In this daily Bible reading Paul points out the misguided Gospel interpretation of some who suggested that sinning is good because sinning reveals God’s grace and forgiveness. Paul said that this thinking is foolishness. Sin is not good. It only leads to death, physically and spiritually.
Until Jesus’ sacrificial death on the Roman cross, mankind was in bondage to sin. People could not escape from sin, because sin had mastery over them. Furthermore, they did not have motivation to escape sin, because it was their natural desire. Jesus came to the Earth and provided both the motivation and the ability to escape sin.
The Bible says that when we believe in Jesus Christ we are baptized into His death, and we become ‘dead to sin.’ We are also baptized into His resurrection so that we may ‘walk in the newness of life.’ The Bible says, “Our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is free from sin.”
We have therefore died to sin, so that we may be alive to God in Jesus Christ. Now, we are able to walk with Jesus Christ on the pathway that leads to Heaven. We are being sanctified or conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ. The life we live is no longer dedicated to sin and death but to life everlasting.
There will be challenges for us to stay on the right path, because our sinful nature still remains. However, it no longer has mastery over us. We are able to have self-control, and we have the motivation to resist temptation and avoid sin.
