger,” as when a person keeps in mind how much money they have in the bank before they make a purchase. If they know they have enough money, then they go ahead and make the purchase, but if they know they don’t have enough money, they don’t make the purchase. No matter how strongly they want to buy that thing, they resist and don’t buy it because they know they don’t have enough money in their account to pay for it.
As followers of Christ, we need to look at our choices in life this way. Before we sin (like making a purchase), we need to know (actually think about) the fact that sin has no authority over our lives and that we have a new life with God in Christ. Since we know we share in Christ’s resurrection life, we remind ourselves of this and do not spend ourselves on sin. Even though we feel like sinning (perhaps even strongly), we reckon (or count, or consider) that we are not obligated or forced to do so, so we don’t do it. We choose to make choices that are pleasing to God, instead.
As we train ourselves to think this way, we realize that the challenge to live out this new freedom we have in Christ is more than mental and intellectual. It also affects our feelings and our will, because thinking this way correctly doesn’t automatically change how we feel. We have to look past our feelings and make the decision that is right because we know that we are free from sin’s authority and in a new and living relationship with God.
This right thinking and accounting of who we really are in Christ should lead us to make three important choices.
Say no to sinful impulses. (“don’t let it reign”)
Though sin has no power over us anymore, it still exists within our bodies and wants us to give it permission to reign. Every time we say yes to sin, we yield power to sin voluntarily. This is a challenging problem because the desires to sin are often strong, spontaneous, and surprising. So much so that we feel as though we must sin.
That’s why we must regularly remind ourselves of our new life in Christ and of the truth that sin is nothing more than a dead corpse to us, not a living, breathing authority over us. Why say yes to a dead corpse? Why put a corpse on the throne of our lives and let it reign over us? Though sin feels like it’s alive, it’s dead. We need to teach this to ourselves and train ourselves to think this way because this is reality.
Don’t offer your body parts for sinful use. (“don’t present …”)
Not only must we refuse to let sin reign over us, we must refuse to offer our body parts for sinful use. The word “members” here literally means “body parts.” And it makes sense, when you think about it, because our sins require our body parts in order to happen.
The children’s song “O Be Careful Little Eyes, etc.” comes to mind. This simply children’s song teaches powerful truth about our new, resurrection life in Christ and our freedom from the power of sin.
Think about the sins you are tempted to commit and even do commit. They require you to look at something you shouldn’t look at – your eyes, or say things you shouldn’t say – your tongue. They require you to touch or take things you shouldn’t – your hands, or go places you shouldn’t go – your feet. They require you to listen to things you shouldn’t listen to – your ears, or to eat or drink things you shouldn’t – your mouth. Etc. When we sin, we use our body – our brain, our lungs, our lips, our fingers, and so on.
No matter how strong the desire to sin may be within you, you have the ability – thanks to God’s grace – to say no and to refuse to offer your body parts to commit that sin. You are not helpless. You are not incapable. You are not required or obligated to give in. It may feel as though you are, but you are not. You must train yourself to act out the reality of what you know about your new relationship with God and the status of sin’s power in your life – its dead.
The point here is that though the urge to sin is strong (the “lusts” of your “mortal body,” (Rom 6:13), you do not have to “obey it” (Rom 6:13) and have a free choice (and ability) to choose not to “present” and aspect of your body to sin. “To present” means to offer, give over, place at the disposal of, and even to dedicate, reserve, or keep ready. In other words, we should not make our body available to sin.
When our family wants to check out a board game, book, movie, or Nintendo game from the public library, we go to library website and search the database to see if that item is in the library and available to check out. Sometimes the library doesn’t have what we’re looking for. Other times it does, but then the resource is already reserved for someone else or is checked out by someone else or is unavailable for some other reason.
Paul is teaching here that we should not make ourselves, or any part of ourselves, available to sin. We should form habits in life that both avoid opportunities to sin and that, when presented with opportunities to sin or faced with desires to sin, prevent us from sinning. We should make it difficult, undesirable, and inconvenient to sin. When sinful desires and opportunities tempt us, we should be “checked out” and “unavailable,” not “available for checkout or purchase.”
Offer your entire self for God’s service, instead. (“but present …”)
This brings us to Paul’s third and final mindset change for people who are keeping their new freedom from sin clearly in mind. We must not only say “no” to sinful impulses and refuse to offer our body parts for sinful use, but we should make ourselves available to God’s service, instead.
