By Pastora Beth Lee
The only way that we can come into the kingdom of God is through what the Messiah has done when he lay down His life for us. If you believe that Jesus died, rose again, is now seated at the right hand of the Father, and left us His Holy spirit, then you are saved. The verses talk about the power and the raised Christ who is now living in us and that is why we are free from sin. Paul is saying that we are no longer prisoners of our fleshly desires. Romans 6:16 says, “Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.” If you are living in the flesh, it really leads to sin. Many Christians still wallow in their sin. And that is what Paul is talking about. But if you are living in the Spirit, you will have life and peace; the peace from God which is eternal peace.
How did sin begin? Man sinned because he is spiritually dead. Ephesians 2:1 says, “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.” He is also spiritually lost. Luke 19:10 says, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” Man is spiritually blind. 2 Corinthians 4:4 says, “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.” He is also spiritually darkened and hardened. Ephesians 4:18 says, “Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.” Man is spiritually aloof. John 8:47 says, “Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.” But did God stop pursuing you? No. He even gave His Only Begotten Son to save us from all our sins. We were supposed to be the ones nailed on the cross. But no one else would own our sins but Him.
Romans 8:10-15 says, “But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” When you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior and the Spirit is in you, you should no longer live in the flesh. And you have been born again. The last verse of Romans says no separation between you and Christ. These verses mention no condemnation for your sins. Nothing can separate you from the love of God for you are already His children. The Spirit of God is mentioned more than 20 times in this chapter. And repetition of something in the Bible means that it is very important! The Spirit of God is in you forever. And that is why when you sin, you are convicted by the Holy Spirit. We are now win the New Covenant by the Blood of Christ that He offered on the cross. In the Old Testament, the Spirit of God comes upon you and anoints you for the mission you are going to undertake and then depart. That is the Old Testament reality. But he never leaves in the New Testament. What could cause God to leave? Sin alone. But He said He will forgive us and will not remember them anymore. You are clean in the eyes of the Lord. If your spirit is alive, righteousness will result; and you will not choose sin again.
How can we choose righteousness? Only by the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. Previously you made sinful decisions. But God wants to see you change in your life. That is His plan. If you want the righteousness of God, you need the resurrection power. John 1:12 says, “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” In the cross, there was a divine exchange. Jesus took our place and accepted the punishment for our sins. But through Christ, we received the right to call God our Father. If you are in Christ, you are favored all the time.
Colossians 2:1 says, “In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.”Christ is the picture of the conquering general. He has already won and is forever victorious. But sometimes, it is difficult to believe in His victory when you sin and when circumstances are not in your favor because it is easy to see the darkness in the world. But because of Christ’s victorious resurrection, darkness has been defeated forever.