Okay, I know, it's been a while. I can make all sorts of excuses for why I've not been studying, but the truth is, I just haven't wanted to. I've been struggling with my Christianity. I've been struggling with bible study just because I don't want to do it. In college it was easy because everything we did was about church. Now there are so many other things to think about and I don't make God a priority. In class we are talking about family and what parents do for their kids, and this all bugs me because I've not really had an example of how to raise a Christian kid. I grew up thinking only those "baptist people" didn't believe in evolution and that religious people were kinda weird and cult-like. I still have a lot of those skeptical and doubting attitudes that creep in. And kids know if you're not serious and sincere about your Christianity, they know if your just going through the motions, and they grow up to do the same. Anyways, all this gets me down sometimes and then I read Romans 6.
Romans 6
Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ
1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. 14For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
Because I have been baptized, my old self, the doubting one who thought religious people were weird and in a cult, is dead and gone. I am a new person. It is hard to realize that all the time, the old self creeps back in. But because Jesus died and was raised, we too can do that. And, according to these few verses, the way we do that is through baptism. I can't find anywhere in the Bible where there is another way given to bury your sin and be freed from sin and be united with Him in His resurrection. I love these verses because no matter what our past is, when we are baptized it is done away with. This doesn't mean we can continue in sin, but as verses 11-14 say we are now offering ourselves to God, and since we are dead to sin, why would we want to continue in it?
Sorry my interpretation of all this is a little personal, and only partial. I will get to the rest of the chapter soon I hope!
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Make sure you do get to the rest of the chapter. I like what you have posted thus far.
You struggling with Christianity is nothing new to you or to anyone else that is actually trying to satisfy God's intentions for your life and not your own intentions.
I understand that whole thinking about people being "cult-like". You and I may look like total weirdos because we go to assemble with like believers 3 times a week! We pray to a God unseen about our worries instead of trying to fix things alone. We "deprive" ourselves of drugs, sex, & rock & roll because it "better". It is crazy. The truth though is that the early church was considered a sect. They were called Nazarenes by Jews that didn't understand them (Acts 24:5). So are we really a sect or cult? In the world's eyes, yes, a million times yes! In reality, the Bible speaks of how the world is a type of sect. The world is the majority influence in our eyes but in God's eyes the world is rubbish. Don't be down on yourself. You have found the true value in this world but the world will tell you you're an idiot and to go live out your fantasies because once it's over, it's over. That's okay. You have to accept that it's okay. It is. It really is. Be convinced. If you live convinced, you will show your child your Christianity without a word.
How do you convince yourself? Think about what you gain in following the world? The idea of looking out for number 1 sounds fun. Life is to live. Are you missing out? Think of what you would be doing if you had no standard to live up to. Live wild, don't limit yourself. Consider how you live now. Do you understand the flaws & problems that come with living with the world? Now, what are the flaws & problems that come with living with the Lord? I think it is not hard to see that the "wisdom of world" truly is "foolishness". Be thankful that you can see that. Be so thankful that it convicts you to stand up strong when someone mocks you for trying to be good. Who cares. They are truly foolishness.
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