"Becoming a Slave to Righteousness"

[Read Romans 6:11-23]

In 1947, Grace Murray Hopper, a pioneer computer scientist, was working on the Harvard University Mark II Aiken Relay Calculator which in reality was a primitive computer.

On September 9^thof 1947 when the machine was experiencing problems, an investigation showed that a moth was trapped between the points of Relay #70 in Panel E.

The operators removed the moth and recorded the repair in their maintenance records.

The entry in that maintenance log reads: “First actual case of bug being found.”

The word went out that they had “debugged” the machine and the phrase “debugging a computer program” was born.

Computers have come a long ways since then.

Also, along the way came the internet that would change our world forever.

It’s been said many times in our wired world that the Internet has created a global society.

The Internet has created an environment where people from many different countries and cultures:

-connect as neighbors,

-conduct business and

-explore the many ways in which people live and work in the world.

Thirty years ago, few people would have thought it possible to sit in your house and have the world at your fingertips.

Who would have thought of traveling across the globe with just a few clicks of what would become known as a “mouse.”

The Internet has revolutionized the way we live, work and do business.

I hardly ever receive any regular mail from the District Office or the National Office.

It’s all electronic.

It not only saves our denomination a lot of money but it is also fast.

I haven’t subscribed to a newspaper for several years because the news is on the internet and it is more current than anything you will find in print .

There are a lot of advantages to having the internet.

But there is also a downside to the internet.

You see, nobody really “runs” or “controls” the Internet.

It’s a wide-open buffet of the good, the bad and the ugly.

Like a big city, the Internet has some good and bad neighborhoods, each of which is known by its “domain.”

The domain is the dot-whatever you type in when entering a Web address such as .com, .org, .net, .edu and more.

The domain is the realm and designation of the Web site’s type and/or origin.

Different countries often have different domains: .us for U.S. government sites, .ca for Canada, .ru for Russia.

Like different neighborhoods, cities and countries, different domains can get different reputations based on the character of the people who populate them.

McAfee, a leading provider of Internet security for personal computers, recently released its list of the most dangerous domains on the Internet.

Their report was called “Mapping the Mal Web.”

“Mal” is short for malicious.

Spending too much time clicking around a dangerous domain can be really bad for your computer with all the viruses, malware and spyware out there.

Some domains are really unavoidable and are rated bad because of sheer volume.

McAfee’s number one dangerous domain is the .com family of sites.

It’s by far the most prevalent domain, so it’s the most likely to mess up your computer if you aren’t careful.

The second most dangerous domain is the .info domain.

Rounding out the top five most dangerous domains are the domains of three Third World countries:

.vn for Vietnam, .cm for Cameroon and .am for Armenia

 A good rule of thumb is that places you wouldn’t think of as a vacation spot are probably places you should avoid on the Internet.

The safest domain is .travel used by travel-industries.

Second is .edu for education used by colleges and universities.

The other three of the five safest domains are .jp for Japan, .cat for Catalan, a region of Spain and .gg for Guernsey, an island in the English Channel.

It’s not only our computers that can be affected by the activity of a dangerous domain.

Even more insidious is the effect it can have on the person viewing what the domain is trying to push such as:

Pornography sites

gambling sites

get-rich-quick sites

certain chat rooms and

social networking sites.

All these are likely sources for both computer viruses and soul damage.

Addictions to these images and activities are a form of slavery.

The Apostle Paul never had to deal with a computer.

It is interesting to speculate how his ministry might have been different if he’d had one.

However, we do know that Paul was concerned about dangerous domains long before McAfee ever hit the scene.

Paul wrote to the Romans and to us about the dangers of the realm of sin and its enslaving power.

I. Domain of Sin

Romans 6 begins with Paul giving his classic argument about the relationship of sin, law and grace.

Rhetorically, Paul asks, “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?”

The answer, of course, is “No way!”

Romans 6:6, 7 = For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

Provision has been made for us to experience freedom from sin.

