DEVOTION – DAY 576

Romans 6:5-6 “Say No To Sin”

Romans 6:5-6 “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.”

The above verses tell us that when a person decides to be united with Jesus Christ and calls upon Him as their Lord and Savior, they are united with Him, in death ie, they agreed that they are putting to death their old sin nature, all their past and failures. They are also united with Jesus in His resurrection. At their conversion, they are raised to a new life as a Christian. They have left behind their old sinful nature. This means they are no longer dominated by old sinful habits. They have the power to resist and flee from sin’s temptations. They have been set free from their bondage to their sinful habits. Their old sinful self is still there but it has lost its grip on them.  Jesus Christ is now their Lord and the Holy Spirit will help them to resist all sinful habits. 

We know someone who was addicted to pornography. It was easily available on his handphone and IPad. He did not think it was wrong to look at pornography. After all, so many of his peers were also enjoying pornography. But after he became a Christian, something happened. Every time he looked at pornography, he felt guilty and began to feel that he had somehow become dirty. He tried to shrug off such feelings but whenever he looked at pornography, it was no longer as fun. Instead, he had a feeling he was doing something he shouldn’t. 

He went to discuss his struggles with an elder in his church. His elder explained the dangers of pornography, how it destroys the minds of people who are addicted to it. All addictions is a form of idolatry and the sin of pornography ultimately damages relationships with others because it sets unrealistic expectations about sexual behavior, including perversions of all kinds. The elder prayed with and for this young man. The elder also offered to be his accountability partner to follow up on his struggles. In the end, this man managed to overcome his addiction to pornography. He made the decision to bar these websites from his social media devices. He was freed from his bondage to sin.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for setting us free from the bondage to sin. Please help us to flee from all temptations to sin. Please grant us the strength to resist falling into sin. Help us to be faithful to you always. We humbly pray in the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Questions

  1. What addictions and sinful habits have you been struggling with?
  2. What steps have you taken to resist these temptations to sin?
  3. Why must you cease such addictions and sinful habits in your life?
  4. Share how you have overcome a sinful habit in your past? You sharing may help someone who is facing a similar issue.