Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life. (Romans 6:13)
Take a moment to think of a former boss. If you ran into that person today and he/she said that you are expected to work overtime this weekend, what would you say? My first response would be, “I don’t work for you anymore!” (And I might be tempted to ask, “What’s wrong with you?”)
I think we would all respond in pretty much the same way. When you did work for that former boss, you had to do what you were told to do. You took your marching orders from that individual. But now you have moved on to another position, and you no longer take orders from your previous boss. That person has lost all authority over you.
Once you became a Christian, the very same principle became true in the spiritual realm. Before Jesus raised you from death to life, you were a servant (a slave) to sin. Sin was your boss . . . your master. But after you were given the divine gifts of repentance and faith, you were set free from your old boss; now you are under the authority of your new Boss, the Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul set this truth before us beautifully:
Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves to the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. (Romans 6:16-18)
When was the last time you took orders from your previous boss? When was the last time you marched to the beat of your former employer’s drum? We all do this from time to time; we sin because we are all still sinners in need of a Savior. Paul himself, in the very next chapter of his epistle to the Romans, admitted, “I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out” (Romans 7:18). What we must keep in view is that we have a new Boss now, the One who has come from above. Jesus has complete authority over you; He has every right to ask whatever He wants of you in order to advance the cause of His kingdom and bring honor and glory to His name. He laid down His life in order to become your new Boss; there is nothing He cannot ask of you . . . nothing!
The first thing Jesus is asking you today is this: “Regardless of where you go and what you do, remember Whose you are!” Remembering who our true Boss is will go a long way in helping us to follow His commands and to ignore the malevolent marching orders from our previous boss.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 