Column by Sumter Pastor Joey Durham: Our main goal should be honoring our Savior
Our devotion brings this thought, "Never Serve Sin," and my text is found in Romans 6:5-7, where we see, "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin." (KJV)
A wonderful opportunity became ours when our Lord died on Calvary's cross and then rose again on that third and appointed morning. As a result of placing our trust in Him as our Savior, our Lord also became the master of our life to save us from the power of sin that can dominate and destroy us. In other words, Jesus Christ is now our master, instead of Satan. Our old nature that had been dominating and controlling our life is "crucified with Christ." The Word of God teaches us that our Lord was crucified for sin, our sin, for the sin of the whole world. The victory that Jesus Christ accomplished for us that believe on Him is that we have been set free from the reigning power and life-destroying power of sin.
Before being saved, we were literally enslaved to our fallen nature, and we lived our life according to the desires of Satan, who kept us deceived but was actually controlling our interests in this world and our desires for our ungodly self-gratification. This is substantiated in Ephesians 2:2, where we read, "Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience." (KJV) Knowing this, or in other words, knowing what our belonging to Jesus Christ involves, "henceforth we should not serve sin" as our text states. We as children of God no longer are being forced to follow Satan's desire for us in life, and when we do, we are voluntarily and knowingly yielding our self to do his bidding. Instead of "living down" to who we are in Christ, we should endeavor to "live up" to who we are in bringing glory to the one who saved us by the amazing grace of God. In Colossians 1:13, God's Word tells us about the deliverance we enjoy as a result of our salvation. "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son." (KJV) That deliverance should cause us to make honoring our Savior, our Lord, and our master the main goal in our life.
Joey Durham is pastor at Open Bible Baptist Church at 180 Old Manning Road in Sumter. You can contact Pastor Durham at durham.joey@yahoo.com or call the church office at (803) 481-9315.