Category Archives: Death

Bible, Commands, Death, Good, Law, Scripture, Sin

SIN IS UTTERLY SINFUL

ROMANS 7:13

“Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? Far from it! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by bringing about my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.”

If you want to read a really good commentary on Romans 7:7-13, I urge you to look up Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on these verses. You may need to read it two or three times to grasp all he says there, but it’s worth the read. Towards the end of his words on these verses he writes, “The same heat that softens wax, hardens clay. Food or medicine when taken wrong, may cause death, though its nature is to nourish or to heal. The law may cause death through man’s depravity, but sin is the poison that brings death. Not the law, but sin discovered by the law, was made death to the apostle. The ruinous nature of sin, and the sinfulness of the human heart, are here clearly shown.” Hmmm, food for thought.

Paul continues his diatribe on the Law and sin in today’s verse. But he is pointing directly at sin as the culprit of our downfall, not the Law. I love how he ends this verse by saying, “sin would become utterly sinful.” My first thought was Well, duh! But then I decided I should not read that phrase so lightly. Let’s take a look at the word used here for “utterly.”

APPLICATION

Huperbolé occurs seven other times in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 12:31; 2 Corinthians 1:8; 4:7, 17 (2x); 12:7; Galatians 1:13). I encourage you to look at each of those verses to see how the word is used by Paul. It refers to “an extraordinary degree, or a surpassing quality. Whether it modifies power, suffering, sin, gifts, or glory, it stresses an intensity that cannot be explained by normal human categories.” (Topical Lexicon)

This word is used to express something that goes past the ordinary to the extraordinary. It is used to show the depth of sin, the power of grace, the weight of suffering, the excellence of love and the magnitude of the glory of God. We simply cannot put the divine expressions down adequately. Some things just won’t be understood this side of eternity.

But we can all agree that sin is utterly sinful. It is extraordinarily sinful. It exceeds our wildest imaginations and will lead us to an eternal death from which there is no escape unless…we turn to Jesus and confess those sins which the Law so adequately points out in our life. Make things right today with Jesus, if you haven’t already and flee from all appearances of sin in your life.

Oh, the greatness of Your love and grace and glory far exceeds the greatness of sin.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Commands, Death, Law, Life, Result, Scripture

WRONG RESULT

ROMANS 7:10

and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me;”

Have you ever spent time and energy trying to cook something only to have it flop? Suppose you are trying to bake a cake. You have all the ingredients except one. You’re missing the baking powder which aids in the rising of the cake batter when cooked. But you think What’s one missing ingredient? I have all the rest. It’ll be alright. So, you mix it all up, pour it into the cake pan and pop it in the oven. Result? A flat cake that did not rise and did not meet expectations.

That’s probably a poor analogy for today’s verse, but you can get an idea. Paul says the “ingredients” of the law were there with the expected result of life. If only man had lived a holy, obedient life, the result could have been life. But because of one little sin in the garden of Eden, the end is death. No one has the ability to live perfectly so no one could measure up to the demands of the law. No one until Christ, that is.

APPLICATION

Let me ask you something. What do you want the end result of your life to be? Where do you want to spend eternity? I know where I want to be. I want to be in heaven with my Lord. Seeing all my loved ones and friends who have preceded me will only be icing on the cake. The real thrill will be seeing my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

But you can’t hope to get that result unless you have done what is necessary to get there. And that’s not complicated. Paul will tell us later in Romans 10:9-10, “9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

The end result of life, of eternal life, only comes through faith in Christ Jesus. Don’t spend time trying to keep a list of commandments to earn your way there. It will only end in death, not life. Place your trust in Him, and He will guide you every step of the way. If you want to bake a cake, use all the ingredients. If you want to get to heaven, place your faith in Jesus, the Savior of all mankind.

