Sin Roster

Tomorrow evening our youth director and seminarian will begin our Lent series on the so-called "Seven Deadly Sins."  I introduced the series on Ash Wednesday - you can read a draft of that message at What's In The Way?". 

Here's the sin roster & schedule as of today:

• SLOTH - Wed., Feb. 24
• PRIDE - Sun., Feb. 29
• ENVY - Wed., Mar. 3
• ANGER - Sun., Mar. 7
• LUST - Wed., Mar. 10
• GREED - Wed., Mar. 17
• GLUTTONY - Wed., Mar 24

There is only one way to get free of these sins. We see that one way at the cross of Christ. It doesn't work to develop "virtues" (good habits). Read "Deadly Virtue" to learn about that dead end road.  The only way is to die with Christ.  How does that happen?  Through God's Word and the "symbolic yet real" gift of Baptism. 

We'll be looking at Romans 6:1-14 to learn more about this.

      What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? ² By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? ³ Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. ⁷ For whoever has died is freed from sin. ⁸ But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. ¹⁰ The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. ¹¹ So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

¹² Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. ¹³ No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. ¹⁴ For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Praise God that we can be set free -- not through OUR death, but through the death and resurrection of the one who suffered in our place. All praise to Jesus the one Savior and Lord.www.equalsharing.com