Title: Romans 6:15-23
Verse 22 of today's text begins with the words "but now". "But now" presupposes "before" and means that "now" is not the same as "before". In verse 19, the Apostle Paul says, "Because your flesh is weak, I speak according to the manner of men, as in the past you yielded your members to uncleanness and lawlessness, resulting in lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for holiness. We have already contrasted "before" and "now". And in verses 20-21 that follows, "When you were slaves to sin, you were free with respect to righteousness. What fruit did you obtain then? Now you are ashamed of it, for its end is death." are repeating.
What does the word holy mean? said to be distinct. God wants His chosen people to be set apart from the people of this world who do not know Him. Moses said to God, "How can we know that I and your people have found favor in your sight? Have you not separated me and your people from among all the peoples of the world, because you are walking with us?" (Exodus 33:16). When God shows kindness to His people, He sets them apart from among all the peoples under the world. In Leviticus 20:24, God says, "I said to you before, You will inherit their land, and I will give you a land flowing with milk and honey for your inheritance. Yahweh your God, set apart from among you.” Also in Leviticus 20:26, we see that he said, "Be holy to me, for I, the LORD, are holy, and I have set you apart from all the peoples to have you as my own."
This year we have spent a year under the church motto, "Sanctify me in the truth." Now, on the last Sunday of this year, we should look back on how much we have produced the fruits of holiness over the past year and how much we have tried to reach holiness. You should ask yourself how obedient and how righteous you were. You will have to look at how different you are from the people of this world and how different you are from your life in this world. And if you can't answer that question in the affirmative, you will have to make a new commitment to a holy life even before the year changes. “But now come to holiness,” I hope you will hear the words of God given to each of us today.
The society we live in is so deceitful, unjust, corrupt, and detestable. It seems that all of them are false, unrighteous, and corrupt, so that they do not even know that they are false, unrighteous, and corrupt. Because they are all black, they live without realizing that they are black. In this case, a white being should appear. Only then will the black people realize their darkness. It is a world in which black and white cannot be covered because everything is dark. At this time, you need a light that shines brightly in all directions. There must be salt to prevent spoilage. To whom did the Lord say that salt is the light of the world? aren't we? But did we live by salt as the light of this world? In this society in which we must shine, have we not lived in a hidden light, or a light that has been extinguished, and has become salt that has lost its taste and has been abandoned and trampled upon? If we are the hidden light, the extinguished light, and the salt that has lost its taste, we are no different from this world, and then we are not holy. If you are not holy, you are not God's chosen people. He said that those who are not holy have no eternal life.
But we are not the only ones who are criticizing and condemning politicians. We should ask more harshly why we Christians are failing to change this society. I heard that 40% of members of the National Assembly are Protestants and 25% are Catholics. Why, then, should the National Assembly, with Christians occupying nearly two-thirds of the seats, be so publicly condemned? The only answer is that there are so many Christians, both inside and outside Congress, who are nominally believers and unbelievers. A true Christian is not one who obeys the laws of the world's power, the logic of the political system, or the party's tactics, but only those who must obey God's laws. He is a person who has to pursue the truth and justice no matter how unfavorable and difficult the situation. Obedience to God's law, truth, and righteousness leads to holiness, that is, "different from the world." But isn't our society the way it is today because such people are so rare? Only when we are different from the world can we speak to the world and have the power to change the world.
Before we can look out of the church and lament, we must turn our eyes of reflection into the church. Before you can see others, you must first see yourself. How true and holy was my life this year? How much did I strive to be sanctified in the truth and pray for the Holy Spirit to work in me? Let's become all of us who humbly accept the Lord's command, "Now come to holiness," by humbly accepting the Lord's command, by thoroughly repenting of our shameful year of life, embracing all the problems and pains of our society today as our own responsibility. . If we do that, God will surely make the coming 2004 a blessed year for us.