O Father, I am thankful my end result is confirmed because of my faith in Your Son.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Death, Law, Life, Resurrection, Scripture

GOOD LIFE AND BAD LIFE

ROMANS 7:9

“I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin came to life, and I died;”

There are some habits that we have that we want to keep. For instance, I have a habit of trying to walk each morning. I know it is good for me, and I actually enjoy it. But some mornings I want to break that habit and sleep in. Other habits that are not so good for me (overeating, too much tv, etc.) I need to break. I don’t want to give them life by repeating them. Those need to die on the vine.

Paul gets autobiographical in today’s verse and describes his own struggle with sin. What?! Paul sinned? Of course, he did. He points out in today’s verse how the Law exposed his rebellious heart and how sin took that opportunity (look back at the previous verse) to come to life in him. That rebirth of sin in his life could only lead to death. Sin lives – I die. Sin dies – I live. It’s that simple.

APPLICATION

Paul uses a Greek word in today’s verse that only occurs one other time in the New Testament (Luke 15:24). Here it is used to describe sin’s revived life. In Luke it describes the prodigal son by the father. The word is anazaó and means “to live again.” (NAS Exhaustive Concordance). We give sin new life, we revive it when we yield to its influence in our lives. When we expose ourselves to these bad choices, sin is ready to jump right in.

In Luke 15:24 Jesus is telling the story of the prodigal son. The awaiting father says this when his son comes home, “‘for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.” That is a good sense of anazaó. Something the father thought was dead and gone had been made alive to him again. He regained his son.

The Topical Lexicon describes the use of anazaó this way. “In the New Testament it surfaces only twice, yet those two texts—Luke 15:24 and Romans 7:9—span the full spectrum of life’s restoration: from joyful renewal of a lost son to the startling resurgence of sin in the human heart. The verb thus becomes a lens through which Scripture illustrates both gracious revival and grievous reanimation.” Your choice, beloved. Allow sin to live or allow Christ to live through you. Choose wisely.

O Lord, You are faithful to show me my sins so I can confess those and live in You.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Death, Fruit, Law, Purpose, Scripture

A REASON FOR GETTING UP

ROMANS 7:4

“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you also were put to death in regard to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.”

We all need a reason for getting out of bed in the morning, don’t we? If you don’t have some motivation, you might be like the son who refused to get out of bed and go to school even after his mother kept calling and calling him. Finally, his mother went to his bedroom, opened the door and demanded he get up right then. The son replied, “Give me one good reason why I should go to school today.” To that his mother said, “Because you’re the principal.” We all need a reason for getting up.

You may not see it at first glance in this verse, but Paul tells us why we should get up. It’s in the last phrase – “in order that we might bear fruit for God.” Isn’t that a good enough reason to get up and get going each day? Our physical resurrection from sleep should put us right into the vineyard with God. We “were put to death in regard to the Law” so that we can be fruit producers in God’s kingdom.

APPLICATION

Barnes says this about that last phrase of the verse. “That we should live a holy life. This is the point and scope of all this illustration. The new connection is such as will make us holy. It is also implied that the tendency of the Law was only to bring forth fruit unto death Romans 7:5, and that the tendency of the gospel is to make man holy and pure; compare Galatians 5:22-23.”

Look at those verses in Galatians. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” This is our destiny as followers of Christ. We are to live out this fruit of the Spirit every day. I have to admit I miss some of these some days. But I have the obligation to shake that off and go after it again.

God has saved you and delivered you from the bonds of sin, from the chains of the law to serve Him freely. He will produce the fruit as you yield yourself to Him. Take a look at John 15. See how the fruit is the result of the branch (that’s us) abiding in the vine (that’s God). Now, get up and go produce that fruit!

I am simply a branch You have chosen to produce Your fruit as I give myself over to You.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Christ, Death, Freedom, Husbands, Scripture, Sin, Wives

THE EXAMPLE CONTINUES

ROMANS 7:3

“So then, if while her husband is alive she gives herself to another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress if she gives herself to another man.”

Paul continues his example of marriage and remarriage in today’s verse. Like I said yesterday, these two verses are an illustration of the truth of sin being put to death in our lives and our new life in Jesus. That is the reason Paul uses this earthly example. It’s something the people could understand.

