Slave to Obey

J.J. Stark

February 2016

Week 6

IGNITE Class 10

Inductive Bible Study (IBS)

Slave to Obey

“Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” – Romans 6:16 (NKJV)

I am stubborn…that’s no news flash for anyone who know me.  My flesh is something that, still to this day, does not yield easily to something that’s not its own want or desire.  Often times my selfish nature gets the best of me and I fail to walk according to God’s holy word.  However, I’m not the only one who has struggled with this.  Reading through the book of Exodus reveals this happening with the Israelites also, especially when under the leadership of Moses.  Chapters 19 through 20 in particular say that both because of this and God wanting to sanctify these people to Himself, He established the first written Law through Moses for the people to abide by.  These laws were holy because (obviously) they were from God, which also meant it was not humanly possible to completely obey every law.  No matter how many sacrifices or sin offerings or payments they made, there was no way that they could be fully reconciled to God through the physical realm.  Because of the Law, the people operated as if they couldn’t have direct interaction with God, and unfortunately it somewhat became a reality due to that mindset. Many times I operate in the same way, only in my physical works.  This is why the Gospels exist, because God wanted so much to have a personal relationship with us that He sent His Son, Jesus, down to earth in human form to live a perfect life, die as the sacrifice and payment for the sin of every human, then rise again and remove the barrier of the Law, so that someone like me can fully commune with Him.  But wait a minute, if my sin is all paid for, doesn’t mean I could do anything I want?  In verse 15 Paul poses this same question leading into verse 16: “¹⁵What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law?  Certainly not!”  Verse 16 continues, “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?”  Now that I do have direct connection with the Trinity, I want to serve the Lord with everything that I am - to be slave for Him, and no longer to myself.  This is the freedom I now have in Christ under the law He fulfilled.  Psalm 19:7, “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making the wise the simple,” and John 1:17 says, “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”  Thank you Lord for you saving me from the fleshly law – law of sin!  Yes, I am still tempted, I still slip, and I still fall, but now I don’t have the desire to intentionally commit those sins, but my desire is for You.  Let my prayer be that of Romans 1:17-18, “¹⁷But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.  ¹⁸And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”

Application:  Today I will find a verse that states one of the joys of following and being a slave of the Lord, and write it down and put it somewhere where I can see it every day.