Our Daily Bread -- On the Edge

August 3, 2015

Read: Romans 6:16-23
Bible in a Year: Psalms 63-65; Romans 6

Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. —John 8:34

There’s an underground lava tube south of Kuna, Idaho, that has gained a certain amount of local notoriety. The only entrance, as far as I know, is a yawning shaft that plunges straight down into darkness.

Some years ago I stood at the edge of that shaft and looked down. I was drawn to venture closer and almost lost my balance. I felt a moment of heart-pounding terror and stepped away from the opening.

Sin is like that: Curiosity can draw us toward the darkness. How often have men and women gotten too close to the edge, lost their balance, and fallen into the darkness? They’ve destroyed their families, reputations, and careers through adulterous affairs that began with a “mere” flirtation but then progressed to thoughts and actions. Looking back they almost always say, “I never thought it would come to this.”

We think we can flirt with temptation, get very close to the edge, and walk away, but that’s a fool’s dream. We know an action is wrong and yet we toy with it. Then, inescapably, we are drawn into deeper and darker perversions. Jesus put it simply: “Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8:34).

And so, seeing our own need for God’s help, we pray as David did in Psalm 19:13, “Keep back Your servant also from [deliberate] sins; let them not have dominion over me.” —David H. Roper

Heavenly Father, whether we are being tempted now, or have fallen, we thank You that You are always there, and You love us with relentless love. We have nowhere to turn but to You.

A big fall begins with a little stumble.

INSIGHT: Having proven that all people are sinners and having shown how sinners are justified through faith in Jesus (Rom. 1-4), Paul now describes the new life we can have because of what Jesus did (chs. 5-8). We can live differently, we can choose not to sin, and we can live holy lives (6:1-14). In today’s passage, Paul warns that we become the slave of whatever we choose to obey (vv. 16-20). Rather than give ourselves to sin, we are to give ourselves to God (vv. 22-23). When we do sin, we bear the consequences of our sins and experience a lack of fellowship with God (Gal. 6:7-8). Sim Kay Tee

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