June 27, 2023
Today’s Reading: Romans 6:12-23
Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 8:1-21, John 12:36b-50
“But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” (Romans 6:17–18 ESV)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. One of the common storytelling tropes is that of someone selling their soul to the devil. It has been used in all manner of books and movies over the years and is familiar to most people. The problem with it is that you are not free to sell your soul because it is not yours to sell. You don’t own it. This is the reality of the fall into sin. You are not born in a neutral state with a decision to make between good and evil. You are born enslaved to sin. God and Satan are not opposite ends of the spectrum of human choice because you are not free to choose. This is the human condition, born into slavery to sin without any natural ability to seek freedom. You can’t break the chains of sin. You can’t run away from sin, and you cannot choose to not sin.
The amazing truth of the Gospel is that what you could not do, God did for you. He purchased you with the life of His Son Jesus. You were bought with a price. Because of Jesus you have been brought from death to life. You have been set free from sin but you are also under new ownership. You were a slave of sin, now you are a slave of righteousness. The direction of your life has been changed because of Jesus. Before your slavery could only lead to lawlessness piled upon lawlessness. Now your slavery leads to righteousness piled upon righteousness.
You were under the dominion of the law but now you are under the dominion of grace. Your sinful nature remains, but you are no longer a slave to it. The God who bought you does not leave alone free but helpless in a hostile world. He who bought you remains with you. Jesus who saved you is the same Jesus who washed you in the waters of Baptism, and feeds you with His very body and blood in Communion. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Before you could only earn death, but now you have been given the gift of eternal life. You were a slave of sin but now you are a slave of God. Slavery to sin can only lead to death, but slavery of God leads to eternal life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
The everlasting Son Incarnate deigns to be, Himself a servants form puts on To set His servants free. (The Advent of Our King, LSB 331:2)
-Pastor Grant Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, California.
Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.
Study Christ’s words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
