Lamentations: God's Word for the Brokenhearted

 He has made my teeth grind on gravel,
  and made me cower in ashes;
 my soul is bereft of peace;
  I have forgotten what happiness is;
 so I say, “My endurance has perished;
  so has my hope from the LORD.”

 Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
  the wormwood and the gall!
 My soul continually remembers it
  and is bowed down within me.
But this I call to mind,
  and therefore I have hope:

 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
  his mercies never come to an end;
 they are new every morning;
  great is your faithfulness.
 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
  “therefore I will hope in him.”

 The LORD is good to those who wait for him,
  to the soul who seeks him.
 It is good that one should wait quietly
  for the salvation of the LORD.
 It is good for a man that he bear
  the yoke in his youth.

 Let him sit alone in silence
  when it is laid on him;
 let him put his mouth in the dust—
  there may yet be hope;
 let him give his cheek to the one who strikes,
  and let him be filled with insults.

 For the Lord will not
  cast off forever,
 but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion
  according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
 for he does not afflict from his heart
  or grieve the children of men.

 To crush underfoot
  all the prisoners of the earth,
 to deny a man justice
  in the presence of the Most High,
 to subvert a man in his lawsuit,
  the Lord does not approve.

 Who has spoken and it came to pass,
  unless the Lord has commanded it?
 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
  that good and bad come?
 Why should a living man complain,
  a man, about the punishment of his sins?

 Let us test and examine our ways,
  and return to the LORD!
 Let us lift up our hearts and hands
  to God in heaven:
 “We have transgressed and rebelled,
  and you have not forgiven.

 “You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us,
  killing without pity;
 you have wrapped yourself with a cloud
  so that no prayer can pass through.
 You have made us scum and garbage
  among the peoples.

 “All our enemies
  open their mouths against us;
 panic and pitfall have come upon us,
  devastation and destruction;
 my eyes flow with rivers of tears
  because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.

 “My eyes will flow without ceasing,
  without respite,
 until the LORD from heaven
  looks down and sees;
 my eyes cause me grief
  at the fate of all the daughters of my city.

 “I have been hunted like a bird
  by those who were my enemies without cause;
 they flung me alive into the pit
  and cast stones on me;
 water closed over my head;
  I said, ‘I am lost.’

 “I called on your name, O LORD,
  from the depths of the pit;
 you heard my plea, ‘Do not close
  your ear to my cry for help!’
 You came near when I called on you;
  you said, ‘Do not fear!’

 “You have taken up my cause, O Lord;
  you have redeemed my life.
 You have seen the wrong done to me, O LORD;
  judge my cause.
 You have seen all their vengeance,
  all their plots against me.

 “You have heard their taunts, O LORD,
  all their plots against me.
 The lips and thoughts of my assailants
  are against me all the day long.
 Behold their sitting and their rising;
  I am the object of their taunts.

 “You will repay them, O LORD,
  according to the work of their hands.
 You will give them dullness of heart;
  your curse will be on them.
 You will pursue them in anger and destroy them
  from under your heavens, O LORD.”
(Lamentations 3:16-66 ESV)

 

 

"It is an easy thing to extol in high terms the favour of God in prosperity, and also to exhort those who have reasons to hope well to entertain confidence, and to bring forward God's promises, that the minds of the godly may recumb on them; but when things are in a state of despair, and God seems to have forsaken his Church, since prophecy still remains in its force, and God appears as stretching forth his hand to the miserable, and to such as are almost in a hopeless state, we hence derive much benefit, and this is the chief use of what is taught here" (John Calvin).

 

It has been a difficult weekend. Our great excitement and expectations for the weekend came to an abrupt halt Friday afternoon. Tragedy has struck again, and most of us are still struggling to wrap our minds around the horrific events that took place in an elementary school, first-grade classroom. Some of us rushed to our TVs and turned on the news. Some of us whipped out our cell-phones and began browsing the headlines. Some of us called friends and family that we knew in the area where the shooting occurred. Some of us crumbled to our knees, and prayed one of those prayers that Paul speaks about in Romans 8:26. Throughout the myriad of thoughts racing through our minds at that second, one we shared was, "What is this world coming to?"

