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Feb 25, 2025 06:00am

No More Excuses

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“Well, if she told you to jump off the bridge, would you do that too?”

How many times did we hear that growing up? It was the comeback for every parent when their child was acting a fool. I can say that because I was the fool.

When we got into trouble, our… or should I just say my? Misery loves company, so I’m including y’all in this, too. When we got into trouble, our first reaction was to blame someone else. We learned that from our ancestors, you know…

“Well, Ashley did it, and she told me to do it too.” Or, “I didn’t want to, but Sarah told me to do it.”

And then, the old line about the bridge came up. Our parents’ point was, “No one made you do anything. They may have tempted you, but YOU made the decision.”

And the truth hurts, doesn’t it? We can’t blame someone else. We must recognize that we are just as capable of making a right decision as a wrong one.

This was Paul’s point to the Roman believers.

Romans 6:11-14
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.
13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.
14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.”

Time and time again, we hear “the devil made me do it.” Or, “I couldn’t help myself”. However, Paul has some strong words to help us fact-check those statements.

If we claim to have been saved by Jesus, then we are no longer slaves to sin. We have been freed from the power of sin through God’s grace. We have a choice. We can choose right or wrong. The devil, or culprits of his, might lead us by tempting us, but we still have a choice whether or not we give in.

When Christ paid the price for our sins, He purchased us. We are indebted to Him for our lives. What can you offer Jesus for what He has done for you? Nothing. We only have this life on earth to use as a living sacrifice. No longer are we slaves to sin, but to righteousness.

Paul goes on to say, “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.
You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” – Romans 6:15-18

We aren’t obeying God because we have to. We aren’t controlled in that way. We serve Him with our lives from the heart because we want to.

Here are 6 things I hope you have heard from this today:

Jesus offers salvation to you today.
When you trust in Him as your LORD and Savior, you are free from sin.
When temptation comes, He offers you a way to escape sin.
The Holy Spirit now indwells us, and conviction hits us when temptation arises.
We offer our lives to Him in complete surrender to His will and righteousness because that’s all we have to give.
We are no longer slaves to sin!

Do you want to know more about this freedom that Jesus offers? Do you want to know what it looks like to follow Him in full surrender?

Go to follow.lifeword.org. I’ll meet you there.