Devotion for January 18
By Bryan Chapell

Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (Rom. 6:13-14)

Many of us struggle to reconcile our desire to please God with the fact that we still sin. We ask the question, “God, will I ever be able to please you?”

The Apostle Paul makes it clear in Romans 6 that we are no longer under the control of sin. The grace of God has brought new life that should no longer engage in sinful pursuits or passions. But with the should is also a can – a promise of new ability.

Sin no longer has dominion over us; we are no longer slaves to sin. Yes, we all stumble and fall sometimes. But we do not have to remain defeated. We do not have to grovel in the dirt of our discouragement or surrender to repetitive failure.

God has granted us new life that is not powerless to resist sin. We have been freed from the guilt and power of sin. So, instead of groveling, we focus on believing; instead of surrendering, we start anew.

We believe the Bible’s promise of power for a new life, rejecting Satan’s lie that there is no hope or help for us. Then, by believing we can, we start to live again in the power that is ours by Christ’s grace.

Prayer:
Lord, thank you for delivering me from slavery to sin. Help me really to believe in that deliverance so that I start this day presenting myself to you as one who has been brought from death to life in Christ.

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