What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?  (CSB)

I am a mom, former teacher, and now grandmother (“Mimi”). I’ve been around kids – from my own, to church kids, to public school children, for decades. While kids are cute, they also display their sin nature for all to see! What little one doesn’t seem to crawl straight for the thing they are NOT supposed to touch? In our house it’s plants and dog bowls. What kid doesn’t push the boundaries – whether it’s a simple don’t touch, not now, or don’t go there – to bigger boundaries like curfews and perhaps driving limits. It’s easy to see sin on display in kids, especially when we, as adults, have authority or are trying to teach the children in our lives obedience, safety, and following Jesus.  

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With children, there is discipline and training. We expect kids to learn and grow and to learn from the lessons and discipline that we provide. We don’t want them to keep pulling on plants, being mean to their siblings, telling lies, or being disrespectful to adults. As we disciple and teach, we also provide love and forgiveness. But does this love and forgiveness mean that we want or expect our kids to keep doing the same things? I’m patient with my one-year-old grandson who is learning his boundaries. But, if he’s four or five and still pulling on my plants, there will be a different response. I expect him to learn and grow and apply my teaching.

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Have you ever thought about what pushing the boundaries looks like to God? Our sin is not subtle to Him!

Paul, in his letter to the Romans, has already addressed the fact that we are all sinners and that there is no one who is righteous (Rom. 3:10,23). If you missed week 3 in the Romans series at church, go back and watch Pastor Brian’s sermon. He shared a whole list of things that sin is – including “not” doing the right thing and that sin is first against God. We are all in this same situation before God: sinners. Sometimes we like to minimize the extent of our sin and call it lots of other things, while also comparing ourselves to others to make ourselves look and feel better. But the reality is that sin is not just about our actions – our hearts are sick. As Pastor Brian put it, we don’t just lie, we are liars; we don’t just cheat, we are cheaters; we don’t just talk about others here and there, we are gossips.

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The amazing truth is that we have a Savior who redeems us – who takes on our sin so that we are forgiven and no longer carry the weight and the guilt of sin. Peter says it this way in 1 Peter 2:24: “[Jesus] himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness.” He died and paid the penalty for my sins. When I accept His gift of grace and acknowledge that He has covered all my sins, I am dead to sin. This simply means that my sin no longer holds a death penalty over me. I can live in freedom because of Christ’s sacrifice!

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That sounds so amazing and great, but the reality of living in a sinful world is that we often take our sin and guilt back on our own shoulders. And just because we accept Jesus as having paid the price for our sin, doesn’t magically mean that we suddenly stop sinning. If only it were so! No, we are like my grandson who keeps crawling to the plant or to the dog bowl. Still being tempted, still learning, sometimes resisting by God’s power and grace, and sometimes continuing to fall short.  

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In today’s verse, Paul reminds the Romans that those who have accepted the work of Jesus on their behalf are dead to sin. They are forgiven. Because Jesus has taken all our sin upon Him and died in our place – we can be dead to sin because of Him. Sin no longer rules over us. Paul is then goading them a bit with a rhetorical question: Should we sin just because He’s already paid the debt? Should we not be concerned about our actions and attitudes just because we know we are forgiven? Of course not! Just like with our children, we expect that as we discipline and forgive and love, they will grow in godliness. How much more does our Heavenly Father desire and expect this of us?

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I challenge you today to take time to read Romans – if you’re not up to chapter 6, go back to where you left off. Keep reading and chewing on the words that Paul wrote to the Romans and for us. God has things to say to each of us through His Word!  

Thank you, Jesus, for paying the price for my sin on the cross. You died – with my sin – so that I can live in freedom and grace. Help me not to take that grace lightly, but to continue to pursue holiness as I learn from you and walk in your ways.

Amen.