Paul says that we should offer ourselves to God’s service as “being alive from the dead,” meaning as someone who is in a close, living relationship with God who has no more relationship or obligation to your old master, sin. And Paul says to offer our “body parts” as instruments of righteousness, which means that we should offer our hands, mouths, feet, etc. to God as instruments, tools, and weapons which he can use to influence the world in good and right ways.
When we speak of God’s service, we may think of “acts of service,” such as volunteer work for community charities or volunteering for ministries in the church. And while these activities certainly fall within what Paul is speaking about here, he is more specifically speaking about anything which is right in God’s sight.
Look away from the wrong things and look at the right thing with your eyes. Say the right thing or nothing at all with your tongue. Take, touch, or do only what and how God approves with your hands. Go the right way to the right place with your feet. Listen to the right thing with your ears. Eat and drink (or not) the right things with your mouth. Etc.
This means not only that you must do these things but that you can choose to do right with your body, even when you feel like doing wrong. This is what’s important here. The strong desires and impulses you have to do wrong, though real and strong, are simply not necessary or obligatory to obey. Before you believed on Christ, you had to give in. But not that you are united with Christ in his resurrection, you are not only forgiven from sin but freed to say no to sin and to do right for God, instead. This is the fact which every follower or Christ must keep firmly in mind.
God’s grace, not law, makes this new life possible.
In closing, Paul makes clear that we must no longer do right in God’s sight because of some law which demands this of us. Instead, we can and must do right because grace is now real to us. The law only tells us we are wrong, proves that we are wrong, and condemns us when we sin. But grace gives us an entirely new identity, purpose, and power which not only calls us to do right but makes it entirely possible to do right. The same power that resurrected Christ from the dead makes serving God now possible.
So, we should not view ourselves as neutral beings who can live out our lives in some neutral space. We either willingly submit ourselves to sinful choices and lifestyle which are contrary to God’s plan and purpose or else we submit ourselves to actively participating in and pursuing God’s plan and purpose, instead.
Are you familiar with the terms emotional baggage or lingering emotional impact? People use these terms to describe feelings that rise in us when something triggers a relationship or situation from our past. Ff the boss of the restaurant for which I worked long hours during high school called my phone today, this might trigger feelings of obligation to answer and say yes to work at the restaurant tonight. Or if I go out to eat at that restaurant, that might trigger feelings of guilt for not going back to help the employees with the work.
You may also be familiar with the terms carrying forward trauma or post-traumatic stress. These concepts are similar to emotional baggage but imply a more intense or painful experience as a result of past experiences. Examples include when a person who has experienced abuse is placed into situations which remind them of things related to their past abuse, even if those things aren’t actually connected to those events in any real way.
Another example is when a person born and raised into a gang environment leaves the gang network behind as an adult. Such a person, though free from the gang, may still experience strong impulses to respond in fear or cooperation when faced with situations that trigger past memories or offer a way back. A knock at the door or ring of the cell phone, for instance, may trigger anxiety, or may even be an offer to go back into the gang.
When triggering moments occur, conflicting inner feelings and desires can rise to the surface. They form a strong impulse or urge for us to behave as we did in the past rather than accept our new reality free from those things. They may feel like going to work at the restaurant, fearing abuse, or agreeing to a gang assignment. But in each case, to do so would be acting opposite of their new and present reality. They are genuinely, truly free from these things, yet they also feel strongly as though they are not.
Illustrations like these help us understand what Paul speaks about in Romans 6:1-14 as he describes our new, daily relationship with sin. We know we’ve been forgiven by God, but we still feel as though we can’t stop sinning. How can we overcome this contradiction in our lives and live out the freedom and power that we have in Christ not to sin?
Christ’s resurrection sets us free from the authority of sin over us.
In Romans 6:1-10, Paul explains in detail how we are closely connected to the death of Christ. Since Christ died in our place, his death takes the place of our death – it is, in fact, our death. As we learned last week, this means that we are fully forgiven, then, from our sins. We should no longer live under a cloud of doubt, wondering if God accepts us, because he does – completely.
In these verses, though, Paul shows us also how we are likewise closely connected to the resurrection of Christ. Listen to how he explains this close connection:
- just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Rom 6:4)
- For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection (Rom 6:5)
- Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him (Rom 6:8)
- For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. (Rom 6:10)
This means that because we are so closely connected to Christ that his resurrection is not only a new life for him but is also a new life for us. We share his new, resurrected life!
