Romans 6:18 You have been set free and become slaves to righteousness.
"Righteous living is not an option for Christians. It is an obligation, mandatory for every child of God," writes Blackaby in response to today's verse. While technically we do have the choice to sin, it should not be considered an option for a Believer.
When we accepted Christ as Savior, we also accepted Him as Lord. As our Lord, He has the unqualified right to require righteous living from His subjects. There is never a time when it is okay to gossip, repeat an off-color joke, skip our quiet time with Him, divert tithes to a new iPad, etc. Each time we justify, rationalize, excuse, explain away or condone sin in our lives, no matter how "small", we are acting in direct disobedience to God.
If you asked the majority of Christian bread-winners if retiring from their career at age 40 was an option, most would answer, "No." You would receive the same response if you asked parents if it was okay to beat their children. Yet, Christians take advantage of God's grace and mercy multiple times a day. We smoke. We swear. We lose our tempers. We neglect alone time with God. Perhaps we bank too much on the "freedom in Christ" and not enough on the "slaves to righteousness".
For Christians, sin is not an option. Period. End of story. Final answer.
I realize this is much easier said than done, but if each Christian REALLY internalized this idea, perhaps we would be much more vigilant in our thoughts, words and actions.
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