Jesus did the same thing when He spoke in parables. When his disciples asked Him why He spoke in this way, He explained Himself. We find that in Matthew 13.10-17. Let’s look at part of that passage here. “13 ‘This is why I speak to the crowds in parables: although they see, they don’t really see; and although they hear, they don’t really hear or understand. 14 What Isaiah prophesied has become completely true for them:

“You will hear, to be sure, but never understand;
and you will certainly see but never recognize what you are seeing.

15 For this people’s senses have become calloused,
and they’ve become hard of hearing, and they’ve shut their eyes so that they won’t see with their eyes or hear with their ears or understand with their minds and change their hearts and lives that I may heal them.”’” (Isaiah 6:9-10)

APPLICATION

Can I give you some advice on sharing the Gospel? Use personal examples from your life, things that others can relate to. That’s what Jesus and Paul were doing. They gave us a model to follow. When I have the opportunity to share with someone, I talk more about how the Lord has changed my life rather than rattling off Bible verses or waxing eloquently about Bible doctrine. I want whomever I am talking with to get a picture of what God does in someone’s life.

Paul’s use of the example in Romans 7:2-3 can make a deep theological thought more understandable. Death brings freedom. For the wife whose husband has died or husband whose wife has died, they are now free to remarry if God so ordains. Our sinful flesh was nailed to the cross and died with Christ. Because of that death, we are now free to live anew in Jesus. We are married to Christ forever.

Don’t make the simple more complicated just to sound more spiritual. I don’t think Jesus or Paul tried to make themselves sounds smart. They were more interested in telling them about God’s great plan of salvation than impressing anyone. Remember the comments about the disciples after Christ died. People knew these were ordinary men, but they had been in the presence of Jesus and were changed. You and I need to stay in the presence of Jesus and allow Him to impress, not us.

O God, hide me behind Jesus whenever I speak of Him.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Bonds, Death, Freedom, Husbands, Marriage, Scripture, Wives

CONTEXT IN KING

ROMANS 7:2

“For the married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he is alive; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband.”

It is amazing how people can take a verse out of the middle of a passage and build a whole belief system on it. Today’s verse poses such an opportunity. Before you jump on me, I do believe in the sanctity of marriage. Not all marriages are salvageable, however, and God would never punish the innocent victim. (For more on that check on Dr. Spiros Zodhiates’ book on “Divorce and Remarriage.”)

But marriage and divorce were really not Paul’s intention in this passage. He is using an earthly illustration to build on the previous verse about our freedom from the Law versus our servitude to it. The Pulpit Commentary says it well. “The general drift of the above verses is plain enough; namely, that, as in all cases death frees a man from the claims of human law, and, in particular, as death frees the wife from the claims of marital law, so that she may marry again, so the death of Christ, into which we were baptized, frees us from the claims of the law which formerly bound us, so that we may be married spiritually to the risen Saviour, apart from the old dominion of law, and consequently of sin.”

APPLICATION

The word used by Paul translated as “bound” is deó. It literally means to bind, be in bonds, knit, tie or wind. Paul is not saying a woman is tied up when she is married. There weren’t ropes holding her to the man. Sure, there are spiritual implications to a marriage. Marriage should be between one man and one woman for life. The Mosaic Law taught that a man or woman was free to remarry if their spouse died. But the Law also allowed a man to divorce his wife for even a minor offense. In that culture, man ruled. Women were subservient. Paul is not talking about this.

Listen carefully. Paul is saying that when we died to sin (represented by the death of a spouse), we were free to walk with Christ (represented by the freedom to remarry). Celebrate your freedom in Christ. Don’t focus on the illustration. Focus on the truth. Every word of Scripture is inspired, so I know God through the Holy Spirit instructed Paul to write these words and use this illustration. He wanted to give us a way to understand the divine truth of our death and resurrection in Christ.

Are you still walking in bonds to your former manner of life? You may claim you have tried everything to be set free, but you just can’t shake it. Hogwash! When you say things like that, you are limited the God of the universe on whom there are no limits. Do you need help? You may, but you can free yourself from the bonds of sin that so easily entangle you.

