30 Days - an Overview of the Bible in Just Thirty Daysნიმუში

Freedom from Addiction

At 10.56 pm on the night of 20 July 1969, our world changed forever. Two Americans, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, walked on the moon. One of the greatest events of the twentieth century took place as the result of the lunar voyage of Apollo 11. To get there, the astronauts had to break out of the gravitational pull of the Earth. More energy was spent in the first few minutes of lift-off, in the first few miles of travel, than was used over the next days to travel half a million miles.

One of the most difficult things in the world is to break a bad habit or to give up sin. Sin has tremendous gravitational pull. Sin is addictive. It may seem harmless at first, but once a habit is formed it can lead us on a path that takes us in the wrong direction. Breaking deeply embedded habitual tendencies such as a bad temper, impatience, a critical spirit or selfishness involves more than a little willpower and a few minor changes in our lives. ‘Lift-off’ takes a tremendous effort but, once we break out of the gravitational pull, our freedom takes on a whole new dimension.

Romans 6:1-14

It is said that the only exercise some people take is jumping to the wrong conclusions. Having spoken in Romans 1–5 about forgiveness, justification by faith and the righteousness of God (that it is possible to be put right with God however bad we have been), Paul now fears that some of his readers will jump to the wrong conclusion and say, ‘It does not matter if we continue to sin.’

Some go on sinning voluntarily. Rasputin, the insane monk and evil genius, taught his followers to go and sin so that God could forgive and they could experience more of God’s love. Others do so involuntarily. They have some habit they can’t get rid of. It could be alcoholism, drugs, materialism, bad temper, some sexual sin, stealing, greed, lying or something else.

Whatever category we are in, the question is, ‘Shall we continue?’ Paul’s answer is, ‘By no means’ (Romans 6:1,15). Grace is not an excuse to sin. Rather it is a reason not to sin.

This passage raises three vital questions:

1. What do you see when you look at the cross? (vv.1–10)

Paul’s argument is that you cannot continue to sin because you have died! Our baptism signifies the fact that when Jesus died on the cross, you died (v.3). When Jesus was buried, you were buried. When Jesus was raised, you were raised (v.4). Your old self has been crucified (v.6). Therefore, ‘we should no longer be slaves to sin’ (v.6).

Bishop Taylor-Smith, former chaplain-general to the forces, asked a young man, ‘When you think about the cross of Christ, what do you see?’ He answered, ‘I see Christ and two thieves.’ The bishop asked, ‘What else do you see?’ He replied, ‘I see the soldiers gambling… What are you fishing for?’ The bishop replied, ‘If that is all you see, I think you will have trouble with the Christian life. When I see the cross, with all that, I see the old Bishop Taylor-Smith. I was crucified with Christ.’ Becoming a Christian involves a radical change. It is not a little addition. It is a new life.

2. What do you see when you look at yourself? (v.11)

Paul writes, ‘In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.’ This involves a radical new self-image. I died on 16 February 1974: my old self died and from then a new creation came into being, alive to God and freed from the power of sin. We do not need to say, ‘I am an alcoholic because my father was’ or, ‘I am bad-tempered because my mother was.’ You can be different. See yourself in a new way. Have a radical change in self-perception.

St Augustine lived a wild and immoral life. At the age of thirty-two he encountered Jesus in answer to his mother’s prayers. Shortly after his conversion he saw a woman with whom he had had an inappropriate relationship. The moment he saw her he ran away. She called out, ‘Augustine! Don’t you recognise me? It’s me!’ He replied, ‘I know it’s you, but it’s no longer me!’

3. How do you act on what you see? (vv.12–13)

As the theologian Bishop Lesslie Newbigin wrote, ‘Everyone who has honestly faced the cross of Christ knows what is meant by this dying with Christ and knows that it is a reality, a deep and costly reality. And yet he knows also that the self which has died is still alive and has to be continually fought to the death. He knows that the new life in Christ which he has received is something which has to be daily put on again’ (Lesslie Newbigin, Household of God p.119).

It is not instant holiness, but a lifelong process. You do not need to continue in addictive patterns of sin. Once you have seen the truth and believed it, act on it. You will still be tempted. Resist, fight, refuse, stop it. Don’t give in. Offer yourself to God to be used for his purposes. Christians do sin. However, Jesus enables you to be forgiven and return to the right path. For you are no longer enslaved to sin but have been freed to live a brand-new life for God.

Prayer

Lord, as I look at the cross of Christ again today, I thank you that you have set me free to enjoy a new life. Thank you that you exchanged my sin for Christ’s righteousness and that I am free from the ingrained patterns and habits from the past.

I offer you my whole self today. Holy Spirit, help me in this life-long process to live like the new person I truly am today.

References

© Nicky Gumbel, 2024

This reading plan is adapted from the book 30 Days by Nicky Gumbel. It is published by Hodder and Stoughton in the UK, and by HarperCollins Christian Publishing in the USA.