Our Dreaded Opponent

 

“Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?”

—Romans 6:1b

I’m not a big fan of professional boxing. But, it’s hard to live in our society and not be at least peripherally aware of this pugilistic sport.

Obviously, a most exciting moment occurs when one opponent knocks out the other. In one of my favorite all time television shows, “Sports Night,” the on-air team prepares for the lengthy coverage of a major boxing match. But all their efforts are spoiled when, eight seconds into the round, the challenger scores a knock-out punch. The match is over. Now the broadcast team must fill a couple of hours of air time by playing that same eight seconds over and over again.

In the boxing match of life, we face a dreaded opponent: sin. Our adversary, Satan, has many tricks to try to lure us to abandon what we know is the way of righteousness and pursue a pathway of sin.

Fortunately, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, has dealt sin a knock-out punch. The Apostle Paul covers this quite well in Romans 6:1-14:

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

In the boxing match of life, God has counted sin “out” in our behalf. We are “dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Because that is the case, it seems wise if we decide to live as if sin was, indeed, dead.

Instead of seeking after sin, we should let the Holy Spirit lead us away from sin. When Satan comes to devour us, we should let the Holy Spirit protect us from that roaring lion.

By continually putting our trust in the God who loves us with His everlasting love, we let His life-giving stream of righteousness flow through us and touch the lives of those who cross our pathway.

Living in the reality that sin is dead gives us abundant, new, and exciting lives. And, that is certainly worthy of our praise.

 

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