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What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? ~ Romans 6:1-2

 

After reading through Genesis 27, we could be tempted to draw an “ends justify the means” type of conclusion/application. The Lord promised Rebekah in Gen. 25:23 that, “the older shall serve the younger,” and Rebekah and Jacob’s scheme brought that to fulfillment so mission accomplished, right? If there is something we want and the outcome appears to be positive, it shouldn’t matter how we get there, right? Not so fast…As Pastor Danny highlighted in this week’s text, each deceitful plot hatched in Genesis 27 is equally sinful in God’s eyes. Rebekah and Jacob’s plot may have led to the promise of God being fulfilled in Jacob’s blessing, true enough, but can we really say that God blessed the path they took to get there? Consider the events of Genesis 29, just two chapters later, when Laban deceives Jacob in the Rachel-Leah switcheroo. We can also look further ahead to the example that Pastor Danny mentioned in Genesis 37 where Jacob is deceived by his sons concerning Joseph. A son deceiving father scenario…hmmm…where have we seen that before? Obviously, according to God’s standard, the ends do not justify the means and yes, even and especially His people, chosen by grace, are to submit to it in honor of and love for Him.

This is where the Romans 6 passage comes in. Off the heels of explaining how God’s grace abounds much more than the abundance of the believer’s sin at the end of chapter 5, Paul again anticipates what some of his readers/hearers will inevitably ask, “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” There’s that “ends justify the means” reasoning again. If sinning more makes grace abound more, then I should probably just keep sinning! “By no means,” says Paul, “How can we who died to sin still live in it?” Maybe we don’t think about this temptation in these terms, but doesn’t the “ends justify the means” approach find its way into all of our lives to varying degrees? Maybe we don’t say, “Well, I’ll just sin more so that grace can abound more,” but do we ever succumb to the temptation to deceive people in our lives, even if it appears to bring about a good result? “Well if they knew the truth, they would…” they would what? What does the word of God have to say? Maybe you’re like me with two big projects on my plate at work for this quarter. “Taylor,” my flesh whispers, “Wouldn’t it be easier to explain away this part of the project as being, ‘too complex’? C’mon. You could finish the project your way and, who knows? It might even be better.” Do I cave to these temptations or do I remember that, “no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account,” (Heb. 4:13).

How will we live this week? Will we pursue what we want on our own terms, employing deceit and saying, “the ends will justify the means.” Or, will we remember that we are not hidden from God’s sight, that we do not truly get away with anything, and that, “the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart,” (Psalm 19:8a).