Father God, You have set us free from the bonds of sin to walk free and victoriously in Christ

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Christ, Death, Eternal Life, Eternity, Gifts, Jesus, Scripture, Sin, Wages

WAGES VS GIFTS

ROMANS 6:23

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Here we are again with another one of my Every Man A Warrior memory verses. We teach this verse to men to train them to share the gospel. Google “The Bridge Illustration” and you will find numerous examples. We use this verse because it spells out the Gospel so simply for anyone at any age. I actually have an App on my phone called “ShareYourFaith” which uses the Bridge Illustration also. Check it out.

Paul brings us to the end of chapter 6 (of course, there were no chapters in his letters) with this familiar verse. I want us to look at the key words of this verse today – wages, sin, death, gift, eternal life, Christ Jesus. And the biggest word in the verse is right in the middle – but. That word changes everything. Everything said in the first half of the verse is trumped by what is said in the second. But…a little word with big implications.

APPLICATION

“…the wages of sin is death,… We earn death (our wages) because of our sin. Since the fall of man in the garden of Eden, man has been held liable for their sins. The punishment for Adam’s disobedience was death, first a physical death. Then, if that sin was not atoned for, a spiritual death. Since Adam mankind has suffered these deaths. There is no way of escaping this punishment in and of ourselves. We cannot earn back our physical or spiritual life.

BUT… God had a plan from the foundation of the world. He knew what would happen in the garden. If He had not known, He would not be much of a God. And even though He knew the choice Eve and then Adam would make, He did not intervene to stop them. They had to decide on their own to obey Him. If He forced their obedience, they would rebel against that. You see, Jesus was not God’s plan B. He was always the plan.

“…the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” As Paul Harvey used to say, “Now, the rest of the story.” God gives us a gift. It cost us nothing. It’s free. We just have to accept it. What is that gift? Eternal life with Jesus. Hold on, Carl. What’s the catch? No catch. You see, that’s what causes so many to stumble. They are looking for the hook in this gift. God loves you so much that He sent His Son to die for you (John 3:16). If you haven’t accepted that gift yet, do it today. If you have, give Him praise for this inexhaustible gift that has brought billions of people into His kingdom. There is always room for one more.

This world doesn’t know how to accept free gifts. Thank You for giving so freely so I can live with You.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Bondslaves, Death, Disobedience, Enslavement, Obedience, Righteousness, Scripture, Slaves

YOU’RE GONNA SERVE SOMEBODY

ROMANS 6:16

“Do you not know that the one to whom you present yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of that same one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?”

Bob Dylan had a hit Christian song back in the late 70’s entitled, “Gotta Serve Somebody.” You should google it and listen to it sometime. The verses are great, but the chorus drives home the point of today’s verse. It says,

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody

Today’s verse is another memory verse for me from our Every Man A Warrior study. It’s the perfect reminder that we will serve a master – either the devil or Christ. Paul uses an analogy that everyone who read this would quickly understand. Some estimates (which are really hard to nail down) have as much as 1/3 of the population in Rome were slaves. There were so many slaves that many feared they could take over the capital city if they chose to revolt.  So, this picture of slavery in today’s verse was one they all understood.

APPLICATION

In John 8:34 we read, “Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.’” If the Son of God tells us the danger of sin is slavery to it, shouldn’t we listen to Him? We think we can slip in a sin here and there without sin getting its hooks in us. The devil is sneaky and will allow you to swallow that hook before he sets it.

Our voluntary servitude to Christ, however, changes. Look what Christ said in John 15:15. “‘No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, because all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.’” We move from slave to friend. That would have been a crazy thought back when Christ said these words. How can a slave be a friend to their master?

Our Master Jesus is not like other masters. He is a loving and compassionate master. He not only serves as our master, but He also is our friend, our real BFF. He will never leave us nor forsake us. He always hears us and will answer in His perfect timing. So, today choose your master well. Your gonna serve somebody.

