Who controls your life?

Romans 6:12-14 (NLT)

Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

Unless you were saved at a very young age where you really cannot remember what it was like to live a sinful life, you know how sinful you used to be before you made that life-changing decision to give your life to Jesus Christ.  Committing your life to Jesus Christ put you under the freedom of God’s grace, not under the requirements of His law (Mosaic Law).  Jesus came not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it (Matt 5:17).  The Law was given to keep mankind safe and to remind mankind of the need for a Savior since no one can ever obey all of God’s commands (Deut 27:26, Gal 3:10-11).  Galatians 3:13 states that “Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law.  When He was hung on the cross, He took upon Himself the curse for our wrongdoing.   Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree”.   Really ponder the awesomeness of this truth, that Jesus Christ was willing to be cursed so that you and I can be saved from eternal separation and death.  When Jesus cried out “My God, My God, why hast though forsaken Me”, He was a cursed man at that point.  When Jesus did on the cross, that put an end to His believers having to follow Old Testament law (Rom 10:4, Gal 3:23-25, Eph 2:15).  Christians are now under the law of Christ (Gal 6:2) that follows what Jesus said are the two greatest commandments to follow (Matt 22:37-40).  The love of God is truly unbelievable, yet we still don’t seem to sufficiently appreciate it. 

Before you were saved in Christ, your sinful nature controlled your life.  You see such control in those who are not yet saved.  You remember this with your own life before you were saved.  Uncontrolled cursing and other foul language, selfish attitudes and actions, succumbing to addictions, rampant lying and other deceptive practices, greed, focus on worldly priorities like doing anything you can to get ahead, and so forth. 

After you were saved in Christ, what the apostle Paul writes in this passage should describe your changed life

n  Sin no longer controls the way you live; it is no longer your master.

n  You do not give in to sinful desires; rather you now give yourself completely to God because you have a new life.

n  No part of your body becomes an instrument of evil to serve sin; instead you use your body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.

n  You no longer live under the requirements of the law; instead you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

Sin will still exist in your life (read I John 1:8-10) but it no longer controls the life of a Christian.  Think of sin as some kind of building.  Those who allow sin to control their lives are always headed toward that building.  Those who are saved in Christ whose lives are no longer controlled by sin are always headed away from that building.  The building, representing sin, is always present, but it is the attitude and actions of people in relation to sin that differentiates who controls the life of that person.

Who or what controls your life?  Is there anything that you know is anti-Bible, anti-God, anti-Christian that is still prevalent in your life?  Is there any sinful habit that you know you have not yet given over to Christ?  Is there any part of your body---your mind, your mouth, your eyes, your heart, where you go, what you do with your hands---that you know are still instruments of evil, not doing what is right to the glory of God?  Confess whatever sin you have, but you also need to repent, i.e. make a conscience decision to move away from that habitual sin(s).  Yes, you will still stumble now and then, but your attitude and your actions must be to move away—far away—from that old sin that used to control you. 

A Christ-controlled (Holy Spirit-controlled) life is a life filled with freedom from the control and enslavement of sin and dedicated to living a life that pleases the Lord every day.  Does this describe your life?  All it takes is asking the Lord to take control, to put sin behind you, and to walk in His ways every day.  What a blessed life this is, now and forever.