Those Who Have Been Brought from Death to Life.

Those Who Have Been Brought from Death to Life. Rom 6:13

13 Do not continue offering or yielding your bodily members [and faculties] to sin as instruments (tools) of wickedness. But offer and yield yourselves to God as though you have been raised from the dead to [perpetual] life, and your bodily members [and ifaculties] to God, presenting them as implements of righteousness. AMP

In the 1970s a popular bumper sticker read: "Today is the first day of the rest of your life." For people like Ray, this is literally true. Seriously ill with cancer a few years ago, some thought that he might die. Now healthy, each sunrise is an unexpected gift to Ray. "It is amazing how your perspective changes when you are dying," he explains. "You begin to appreciate the smallest effort."

Recently, a young woman who feared that she might also have cancer made a similar observation to me: "I used to like to shop for antiques. Now I think, "What if you are dying? Isn't there something better you could be doing with your time? This is just someone else's junk.'"

The approach of death often changes the way we view our actions. The things that seemed so pressing before are now easily shelved. The objectives that appeared so worthwhile a short time earlier now look trivial and foolish. This change of perspective is what some of the older writers meant when they spoke of the ability to "die well." Jeremy Taylor, the seventeenth century Anglican bishop who wrote the classic work Holy Dying, noted that God is remarkably frugal with time: "He has scattered the sky with stars like a gardener scattering grass seed over a lawn. He has made an incredible variety of animals. He has provided us a wide choice of food and drink, even though a very few would have kept us alive. Yet God parcels out time carefully, drop by drop.

When we suddenly realize that we have reached the limit of the moments apportioned to us by God as our share of this life, every deed becomes precious. The seconds, once carelessly squandered, now come under close scrutiny. The value of each one is carefully weighed in the balance, like the miser trying to extract the last few motes of gold dust from the bottom of his bag.

In this verse, the apostle Paul asks for a similar transformation of our perspective, but for a very different reason. We are to evaluate every thought, word, and action, not because we stand at the end of life, but because we are poised like runners at the beginning. "Offer yourselves to God," he urges, "as those who have been brought from death to life."

Sadly, there are many Christians today who are ready to die but unprepared to live. They know only that Jesus Christ has assured them a place in heaven. But what they don't realize is that this heavenly reality also has earthly implications. The Bible tells us that those who have trusted in Christ have died with Christ. As Paul puts it, they are "dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Rom 6:11). They have been given far more than "a new lease on life." Through the power of the Holy Spirit, they have a new life principle at work in them. As a result, they no longer have to let sin reign in their lives.

In effect, Paul says that once we are in Christ we are no longer compelled to allow the sin principle to function like a king in our lives. Very few kings hold absolute power today, but in biblical culture, the king's word was to be obeyed. Prior to my coming to faith in Christ, sin functioned similarly. Sin was the ruler and I was its servant. I did not always like its directives, but there was little that I could do about them.

Sin is a cruel monarch and knows nothing about moderation in its treatment of those who serve it. When sin reigns, it reigns to the point of death (Rom 5:21). The apostle's point is that through the cross we have shifted our allegiance to a new master. When we come to Christ, we are to offer ourselves as servants to God and the parts of our body as instruments of righteousness.

There is an important order in this command. Before we offer the parts of our body in service, we must first offer ourselves to God "as those who have been brought from death to life." It has been said that some of the slaves who were freed from slavery after the Civil War continued to live with their old masters and serve them. They did so because they knew of no other way of life. The same can be true in the spiritual realm. We must know what we are in Christ before we can know what to do for Christ. I can not offer my body in service to God if I do not understand that I have been given a new ability to do so.

The Greek word that is translated "instrument" literally means "tools." When we place ourselves at God's disposal, we become tools of righteousness. Otherwise, we are tools of sin and death. Interestingly, this same word can also be translated "weapon." In God's hands, we become weapons of righteousness. But we can also become weapons of sin.

Once, while helping a former missionary clean out his basement, I came across an old spear. I was impressed by its smooth lines and deadly point. As I hefted it, I felt its balance and imagined how it must have been used in the hands of its original maker. Perhaps it was used to supply meat for the tribe or to defend against its enemies. In the hands of the wicked, it might even have been used for evil purposes. But there in the basement it served neither purpose, existing only as a curious artifact in an alien culture.

This can never be true of those who are in Christ. Like it or not, we are either the instruments of God or instruments of sin. If we are not placing ourselves in the hand of our Redeemer as weapons of righteousness, then we are weapons of death.

Ray's brush with death fundamentally changed the way he looked at the remainder of his life. At times, it made him impatient for that life to be over. When I mentioned to him that there were times when, even as a Christian, I struggled with the fear of death, he chuckled and said: "I have the opposite problem."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I have been to the edge of the abyss and seen what's on the other side," he explained, smiling. "Sometimes I can't wait to die."

I was surprised that Ray would say that. He certainly did not live like someone who was waiting to die. It seemed to me that he utilized every minute for the kingdom, placing himself at Christ's disposal. But, like the apostle Paul, my friend was caught between two longings. Drawn by the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better, but eager to be used by God while he remained in this world (Phil 1:23).

Would the apostle Paul agree with the old writers who said that it was more important to know how to die well? I don't think so. I believe that he would say that as important as it is to know how to die, it is even more important to know how to live. Especially for those who have been brought "from death to life."

Risen Christ, I thank You for giving me new life by Your death and resurrection. Show me how to use the moments You have apportioned to me, so that each one will contribute to Your glory. Amen.

Thanks to John Koessler for allowing us to publish his material.www.johnkosessler.com
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John Koessler serves as chair and professor of pastoral studies at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois. He is married to Jane and has two sons, Drew and Jarred. John is the author of ten books and numerous articles. He also serves as a contributing editor for the Moody Bible Institute publication Today in the Word, where you can read his monthly “Theology Matters” column. You can contact John via email at John.Koessler@moody.edu or by phone at (312) 329-4077.