 

I have avoided watching the news the past few days. I know what happened, and the media has no hope whatsoever to offer for this tragic situation. When tragedy strikes, we are often glued to the television set, waiting for the media to report on something good that happened in the midst of the tragedy. We are slightly encouraged by reports of heroes and heroines that sacrificed their lives to try to save another's, but that's not enough to answer that burning question that itches all of our ears: Why?!

 

I watched one of the national broadcast news' morning report this morning, and I began to crumble. Twenty first-grade children without a care in the world, anxiously anticipating Christmas break, whose bright-smiled pictures proudly decorated their families' homes and wallets, will now be the bright-smiled pictures that leave an entire nation "Under God" grieving and wondering Why? Why these children? Why now? Why there? Why? Why? Why?

 

We stay glued to the TV waiting for the media to answer that fifth "W" question, but they don't have an answer for us. We know who, we know what, we know when, we know where, but we have no clue why. We talk about it with others at work, with our families, with our fellow believers, but we never seem to have the answer each of us is looking for. Our children huddled beside us on the couch ask the stinging question, "Why did God let that man kill all those kids?" Choked up, wondering the same question ourselves, we try to reassure them along with ourselves that God will use this tragedy for good and for His glory, but our hearts are actually filled with doubt that any good can come from this.

 

If you've read God's Word, then you know that this is not a question that remains unasked throughout Scripture. How many of God's faithful servants were left wondering why God allowed them to succumb to tragedy after tragedy? How often did God's unfaithful people wonder why God turned a blind eye to their suffering while the wicked and sinful flourished and abused them? King David, a man after God's own heart, was even left wondering, "Why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?" Of course, even the only begotten Son of God asked His Heavenly Father Why? as He was crucified on the cross for our transgressions. Brothers and sisters, do not be ashamed of wondering Why?, but be careful how you respond to God's answer.

 

When tragedy strikes, Lamentations is a good book to turn to when you are left wondering Why? As the book of Job teaches us, not every destruction and tragedy we face is a punishment for our sin. This is where our hearts deceitfully venture first to answer our question. We automatically think, "What did I do to deserve this?" We are quick to ponder this question after an event reminds us just how frail human life is, but the thought hardly ever crosses our minds when all is seemingly well. We never wonder why God has so bountifully and graciously provided for our every need in the past, but as soon as our world is turned a bit off kilter, we are quick to file through the sins we have committed and wonder which one God is punishing us for. This, as the book of Job relates, is not good.

 

Every destruction, tragedy, and evil committed in this world is a result of our sin but is not necessarily a punishment or judgment of God for our particular sins. In light of this recent tragedy, Christian churches should not (although many will) try to make any connotation between the tragedy that occurred in Connecticut with social sins that our country has committed. We need not mention the sins of abortion, divorce, or the lack of Christian education in our culture in connection with the tragedy that has taken place. God is not punishing America's policy on the destruction of unborn life by taking the lives of twenty first-graders, and perish the thought in the hearts and minds of God's people that He ever would.

 

On the flip-side of the coin, this event, along with every tragedy, is not outside of God's control and power. That is to say, Satan did not achieve the upper-hand in this tragic loss of life and lay a stinging blow to God's ability to thwart all wicked destruction. Similarly, God is not sitting idly in Heaven, allowing the rest of history to play itself out, allowing man to destroy himself and creation until He chooses to return to judge the quick and the dead. As verses 37 and 38 relate, "Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?" These verses help us understand that nothing comes to pass outside of God's sovereign will, but that leaves many doubting the goodness of God. Surely, if God allowed this evil to occur, then He must necessarily be guilty of the evil committed and, therefore, not be a good God. Calvin extinguishes this incendiary idea much better than I ever could:

"Let us then hold this doctrine, that nothing is done except by God’s command and ordination, and, with the Holy Spirit, regard with abhorrence those profane men who imagine that God sits idly as it were on his watch-tower and takes no notice of what is done in the world, and that human affairs change at random, and that men turn and change independently on any higher power. Nothing is more diabolical than this delirious impiety; for as I have said, it extinguishes all the acts and duties of religion; for there will be no faith, no prayer, no patience, in short, no religion, except we believe and know that God exercises such care over the world, of which he is the Creator, that nothing happens except through his certain and unchangeable decree.

