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Who's the boss of you?

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Text: Prepare
Think about areas in your life where you like to maintain control. When is your approach helpful? When does it cause problems?
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Bible passage: Bible reading: Romans 6:15-23

Slaves to Right Living
15 What should we say then? Should we sin because we are not ruled by law but by God's grace? Not at all!
16 Don't you know that when you give yourselves to obey someone you become that person's slave? You can be slaves of sin. Then you will die. Or you can be slaves who obey God. Then you will live a godly life. 17 You used to be slaves of sin. But thank God that with your whole heart you obeyed the teachings you were given! 18 You have been set free from sin. You have become slaves to right living.
19 Because you are human, you find this hard to understand. So I have said it in a way that will help you understand it. You used to give the parts of your body to be slaves to unclean living. You were becoming more and more evil. Now give your bodies to be slaves to right living. Then you will become holy.
20 Once you were slaves of sin. At that time right living did not control you. 21 What benefit did you gain from doing the things you are now ashamed of? Those things lead to death!
22 You have been set free from sin. God has made you his slaves. The benefit you gain leads to holy living. And the end result is eternal life. 23 When you sin, the pay you get is death. But God gives you the gift of eternal life because of what Christ Jesus our Lord has done.
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Text: Explore the Bible
Slaves to sin Slavery was a common feature of the Roman world. Slaves may have been well treated, even respected, given opportunity to marry or accumulate wealth in certain circumstances, but they were not free. They were owned. Their masters had absolute rights over them. So when Paul uses slavery as an illustration of sin's mastery, the implications are clear. The Romans could choose sin as their master who would rule their lives, or they could choose another 'master' and discover the benefits. What about you and me? Who is the boss of you, and how is that working for you these days? Choosing a new boss Are you owned by unforgiveness, paying you back in bitterness and toxic relationships? Or are you owned by selfishness, its reward an increasingly isolated life? When sin is our master, the so-called 'benefits' gnaw away at the soul (v 21). Ultimately its wages are devastating. Still, we have a choice. We can choose a new boss. The benefits that come with God's oversight are liberating, healing, life changing (v 22), even if they are painful or humbling at first. And through it all he offers us a relationship that lasts for all eternity (v 23). Life with him can never be the same as under the old boss.
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Text: Respond

What area of your life do you need to surrender God today? Take some time to reflect and pray about it.
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Text: Deeper Bible study

Paul asks twice whether experiencing God's free grace means that sin does not really matter any more (vs 1,15). He explains that we have been set free from sin in order to live a new life of holiness. But what precisely does it mean to live under the rule of God, living a life that seeks to put into action both freedom and obedience? Might we sometimes presume on grace and not live in obedience to God in our attitudes and actions?
Paul makes it clear that there are only two masters to serve: sin or obedience. Paul makes it clear that moral demands are laid on the believer, and serving obedience leads to righteousness whereas serving sin leads to death (v 16). Yet it is not a neutral choice whether the believer sins or obeys (v 17): Paul uses the passive form of the verb at the end of verse 17 - believers have 'been entrusted' or 'been handed over' (the verb used elsewhere (Matthew 26:15,16; 27:2) of Jesus being 'handed over' to the chief priests and the Romans). God has already given believers over to obey his teaching.
Verse 19b is the focal point of this passage. God has put us into a new situation (vs 17,18) and we are reminded of that same status in verses 20-23, but Paul wants us to realise that the indicative of God's act does not mean that there is no imperative or need for our response. It is not a matter of 'letting go and letting God'. We have a responsibility to win the battle against sin. Yes, God has taken the initiative and through his grace has acted to save and help his people; but he asks us to respond. As one writer puts it, 'Being Precedes Act'.1 Christians are called to 'become what they are'.
1 M Parsons, 'Being Precedes Act', The Evangelical Quarterly 88, 1988, p99-127

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Text: Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year. Today's readings are:

1 Kings 10,11

1 Corinthians 13

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