Read Romans 6:6 & Romans 6:11-14 I really like all the comic book movies. I even have a list of all the new ones coming out through 2019. I’m a geek and I wear my pin with pride. I love to watch the characters evolve into their new identities. Look at Peter Parker. One minute he is this nobody and with one spider bite he becomes the web-slinging hero, Spider Man. He now has to figure out these new strengths and abilities. We as Christians have a new identity and it is a polar opposite of who we were before being saved. Paul, in Romans 6 and 7, spend a lot of time explaining this new reality in our lives. While I hope you take time to read these chapters, I think it’s helpful for us to visit a couple of verses in chapter 6 today. In verse 6, Paul refers to our “old self”–all that we were before salvation. It earns the name “old” by reason of the presence of the new life in Christ. This “old self” was crucified with Christ. Since Christ died for sin and our “old self” is sinful, we can say we were crucified with Christ. Paul uses the phrase, “body of sin”. He is not saying our human body is sinful but it can be used to sin but Christ’s death makes our “old self” ineffective and impotent. In verse 11, he wants to consider, calculate, or reckon all the facts in verses 1-10 regarding our new identity and act accordingly. We are dead to sin but ALIVE in Christ. Now Paul wants us to think of sin as evil ruler sitting on a throne. Just as the evil ruler reigns so does sin. Sin want to reign in our lives and in verse 12, Paul wants us to dethrone it. We can dethrone sin by following the instructions in verses 13 and 14. We are not to yield, present, or offer our bodies as instruments for unrighteousness and we can do that because sin does not have dominion over us. To fight “Beast Within”, we need to know who we are in Christ. The beast is strong but Christ is stronger. Knowing what we have through grace will empower and energize us in our daily battle. Remember we will encounter losing battles and winning battles. Our daily battle can be victorious because of our position in Christ. Because of this position we no longer need to feed it, cover for it, or face it alone. We can break free because of Jesus Christ. Reflect The biggest roadblock to we face in our spiritual growth is us. We can break free by limiting opportunities for us to be tempted, hiding our sin, and have at least one person in our life who cares about us. Pray Ask God to remind you who you are because of your faith in Jesus Christ. Ask God for help in letting this grow in heart and mind. Ask Him each day to strengthen you each day through His word and prayer. // TWO-A-DAYS // GO A LITTLE FARTHER WITH YOUR DAILY DEVOTIONS // Go through these questions with your spouse, kids, or friend, or you can even journal about the answers to these questions:
- What was the best part of your day?
- What was the toughest part of your day?
- Where did you mess up today?
- Where did you see God today?
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