By: Curtis Baker 
For those of us who are Christians, we live in a strange reality. We are dead, and yet, we are still alive. Or more accurately, we are dying, but death will not be the last word. How can this be so? It is because we live in the midst of the already but not yet. Paul’s teaching in the letter of Romans is that something incredible happened in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that is now at work in us. Because of our participation in sin and our rebellion against God, we will die. There is no other option. And yet, for those of who are in Christ, death will not be the final reality. Already inside of us there is a power at work that is greater than death. This power is not an abstract force, as movies such as Star Wars portray, but a personal power. It’s power has not yet been fully shown in us, but it will be one day when God raises us from the dead.
Because this is true, Paul teaches those of us who are Christians that we have an obligation. Our obligation is not to continue to indulge our sinful nature. This will be a real temptation for us, and Paul does not pretend otherwise. Just because a person has become a Christian does not mean that they will no longer face strong temptations to live in ways contrary to the Spirit that lives inside of them. Indeed, in many ways, the temptations may grow strong for a while as you begin to say no to some of your desires that you were quite accustomed to saying yes to. This will present some difficulty. But Paul says we have no reason to fear in all of this. Why? Because the Spirit inside of us is stronger than the forces of sin and death that previously reigned in us unchallenged.
The way Paul puts it is like this: we have no reason to fear because we did not receive a Spirit of fear, but instead a Spirit that makes us sons and daughters of God himself. If we are sons and daughters of God that means we are heirs of everything that is his. This also means that everything that has now been given to Christ himself in the present moment will one day be shared with us who have put our trust in him. What are we talking about here? We will see next week as we move into verses 18 and beyond that this means nothing less than the whole creation itself! Which, of course, was always God’s intention in the first place. This is what we have to look forward to because we have thrown our lot in with God and his redemptive plan.
What Paul understands that we sometimes forget is that this vision of what God has in store for us in the future is a great motivating factor. In the present moment, while we are still pulled this way and that by various desires, we are tempted to pursue all sorts of things in our desire for happiness and fulfillment. Whether it is money, sex, power, or any of the other well known temptations — things that the human experience time and time again has said are not fully satisfying — we still pursue them as if they will provide that thing that we are looking for.
There is only one thing powerful enough to counter their false appeal to us. It is the knowledge that while in our current life we may not find that fulfillment we so want, we know that it is coming because we are heirs of God, and co-heirs with our brother Jesus. This is why God says we must trust him. Temptation always comes in the form of persuading us not to trust God, but instead to pursue happiness and fulfillment on our own terms. This is a deadly mistake, and the human experience has shown it time and time again. But it is hard for us to learn because that need for desire and fulfillment is so strong. It seemingly demands to be met. Only the knowledge that it can’t fully be met in the present, but WILL be met in exceeding abundance in the future, allows us to hold back the flood of demands which is our own desires. There is a reason God said that it is impossible to please him without faith. What he is asking us to do takes a lot of trust. But God is faithful…that trust will be repaid in spades!
(Don’t forget to join me for A Message From the Heart radio program Sunday evening at 8:00pm on KJAK 92.7FM, or streaming live at www.kjak.com) curtisbaker@hotmail.com)
Write to: P.O. Box 157, Slaton, TX 79364
