Choose Control

We often have to make long drives to see family, and when we do I use the cruise control on our vehicle. It’s easy to set the speed and take your foot off the pedal. Cruise control gives you one less thing to worry about and some high-end cars today have self-driving features where you don’t even have to control the steering wheel yourself. It’s easy to set things and let the machine take control. Paul wrote about what we choose to control us, but unlike a button on a machine, this choice has eternal consequences.

“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.” (Romans 8:1-3)

Jesus not only paid the debt we owed to God because of sin, but He also declared an end to sin’s control over us. So if we are no longer controlled by sin, then when we sin it is our choice to do so.

“Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.” (Romans 8:5-6)

God does not leave us on our own in this sinful and fallen world. We have a choice to be controlled by sin or to be controlled by the Spirit. Either way, it is our choice. Choosing to be controlled by our sinful nature leads to death, but choosing to be controlled by the Spirit leads to life and peace.

“But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God.” (Romans 8:9-10)

“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 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….” (Galatians 5:16-17)

We are being fought over by two spiritual forces and we get to choose which one has control over us: our sinful nature or the Holy Spirit. If you have accepted Jesus’ payment for your sins then you have been made right with God; your chains have been broken. Don’t choose to put broken chains back on. The control of broken things is very weak, but that sinful nature is constantly fighting for your choice. No matter what, it is our choice. Which will you choose?

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

—Redeemed