"Now they who object, and say that God is thus made the author of evils, may be easily refuted; for nothing is more preposterous than to measure the incomprehensible judgment of God by our contracted minds. The Scripture cries aloud that the judgments of God are a great deep; it exhorts us to reverence and sobriety, and Paul does not in vain exclaim that the ways of God are unsearchable. (Rom_11:33.) As, then, God’s judgments in their height far surpass all our thoughts, we ought to beware of audacious presumption and curiosity; for the more audacious a man becomes, the farther God withdraws from him. This, then, is our wisdom, to embrace only what the Scripture teaches. Now, when it teaches us that nothing is done except through the will of God, it does not speak indiscriminately, as though God approved of murders, and thefts, and sorceries, and adulteries; what then? even that God by his just and righteous counsel so orders all things, that he still wills not iniquity and abhors all injustice. When, therefore, adulteries, and murders, and plunders are committed, God applies, as it were, a bridle to all those things, and how much soever the most wicked may indulge themselves in their vices, he still rules them; this they themselves acknowledge; but for what end does he rule them? even that he may punish sins with sins, as Paul teaches us, for he says that; God gives up to a reprobate mind those who deserve such a punishment, that he gives them up to disgraceful lusts, that he blinds more and more the despisers of his word. (Rom_1:28; 2Th_2:10.) And then God has various ways, and those innumerable and unknown to us.

 

"Let us then learn not to subject God to our judgment, but adore his judgments, though they surpass our comprehension; and since the cause of them is hid from us, our highest wisdom is modesty and sobriety.

"Thus we see that God is not the author of evils, though nothing happens but by his nod and through his will, — for far different is his design from that of wicked men. Then absurd would it be to implicate him as an associate in the same crime, when a murderer, or a thief, or an adulterer is condemned, — and why? because God has no participation in thefts and adulteries; but the vices of men are in a way wonderful and incomprehensible as his judgments. In a word, as far as the heavens are from the earth, so great is the difference between the works of God and the deeds of men, for the ends, as I have said, are altogether different."

 

"But this I call to mind,
  and therefore I have hope:
 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
  his mercies never come to an end;
 they are new every morning;
  great is your faithfulness.
 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
  “therefore I will hope in him.”
 The LORD is good to those who wait for him,
  to the soul who seeks him.
 It is good that one should wait quietly
  for the salvation of the LORD...

 For the Lord will not
  cast off forever,
 but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion
  according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
 for he does not afflict from his heart
  or grieve the children of men."
 

Overall, we have brought this tragedy upon ourselves when Adam disobeyed the command of God and plunged every man, woman, child, creature, and all of creation into the destructive power of sin. The punishment of sin is death, and every sinful creature shall die once. Whether we live to see eighty or our life is snuffed out after six months, we will all die and this is unavoidable. Death is sadly a part of our lives because of man's sinfulness. Death, however, is not the only punishment, but hurt, pain, destruction, torment, and immense suffering.

The Lord causes grief in our lives, grief that will cause us to wonder What have I done to deserve this?, and such grief should not point us to a single sin but to an entire sinful nature in need of salvation from sin and its desserts: pain, suffering, grief, and death. God does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men. He finds no pleasure in our suffering from sin. He does not delight in the tragedies that we have exposed ourselves to through sin, but He does allow and cause us to be stricken with grief so that we might repent of our sins and turn to Him for compassion. God does not enjoy our suffering, and He even suffered along with us and for us, even death upon a cross, so that He could save His creation from the sinful torments they brought upon themselves. He hates our suffering and our sin so much that He burdened Himself with it so that we might be freed from it by faith in Him. Unfortunately, so many of us ignore our only hope of salvation until God removes every false hope from our line of sight and reminds us that He is our portion and we can and should only hope in Him. It takes tragedies to remind us that the most tragic event that occurred throughout all creation is the only one that brings us hope above all others: our creator died the sinful death of His creation so that mankind might pass from sin and death to life everlasting through His death and resurrection.

As a nation, we should certainly grieve over this terrible tragedy. As a church, we should not be surprised when we ask Why? That is not a bad question to ask, but we need to let God answer our question through His Word. He is not going to answer each of us individually through a dream or a vision. He is not going to let an event or a circumstance answer that question. His answer is clear, and we need to obey immediately: "Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD! Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven" (Lamentations 3:40-41 ESV). In short, let us pray!

