Hi and welcome back. Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of 9/11. For many the hardest thing is remembering what we should forget, and forgetting what we should remember.
That day has been etched in so many lives. The whole thing was surreal. Yet, it was a vivid reminder that we live in a fallen world. Evil is never far away. So as we remember 9/11 let us forget the tragedy and remember the heroes. We pick up today’s lesson with,
Romans 6:20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
Have you ever just watched someone and said to yourself how can they do what they’re doing?
It’s obvious what they’re doing is just plain wrong. Can’t they see that what they’re doing is destructive? The simple answer is they can’t see, they’re bound up in sin. They are slaves to sin.
On the flip side, these people are free from righteousness. They just don’t care about righteousness. It’s foreign to them.
Ephesians 4:18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.
So the slave to sin has a hardened heart.
Let’s take a look at some of the characteristics of a hardened heart.
The first thing that comes to mind is bitterness and resentment.
Often that bitterness and resentment is the result of the hurt that others have inflicted on us. Without the love of Christ that root of bitterness will continue to grow. It’s only when the love of Christ enters a heart that lasting change can take place.
Ephesians 4:31-32 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
It’s easy to see the worst in people. But if you have a tender heart, a heart of compassion, the heart of Christ, that bitterness that you’ve been holding on to will just melt away.
The next characteristic that leads to a hardened heart is pride.
It’s ironic that pride is the direct result of low self-esteem.
In order to make yourself feel better about yourself, you become condescending, looking down upon others to make yourself feel good. It’s only when we humble ourselves before God and take off the mask that we’re hiding behind that our hearts can be softened. Being vulnerable and exposed is an act of Faith.
Galatians 6:3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
Be not deceived, God sees beyond your pride and what truly lies at the center of your heart. So be ready to let your guard down and be open to what a loving God can do in your life.
Another aspect of a hardened heart is the inability or refusal to serve others or not allowing others to minister to you.
If your heart is calloused you will want to serve only one person and that’s yourself. You will want to do what pleases your flesh and be blind to the needs of others.
Galatians 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
It all comes back to this one thing: do everything in love.
If your heart is full of the love of Christ you will be compelled to serve others and be receptive when someone serves you. Let’s take a look at our next verse in chapter 6.
Romans 6:21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The end of those things is death.
The whole time that you were a slave to sin, there was nothing fruitful in your life.
There was no real love, Joy or peace. You had to fill that void with the rotten fruit of sin. Fruit that had a stench that now sickens you. Now being a child of God your past reveals the shame that you were living in. We are now aware of the death sentence that awaited us. Thank God for His amazing Grace, that has brought us out of death and into a glorious future with Him.
Romans 6:22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
The whole time that you were in control of your life you thought you were experiencing freedom.
After all, we live in the land of the free. It’s amazing how the concept of freedom in this country has been so misconstrued.
We have freedom of speech, but does that mean we should use our speech for hate and division? We have the right to bear arms. But does that mean we have the right to use a gun to take human life? We have freedom of religion. But does that mean we should indulge in satanic worship? The freedom we enjoy in this country has been twisted and manipulated to satisfy the lusts of those who are in bondage to sin.
Thank God, we are no longer slaves to sin.
I would rather be in servitude to almighty God, than to be a pawn in Satan’s demonic schemes.
As servants to God we start to bear fruit that leads to our sanctification.
We are set apart from the things of this world and we are able to experience true freedom. With that freedom we have eternal life. We need to stay in God’s word. It is his word that sustains us and shows us His truth. Satan’s lies no longer have power over us.
John 8:31-32 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
When all truth is relative, when truth is whatever you feel it to be, then you will be susceptible to whatever doctrine or self-proclaimed prophet comes along.
There will always be false doctrines and false prophets. We need God’s word to separate truth from fiction.
We have one more verse in this chapter and it sums up everything.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
If you’re on Satan’s payroll then you have truly earned your wages.
Many have worked hard all their life for him and anticipated a nice retirement plan. Instead they were left with nothing but death and eternal separation from God.
I have a t-shirt that I like to wear occasionally.
On it is written “work for God the retirement benefits are great.”God’s free gift is available to anyone who is willing to serve Him and make Him Lord and Savior of their lives.
John 8:36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
This brings to a close this episode of Perspective For Today. Thank you for listening and as always may you have a week full of opportunities to share this good news with those that need to hear it.