Obedient to Whom?

Romans 6:16

Photo by Thomas Willmott / Unsplash

Do you not know that when you go on presenting yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

Romans 6:16, LSB

Sin is sin is sin. We all struggle with our own various temptations and unrepentant sin, no matter what it may be, has the same eternal consequence: eternal separation from God. Sin is an addiction that will trap the one who presents himself or herself to it. We like to make differentiations to sin, similar to what we like to do with lies, but they are all the same. Thankfully, we have one who redeems us, and when we approach Him with a contrite heart, we find forgiveness. This does not excuse us in presenting ourselves to sin; the more that a person does this, the further from God he or she tends to move. It is easy to point out the obvious sins – sex, drugs, alcohol, gambling, pornography, murder, rape, etc. – they are easy to point out because excess is usually not something seen as a positive whether one is a devoted follower of God or not. God desires for us to begin by focusing on ourselves and laying before Him all of them. Then He can break those bonds and bond us to Himself setting us free from fear, doubt, shame, and pride and into His forgiving embrace.

Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.

.md\:h-10.md\:max-w-\[25rem\].lg\:h-\[3\.125rem\] { height: 6rem; }