Just as a note for future catechism devotion posts, I will only include the full text of the particular part of the catechism on the first day in which that set of devotions is drawn from that particular part. Usually, we will only be spending four days on each part, so you shouldn't have to scroll back too far in my posts to see it. Or, you can always use your own catechism at home! I will, however, mention the part that it comes from.
Catechism: Baptism, part 3.
Romans 6:6--We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
Devotion--You died. You have been put to death. Somewhere in Jesus and His death on the cross, your sinful nature was present, dying with Jesus as He gave up His life.
For the Christian, that means that there is victory over our sin. While it is true that we simply cannot escape our sinful nature while we still live in this world, we also are keenly aware that we have the victory over it through Jesus. It has died, and so we also have died to sin.
How does that death to sin find itself being played out in your life? When you find yourself battling against sinful passions and urges, what are some of the ways that you discover that you have a measure of control over their outward appearance?
One trap that we can easily fall into is to think that, since we are completely covered by God's grace through Jesus and the cross, we don't need to battle against our sin in our lives. After all, if it has been defeated, then we have nothing to worry about, right?
Paul answers that question in the very same book of Romans. Shall we continue to sin so that grace may abound? Absolutely not! We died to it. How can we still let it live in us?
I would suggest that Paul is talking here about our active and sometimes willful sin, when we know something is contrary to God's will, and yet we do it anyway, under the guise of grace. That is the kind of sin that we will continue to wage war against, but also have some measure of ability to put to death in our daily lives.
we won't win that war on our own. In fact, even though we may try our utmost to get rid of it, don't be surprised when it persists. However, also don't give up your efforts to put that sin to death in your life.
Catechism: Baptism, part 3.
Romans 6:6--We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
Devotion--You died. You have been put to death. Somewhere in Jesus and His death on the cross, your sinful nature was present, dying with Jesus as He gave up His life.
For the Christian, that means that there is victory over our sin. While it is true that we simply cannot escape our sinful nature while we still live in this world, we also are keenly aware that we have the victory over it through Jesus. It has died, and so we also have died to sin.
How does that death to sin find itself being played out in your life? When you find yourself battling against sinful passions and urges, what are some of the ways that you discover that you have a measure of control over their outward appearance?
One trap that we can easily fall into is to think that, since we are completely covered by God's grace through Jesus and the cross, we don't need to battle against our sin in our lives. After all, if it has been defeated, then we have nothing to worry about, right?
Paul answers that question in the very same book of Romans. Shall we continue to sin so that grace may abound? Absolutely not! We died to it. How can we still let it live in us?
I would suggest that Paul is talking here about our active and sometimes willful sin, when we know something is contrary to God's will, and yet we do it anyway, under the guise of grace. That is the kind of sin that we will continue to wage war against, but also have some measure of ability to put to death in our daily lives.
we won't win that war on our own. In fact, even though we may try our utmost to get rid of it, don't be surprised when it persists. However, also don't give up your efforts to put that sin to death in your life.
No comments:
Post a Comment