Let us remember who our only hope is! Let us lift up His name on high! Let us praise and worship Him for His truth and glory! Let us humble ourselves and glorify Him with honor! Let us recognize that although the mountains should fall, our God sits upon His throne in Heaven and protects the needy and defenseless! Let us remember that God has provided the Lamb for the sacrifice, and has shown compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love by giving His only begotten Son as the propitiation for our sins!

Let us never forget that although these children, their protectors, and their murderer have left this sinful world, God will judge the sinful and will pardon the faithful! This heinous crime shall not be ignored by God. He has heard the cries of the children, He has heard the sound of their blood crying from the ground, and He has answered their cry for justice. Their murderer shall not remain unpunished, and although he may cry, "My punishment is greater than I can bear!", the Lord will execute His just judgment!

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-15)

This is the hope that we have as Christians. In the midst of great grief and tragedy, our message must not change. Death is not the end-all. There is a resurrection from the dead, and when the death toll climbs the glory of the resurrection increases! Although God will be glorified for every man's resurrection, the resurrection will not be a wonderful experience for everyone. Some will be resurrected unto everlasting life and some unto everlasting torment. The book of life is written in the blood of Christ and has been published long before the foundations of the earth have been laid. The names in that book were written before the men and women who match those names even drew a single breath. Their names are not in that book because of their deeds in this life, but solely because of Christ's obedience in life and death to God's will. Therefore, countless childrens' names are surely included in the book of life, to include names of the twenty murdered children. Even children who remained unnamed in this world because they never survived the womb have names listed in the book of life. This gives us immense hope in light of tragic, child death that occurs around the world every day.

Finally, we do not know whose names are listed in that book, but we must assume that every neighbor that surrounds us is listed in the book of life. How shall they believe if they have never hear the Gospel? In light of tragedy, those who are at enmity with God do not grow softer, but rather, their hearts tend to grow harder. They hate someone that they claim does not exist. They say that events like these just go to prove that there is no God, and if there is, He is either all-powerful and unloving or all-loving and not powerful. Overall, the hard hearts will hate with a further passion Him who they fervently argue does not exist. How much more, therefore, should we proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to these people?! Remind them that this situation is completely hopeless if there is no God. These children will never receive justice and they will never know any more of life. To remove God from this tragedy is to say that the cry of these children's blood will never go answered and to steal from their families any hope of seeing their children raised from the dead on that last great day. Without God, this situation is bleak indeed. But with God, there remains hope, and you MUST provide that hope to those who cannot see it. But you must first see that hope yourself, and therefore, you must read God's Word and lift up your prayers and doubts before God so that He can comfort you by the Holy Spirit in the salvation and resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. (1 Peter 3:14-16) 
 

Tempted? See the salvation of the LORD!

The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon. When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly.

 And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: 'Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness."

And Moses said to the people, "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent." (Exodus 14:9-14)

Temptation got you down? Are you struggling with a sin in your life that you cannot seem to shake? You have been freed from the slavery of sin by the blood of the Passover Lamb. You have been freed from slavery and you now venture as a pilgrim to the Promised Land. But lo and behold, sin chases you down to trap you and to completely destroy you when there seems no route of escape. You raise your eyes, and instead of praise, your lips are tainted by fear and doubt. Why has God freed you from your sins, placing a new heart in you, writing the Law on your heart, giving you the will and ability to be righteous by the power of the Spirit only to allow you suffer more in this sin than you did before when you committed it without a heart to obey Christ?

But wait a minute, what does all of this have to do with the Israelites at the Red Sea? Exodus is a just an Old Testament story about God saving Israel from the oppression of a wicked Egyptian Pharaoh through the mediation of Moses and by signs and wonders? What does that have anything to do with my salvation and my present struggle with temptation?

Arthur Pink writes:
"Historically, the book of Exodus treats of the deliverance of Israel from Egypt; but viewed doctrinally, it deals with redemption. Just as the first book of the Bible teaches that God elects unto salvation, so the second instructs us how God saves, namely, by redemption. Redemption, then, is the dominant subject of Exodus" (from Gleanings of Exodus).

