ON THE VANGUARD

YOU USED TO...
"But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted."
Romans 6:17

I would not say that I have ever had a weight issue, but I will admit that my weight has fluctuated over the years. When I graduated high school I weighed 145. When I came home from college for winter break my freshman year, I had doubled the freshman 15, then weighing 175. When I married in 1998 I weighed 155 thanks to a more healthy diet and lifestyle. Over the past twelve years I have maxed out at 180 and gotten as low as 150. Currently I am 160. Now this may be more than you care to know about me, but the point I want to make is concerning who I used to be. I used to be considered obese for my height. Now I am considered slightly overweight and am working again toward a healthy lifestyle.
Paul is addressing the Romans here in chapter 6 on the topic of grace. He shared that sin was not meant to be our master. Our baptism into Christ and resurrection with Christ gives us power over sin. Because of this, we are encouraged to offer our bodies not as instruments of wickedness and slaves to sin, but instead as instruments of righteousness.
I love Paul's charge in Romans 6:15. "What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!" Paul later in verse 23 shares that the cost for sin is death. But in the middle of both these verses Paul writes the words...USED TO BE.
...You used to be a slave to sin...verse 17
...You used to offer your body to sin...verse 19
We are people, saved by God's grace, who have been forgiven of our past. However, forgiveness without change is just lip service. Going back to my weight, I can say I want to lose weight. Until I make the effort, however, I am only making noise.
Paul encourages us to look at who we were. Is it worth going back to? Is it worth the risk to my health to be obese? Is it worth the risk to another marriage to bring pornography back into my life? Is it worth the failure as a parent to leave a legacy for my children that shows them that sin is permissible? By no means! Then I must be one who keeps the past in check as a learning tool and testimony of who I used to be. I thank God I am not that Dan anymore, but rather a new creation in Christ; not a slave to sin, but rather an active joint heir with Christ.
Who did you used to be? Who are you now? Put away the old enslaved lifestyle and join me ON THE VANGUARD!