Grace Community Church

Day 6 of 7

 

As you reach for your Bible before you make your way out for the day, and you read a chapter of God's Word. God took a simple question of mine and addressed it in His Word nearly 2,000 years ago. This book that you've grown familiar with somehow feels sacred in that moment. You remind yourself that, as far as the physical is concerned, it's just ink on a page. Yet, the content carries a weight far greater. Each time today as you grab the Bible you take a minute to thank God for His Word. You make your way into the Coffee Shop continuing that same prayer as you walk. You share a few words with the barista as you wait for your drink.

 

You turn to me and ask if I'm ever going to let you pay for coffee. My answer is simple, "Not planning on it."  You laugh and make your way to the table. As you sit down there is a comfort and familiarity to our Coffee Shop, yet you realize that we're almost done meeting regularly. I remark that you are certainly in a different mood than the last time we saw each other. With that, you open up your Bible to Romans 6 and I can see the underlines, circles around words, and notes in the margins. Clearly you've been spending time in this passage. Words keep pouring out of you as you share what God revealed through this Chapter.
Amazing chapter, isn't it!?! That first question, "What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!" I love that verse. It gives two very simple pictures to share reasons why we shouldn't just go "sin-happy" as believers. The first is the idea that when we sin, we are acting dead when we are alive. It's such a ridiculous picture, but it really makes sense. Sin leads to death and you are no longer on that path, so don't even go down that road.

 

The next picture of slavery just points to the consequences. Being a slave to something horrible like sin, certainly impacts someone negatively. I can't help but think, why would I got back to living like a slave when I am free? With that said, you could do it even if it doesn't make sense and the consequence is the abuse you take under that reign. It's not like my status would change; once I'm free, I'm free. But, it isn't good to go back to the old ways.

 

This is a difficult concept to understand. Our justification (legal standing with God) doesn't change, ever. But, when we sin, we slow down the process of becoming more like Jesus. You see between the moment you made a decision for Christ, and the moment that He takes you to heaven, you're in the middle of the process of becoming Holy. Holy is a fancy church word that means set apart. When the Bible says, God is Holy, it's saying that He isn't plagued by sin and death like us.  He's above that.  Now we are being made Holy and this process that is happening in both of us is called sanctification. Now, we will never be Holy, not until Heaven will we experience what God designed us for, but we keep on in the process while we are here.

 

So, when we have a belief in Jesus, it changes the way we act. Often people talk about having a belief in God, but there is no action. That doesn't seem to line up. Salvation is us being saved, and we don't work for salvation, we work out salvation. Philippians 2:12-13 gives us a picture of God working in us. This is interesting when we remember that God actually lives in each of us. Amazing!
Answering your question from last week, "Why avoid sin?," two reasons come to mind. First, I think of Romans 6 and no longer being dead to sin, a slave to sin. But, now being a slave to good. Second, I think of Eric. In moments like that I can't help but think about the hurt and pain Eric felt. Even though his standing with God never changed, he still experienced deep hurt. That is a consequence of sin. There are times when God will let us step outside of His protection and let us experience pain.

 

I don't share that to point towards fear because I believe that's the opposite of what this is about. Instead, I want to point toward freedom. You aren't going to be perfect, by any means, but you will continue in this process of becoming more like Jesus. Now, during that time questions are going to come up that seem heavy and hurtful, the way they did last time we met. Don't run from that, wrestle with that. Right in the middle of your Bible is a book called Psalms. This book has some phrases that are pretty bold in questioning God. Yet there they are, right in the middle of the Bible. It's as if God is saying, "I know there will be tough times, but I created you to feel the rawest emotion and I want to be there with you along the way."

 

Today, I want you to read the book of Philippians. I know that sounds scary, but it's only a few pages. You're going to find it fairly easy, and this book is full of some amazing truths.

 

We pray to close our time and as you talk to God, that concept of freedom keeps coming into your mind. You tell God that as we pray together. You thank him for the freedom that he bought with his own blood. We exchange hugs and you're out the door. As you put your Bible back on your front seat you are reminded of how thankful you are for that book.

 

Sitting in the parking lot, you open it up to the book of Philippians to check out just how many pages you are set to read.  Sure enough it's only a few chapters. You read the first section of verses and right there in the parking lot, a smile comes across your face as you read verse six of the first chapter; "Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

 

Sitting there in your car you realize that God is working on you each day. He's started a lifelong process that ends with you being the realization of what he intended. "All of that from a single verse," you say to yourself, "this is going to be a great book."