One of the main results of this, then, is that we are freed from the authority that sin once had over us. Before we believe on Christ as our God and Savior – confessing our sinfulness and trusting in him completely – we are slaves to sin. But according to Paul, once we believe on Christ, here is what’s true of us now:
- We died to sin (Rom 6:2)
He who has died has been freed from sin (Rom 6:7)
Our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed (Rom 6:10)
From this we see that because we are so closely connected to Christ’s death and resurrection, our relationship with sin is not only broken but totally dead. In other words, before we believed on Christ, sin was like a powerful, living master to whom we were slaves. We could not break free from sin’s demands. But now that we have believed on Christ, we have been united with Christ’s death and resurrection, which means that sin is now nothing more than a lifeless corpse. To give in to sin, then, is to answer to, return to, submit to, and obey a lifeless, rotting corpse.
“But wait!” you say. How is that possible? Sin is anything but dead in my life! If that’s how you feel, then let me say that we can all relate to that feeling. But that’s where the opening illustrations help. Though the appetites, desires, habits, and impulses to sin may be strong in our lives, even as followers of Christ, these strong impulses (or “lusts” as Paul calls them) have no actual, real authority.
To be clear, our impulses to sin are real desires, that much is true. Such desires won’t be removed from us completely until the day we see Christ for eternity. But another reality is also true – our strong desires to sin have no authority over us, we have no obligation to give in to them any more than we need to go to work when an old boss calls. This is the case because Christ rose from the dead, ending sin’s power over us and giving us the ability to live a new life in close relationship with and obedience to Christ instead!
In the next verses, Rom 6:11-14, Paul gives a clear and easy-to-see set of guidance for how to connect our freedom from sin to our everyday life. He does this by telling us first how to think about this new freedom, followed by three choices which we should make to put this freedom into action.
We must approach life with our freedom clearly in view. (“reckon”)
First, Paul tells us how to think about our life. He describes a new mindset, a new focus, a new mental approach that we should bring to every day, every decision, every situation.
He says to “reckon” (some translations say to “consider” or “count”) (6:11). This means we should keep our new freedom clearly in view and it is the primary instruction Paul gives here as the way we should connect our new freedom from sin to our daily life.
This word describes something like “keeping a mental ledger,” as when a person keeps in mind how much money they have in the bank before they make a purchase. If they know they have enough money, then they go ahead and make the purchase, but if they know they don’t have enough money, they don’t make the purchase. No matter how strongly they want to buy that thing, they resist and don’t buy it because they know they don’t have enough money in their account to pay for it.
As followers of Christ, we need to look at our choices in life this way. Before we sin (like making a purchase), we need to know (actually think about) the fact that sin has no authority over our lives and that we have a new life with God in Christ. Since we know we share in Christ’s resurrection life, we remind ourselves of this and do not spend ourselves on sin. Even though we feel like sinning (perhaps even strongly), we reckon (or count, or consider) that we are not obligated or forced to do so, so we don’t do it. We choose to make choices that are pleasing to God, instead.
As we train ourselves to think this way, we realize that the challenge to live out this new freedom we have in Christ is more than mental and intellectual. It also affects our feelings and our will, because thinking this way correctly doesn’t automatically change how we feel. We have to look past our feelings and make the decision that is right because we know that we are free from sin’s authority and in a new and living relationship with God.
This right thinking and accounting of who we really are in Christ should lead us to make three important choices.
Say no to sinful impulses. (“don’t let it reign”)
Though sin has no power over us anymore, it still exists within our bodies and wants us to give it permission to reign. Every time we say yes to sin, we yield power to sin voluntarily. This is a challenging problem because the desires to sin are often strong, spontaneous, and surprising. So much so that we feel as though we must sin.
That’s why we must regularly remind ourselves of our new life in Christ and of the truth that sin is nothing more than a dead corpse to us, not a living, breathing authority over us. Why say yes to a dead corpse? Why put a corpse on the throne of our lives and let it reign over us? Though sin feels like it’s alive, it’s dead. We need to teach this to ourselves and train ourselves to think this way because this is reality.
Don’t offer your body parts for sinful use. (“don’t present …”)
Not only must we refuse to let sin reign over us, we must refuse to offer our body parts for sinful use. The word “members” here literally means “body parts.” And it makes sense, when you think about it, because our sins require our body parts in order to happen.
The children’s song “O Be Careful Little Eyes, etc.” comes to mind. This simply children’s song teaches powerful truth about our new, resurrection life in Christ and our freedom from the power of sin.
