11/21/17
The earliest Christians followed a Jewish tradition of pausing to pray, preferably together, first thing in the morning, about mid morning, at noon, about mid afternoon, and in the evening. “Just a Note” posts are brief observations made from Scripture readings not related to a lectionary. If I have one to post, it normally appears about 9:00 in the morning, at “the hour of prayer.”
Romans 6:12-23 paints a picture of all humans as enslaved. We are slaves to what we serve. Paul affirms this could be righteousness or it could be sin. No matter, we are, in the end, slaves.
What kind of choices do we have? Paul pictures us as having the ability to determine where our allegiance lies. Are we going to sin? Are we going to be righteous? He urges his readers to be slaves to righteousness. After all, they then receive all the benefits of God’s kingdom. Since Jesus has purchased his people out of sin and death, his expectation is that they would live to the righteousness of God.
Do we notice what is absent from this passage? While many in our world would like to tell us what activities are sinful and righteous, Paul doesn’t go there. There’s plenty of revelation, both in natural law and in Scripture, to tell every person what is good and what isn’t. That’s consistent with his statements near the end of chapter 1. We know what righteousness is. That really isn’t much of a problem for most humans. Deciding to present ourselves as slaves to righteousness is another matter.
As those who have been redeemed from death by Jesus, may all his people present themselves to him, living in the righteousness of his resurrection.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
The earliest Christians followed a Jewish tradition of pausing to pray, preferably together, first thing in the morning, about mid morning, at noon, about mid afternoon, and in the evening. “Just a Note” posts are brief observations made from Scripture readings not related to a lectionary. If I have one to post, it normally appears about 9:00 in the morning, at “the hour of prayer.”
Romans 6:12-23 paints a picture of all humans as enslaved. We are slaves to what we serve. Paul affirms this could be righteousness or it could be sin. No matter, we are, in the end, slaves.
What kind of choices do we have? Paul pictures us as having the ability to determine where our allegiance lies. Are we going to sin? Are we going to be righteous? He urges his readers to be slaves to righteousness. After all, they then receive all the benefits of God’s kingdom. Since Jesus has purchased his people out of sin and death, his expectation is that they would live to the righteousness of God.
Do we notice what is absent from this passage? While many in our world would like to tell us what activities are sinful and righteous, Paul doesn’t go there. There’s plenty of revelation, both in natural law and in Scripture, to tell every person what is good and what isn’t. That’s consistent with his statements near the end of chapter 1. We know what righteousness is. That really isn’t much of a problem for most humans. Deciding to present ourselves as slaves to righteousness is another matter.
As those who have been redeemed from death by Jesus, may all his people present themselves to him, living in the righteousness of his resurrection.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
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