The Book of Romans ~ Lesson Twelve

"Benefits of Grace"

Romans 6:1-12 (NLT) Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
   Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
   Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires.

When a person gives the control of their lives over to the Living Savior Jesus the Christ, we accept His death as ours. We are raised from the inevitable death that is ours into a resurrected new life in Him. His grace is our grace. His love is our love. His life is our life and His life is eternal.

Being in this earthly body we are tempted to sin and sometimes succumb to it. But, because of the grace found in Jesus we find forgiveness. Paul writes that sin doesn't increase God's grace. God's grace is always enough. There is no grace found in sinning. There is grace found in repentence and obedience in Jesus.

Colossians 3:1-4 (NLT) Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.  And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

How do you view God's grace? Do you think that when you sin you can just ask for forgiveness later? I lived that type of life for a long time. It's an insult to God to reject His will and walk our own path, then ask for forgiveness when we really mess up. We wonder why He doesn't answer our prayers right away. But really, think about it, when we are turned from Him, we can't hear Him. Walking closely with Jesus brings direction and healing from Him. He waits for us to turn to Him to speak.

2 Corthinthians 4:7-10 (NLT) We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
   We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

"We...are like fragile clay jars, containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God." Because we are fragile, we must depend on the power of Jesus that resides within us. We can't fix anything in our lives. Only Jesus residing in us in the form of the Holy Spirit can accomplish the impossible. Sin only weakens our already fragile state if we choose to live in it. But, the Holy Spirit builds us up and restores us.

Galatians 5:22-24 (NLT) But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
   Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

I love the benefits of living life according to His will. Look at them:
   * love ~ joy ~ peace ~ patience ~ kindness ~ goodness ~ faithfulness ~ gentleness ~ self-control.
If I love them so much then why do I not fully tap into the Holy Spirit living within me? It is my prayer that I focus, we all focus, on walking closely with our Savior Jesus. His grace is abundant to those who call Him Lord. He's waiting on us. He loves us. He's always ready to take us in His arms and shield us.

Dear Lord,
   Draw us closer to You. Help us remember the benefits of living by the power of Your Holy Spirit dwelling within us. Thank you for this phenomenal and undeserved gift of grace. We love you!