With this in mind, Exodus is both a historical narrative of the true events that took place concerning Israel's exodus from Egyptian bondage, and also a narrative of true events that take place in every believer's redemption from the bondage of sin by the hand of God. The historical Passover points to the sacrificial atonement of Jesus Christ upon the cross (1 Cor. 5:7). Paul also shows that the Israelites were baptized into Moses in the Red Sea and that they drank from the spiritual Rock, Jesus Christ, in the wilderness (1 Cor. 10:1-4). By their crossing the Red Sea, the Israelites in a sense died to Egypt and were raised to a new life free from slavery and free to worship their Covenant God. Therefore, there is undoubtedly a connection between every believer struggling with besetting sins and temptations with the Israelites that felt trapped at the shore of the Red Sea. Like Israel, we have been saved from slavery but it now seems that we have only been saved from bondage for our utter destruction. 

Sin is now attacking all the more vehemently for our demise, sparing no device at its possession. Just as Pharaoh gathers every resource at his disposal, so sin will not let you leave its possession quietly. You can trust that sin will seek to devour you all the more after you are freed from its reign over your life. Satan, the accuser, will recognize your new resting place in Christ, and he will take advantage of your new position hidden in Christ to increase his attacks' propensity and intensity.

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. (1 Peter 5:8-10)

All of Israel was encamped at the shores of the Red Sea. They all experienced this same trial together. You are not alone. Look to your right and to your left, and recognize your brothers and sisters who are in the same boat with you. Know that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. There is not a fellow brother or sister that does not have sin seeking to destroy them. There is not a fellow believer that is not sought out by the devil to devour.

As the enemy approaches, Israel lifts their eyes up but not high enough. They look upon Pharaoh's army and they begin to doubt God's salvation. They accuse God of only freeing them from Egypt in order to destroy them in the wilderness. They foolishly say that it would have been much better that they remain in Egypt as slaves than to be slaughtered as freemen in the wilderness. We are quick to see the foolishness in Israel's lack of faith, but do we not often make the same foolhardy mistake and speak such faithless words?

For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they (the wicked) entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: "The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire." (2 Peter 2:18-22)

Like Israel, we are tempted to return to Egypt like a dog returns to its own vomit and a sow returns to wallow in the mire after being cleaned. We believe that we are in a worse state now, facing destruction as freemen in the wilderness, than we would have been in if we had only remained under the bondage of sin. However, Peter clearly articulates that the worst state of all is to escape the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then to be overcome and entangled back in our past corruption. Israel, therefore, only saw two options: die in the wilderness or return to Egypt as slaves.

Arthur Pink writes:

How absurd are the reasonings of unbelief! If death at the hands of the Egyptians was to be their lot, why had Jehovah delivered them from the land of bondage? The fact that He had led them out of Egypt was evidence enough that He was not going to allow them to fall before their enemies. Besides, the Lord had promised they should worship Him in Mount Horeb (3:12). How, then, could they now perish in the wilderness? But where faith is not in exercise, the promises of God bring no comfort and afford no stay to the heart.

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

God is faithful, and He promises to provide the way of escape so that you may not be destroyed and overcome by temptation and sin. God has not delivered you from sin in order for you to be enslaved by it once more. Therefore, look at Moses' words to the people of Israel, and take them to heart: "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."

Fear not, Christian. Stand firm on the Rock, believer. See and remember the salvation of the Lord, brother and sister. The Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them was left.

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die--but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:7-11)

The Red Sea was parted, the Israelites passed through on dry land, the army of Pharaoh pursued them, but were swallowed up in the sea. Paul tells us that Israel's passage through the Red Sea was a type of baptism. Therefore, look to your baptism, Christian, when Egypt seeks to return you once more to bondage. It will pursue you, it will chase after you, but you have entered a path where it cannot pursue. You have died with Christ and have been raised with Him, and never forget that which your baptism signifies (Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12)! If while you were still an enemy of God he reconciled you to Himself by the death of his Son, how much more, now that you are reconciled through our Lord Jesus Christ, shall you be saved by his life.

The Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The sins that you see today, you shall never see again. Fear not. Stand firm. See and remember the salvation of the Lord.

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

Your slavery is past tense. Yes, sin will chase you to the shores of the Red Sea, but remember the salvation of the Lord when you feel trapped against its bank. Such were some of you. You were washed, you were sanctified, and you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. As Israel passed through the Red Sea and Egypt could not follow them, you too have passed from death to life in Christ's death and resurrection, and sin, like Pharaoh's army, shall be consumed by the raging waters.

Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:16-23)

Amen.