Coffee With The Lord

God’s objective – His desire for a church or an individual is that they would “bear fruit for God” and no longer “bear fruit for death!”  I really don’t think we grasp how passionately our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, longs for us (as congregations and individuals within them) to bear fruit.  He want us collectively and individually to “bear fruit” more than anything else! (see John 15.1-7)

When the Bible talks about “fruit bearing” the point that the Bible is making is that those who are God’s  people – those who claim to be Christians – should produce a lifestyle, character and results in keeping with who they are (or claim to be).

This morning during “coffee with the Lord” I read Romans  7.1-6 and was especially impressed with verses 4-6 had to say about “bearing fruit ”Using the analogy of a marriage, Paul described the situation in the church at Rome and among the believers there as having been at one time “married to “the law” … He says the result of that union – the “fruit” of it was “death” (they were incapable of keeping the law).   As a result of that, he urges the believers there who have “died to the law” through Christ’s death on the cross to “be married to another” (the One who rose from the dead – Jesus Christ) and as “the bride of Christ” to “bear fruit for God!”

They had experienced death to an old way of life through Christ (i.e. they stopped bearing the fruit the old way of life produced).  Christ’s death on the Cross was in some real way their death to that old way of life – they had fully identified spiritually with His death on the cross.  Now they had embraced a new relationship – one that brought life!  The resurrection of Christ had brought life to them!  Now they were “bearing fruit for God” be serving God in the “new way of the Spirit”! 

As I read this passage this morning, I found myself praying this prayer… Oh Lord, may I recognize who I belong to!!  You want congregations and individuals to embrace and appropriate this wonderful truth!  I belong to Jesus!  I am now a part of as the “Bride of Christ” and my privilege and responsibility is to “bear fruit for God”!  As Christians the “life-dynamic” of the Holy Spirit is at work within us to do it!  Praise the Lord!

Freedom!  No longer in bondage!

The good news is, we don’t have to live in bondage to self and sin any longer!  We can live a life of moral and spiritual freedom.

The world’s lie is that doing the things the Bible forbids is freedom… Surprise! Surprise!! Surprise!!!  That just isn’t so… instead it leads to bondage, guilt, and regrets.  More than that, it leads to death!

Christ offers freedom… moral and spiritual freedom.  Serving the Lord is freedom!!  One day after another moving out of bondage and into the adventure of freedom in Christ!  I read about it this morning in the Bible…

“Shall we go on sinning because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not!  Do you not know that if you present yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in righteousness? … Having been freed from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness… Just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification… Now, freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit leading to sanctification, and the end is eternal life!  For the payoff of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord!!” (from Romans 6:15–23 NET Bible)

I’m determined to escape the “payoff” of sin!  Instead, I want to explore every aspect and dimension of “freedom in Christ” available to me!  Don’t you?  Living in freedom!!

This “coffee with the Lord” comment is for anyone who struggles with persistent, recurring sin in their life…  A number of years ago I read this passage when I was struggling with a recurring sin in my life and it gave me great encouragement and led to victory.  I believe it will be a blessing to you… I urge you to appropriate what it talks about and live out the reality of your baptism!

“Well then, shall we keep on sinning so that God can keep on showing us more and more kindness and forgiveness?  Of course not! Should we keep on sinning when we don’t have to? For sin’s power over us was broken when we became Christians and were baptized to become a part of Jesus Christ; through His death the power of your sinful nature was shattered.  Your old sin-loving nature was buried with Him by baptism when He died; and when God the Father, with glorious power, brought Him back to life again, you were given His wonderful new life to enjoy!

“You have become a part of Him, and so you died with Him, so to speak, when He died; and now you share His new life and shall rise as He did. Your old evil desires were nailed to the cross with Him; that part of you that loves to sin was crushed and fatally wounded, so that your sin-loving body is no longer under sin’s control, no longer needs to be a slave to sin; for when you are deadened to sin you are freed from all its allure and its power over you.  And since your old sin-loving nature “died” with Christ, we know that you will share His new life.  Christ rose from the dead and will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him.  He died once for all to end sin’s power, but now He lives forever in unbroken fellowship with God.  So look upon your old sin nature as dead and unresponsive to sin, and instead be alive to God, alert to Him, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

“Do not let sin control your puny body any longer; do not give in to its sinful desires. Do not let any part of your bodies become tools of wickedness, to be used for sinning; but give yourselves completely to God-every part of you – for you are back from death and you want to be tools in the hands of God, to be used for His good purposes.  Sin need never again be your master … you are free under God’s favor and mercy!”

Romans 6. 1-14 from the “old” Living Bible paraphrase – the TLB

Praise the Lord!!!