Lesson 82
The Christ-Centered Life
The Foundation
is our Position in Christ - Rom 6
Review:
Ø
"Therefore do not let sin reign in your
mortal body that you should obey its lusts"
- When we were unregenerate, before the cross, our sinful nature
reigned like a king over our physical body, making it a "body of sin." ("sin possessed body" 6:6)
- He is not saying or implying that believers don't sin but that the
sin nature is not to dominate the life.
That's the normal Christian life. Supernatural life
with supernatural resources.
In life
there are only 3 options for the believer:
1. We can do the will of Satan. ------- Eph 4:27
2. We can do the will of God.---------- Rom 6:13
3. We can respond to our sin nature!--- Rom
- What does it mean for the sin nature to reign/to dominate your life?
Last
phrase of vs:12 tells us. Choosing to obey its lusts
- What does the
pronoun "its" refer
to? What is its antecedent?
- The antecedent is "mortal body" to this dying physical body.
- Why and how the
body? Can you see the sin nature, can it
be observed? Not at all!!
It must have a vehicle!!
The sin nature is an intangible, invisible entity.
It needs the body in which it
resides for it to carry out its desires.
[evpiqumi,a] strong desires;
Examples:
- Question: Can the
Sin Nature in the believer do these things without permission?? No!!
We must give permission; turn it loose;
- In
the light of the cross, and the fact
that we're dead to sin, it can no
longer dominate with out our permission.
We have to choose to let it reign; to dominate our life.
Reason we said that as a
believer walking by the Spirit you must choose to put the sin nature in
rulership before you can sin.
- Question Why the emphasis on a dying body?? qnhto,j sw/ma [subject
to death] it keeps us humble; our feet firmly planted on the ground;
* As a
believer, who is in union with Christ, a saint, does it make sense that we
should be dominated/ruled by something that is temporal? That is going to die? That's going in the grave?
Our responsibility then is to
choose not to let it reign in our life!
Ø
6:13a The Fourth Responsibility
The fourth responsibility of the
believer is to "not go on
presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness"
- do not go on presenting pari,sthmi to place
beside or near; to put or place at the disposal of;
- Note the term instruments: o[plon tool
or weapon of unrighteousness avdiki,a disregard for what is right;
Ø
6:13b The Fifth Responsibility is a positive one!
- The fifth responsibility presented by Paul is to "present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead"
pari,sthmi to place beside or near; to put
or place at the disposal of;
Ø
6:13c The Sixth Responsibility [second part of the pos. cmd to present]
- Here Paul says to "present
your members as instruments of
righteousness to God"
A decision that we have to make continually.
Ø
Several
things should be noted concerning this declaration of release from law.
First, Paul is drawing a contrast
between two positions:
the position of being under law and the position of
being under grace.
- His use of the word "under" [u`po.] for both
positions indicates that both involve subjection to some governing principle,
some authority. [Centurion Mt 8:9]
Second, Paul is indicating that there
is a relationship between being under law as a governing principle and having
the sinful nature as master.