Reading In Romans 6 this morning Paul was explaining the relationship we have between sin and grace under the new covenant. There was (and still is) a misunderstanding or a misrepresentation commonly made among believers that just because our sin is covered under grace through Jesus that we aren’t supposed to “work out our sin” because we read in scripture that we can’t “work” to “earn” salvation. While this is absolutely true, Paul was explaining that under salvation through Jesus we are literally trading our lifetime relationship of bondage to sin, for a lifetime of servanthood to becoming like Christ. What I really pulled from this is that our obsession with our own selfishness is what keeps us in sin bondage, but when we really and truly understand the gift of salvation, our focus should shift from an attitude of trying our hardest not to screw up, to an attitude of, “what can I do today to become more like Jesus?” A heart of surrender to Jesus is what breaks the power of sin in our lives. When our focus is on ourselves, we are sure to trip up because we are looking at the wrong thing. When we look at Jesus with a mindset of “I want to be like Him” the focus shifts in a positive direction and the Holy Spirit empowers us to do what we struggle so hard and fail to do on our own. This is a daily surrender and because our interactions involve other people, and our responses and emotions get tangled up in the mix of it all, we have to be very careful to remind ourselves that we are all ultimately responsible to God alone in what he is requiring of us as individuals to step up to higher levels. I can’t be distracted by someone else’s response or someone else’s walk. I have to be held accountable by God for my own responses even if someone else behaves offensively toward me. I am accountable for growing in my own maturity toward Christ-likeness no matter what anyone else says or does. The beauty in this is that when we own our accountability and choose to be Christ-like in the face of opposition, we also get to stand in full and complete confidence that whatever wrong someone might try to inflict on me, God will absolutely take care of me, and I do not have to fight that battle myself. I only need to bring that concern to God and allow him to work out the details on my behalf. That is the benefit and the peace of mind that comes with being in complete surrender to Jesus.
