God's Time
By Archie White II

Romans 6:14-23 NKJV
From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!
16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?
17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.
18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. NKJV

Life Application:
6:14-15
If we're no longer under the Law but under grace, are we now free to sin and disregard the Ten Commandments? Paul says, "Of course not." When we were under the Law, sin was our master. The Law does not justify us or help us overcome sin. But now that we are bound to Christ, He is our Master, and He gives us power to do good rather than evil.

6:16-18
In certain skilled crafts, an apprentice works under a "master," who trains, shapes and molds his the apprentice in the finer points of his the craft. Each person, whether he realizes it intentionally or not, chooses a master and patterns himself after that master. Without Jesus, we would have but one choice. We would have to apprentice ourselves to sin, and the results would be guilt, suffering and separation from God. Thanks to Jesus, however, we can now choose God as our Master. Following Him, we can employ ourselves under this new life and learn how to work for Him. Are you still serving your first master, sin? Or have you apprenticed yourself to God?

6:17
To obey from the heart means to give yourself fully to God, to love Him Òwith all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37). And yet so often our efforts to know and obey God's commandments can best be described as "half-hearted." How do you rate your heart's obedience? God wants to give you the power to obey Him with all your heart. The "form of doctrine" Paul refers to is the Good News that Jesus died for their our sins and was raised to give them us new life.

6:19-22
It is impossible to be neutral. Every person has a master - either God or sin. A Christian is not someone who cannot sin, but someone who is no longer a slave to sin. The believer belongs to God.

6:23
You are free to choose between two masters, but you are not free to adjust the consequences of your choice. Each of the two masters pays with his own kind of currency. The currency of sin is death. That is all you can expect or hope for in life without God. Christ's currency is eternal life - new life with God that begins on earth and continues forever with God. What choice have you made? HEAR W.E. GO! IT'S ALL ABOUT HIM!!

Finals Schedule