An Insult To God And His Son, Christ Jesus

 Meditations on Romans

August 10, 2021

An Insult To God And His Son, Christ Jesus

For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.

Romans 6:4

Read: Romans 6:1-5

Romans Six is one of the most powerful chapters in the entire Bible. I am going to divide it into five meditations, but we could well spend much longer here. I encourage you to read the full chapter in one sitting, especially in the translation, The Message, and let the wonder of God’s grace wash over you!

Paul uses the metaphor of baptism to make his point, and while it certainly is a reference to our baptism as believers in Jesus, Paul has in mind the deeper truth of our baptism by the Holy Spirit into new life in Christ Jesus. Please remember this truth as you read Chapter Six.

In the previous chapters, Paul has made his case that it is a fruitless endeavor to try and earn God’s favor by trying to keep the law of God. It can’t be done. Some folks in Paul’s audience were tempted to give up trying to live a moral and upright life. They thought that since God’s grace was so great, they would just go through life doing whatever they wanted and trust God’s grace to cover their sins. Not so fast, said Paul. God’s grace is not intended to gloss over our sins; rather, God’s grace is intended to empower us to lead new, Christ-like lives.

My Takeaway: My sin, that is my condition as one estranged from God, could only be cured through the sacrifice Christ made for me (and you). My sins are the manifestation of original sin. Yes, Christ has forever cured my condition, but I still succumb to the temptation to sin. Paul will address this condition at the magnificent end of Chapter Seven and the even more magnificent beginning of Chapter Eight. Even so, today let me repent from the tendency to act like my sins don’t matter to God and His son, Christ Jesus. They do. They do.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2021 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.