In this thought-provoking episode, we delve into Chapter 6 of Romans, exploring the profound theme of sin beyond mere actions to understanding it as a dominion. We discuss how the kingdom of Christ offers liberation from the sin kingdom of Adam, allowing us to live in a new humanity where faith teaches us to navigate our struggles. Through vivid analogies and introspective questions, we unpack the biblical notion of presenting ourselves and the transformational power it holds.
So this is the chapter on sin, as you know, chapter 6. And as we’ve observed, as I’ve observed to you many, many times now, this is not talking about sinful acts simply, but the sin kingdom of Adam. which is now finished by the righteous kingdom of Christ, who has broken into this world, has brought in a new humanity in which you and I are counted as whole and good, even though we’re not. And so we learn by faith how to live in this new kingdom. And Paul is just incredibly consistent. I am amazed sometimes as I read the book of Romans, and I notice new things each time I read it, how very, very consistent he is. And this verse that we’re about to look at shows that consistency. So he says in verse 16 of chapter 6, Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are So it was the word present that struck me today as I was looking at this verse again. Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves? Now the word in Greek has the idea of stand beside. proffer, recommend, substantiate, but mainly the idea of stand beside. When we present ourselves, we’re standing beside someone and saying, well, here I am, I’m available, and at your service sort of thing. Isn’t that just astonishing? You see, Paul has told us time and again that the issue of sin is not about simple things that we do. but it is about to whom we present ourselves, whether we identify ourselves as in the kingdom of Adam, where sin and death reign and endless condemnation and addiction to guilt and shame and fear that draw us right back into the same thing, or whether we present ourselves to the kingdom of Christ, where there is no condemnation and guilt and shame and fear, so we can present ourselves without this addictive desire to escape the pain of our addiction, which of course takes us back into more addiction. But this idea of present is so fascinating to me, and I’ll tell you for another reason why. Addiction is a very lonely job. You understand that when a person is addicted, he feels disconnected, isolated from reality. He hasn’t many friends. He doesn’t know how to relate to people. He doesn’t know how to hold a conversation. He’s one of these sort of strangely moody persons. You ask him how he is and he says, OK, and nothing else. And you kind of feel uncomfortable in his presence because he’s not forthcoming with anything. He’s just there and you have to generate each bit of conversation. Why is that? Because this man is disconnected or disassociated. He is in a state where the bonds of love and tenderness and kindness and sensitivity to others are broken or never existed. The person in addiction is isolated. Now, how interesting that Paul says, do you not know that to whom you present yourselves? Presenting ourselves is a recognition that there’s somebody else outside of us whom we are presenting ourselves to. Or, as it says in the original Greek, to stand beside. There is someone else that we’re standing beside of. Whether it’s the kingdom of the devil or Satan, or whether it’s the kingdom of God. We’re not alone, you see. We’re not isolated, as addiction would tell us. Addiction screams into your head, nobody loves you. Nobody loves you, and it’s a damned lie. The fact is that when we are in a state of arousal for drugs or alcohol or pornography or food, food’s an addiction too, gambling can be another addiction. When we are in a state of addiction, we feel so alone. It’s a dreadful feeling for those of you who have felt it. You feel that God has abandoned you. He’s disgusted with you. He’s angry with you. He’s turned his back. You go into the bar and the Holy Spirit, as somebody once said, is staying outside waiting for you to come out. And all of this feeling, and you’re so isolated. And that is what exacerbates or increases the power of addiction a hundredfold. Because as I’ve said so many times, addiction is not an issue of what chemical you use, whether it’s drugs or alcohol, it is an issue of your state of mind, whether you feel isolated and alone. Because you understand that isolation and alone are terrifying. And so, in addiction, the only comfort you have, so you think, is to do your sin, because that’s a comfort. You’re standing beside it. You’re accompanying it. You’re presenting yourself as available to it. So there’s some kind of comfort in sin. We mustn’t deny that. Don’t try to say, well, it’s all wrong and it’s all evil and it’s all dirty and it’s all dark. Look, You are trying to get some companionship, but you don’t know how to get it. That’s what’s really going on. You’re trying to get some comfort, but you don’t know where to get the comfort from except from this betrayer called sin that when you finally spend time with it, it disappoints the hell out of you. Now, how about the other side of the coin, then? That Jesus is our comforter, that he does not frown upon us, that when we present ourselves to him, even if it’s only for five minutes, you may be in the throes of your compulsion, or should I say obsession, addiction, and you can’t let go, you can’t say no. and you feel that you have to say no before you can go to Jesus. That is the cart before the horse. It’s upside down, inside out, and backside up. It is completely distorted. The message of the gospel is that you can present yourself to Jesus, right in the midst of an addiction. You can