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1 So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? 2 I should hope not! If we've left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? 3 Or didn't you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace - a new life in a new land! 4 When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. 5 Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we're going in our new grace-sovereign country. 6 Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the Cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life - no longer at sin's every beck and call! What we believe is this:7 8 If we get included in Christ's sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. 9 We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. 10 When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us. 11 From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. That's what Jesus did. (Romans 6:1-11 The Message Bible)
"I love Jesus, but I cuss a little," was something shared by a woman on the Ellen Show some years ago. The comment went viral becuase many found it hilarious. What are your thoughts on this? Comment below if you're watching the video or email me your thoughts. Thanks to my paternal grandfather my second language was Malidiciones en español. He thought it was hilarious to hear a baby cuss. In my defnense I didn't know better. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! And I wlll never forget the worst (best?) spanking I ever got for my reaction to my Mom pinching me while worship was going on. I yelled a loud Spanish obscenity to her and I remember getting home and taken to our restroom and me getting a paddling with a brush we used in the bathtub. I was too young to realize that I was, in Mom's opinion, still living in a "country where sin (cussing?) is sovereign," and I was still in an old country home. Also, I could not yet say, at that age, that I was speaking "A dead language that meant nothing to me;" I was not yet speaking God's mother tongue."
Paul's message is very clear. Once we were surrendered to Christ, we become dead to sin, and alive in Christ. In Paul's case, he was speaking from personal experience. He knew what it was to live in an alien land, far from God; and when he encountered the Risen Christ, he knew what it was to be in the presence of the holy and sacred. And he also was blessed with an intense seminary experience of learning all he could about the mystery of Christ and the reality of sin and his own experiences with sin. He knew the power of Christ to take away our sin, and our tendency to want to keep on sinning! Paul thought it was ridiculous to meet Jesus and then keep going back. To become a believer, in today's version, means we have "packed up and left there (the land of sin) and left there for good." Paul understood baptism as a journey out of the "old country of sin" andd into "the new country of grace." The believers now live in a "light-filled world" of God, so we should not stumble into the old ways of sin. Paul knows that our old life was crucified to the cross by Jesus and we were included in Jesus' sin-conquering death, and life-saving resurrection. Paul asserts that when Jesus was raised from the dead it signaled to the world the end of death as we know it, a complete end of life. Paul knows that death will never again have the last word on us; God will. I love verse 10: "When Jesus died, He took sin down with Him, but alive He brings God down to us." And the closing is just as powerful: "From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. Tha's what Jesus did." Amen.
I count this as a celebratory passage of the victory believers should celebrate when they come to faith. A new life on a new road, a new adventure and journey, walking hand-in-hand with Jesus and away from the devil and his desires for us. We're God's people on God's mission, to do whatever it is that God would have us do. This is a great place to be, and it is leading us to the greatest place, a place where God lives, the place we call Heaven. So, let us do what we can to invite others to join us and to be a part of this happy throng of Spirit-filled pilgrims.
PRAYER: Awesome God, we thank You for this new life that is ours in Jesus Christ. Guide us and bless us and help us become the people You would have us be; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Live in the full light and love of Jesus so others can see too!
Receive my blessings of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
