For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
Romans 6:14 NIV
Your Master
Calvin Vollrath is a Canadian fiddler and composer, and is one of the few European-Canadian fiddle players playing professionally in the Métis style. He lives in St. Paul, Alberta. Vollrath won the Grand North American Old Tyme Fiddle Championship in 1985 and 1998. In more recent years, he has judged the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Competition, and was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Association in 2005. This year’s Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Competition will be held this August in Truro, Nova Scotia.
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The apostle Paul understood one of the strongest temptations for a follower of Jesus who understands that God’s grace is greater than our sin, is that we can convince ourselves that we can go on sinning because God’s grace will always forgive us. Paul deals with this wrong thinking in the book of Romans, 6:14 where he says, “For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” One of the challenges of sin, and there are many, is that it soon becomes our master. It is a lie to believe that we can love Jesus and still go on sinning. If Jesus isn’t Lord of all, He isn’t Lord at all. Yesterday we focused on Jesus’ teaching that if someone really loves Him, they will keep His commands. Paul looks at the same principle from another angle – being under grace isn’t a license to sin, but a call to be holy – to be set apart for Jesus alone. If we are under grace, if we have experienced the joy of having sins forgiven and guilt lifted, why would we want to go back to sin again?
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley