Romans 8:14-17 (NIV)

¹⁴For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. ¹⁵The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. ¹⁷Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Reflection

When we change jobs our relationship with the old and new employers change. We are no longer obligated to one and we enter into new obligations with the other. To an even greater extent, our allegiance to old ways have been broken and we enter into a new way to live. But this is not just a trading of one master for another. The nature of our relationship with God is completely different. We used to live as slaves. In contrast, now we live as sons and daughters. We are children who by the Spirit’s help cry out to God as Father, children who participate in the work that the Father is doing, children who are not left up to their own devices in how to live, but can follow the Spirit of God in us.

Responding to the Transmission

We now have relationship with God, a relationship that is totally unlike the old. It doesn’t make sense to live in old ways, nor does it work. Everything is different, and thanks to God we are not left on our own to figure this out. He gives us His Spirit to lead us, to help us fully embrace and live in this new relationship. Let’s cry out Abba, Father and welcome His work in and through our lives. Let’s receive today the Spirit’s powerful help, leaving the old behind and living in the new. God has much to give us!

Philippians 3:7-11 (NIV)

⁷But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. ¹⁰I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

Reflection

When we find gum wrappers or lint in our pockets, it’s so easy for us to toss it. It’s garbage. We don’t give it a second thought. Then there are some things that we keep around forever because it means so much to us or it has made some lasting impression. In this passage, it’s saying whatever it is, it is now all a loss for the sake of Christ. Everything else is garbage compared to knowing Christ our Lord not because those things are all bad or inherently garbage, but because knowing Christ is so much better than all those things. They no longer matter and are blown out of the water. Our identity and righteousness are not based on what good or bad stuff we have done or what we have or don’t have, but rather on what Christ has done and His presence in our life.

Responding to the Transmission

What marks us? What defines us? What do we hold on to as most valuable? For Paul it is Christ and Christ alone. And because of what Christ has done for us, this is true for us as well. It may not be as clear as it was for Paul and sometimes we live acting like this is not true. But as we come to our Father today, we can again lay at His feet our prized possessions (what we love about ourselves) as well as things that have just lingered with us. Let’s bring good and bad, our best memories and worst memories. May we know again that everything else is worthless compared to knowing Christ and experiencing righteousness that comes from Christ. Let’s say yes to knowing the power of His resurrection and even participation in His sufferings. Let’s pray for God’s mission and for others to experience the power of His resurrection.

Romans 6:1-14 (NIV)

¹What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? ²By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? ³Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

⁵For 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. ⁶For 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—⁷because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

⁸Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. ¹⁰The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

¹¹In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. ¹²Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. ¹³Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. ¹⁴For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

Reflection

Once when being taught about baptism, a four year old responded, “I know what baptism is, I get baptized everyday in my bathtub.” While there is an aspect of cleansing that takes place in baptism, the experience is richer as we see in this passage. Baptism is placed parallel to Christ’s death and resurrection and captures not just a being made clean from sin, but a complete dying and separation from sin and old ways. With Christ we are raised to a new life that is no longer under the same control. Not that we are no longer able to sin, but the power that sin once had has been broken. Sin is completely out of place and unfitting for those in Christ. And by the power and grace of God it is something that we can leave behind.

Responding to the Transmission

This is all possible because Christ went first, in death and in resurrection. We can be united with Him in both, dead to the old and lifted up out of the water into the new. We are now free to live in the grace of God. Our old sinful living has been crucified with Christ, so that we are no longer slaves to sin. So, let’s not stay in the old. Let’s pray that we would experience this grace daily in our lives. Let’s pray that God would be glorified as we live in resurrection power. Let’s pray that would be instruments of His righteousness on our campuses, in our communities and cities.

Galatians 2:20 (NIV)

²⁰I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

Reflection

The goal of genetic studies is to tell us what our DNA has programmed us to be and to do, in other words what the outcome is. Some outcomes are more visible and obvious such as whether we are male or female, or what color hair and eyes we have. Other outcomes are more subtle, affecting what habits we form, and making us prone to sin in certain ways. Maybe we’re more defensive, easily angered, or quick to judge. We might want to say “that’s who I am” or even that my DNA said so and that’s my outcome. But what these verses say is that in Christ, our outcome has completely changed. In some sense, we have new DNA, where our program is in Christ and our outcome is the newness in Christ. Our old sinful way of living has been crucified with Christ.

Responding to the Transmission

In Christ, our lives are not stuck. If we feel like we have certain sins repeating in our lives as if we’ve been programmed that way, may we declare today that the old is gone and the new has come. Christ loved us and gave Himself for us through the cross, and we can now live in incredible freedom. Let’s pray and believe that our old sinful way of living has been crucified with Christ, and we are new creations who live by faith in the Son of God.

1 Corinthians 15:54-57 (NIV)

⁵⁴When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

⁵⁵“Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?”

⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Reflection

Facing the reality of death is sobering. Anyone who has been at the side of someone who is dying knows it is not something light. Even though Paul here is taunting death, he is not taking it lightly. The opposite is true. He can say this because he is convinced that death has been disarmed and that its sting, sin, has been removed. Although we still face death, it is not something that has a hold on our lives as we have the hope that we will be raised to life again, clothed in bodies that will never face death again. This hope is guaranteed through Christ’s victory on the cross and demonstrated through His own resurrection. Death along with sin have been stripped of their power through the work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Responding to the Transmission

This is the impact that Christ’s work has both now in this life, but also beyond this life. Death no longer has the final say for all who believe in Christ. This passage serves as a reminder to the extent that Christ’s victory affects our lives, but also as a triumphant battle cry. Let’s join in with the cry today as we embrace what Christ has done. As we continue to reflect on the cross and resurrection let’s declare the victory of our Lord over sin and death, a victory that we receive into our lives.