Slaves: To Sin Or To Righteousness

Romans 6:16-22 (Amplified) Do you not know that if you continually surrender yourselves to anyone to do his will, you are the slaves of him whom you obey, whether that be to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience which leads to righteousness (right doing and right standing with God)? 17 But thank God, though you were once slaves of sin, you have become obedient with all your heart to the standard of teaching in which you were instructed and to which you were committed. 18 And having been set free from sin, you have become the servants of righteousness (of conformity to the divine will in thought, purpose, and action). 19 I am speaking in familiar human terms because of your natural limitations. For as you yielded your bodily members [and faculties] as servants to impurity and ever increasing lawlessness, so now yield your bodily members [and faculties] once for all as servants to righteousness (right being and doing) [which leads] to sanctification. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But then what benefit (return) did you get from the things of which you are now ashamed? [None] for the end of those things is death. 22 But now since you have been set free from sin and have become the slaves of God, you have your present reward in holiness and its end is eternal life.

We are all slaves, but slaves to what? Are we slaves to sin, which leads to death, or slaves to righteousness, which leads to eternal life?

God has created all of us with a will to choose. We can choose to disobey Him and walk in our own ways, doing what seems right in our own eyes, thinking all the time that we are "free," yet in reality being slaves of sin and headed for death.

Proverbs 14:12 (Amplified) There is a way which seems right to a man and appears straight before him, but at the end of it is the way of death. (Also Proverbs 16:25)

We can also choose to walk in obedience to Him, living by His rules, submitting our hearts and wills to Him, trusting Him to lead us in paths of righteousness that lead to life, and giving Him the place of Master in our hearts & lives. Everything we do speaks of who is on the throne of our heart and to whom we are yielding: whether self and sin or Yeshua and righteousness. We cannot serve both at the same time; it's either one or the other.

Today may my heart ackowledge Yeshua the Messiah as my Master, my LORD, my King and my God and may I walk in all of His ways with all of my heart! Amen.