Don’t Even Take a Bite
How is your daily Bible reading going so far in this new year? I hope you don’t mind that I keep asking! We’re spending the month of January (and probably even longer) reminding ourselves to read the Bible as consistently as possible in 2025.
More specifically, I want to help you read and understand your Bible in a way that connects the Word of God to your everyday life.
A practical way to do that is by identifying one (or more) of four themes in every passage that link the narrative of Scripture together: Creation. Slavery. Redemption. Restoration.
It doesn’t take long for the beautiful narrative of Creation in Genesis 1 and 2 (which I wrote about last week) to descend into the dark Slavery of sin in Genesis 3.
Slavery
“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate” (Genesis 3:6).
It’s dangerous to take even the smallest bite of sin. It’s tempting, because what God has forbidden presents itself as delicious. Sin masquerades as beautiful and fulfilling, when actually it is ugly and destructive.
The foolishness of sin also tricks us into thinking that we can take a nibble and handle the danger.
Romans 7:15-25 probably contains the best description of the slavery of sin. I’m sure you know these verses, but read the passage in full after:
- “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (v. 15)
- “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (v. 19)
- “So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand” (v. 21)
Have you ever been confused and dismayed by your own sinful actions? You had determined to do what is righteous, but then you faced temptation and ended up taking yet another bite out of sin.
You had promised yourself, God, and maybe even others that you would not make this mistake again. But here you are, repeating the same cycle. It’s depressing to admit, but we live under the power of something we cannot control.
This is why the Apostle Paul uses the word “law” in verse 21. He doesn’t mean a moral law, like the Ten Commandments. He’s talking about sin as an inescapable force, like gravity.
You cannot will yourself free of gravity on earth, no matter how hard you fight its force. And you cannot will yourself free from the power of sin. We struggle because sin still enslaves all of us. Yes, we have been justified, but our sin has not yet been totally eradicated.
Sin enslaves each and every one of us, and we have no power on our own to escape its hold. This means we are in need of rescue, and that rescue is found only in the freeing grace of the Son, the Lord Jesus.
As your read your Bible, look for the theme of slavery. Look for the Warrior Christ who frees us from sin. Then, look for evidence of the enslaving power of sin in your everyday life and cry out to Jesus for his liberating grace.
By grace, daily Bible reading will free you from slavery while simultaneously inviting you into the best slavery ever: “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” (Romans 6:22).
Praise Jesus today for his liberating grace, and don’t allow yourself to take a bite from what God has forbidden.
A Prayer for Today: Lord Jesus, I praise you for rescuing me from the slavery of sin. Thank you for your liberating grace in my life that delivers me from sin and welcomes me into the joys of being your slave, under your loving rule. Lord, I am often confused and dismayed by my own sinful actions, and I need you to rescue me from the patterns of sin I can’t seem to escape from on my own. Would you move into every area of my life and make me the kind of person you want me to be? Thank you for your rescuing grace. In Jesus’ name, amen.
God bless,
Paul Tripp
Discussion Prompt for Children:
• Do you ever get upset with yourself when you act in a way that you know isn’t good, loving, or helpful? Why do you think it’s so difficult to change and get better? How can you and I ask God to help change us more into who he wants us to be, and can we pray together for God to do that work in our lives?
Reflection Questions
1. Have you ever been confused and dismayed by your own sinful actions? What do you think brought about the confusion or disillusionment? How did your potential confusion or disillusionment influence your posture toward defeating sin in your life?
2. In what ways have you attempted to defeat sin in your life in your own power? Ultimately in the long run, why do you think your efforts were ineffective?
3. Why do you think God chooses to use the theme of slavery so abundantly in the Bible? In what ways might you currently be experiencing the effects of slavery in your life? How might something as simple as daily Bible reading free you from the slavery of sin?
4. What do you think it means to be a slave to the Lord Jesus Christ? How does your slavery to him impact your everyday life? If it doesn’t, why do you think it isn’t having an impact on you each day? What steps can you take to change?