The Ash Wednesday Miracle
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Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Romans 6:12-14
Why do the Liberals hate the Apostle Paul so much? Well because they hate the One True Living God. The Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit states “Don’t let sin reign in your mortal body” This statement alone destroys Liberal Christianity, where there is no mention of sin, no mention of repentance, no mention of the cross, no mention of regeneration. As the Apostle Peter states “Abstain from the desires of the flesh” (1 Peter 2:11)
What does the world tell you? What does the fake liberal Christianity of today tell you? You are born this way, keep living the same lifestyle, God wants you this way. These are all lies from Satan himself. As Jesus said “Unless you are Born Again, you will not see the Kingdom of Heaven” (John 3:3) Do you understand as a Christian, you are crucified with Christ? (Galatians 2:20) If you are crucified with Christ, how can your old man continue to reign?
The Apostle Paul continues “Don’t present your members (body) as an instrument of unrighteousness of sin” If you are a Christian, you belong to The Lord, we were bought with a price! (1 Corinthians 6:20) But you believe you can still present your body for sin with the devil, you are deceived! You can’t partake at The Lords table and sit at the table with demons. (1 Corinthians 10:21) You are doubled minded and unstable in all your ways (James 1:8) Either you are Born Again in Christ, or you a spiritually dead (Ephesians 2)
The Carnal Church wants to feed the flesh, but as a Born Again Christian we must crucify the flesh daily (Galatians 5:24) As the Apostle Paul continues here “Present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead” Are you Born Again? Jesus said “You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16) A bad tree cannot produce good fruit, a good tree cannot produce bad fruit (Matthew 7)
Sin shall no longer be your Master (v14) Who is your Master? Is Jesus Christ truly your Lord or is sin your Master? Do you identify in Christ or do you identify in your sin? You are not under the law but under grace! Amen!
Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:8-11
What does it mean to be a Christian? Many people confess to be Christians, but do they live for Christ? Has their conversion to Christianity produced any noticeable change in their life? Does their neighbors , co-workers, or even family members, do they even know they are a Christian? This is why practices like infant baptism and “the sinners prayer” concern me, are we just producing false converts that have had no real transformation at all?
The Apostle Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, says “Now if we are dead in Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him” Have you died with Christ? You might ask what does that mean? Have you truly repented of your sins? (Mark 1:15, Luke 13:3) Have you turned away from your ways and turned to Jesus? Has your old self been crucified with Christ on the cross? Do you carry your cross daily? (Luke 9:23) And since our old self died with Christ, our new self has been risen with Christ! (2 Timothy 2:11) Is Jesus really your Lord? Or are you still a slave to sin?
We have been set free from sin and death by Christ (John 8) As Paul states here “Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead, dies no more, death has no more dominion over him” This is why In Christ we have victory! But we must have truly died and been raised by Him! Many people like the idea of eternal life, who wouldn’t, but most people don’t like the idea of dying to self, turning away from sin, serving The Lord. As Paul also states “Being Conformed To Him (Christ) In His Death (Philippians 3:10)
The Life He (Christ) Lives, He lives to God (v10) Do you live for God? Who is the Master of your life? As Jesus said “Nobody can serve Two Masters” (Matthew 6:24) The false convert says “Well I like Jesus and this and that” but The Lord said Nobody can have two masters, so who is your Master? Who do you serve? Where do you spend most of your time and money? You say “Well I go to Church on Sundays” that’s good, what about the other 6 days? Do you live for Christ?
The Apostle Paul states “Reckon yourself dead to sin, but alive to God through Christ Jesus our Lord” Your only life source is Jesus Christ, otherwise your already dead. Doesn’t this create any reverance in your heart? Doesn’t this reveal anything to you? So I’ll end with the same question, do you die with Christ? If so, are you living for Christ? Amen!
For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Romans 6:5-7
The Apostle Paul continues to teach us what the “New Life in Christ” looks like for Born Again believers. Remember we are buried in Christ death and raised with Christ to walk in the newness of life. Paul continues “For if we have been planted or united together in the likeness of his death” As Paul also says “I have been crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20) When Christ died on the cross for your sins, He took your place, You as a Christian were crucified with Christ.
As our old self was crucified with Christ, “we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection” Our new self is raised with Christ, we are Born Again in Jesus. As Paul also states “You are a New Creation in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:7) This is what baptism symbolizes, the death of our old self and the resurrection of our new self. We are Born Again in Christ (John 3:3)
So knowing “our old man is crucified with Him (Christ)” this means you are no longer a slave to sin. As Jesus said “If the Son Sets You Free, You are Free Indeed” (John 8:36) We are no longer living in the same sins as a New Creation in Christ, as Paul also states here “we should not serve sin” You are no longer chained to these old sins, you have been set free by The Lord Jesus Christ, you are no longer a slave to sin but to Christ
As The Lord Jesus said “Everyone who sins, is a slave to sin” (John 8:34) The religious leaders told Jesus they were not a slave to anyone, however they were mistaken, everyone is either a slave to sin or a slave to Christ. There is no other option, but in Christ there is freedom and grace. While many feel they are free to live in their sins, its actually destroying their bodies and souls. They are servants of wickedness, liked a dog going back to his vomit (Proverbs 26:11)
For He that is dead is freed from sin (v7) Through the death of your old self, you have been freed in Christ. As the Apostle Paul also says “If we died with Him, We will also live with Him” (2 Timothy 2:11) So I ask you this question, have you been crucified with Christ? Are you still a slave to sin or a servant of Christ? In Jesus we have been set free, raised to walk in the newness of life, be led and filled with the Holy Spirit, Amen!