You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. (Rom. 6:18)
Expanded Passage: Romans 6:1-14, 18-23
When I got married, I promised to love, cherish, provide for, and protect my wife. I gave up singleness and dedicated my life to her. And though jokes are made about the “yoke” of marriage, there is an element of truth to it. I promised to forsake all others and cling only to her and she did the same. I surrendered to her, and we pledged to serve one another—as it should be.
In Romans 6, Paul stated that believers serve one of two masters: the old self, or Christ. The old self does not seek the things of God; it is selfish. The result of living that way is ultimately death. When we serve Christ—and put to death the old self—the result is eternal life. Eternal life is a quantity of years after our physical life ends, but it is also a quality of life we live now. Romans 6 reminds us that God can put to death the old self so that we can sincerely adopt the new life found only in him.
Life is full of choices. None is more important than the choice to surrender to Christ. That surrender results in both freedom and enslavement: freedom from the stranglehold of sin, and enslavement to righteousness found only in him. But like marriage, it is a sweet surrender that comes with many benefits.
Ask God to help you surrender everything to him.
Roland E. Cavanaugh is a Wesleyan pastor serving in North Carolina and administrator of an assistant living facility. He and his wife have ministered for thirty-five years.
© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