Jesus died that we might be set free from not only the penalty of sin but also the power of sin.

The question is “Do we want to die?”

“Do we want to die to sin and self?”

Because we are in Christ, we have access to a new domain.

Before we came to Christ, we were hopelessly lost.

The only domain we knew and experienced was the kingdom of this world.

Jesus said His kingdom is not of this world.

If we know Jesus as our personal Savior a new domain has been opened up for us.

But sometimes we keep one foot in the old domain while the other foot is in the new domain.

To avoid the domain of sin, we have to watch where we place our minds and our bodies.

Verse 13 = Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness . . .

When we click on a questionable Internet site, or gossip at work or do one of hundreds of things that are sinful, we are putting ourselves squarely outside of God’s domain.

We are allowing ourselves to be caught and manipulated by Satan.

When we dabble in sin, we are stepping out from under God’s umbrella of protection.

We have to be careful about where we travel virtually and physically.

We have to be careful where we travel in our minds and in our bodies.

II. Freedom from Sin

Paul’s point is that we are always going to be a slave to something or someone.

We will either be a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness.

Verse 18 = You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

The word “slave” is an interesting metaphor.

It’s an interesting metaphor because traditionally slaves don’t get to choose who will be their master.

Normally, the master chooses the slave.

There is a sense in which God does choose us to be His children.

He draws us to Himself so that we will come to a point of placing our trust in Jesus as our Savior.

But as believers, we choose whether we are going to live in the domain of sin or the domain of righteousness.

Computers need anti-virus protection.

We need protection.

The Holy Spirit is our anti-virus software.

Our protection comes through the Holy Spirit within us and our obedience to the leading of the Spirit.

This is not automatic.

We wish it was.

We wish that the moment we receive Christ, we would be godly people.

Yes, we are declared righteous but we are not necessarily righteous experientially.

That is a process and is called sanctification.

Sanctification is about cooperating with the Holy Spirit.

The potential for righteousness is always before us.

Everyday, multiple times a day, we have opportunities to choose righteousness.

So why wouldn’t we always choose righteousness.

We know that obedience pleases God.

Why wouldn’t we always choose obedience over disobedience?

A real change in our behavior, our thought life and our worldview comes only after we begin to empty ourselves of self so that God can fill us with Himself.

It’s simply not enough to rely on our own will power.

In verse 19, we are told we are weak in our natural selves.

Within ourselves, we just don’t have what it takes.

III. Ending Our Love Affair with Sin

I John 2:15-17 = Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

From what I have read and observed, ending an extra-marital affair can be very difficult.

Likewise, ending an affair with the world can also be very difficult.

There are two things that we need to recognize as we seek to end our love affair with the world and sin.

1. Recognize the vanity of the world.

We need to come to a place where we see clearly the worthlessness of the things in the world.

We need to see clearly that the ways of the world are futile.

They are useless in the light of eternity.

We need to recognize that the things of the world are not worthy of our attention or adoration.

We need to recognize the vanity of the world.

2. Recognize the worthiness of God.

He is worthy of our praise.

God is the Creator and Sustainer of life.

What is truly amazing is that God loves us.

The world doesn’t love us.

So why would we choose the world over God.

Why would we choose a world system that often brings heartache, disappointment and regret over God who brings everlasting joy, peace and contentment?

I think it comes down to instant gratification versus delayed gratification.

Sin often brings instant gratification but it is short-lived.

In Hebrews 11:24ff:

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.

Are we looking ahead to our reward or are we just looking around?

As believers we know there is a cost in following Jesus.

But there is a greater cost in becoming entangled with sin.

Do you ever pray that God would give you a hatred for sin and a love for righteousness?

I think that is a good prayer.

I think that is a legitimate prayer.

God’s Word speaks of loving righteousness and hating wickedness.

Psalm 45:7 = You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.

Going back to our text for today, in Romans 6:23 we read:

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

In the end, only one domain will matter, the domain of Christ.

The domain of Christ is a kingdom of safety, love and life.