I have chosen You, Lord, as my Master. I want to serve You well.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Death, Instruments, Righteousness, Scripture, Unrighteousness

BE THE RIGHT INSTRUMENT

ROMANS 6:13

“and do not go on presenting the parts of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, and your body’s parts as instruments of righteousness for God.”

Doctors who spend time in the operating room have specific surgical instruments they use for each surgical procedure. If they use the wrong instrument, they can do more harm than good. No one wants that, especially the patient. When the correct instrument is used, healing can begin.

Today’s verse is one of my memory verses with our ministry, Every Man A Warrior. It’s a constant reminder to focus our attention on serving our true Master Jesus Christ, not our old master – sin. We need to be the correct instrument of righteousness so we can impact our world around us for good. If we choose to be the wrong instrument (unrighteousness), it only leads to death.

APPLICATION

The word translated “presenting” or “present” is parístēmi “(from pará, ‘from close-beside’ and hístēmi, ‘to stand’) – properly, stand close beside, i.e. ready to present (exhibit).” (HELPS Word-studies) Perhaps a better translation is “to yield.” But it is not just the definition. The verb tenses Paul used for each use tells us something bigger.

In the first use of parístēmi in the verse, it is in the Present Indicative. That is an ongoing, habitual or repeated action. We are not to continuously yield ourselves to sin as an unrighteous instrument. Sure, we are going to sin. But for a follower of Christ, that should be an accident, not a willful, repeated action.

The next time the word is used in the verse it is in the Aorist Indicative. That means it is a simple, completed action or point in time without indicating a duration. In other words, Paul is saying we yield ourselves to God once which does not need to be repeated over and over. You are saved once. It is not necessary to do that over and over again.

What kind of instrument are you today? Are you an instrument of righteousness or unrighteousness, of good or evil? You really do have a choice, but you have the power within you, if you are a follower of Christ, to choose correctly. You have the Holy Spirit to guide and equip you. Stop yielding to the sinful choices and allow the Spirit to live through you to accomplish all that the Lord has for you.

Make me an instrument for You, O Lord. I choose today to place myself in Your hands.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Christ, Death, Eternity, Family, Scripture, Sin

YOU TOO

ROMANS 6:11

“So you too, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

Have you ever been with a group of people who you just met and they said, “Hey, why don’t you join us this weekend for a roadtrip?”? I mean, you had just met them and were already being invited to be a part of the group. The weekend promised to allow you to get to know them better and develop some deeper friendships. What fun!

Similarly, we are invited, through our decision to follow Christ, to join Him for eternity. Now, that’s fun! Look at the verse. Paul says, “So you too…” The Greek literally reads, “So also you.” In other words, you are included in all that Paul has been talking about for the past several verses (go back and read verses 1-10). All that Christ did was to allow us to be a part of His family. What a great promise from the Father.

APPLICATION

The Expositor’s Greek Testament says this about today’s verse, “In this verse the application is made of all that precedes. The death with Christ, the life with Christ, are real, yet to be realised. The truth of being a Christian is contained in them, yet the calling of the Christian is to live up to them. We may forget what we should be; we may also (and this is how Paul puts it) forget what we are. We are dead to sin in Christ’s death; we are alive to God in Christ’s resurrection; let us regard ourselves as such in Christ Jesus.”

Don’t you just love that? I love the last phrase above that says, “let us regard ourselves as such in Christ Jesus.” All that we are promised is only possible because of Jesus. He paid the ultimate price for our sins. He was sinless but gave His blood to pay the ransom for our sins. Can you ever truly ever get over the fact that He has invited you to come along with Him? I sure can’t.

The Greek word translated as “alive” is zao which means “to live, experience God’s gift of life.” (HELPS Word-studies) It is actually better translated as “living.” We should be living to God, as we talked about in yesterday’s blog. We are to be constantly striving to be more and more like Him. I want my life to be a shining example of my walk with Jesus. Don’t you? Then walk with Him daily. You are dead to sin and alive in Him. Celebrate that.

O Lord, I give You thanks for “bringing me along” on a journey with You.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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