say, Lord Jesus, I have no desire for you. I don’t like you right now. I feel you’re looking over my shoulder and I don’t want you to. But I thank you that you love me. I thank you that you are here. I feel like a hypocrite saying it, but I’m going to say it anyway. You love me, and because you love me, I love you. Now that, you see, is presenting yourself. Don’t you find it something of a comfort to realize that God is with you in your struggle, that he’s present with you, that he will not condemn you if you still go into it, and if you still do it, he will not condemn you. He’ll say, well, I’m still here. Would you prefer me now? Yes, of course we would. I remember, and I’ve told you this, you may have heard it before, that somebody, and I mentioned it just a little few minutes ago, but I’ll tell you the fuller story. Someone was told by the pastor, look, when you want to go into that bar and get drunk, the Holy Spirit stays outside. Well, this man believed that, and of course he went into the bar and he got drunk, but he couldn’t go out, get out. Why? Because he needed the Holy Spirit to get out, but the Holy Spirit was outside on the other side of the door. Can you imagine the stupidity of that kind of teaching? The Holy Spirit goes into the bar with you. We know that because those who come out of the bar being convicted by God to turn to him could only have been convicted while in the bar by the Holy Spirit. So where was the Holy Spirit? In the bar, sitting on the next stool. I know I’m being simplistic here, but you understand what I’m getting at. It’s the same thing with the prodigal son. How does he come to his right mind? He was there by the pigsty watching the pigs eat and thinking that the pigs have more food than he has to eat and he would love to be in his father’s home enjoying a nice meal with his dad and his brother. And then he said, I will arise and go. Well, now, what brought him to that right mind? It says that he came to his right mind. What brought him to the right mind? Of course, the Holy Spirit. Nobody comes to his right mind without the Holy Spirit. So then, where was the Holy Spirit? Sitting by the pigsty with him. That’s the truth we have. That’s why Paul says here, Do you not know that to whom you present yourself? I mean, it’s an odd way of speaking. You’d think, well, Paul is a bit off. He’s not modern. Why in the world doesn’t he use language that we understand? Because we don’t understand him. That’s why. And the understanding that we need to have is that Paul is talking about a relationship with the kingdom of God and the king of God, the kingdom of God, rather, and the king of the kingdom, which is Jesus. And the kingdom of Adam, well, that’s Adam in his fallen state, lost, a loser. So, what about it then? The psychology of all this is separatedness, isolation, abandonment, a sense of disconnectedness, disassociation. We are in that state when we’re addicted. We feel that God has broken the bonds with us, that he’s walked away, that he’s turned his back and he’s saying, he’s folded his arms and he’s saying, I’m not going to talk to you until you come back to me. But God knows that the addict cannot come back to him of his own strength. He has no desire, no will. And so in the midst and the throes of an addiction, you are free to say, whom am I presenting myself to right now? Am I presenting myself to the kingdom of Adam and saying, I proffer myself to you, here I am, I recommend myself, I’m available. Or are you presenting yourself to Jesus and saying, Jesus, no matter how much I resist you right now and feel that you don’t want me or are condemning me, no matter how much I don’t want to be in your presence, I thank you that I am in your presence, and so I’m presenting myself to you, and would you mind helping me not to desire this thing that I’m doing right now? Would you mind helping me to go another way? That’s what it is. Once you present yourself, you are standing beside that person and that person is talking to you and you are talking to him. So try to get the dynamics of addiction. Addiction is not about the object of choice, a drug, or a beer, or a piece of pornography. It is about your state of mind, whether you stay in isolation or whether you are willing to talk, even if you can’t give the right religious talk to Jesus. Listen, you don’t have to be religious to Jesus. You don’t have to be all pie in the sky. You don’t have to be all sanctimonious. That is not what Jesus is asking you to do. He’s simply asking you to open up your heart to him. And when you open up your heart, my goodness, what a liberation you feel. Light floods in. You are feeling connected. You are not alone. And if you’re not alone, then you realize that the addiction… isn’t so strong. Because if you are alone, then the addiction says, listen, I’m the only company you’ve got. Why not join me for dinner? And so we join him and sit down with him, and we go into our slide into sloth or whatever it may be. But with Jesus, he’s inviting us to company with him, to have companionship with him without any judgment. And when we do, we find such light and comfort that the addictive force is less forceful and we’re able to walk away. Thank you for joining me today. Colin Cook here and How It Happens. You can hear this broadcast any time of the day or night on your smartphone. Simply download a free app, soundcloud.com or pudbean.com and key in How It Happens with Colin Cook when you get there. If you’d like to make a donation to this listener-supported radio now in its 27th year, you can do so by going online to faithquestradio.com or send your donation to Faith Quest, P.O. Box 366, Littleton, Colorado, 80160. Thanks for your donations. Thanks for your notes. I do appreciate it. And I’ll see you next time. Cheerio and God bless.
