BOUGHT WITH A PRICE: Devotion for Thursday October 20, 2016

BOUGHT WITH A PRICE: Devotion for Thursday October 20, 2016

Text: 1 Corinthians 6: 12 – 20    Memory verse: 1 Corinthians 6 verse 20

Yesterday, we read how Paul asserted that people who say they are Christians but are still living in sin will not be part in the Kingdom of God. We summed up by saying that Christians must not willfully commit sin or condone it in any way. His stand according to yesterday’s devotion is that we cannot be selective about the sin we condemn or excuse. God expects His followers in any age to have high moral standards.  

In our bible reading for the day, the Apostle continues his admonition by stressing the importance of living a life of purity and righteousness. He gave instances of how we can defile ourselves especially through immorality. The reason he was so particular about immorality is in 1 Corinthians 6:18 and 19. Christians should take this admonition is very seriously because as they are no longer the owners of their bodies.

Now, our bodies belong to God and should be honoured and exclusively be used to glorify Him. We can do this by absolute obedience to God (1 Corinthians 6:19). Paul stressed this because we have been bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20). The price with which Jesus Christ bought us is stated in Matt 20:28; Galatians 3:13 and 1 Peter 18, 19. The precious blood of Jesus Christ is not what we should take for granted and abuse it. We should consider the sacrifice Jesus Christ made and take our call and faith seriously.

Beloved, since our bodies belong to God, it is our duty to glorify God with them. The fact that we are His, purchased and now belong to His spiritual temple makes our obligation to consecrate our spirit and body to His service imperative. Unfortunately, some Christians today who belong to the permissive group don’t see anything wrong in this. They hold the view that we can live in the world and do whatever we like in the name of freedom. It ought not to be so. We need the grace of God to fulfill our obligation of consecrating our lives to God and we can only succeed if we apply the counsel of Paul in Romans 12:1–2. To present the body to God as a living sacrifice is to consecrate it, with the living soul that inhibits it, to God's service.       

Food for Thought: Act 20:28

Prayer: God, grant me the understanding that I have been bought with a precious price so that I will live my life to conform to the standard expected of me in Jesus name. Amen.