Lottie

Q5. (Romans 6:18-22) In Paul's analogy in these verses, is there a place of independent freedom apart from "slavery" to sin or to Christ? Why do we long for this kind of independent freedom? Why do we hesitate to firmly take sides and make our allegiance clear to all? No, there is only slavery to sin or to Christ. We either choose to follow our own evil desires and sin or we follow Christ. There is no middle ground because we were born sinners. We long to be independent because it is in our nature from Adam amd Eve. We want to be able to do what we want and still follow Him but we cannot. We have to surrender everything to Him in order to follow Him. We sometimes hesitate because we fear man more than we fear God. We want their approval and God's but we cannot have both. We must choose this day whom we will serve.

Good doctrine if it istaken solely from God's Word will help us grown and become wise. It will help us learn how to treat others and relate to people in our culture. It will help us not only bring others to Christ by how we live but help us serve a hurting world where many wrongs are happening. We should honor good doctrine because it comes from Him and we are to obey Him. We are to listen to every word He says and study to be approved. We should honor it because it is the only way to live a holy life here and become like Him. We should avoid the kind of teaching that says it is allright to sin. The teaching that says we need Jesus plus good works to get to heaven, The doctrine that says we have to avoid certain foods or do certain things besides what He said. We are to avoid anything that is man centered and does not glorify God.

When we choose to sin and disobey God and do it more than once we are forming a pattern of obedience and becoming like slaves. Then we are trained to obey and follow after the world instead of God. When I choose to listen to and do what God tells me to do then I am creating a pattern of obedience to Him; like a slave does to his or her master. When we choose to do what we know is wrong then we are sinning and a slave to it. Our very acts or deeds chain us or enslave us to sin. Slavery or bondage is broken when we choose to accept Jesus as our savior and Lord of our life and follw Him whole heartedly. When we ask Him to forgive us when we do sin and let the Holy Spirit guide us instead. Obedience is crucial if we want to be free and live for Him. We need to make a habit of listening and obeying Him instead of sinning. Choosing to follow Him instead of doing things our own way. Obeying Him because of what He has done for us and who He is; will help us stay on track. My problem is nt spending enough time in prayer and Bible study. Letting other things get in the way of prayer and not having enough interest or ambition to do it. I know I need to listen to music and get back to where I need to be.

When I choose to let food control me instead of the Lord and overeat. When I choose to spend too much time on other things and not enough time with Him in prayer. When I choose to be lazy instead of work in the house. When I open my mouth and say something that I regret later. We sin because it is hard to break our old habits. We do it without rvrn thinking because it is like old nature to us. It takes a conscious effort to stop and pray before doing something and ask God about it. We are so used to doing what we feel is right it is hard to do anything else. I can choose to pray more by starting with the Lord's prayer and praying for others. I can pray using the Psalms as a guide. I can choose to stay out of the kitchen bewtween meals. I can ask God to help me say kind words to others. By remembering that God does not like lazy people and that I can be praying to Him as i work.

When we willingly offer our bodies to do unlawful or sinful acts then we are allowing sin to reign in our bodies. Whatever person or thing controls us is the one that we will obey. If we give ourselves over to Christ then we obey Him because we love Him. Ifr we give oirselves over to sin then we are in love with the world and the devil takes over.

Obedience means that we are under someone else's reign or rule. We do what they tell us to do. When we were slaves to sin we obeyed our sinful natures and did whatever we felt like doing , We gave free reign to our lusts and desires. But now we are under Christ and we obey Him . Sin no longer controls us but because we are united with the Lord now we long to serve Him instead.

It means that we are to consider ourselves dead to sin and that it no longer has power over us anymore. We are not slaves to sin anymore. We are alive with Christ who is our head. No because Christ actually died and was buried and rose again and we did too when we believed in Him. This is the truth; when we believed then we became one with Him and left our old life behind. The effect will be that we no longer sin willfully like we used to; that we no longer do the things we did before. We no longer hang around the same people or places. Now we have a desire to please the Lord not ourselves.

Our flesh or old nature was crucified when Jesus was crucified on the cross. It no longer has power over us anymore. It has been weakened since we are united with Christ now, We are freed from the domination and power of sin over us. We are not under sin anymore but under Christ. This means that now we no longer have to obey our sin nature. We are freed and we have His power working in us now.

Paul is referring to Christ's own death on the cross. It becomes our own when we come to believe in Him and are baptized and united with Him in His death. When we become united with Him then we have the power to overcome sin and live for Him.

We are buried with Him in His death and when he was buried we were joined with Him in it. Baptism is a form of burial since we go under the water just like Jesus was buried in the ground. Christ being raised up from the ground is like our baptism in that we are raised up when we come out of the water again.

We move from the headship of Adam to the headship of Christ once we are united and baptized into His death. We must acknowledge that we cannot do anything to earn our way into heaven or have our sins or trespasses forgiven. That Jesus is the only one who can die in our place for us and then accept what He has done for us. We must acknowledge that we cannot do anything to earn our way into heaven or have our sins or trespasses forgiven. That Jesus is the only one who can die in our place for us and then accept what He has done for us. We are redeemed and a part of His body, His bride. We are no longer condemned by justified. We are to love each other and the world.

Adam represents all humanity in that he committed the first trespass or sin and that because he sinned first we are all condemned because of his sin. Christ is our head because He died in our place for our sins and because of what He did we are justified, forgiven, cleanses and saved. We are able to enter into heaven because of what he has done. His death cannot be effective unless we admit we are unable to do anything ourselves. Unless we admit we have failed and are guilty of disobedience and deserve death. Until we admit defeat and ask Jesus to come and cleanse us and say that we believe He died for us and ask Him to free us from our sins and from death and give ourselves over to Him. Only then can his death become effective on our behalf.

