Romans 6:15-18 ( NKJV )
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
This week we have studied the three things that Paul says we must do in order to walk in Righteousness. These things are found in Romans chapter 6. First we must identify with the ministry of Jesus in the cross and the resurrection. Second we must reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God. Finally we must yield our members, our body, to God and not to sin. We have a responsibility to see to it that sin does not control us. We do this not by law but by grace. Both law and grace lead us to walk in a way pleasing to God, however a law approach focuses on sin while a grace approach focuses on God. Instead of working to not sin we work to yield to God. (See Hebrews 4:11)
How do we yield our members to God? This is a major question for all believers. We live in a physical world. There are physical responsibilities that must be met and physical temptations that must be faced. How do I practically yield my life to a God I cannot see? I believe there are some definite things we can do that will lead us to this condition.
If we want to yield to God the first place we need to look is the Word of God. We cannot see or hear God in the natural, but we can see, hear and touch the Bible. The bible is not just God’s book it is His Word. This means it is the revelation of His character and of His will for every person. When I read it I read his thoughts. Not only that but Hebrews 4:11 says the bible is a living things. It contains the life and power of God in the form of a seed.
If we want to have the power of righteousness work in our lives we must yield to God. If we want to yield to God the place to start is by yielding to His word. How do I yield to the Word of God? I yield to it by making the Word of God the final authority in my life, by accepting it’s truth as the highest truth and by doing what it says to the best of my ability. It is just that simple. When I do the Word I am Yielding to God.
Second I must yield to worship. Worship is that time when I express my faith and love towards God. It is not a time just to sing songs or perform a religious duty. It is a time to open my heart to the Lord and let Him in. Whether during my private time with God or in a public worship service I need to really open my heart and express my love to God. When we do, yielding becomes a natural result. Hebrews 10 says that when we draw near to God He, in turn, draws near to us. It is not difficult to yield to God when He is near to you.
Finally we need to yield to the dealing of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God lives in the believer. He is constantly working to influence us in our decisions and actions. How many times have we all said, “I knew I shouldn’t have done that.”, or some variation after we have made some mistake. If we would learn to yield to that voice we would be far more successful. We become more familiar with the dealing of the Holy Spirit by doing the first two things. His Word is his voice. When I am familiar with His Word I will know his voice. Worship makes my soul more sensitive to God. When I respond to the Holy Ghost in the worship service I am cultivating the tools necessary to respond, or yield, to him in my everyday life.
Begin where you are. I believe the Word is always the place to start. Take some time to really respond to God in worship. When you hear that still, small voice, obey it and see how things will begin to change.
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