I have been reading the book of Romans and in this book, a topic that comes often is the topic of salvation. In the book, Paul goes at length to expound on who we are before God, how we are saved, what happens to us when we are saved and how we should live once we are saved. These are fundamentals for anyone who is curious about who God is and for all those who have believed in Jesus as it deepens the understanding of what God has done for us in Christ Jesus. As I continued reading, in the first few chapters, I noticed two expressions that kept coming: the law of sin and the law of God. As Paul explains, the law of sin is at work in the flesh while the law of God is in the mind (Romans 7:25). These are the dichotomies that affect us as humans and our only remedy, the only One who can save us from that tension is Jesus Christ. Indeed, he has made us alive with God and we are no longer bound to the law of sin but are bound to Christ and we can now bear fruits for God (Romans 7:4). So much of our lives gets wasted in things that are not profitable, necessary or produce bad fruits. However, God desires that we should bear good fruits and the only way to do that is by remaining in Him. My hope is to remind us of this great calling we have been given in Christ.
The Bible makes it clear that we are enemies of God since our birth. Even David says that he was conceived in iniquity (Psalm 51:5) and Romans tells us that no one is righteous before God, not even one and to keep matters worse it tells us that no one does good nor seeks after God, in fact it is the contrary that happens (Romans 3:11-18). This is the state of every single human from birth and Paul goes on to say that this sinful state of man was revealed through the law of God which brought judgement on sinners who transgressed it. The law of God acted as a mirror that showed who we were and what our actions demanded before a Holy God. It also revealed that we deserved the judgement of God for our trespasses; it further showed how depraved our minds were and how enslaved we were to our sinful ways. Indeed, we could not stop transgressing the law because we were bound by the law of sin which required of us to produce sinful fruits that only lead to death. However, when God sent His son Jesus Christ to die on the cross in our place, He made a way for us to be delivered from this entanglement we were in with the law and the body of death so that we would have life. So, Jesus took of filth and gave us his righteousness and it is on his account that we are now righteous. Only on account of Jesus is there a reverse in the human condition described in Romans 3. When we believe in Jesus Christ, that is, when we realize how much of a sinner we are, how holy God is, and how much we deserve God’s punishment, we repent and accept his lordship over our lives, we acknowledge our need for a rescuer and entrust ourselves to him. It is in that moment that we are bound to Christ who is bound to God. In Jesus, we no longer belong to sin and death, we no longer belong to our sinful nature with all its desires that only seek to gratify the flesh and kill us, no, we now belong to the Good Shepherd who takes good care of his sheep (John 10:11). We belong to the One in whom all things hold together (Colossians 1:17), the One who has authority over everything (Matthew 28:18). The One who has conquered death, the one who lives eternally, the One whose blood can atone for every sin; the One who has prepared good works for us to do before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 2:10).; the One who has no equal; the One in whom there is no sin; the One who knows all things; the One who is love; the One whose love never ends; the One who is faithful; the One who has adopted us into the family of God; the One who is good. There is so much that Christ has done for us by virtue of his sacrifice that we do not yet comprehend and know of but the little we know causes us to rejoice always, and “to be well content with weaknesses, insults, distresses, persecutions, and difficulties for Christ’s sake; for when we are weak, then we are strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). Belonging to the kingdom of light, we are victorious in every side and what other mean for evil is used by God for our good. As the Good Shepherd, He protects us and fights on our behalf. In fact, anyone who touches us, touches Him. We are not our own anymore, we belong to God. He avenges us and He brings us into alignment with Him. The law of the Spirit now guides us into our everyday walk and allows us to no longer walk according to the flesh though we live in the flesh but according to the spirit. Our “new self” in Christ is too opposite to our “old self” and it is not surprising that the world will often find us different which will cause us to incur mockery, jealousy, hatred and other similar attitudes. Yet, our response and attitude should always reflect the One who purchased us for himself, our Lord Jesus. One evidence of whether we belong to Christ or not is the quality of our fruits. We have been saved for good works, not bad works. Good works is what shows who we belong to and whether we are displaying Christ to the world via the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
Bondage to Christ is a life of freedom. As we navigate our new life in Christ, let us remember that we are no longer living to satisfy ourselves but are living to satisfy our new master, Christ. Our life should honour God in all that we do, that is why whatever we do, we should do for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). This includes the use of our time, our resources, our work, our money, our possessions, our friendships, our family, the “work of our hands”, our gifts, anything you were given or own is to be subject to Christ. Are you producing good fruits as a redeemed child of God? If not, are you relying on the One who can help you bear good fruits? May the LORD grant us to be conscious of the good works He has prepared for us and may we yield to Him. Amen.
A Word Aptly Spoken 