Paul is saying that sin came into existence when Adam the first man, disobeyed God's command not to eat from the tree of life. Instead he listened to Eve who was enticed by the serpent and they both disobeyed God. Ever since then man has been under sin and the law; even before the law came into effect. Because God told me them that if they disobeyed they would die. The Law or 10 Commandments just makes the Law more visible and powerful now. Because now we know we really have no excuse and that we are willfully being disobedient and sinful. The Law points out to us what is the right and wrong things to do and that we will be judged and pinished. It shows us how sinful we are and how righteous God is.

When a king declares war and all the men in the nation have to go and fight in it like in Vietnam or in the war with Iraq. . When a presdent breaks the terms of a treaty and plunges the whole country into war. When Hitler decided that anyone who was not from the superior race was to be killed; he plunged Germany and other countries into war to prevent mass killings.

Reconciliation means the ceasing of hostility bewtween two people. The ending of estrangement with God and complete harmony now. We are friends with God and accepted into His family. Reconciliation is necessary because we cannot save ourselves. We cannot atone for our own sins and enter into His presence. Christ is the one who had to die in our place. We are being saved from the wrath of God. We are being saved from being sent to hell and eternal seperation from God or His presence. Now we have access to God through Christ. Jesus is our intercessor now. He pleads with God for us when we sin and reminds the Father what He did for us on the cross,

It is important so that we remember that He died for us when we did not deserve it. When we were at our worst and unholy and ungodly He still loved us enough to die for us. That now even though we might flub up and sin He will not discard us. We are His forever; and we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. No one can take us out of His hands.

Because we know that there is something better for us in heaven. And that suffering produces perseverance, tried character and hope. That God will cause something good to come out of all the trials we are going through. That we get closer to God and we have more joy even in our sufferings. Perseverance is the capacity to hold out or bear up in the face of difficulty. It is endurance and steadfastness in the face of hardships/ We hold on and and grab more firmly onto God's hand. Because we know in His strength, not ours, we will persevere and be fruitful. Character or experience is the trait that we acquire the longer we walk with God. The more we depend upon Him and see Him come through for us the stronger our faith becomes. Because we remember what He did for us before. Hope allows us to look ahead to the joy set before us and not at our circumstances. We know that we are secure in Him because of what He did for us and we know that He promised us a home in heaven.

Abraham believed in what God said and it was accounted to him for righteousness. He trusted that God would come through on His promise to Him. For us we have to believe in what Jesus did on the cross for us; that he was crucified, died and rose again. That because of what He has done; we are justified and are righteous in the sight of God. It means to have our sins totally wiped away and paid for by what Jesus has done for us. It means that we take on the righteousness of Jesus.

It means taking time to remember all that He has done for me. Taking time to remember who He is and that He wants to have fellowship with me. It means giving back what He has given me by praising and blessing Him and realizing that He is the giver of all good things. I try to do it in my prayers by acknowledging who He is and what He has done and using the various names of God in the bible, I sometimes sing hymns or songs in my worship time. It means that He loves me enough to want the best for me. He accepts me and wants me to flourish and grow.

The oil being poured on Aaron's head and running down onto his robe that describe how trur unity shold be. I think it is so hard because of people's pride and selfishness even in churches. How they fight over small things or want things their way. They want their rights over anyone else's. They think they are being ignored and will do anything to be noticed, Or they fight over control and power and run rough shod over other people. They are offended over the littlest things and let bitterness into their hearts. I think the main obstacle to love with me is impatience and misjudging others. I am a person who sometimes feels lonely even at church.

God told him. " I will make your your family and your decendants last forever. After you die your descendants will reiggn in your stead, I will build their kingdom. But if they sin I will punish them by causing their enemies to come against them and attack them. Yet I will never leave them and never stop loving them. Your kingdom will ast forever. Your throne will be forever. Solomon becamwe king after David and his son and grandson were king after him. Jesus is the Messaih the one David talked about and called Lord. The one who built a heavenly kingdom and will reign again on earth when He comes again.

Because God wants us to only know what is important for our growth, Sometimes He doesn't tell us why things happen or why He chose not to heal someone we know. He wants us to trust Him and recognize that His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. I wondered why I had to go through it and why I was treated so badly, I felt hurt and betrayed by our former friends. I spend time reading the word and praying ro Him. I tell Him all that's on my heart and try to leave it in His hands. It means to trust in God and let Him take care of you, It meqans leaning on Him and drawing closer to Him.

When I was teased and bullied in school. He eventually had me and my parents move to a different school where I made some friends and found a good church and a Christian family. Yes, when my former boss harassed me and the administrator was her best buddy. I did not say anything but endured it. In the end I had to quit my job there because she had people report back to her what I said. A year later I heard the place was in trouble and had to close and later my former boss died. I knew it was God who avenged me for what I went through there. I had put my whole heart and soul into the job and she just used me up. I had to give it over to God and forgive the ones who hurt me and I have to do it more than once when it comes to my mind.

It means having a healthy respect for God. Recognizing that He is great and we are small. He is the potter and we are the clay. We have no right to rebel against Him. He blessed me with a wonderful daughter and poetry; a good church family and a godly friend. He blessed me with people who help provide transportation to church, appointments and groceries. No, not in always being wealthy. Prosperity means being blessed in other ways like with peace in troubled times or being blessed with wisdom from others.

Because then we think that it all depends on us. We forget about God and what He has promised to do. Because we need to provide and protect our family,This is what God expects us to do. We are required to be stewards of all He gives us. We can learn to work hard to do what we can and leave the rest in God's hands. Because they can defend us before our enemies in the court. They can give us support and encouragement.