10/29/23 - Choose The One You Serve - Romans 6:15-23 - Pastor Jason Fritz

Last week we heard from the apostle Paul as he explained the effects of God’s grace in our lives. Some erroneously believed that because God forgives, they can just go on wilfully sinning. In fact, some made the argument that if we sin more, then God has to give us more grace and when God gives grace that just makes him look better. So we should sin more, therefore revealing God to be good. Paul answers with a resounding, “No!" You don’t understand grace. 

A proper understanding of grace should lead you away from sin, not towards it.

Maybe you’ve heard this excuse before. It’s actually been used by prominent Pastors who have had moral failures and then say something like this, “I know it’s wrong. I am God’s child and I am under grace and He will forgive me.” The error here is in thinking that one’s freedom is unshackled and it minimizes the fact that sin is extremely powerful and will pull you deeper and enslave you further. 

This thinking is deadly.

To be enslaved is to be controlled. Now here’s the thing…we are all slaves to something or someone including ourselves. That is to say, we are slaves to our own flesh. The apostle Paul was keenly aware of this and that’s why he begins his letter to the Romans describing himself in this way…

"Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God” Romans 1:1

The Greek word for servant is doulos and it literally means to be owned by someone for a lifetime. Paul understood that everybody serves someone. He also knew what it meant to live a life serving unrighteousness. It leads to death. 

Let’s understand how deceitful a master sin is. It will make you think you are free when in fact you are in the hands of a destroyer. Remember the story of Pinocchio, Geppetto’s wooden puppet who longs to be a “real boy”? One night, his wish was granted, but on his way to school, he was lured by the wily fox, Honest John, who promises Pinocchio stardom as a “live puppet without strings.” Sadly however, Pinocchio finds himself locked up and enslaved by the fox. He is freed by his friend but shortly thereafter he’s lured again to Pleasure Island where he can live as he wants. There he learns that his new life of freedom will quickly turn him into a donkey. In one very pointed scene you can see the terrified look on the little boy’s face as he’s trying to run away but it’s too late. Pinoccian is being transformed into an animal. It’s creepy, sad and profound.

The theme of the fairy tale is that we must be on guard for ways that look like freedom but actually lead to enslavement and death. This story isn’t just for children. It is a creative illustration of sin’s enticement leading to bondage and a diminishment of one's humanity. Obedience to Jesus is the key to our liberation and true freedom.