Daily
Reading

Romans 6:1-14

• How does understanding that we have been “united with Him in a death like His “affect your view of your old sinful nature?
• How can believers live out being “dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” in practical ways?
• What does it mean in your daily life not to let sin reign in your mortal body?

Romans 6:1-14 (New Living Translation)

1. Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2. Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? 3. Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? 4. For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. 5. Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 6. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7. For when we died with Christ, we were set free from the power of sin. 8. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. 9. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. 10. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. 11. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. 12. Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. 13. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

Romans 6:15-23

• How do the “wages of sin” compare to the “free gift of God” in verse 23?
• What steps can you take to offer parts of your body to God as instruments of righteousness?
• How can the teachings in Romans 6 help you to deal with recurrent sins in your life?

Romans 6:15-23 (New Living Translation)

15 Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living. 19 Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led even deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. 21 And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. 22 But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Galatians 5

• How can we cultivate the fruits of the Spirit in our personal and community life?
• How does this chapter inform the way you approach freedom and responsibility in Christ?
• How can we ensure that we are living in the Spirit and not fulfilling the lust of the flesh in our daily lives?

Galatians 5 (New Living Translation)

1 So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. 2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 I’ll say it again: If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses. 4 For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace. 5 But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. 6 For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love. 7 You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? 8 It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom. 9 This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough! 10 I am trusting the Lord to keep you from believing false teachings. God will judge that person, whoever he is, who has been confusing you. 11 Dear brothers and sisters, if I were still preaching that you must be circumcised, as some say I do, why am I still being persecuted? If I were no longer preaching salvation through the cross of Christ, no one would be offended. 12 I just wish that those troublemakers who want to mutilate you by circumcision would mutilate themselves. 13 For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. 14 For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another. 16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. 19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissentions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. 22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.

John 8:1-12

• What does Jesus’ statement “the truth will set you free” mean to you personally?
• Reflect on the story of the adulterous woman. How does this scene inform your understanding of Jesus’ approach to sin and judgment?

John 8:1-12 (New Living Translation)

1 Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, 2 but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. 3 As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. 4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” 6 They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. 9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” 11 “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” 12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

1 John 1

• What does it mean that God is “light”? How does this metaphor speak to God’s nature?
• How do you interpret the phrase “walk in the light” in your everyday life?
• Can you give specific examples?
• What does “walking in darkness” mean? What are some contemporary examples of “walking in darkness”?

1 John 1 (New Living Translation)

1. We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. 2. This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. 3. We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4. We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy. 5. This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. 8. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

1 John 2:24-29

• How can you leverage your understanding of God’s commandments and His love to be a light in a world dominated by darkness and confusion?
• How can you foster an environment of spiritual growth for yourself and others around you?

1 John 2:24-29 (New Living Translation)

24 So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. 25 And in this fellowship, we enjoy the eternal life he promised us. 26 I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. 27 But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. 28 And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame. 29 Since we know that God is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children.