Think about the sins you are tempted to commit and even do commit. They require you to look at something you shouldn’t look at – your eyes, or say things you shouldn’t say – your tongue. They require you to touch or take things you shouldn’t – your hands, or go places you shouldn’t go – your feet. They require you to listen to things you shouldn’t listen to – your ears, or to eat or drink things you shouldn’t – your mouth. Etc. When we sin, we use our body – our brain, our lungs, our lips, our fingers, and so on.
No matter how strong the desire to sin may be within you, you have the ability – thanks to God’s grace – to say no and to refuse to offer your body parts to commit that sin. You are not helpless. You are not incapable. You are not required or obligated to give in. It may feel as though you are, but you are not. You must train yourself to act out the reality of what you know about your new relationship with God and the status of sin’s power in your life – its dead.
The point here is that though the urge to sin is strong (the “lusts” of your “mortal body,” (Rom 6:13), you do not have to “obey it” (Rom 6:13) and have a free choice (and ability) to choose not to “present” and aspect of your body to sin. “To present” means to offer, give over, place at the disposal of, and even to dedicate, reserve, or keep ready. In other words, we should not make our body available to sin.
When our family wants to check out a board game, book, movie, or Nintendo game from the public library, we go to library website and search the database to see if that item is in the library and available to check out. Sometimes the library doesn’t have what we’re looking for. Other times it does, but then the resource is already reserved for someone else or is checked out by someone else or is unavailable for some other reason.
Paul is teaching here that we should not make ourselves, or any part of ourselves, available to sin. We should form habits in life that both avoid opportunities to sin and that, when presented with opportunities to sin or faced with desires to sin, prevent us from sinning. We should make it difficult, undesirable, and inconvenient to sin. When sinful desires and opportunities tempt us, we should be “checked out” and “unavailable,” not “available for checkout or purchase.”
Offer your entire self for God’s service, instead. (“but present …”)
This brings us to Paul’s third and final mindset change for people who are keeping their new freedom from sin clearly in mind. We must not only say “no” to sinful impulses and refuse to offer our body parts for sinful use, but we should make ourselves available to God’s service, instead.
Paul says that we should offer ourselves to God’s service as “being alive from the dead,” meaning as someone who is in a close, living relationship with God who has no more relationship or obligation to your old master, sin. And Paul says to offer our “body parts” as instruments of righteousness, which means that we should offer our hands, mouths, feet, etc. to God as instruments, tools, and weapons which he can use to influence the world in good and right ways.
When we speak of God’s service, we may think of “acts of service,” such as volunteer work for community charities or volunteering for ministries in the church. And while these activities certainly fall within what Paul is speaking about here, he is more specifically speaking about anything which is right in God’s sight.
Look away from the wrong things and look at the right thing with your eyes. Say the right thing or nothing at all with your tongue. Take, touch, or do only what and how God approves with your hands. Go the right way to the right place with your feet. Listen to the right thing with your ears. Eat and drink (or not) the right things with your mouth. Etc.
This means not only that you must do these things but that you can choose to do right with your body, even when you feel like doing wrong. This is what’s important here. The strong desires and impulses you have to do wrong, though real and strong, are simply not necessary or obligatory to obey. Before you believed on Christ, you had to give in. But not that you are united with Christ in his resurrection, you are not only forgiven from sin but freed to say no to sin and to do right for God, instead. This is the fact which every follower or Christ must keep firmly in mind.
God’s grace, not law, makes this new life possible.
In closing, Paul makes clear that we must no longer do right in God’s sight because of some law which demands this of us. Instead, we can and must do right because grace is now real to us. The law only tells us we are wrong, proves that we are wrong, and condemns us when we sin. But grace gives us an entirely new identity, purpose, and power which not only calls us to do right but makes it entirely possible to do right. The same power that resurrected Christ from the dead makes serving God now possible.
So, we should not view ourselves as neutral beings who can live out our lives in some neutral space. We either willingly submit ourselves to sinful choices and lifestyle which are contrary to God’s plan and purpose or else we submit ourselves to actively participating in and pursuing God’s plan and purpose, instead.
Are you familiar with the acronym WYSIWYG? When used in everyday conversation, a person is saying that either something or someone is exactly as they appear—no hidden motives, no pretense. What you see is what you get!
But I’d like to adapt this acronym to WYTIWYG. I’ve changed the S to a T, to say “what you think is what you get,” because this is true of genuine followers of Christ. Genuine followers of Christ have been made from the authority and power of sin in their lives, but the sinful desires and urges of their bodies make them feel as though sin still has power over them (as how we feel when an old boss calls, or when a past abuser or gang member comes to mind). If we allow ourselves to think that these desires and feelings are unavoidable and overpowering, then they will be. But if we train ourselves to think about what is really now true, then we will grow in saying no to sin, refusing to make ourselves available to sin, and offering ourselves to God’s service instead.
