Romans 6:6-11 :: Sinner or Saint?

Romans 6:6-11 in The Message and TNIV

If my old way of life really was nailed to the Cross with Christ, why does it keep rearing its ugly head?  If I am included in Christ's sin-conquering death, why do I still have to fight with sin?  Other translations say that I am free from the power of sin, but sometimes it really doesn't feel like it. I know in my head that sin speaks a dead language and means nothing to me, but I still want to listen to it and I still find myself speaking it from time to time.

Questions like these are real to a lot of people...maybe even to you.  And if I am totally honest with you, they are real to me sometimes.  I don't drift into "big sins" since I became a Christ follower (but I didn't really before either).  I don't get wasted on the weekends, I don't contemplate murder, I don't have illicit affairs...those things are pretty easy to stay away from.  Is that because sin has no power over me?  Maybe.

I do however drift into "little sins" almost daily.  I struggle with thinking Christ-like thoughts about people. I struggle with laziness sometimes.  I struggle with pride.  I struggle with the things that aren't easily seen by others.  What's the deal?  Did the "power over sin" miss these little ones because it was so focused on the bigger ones?

What have you been taught about the power of sin and your ability to defeat it?  Do you see yourself as free from sin and able to say no, no matter what the sin may be?  Do you believe that the power won't fully be realized until after we leave this earth for heaven?  Do you see yourself as a sinner or a saint?

 

Anyone Getting Excited?

Today, we had our weekly staff meeting and as we discussed what we have been reading in Romans, it got me excited about where we are heading this fall.  I was wondering if any of you were also anxiously expecting something?

Check out these two passages:

"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth:  it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." 

- Isaiah 55:10-11 (TNIV)

"For the word of God is alive and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." 

- Hebrews 4:12 (TNIV)

If we really believe the bible to God's written word to us, then we must believe these words to be true.  If we believe these words to be true, then an embarking on a book like Romans must be met with some sort of anticipation, right?

What are you anticipating?