19 I am speaking in familiar human terms because of your natural limitations. For as you yielded your bodily members [and faculties] as servants to impurity and ever increasing lawlessness, so now yield your bodily members [and [d]faculties] once for all as servants to righteousness (right being and doing) [which leads] to sanctification.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
21 But then what benefit (return) did you get from the things of which you are now ashamed? [None] for the end of those things is death.
This is what is missing with so many who stumble at our freedom in Christ: they don’t realize that we have been enlightened with the Holy Spirit. They don’t understand that we now have Jesus’ very mind and so we know that sin has no benefit, 1 Corinthians 2:16. When our Father grafts us into The Vine, which is Jesus, not only is the penalty of sin removed from us, the pleasure of sin is removed as well. We now have the same attitude towards sin that Jesus has. Our Head doesn’t enjoy murder, lying, stealing, or any other harmful act, so how can His body? People need to know that we now actually have the Mind of Christ and our minds now desire righteousness as much as Jesus desires it. Righteousness allows us to serve others and further the Kingdom of our Father.
Far too many people believe that sin still holds power over us. As long as a person believes that the ability to sin or not to sin lies within themselves, they will desire to sin. Our Father made us this way. He demands that we look unto Him to Author and Finish our faith, Hebrews 12:2. The Truth sets us free and the Truth is that through Christ we are free from sin, John 8:32. The Truth is there is no longer any law to convict us with, Romans 8:2. The Truth is that we are now more than conquerors through Christ, Romans 8:37, and the Truth is that Jesus is greater in us, then anything that is in this world, 1 John 4:4.
22 But now since you have been set free from sin and have become the slaves of God, you have your present reward in holiness and its end is eternal life.
We are now free from sin and our present reward is that we are truly Holy. In this world we are Holy. Man, I really do not believe that people know this glorious Truth. We absolutely need to preach this from the rooftops. Far too many people believe that they are still under a curse, when the Truth is that Jesus has redeemed us from the curse, Galatians 3:13. They believe that our Father is against them because of their actions. Our Father knows our limitations because He made us, Romans 11:32. He isn’t angry at us. He has given us full access to His grace. Our actions, whether good or bad, in no way limit our Father from taking care of us. He never leaves us and He never forsakes us, Hebrews 13:5. Where sin abounds, our Father’s grace much more abounds, Romans 5:20. We are now one with Jesus and He has given us His very glory, John 17:
23 For the wages which sin pays is death, but the [bountiful] free gift of God is eternal life through (in union with) Jesus Christ our Lord.
The effects of sin have been destroyed through Christ. Jesus did away with the law of sin and death. We are now Holy and we now possess eternal life. These things are not waiting for us in Heaven, they are our possessions right now. We posses them every bit as much as Jesus possess them. That is what salvation has freely given us.
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