Because Christ rose from the grave and you are united with him, you have a new relationship with God that is free do right and makes it possible for you to do so. This is what we must think about. We must keep this new freedom clearly in view. And if we learn to think this way, we will get an ever growing, increasing freedom that comes from God. The freedom that comes from the power of the resurrection.
Christ’s resurrection has set us free from sin’s power. Though old urges may linger, they have no authority over us. Embrace the WYTIWYG truth—What You Think Is What You Get. Keep your freedom in view, say no to sin, and offer yourself fully to God’s service. By His grace, you’re not just forgiven—you’re empowered to live a new life. Step into that victory today and walk boldly in the freedom Christ has won!
Discussion Questions
Life101
Digging Deeper
But I’d like to adapt this acronym to WYTIWYG. I’ve changed the S to a T, to say “what you think is what you get,” because this is true of genuine followers of Christ. Genuine followers of Christ have been made from the authority and power of sin in their lives, but the sinful desires and urges of their bodies make them feel as though sin still has power over them (as how we feel when an old boss calls, or when a past abuser or gang member comes to mind). If we allow ourselves to think that these desires and feelings are unavoidable and overpowering, then they will be. But if we train ourselves to think about what is really now true, then we will grow in saying no to sin, refusing to make ourselves available to sin, and offering ourselves to God’s service instead.
Because Christ rose from the grave and you are united with him, you have a new relationship with God that is free do right and makes it possible for you to do so. This is what we must think about. We must keep this new freedom clearly in view. And if we learn to think this way, we will get an ever growing, increasing freedom that comes from God. The freedom that comes from the power of the resurrection.
Christ’s resurrection has set us free from sin’s power. Though old urges may linger, they have no authority over us. Embrace the WYTIWYG truth—What You Think Is What You Get. Keep your freedom in view, say no to sin, and offer yourself fully to God’s service. By His grace, you’re not just forgiven—you’re empowered to live a new life. Step into that victory today and walk boldly in the freedom Christ has won!
Discussion Questions
Life101
- In what ways is sin like emotional baggage from past situations?
- What is the new mental approach to life that believers must have after conversion?
- How can we train ourselves to think this way?
- How can sin reign in our lives if the Bible teaches us that we are "dead to sin?"
- Why do you think Paul emphasizes our physical bodies ("members"/body parts) in Romans 6?
- How do we practically obey the command to "not present" our body parts for sinful use?
- What does it mean to "present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God?"
- How might a "law-focused" mindset cause us to view ourselves, our relationship to God, and our relationship to others incorrectly?
- How would you counsel someone to help them have a "grace-based" view of their struggle against sin?
Digging Deeper
- Do you think that allowing sin to reign and presenting our body parts for sin is more of a problem with our feelings or thoughts?
- How should a Christian engage with and manage each of these areas (thoughts and feelings) so that we live as though we are dead to sin?
- What do we say about ourselves when we choose to sin?
- How is it possible that those in Christ are dead to sin when temptation to sin is so strong and frequent?
- What does it mean to have the right mindset in regard to our relationship with sin? How does it help us when we do have this proper mindset?
- How can we develop this mindset?
- Why does Paul say that we should not present or offer our body parts for sinful use in Romans 6? Why do you think he emphasizes our physical bodies in this chapter?
- How might a "law-focused" mindset cause us to view ourselves, our relationship to God, and our relationship to others incorrectly?
- How would you counsel someone to help them have a "grace-based" view of their struggle against sin?
Posted in Easter, Sermon Manuscript
Posted in Easter, Resurrection, Romans, Thinking, Mindset, Death, Victory
Posted in Easter, Resurrection, Romans, Thinking, Mindset, Death, Victory
Recent
Archive
2025
January
February
March
2024
January
February
March
April
May
June
The First Two Woes of RevelationThe Blessing of WorkThe Four GospelsThe Book of ActsAnother Dramatic IntermissionThe Blessing of MarriageThe Making of a Godly Man, Family, Church & CommunityThe Two WitnessesPaul's Letters & TravelsThe Tragic Entrance of SinAnnouncing the Seventh TrumpetThe Jerusalem Council and The Epistle of GalatiansThe Sad Effects of Sin
July
August
September
No Comments