Just Pondering
|
Rick Branan |
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness. So what fruit was produced then from the things you are now ashamed of? The outcome of those things is death. But now, since you have been set free from sin and have become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification — and the outcome is eternal life! For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:20-23 (CSBBible)
Benjamin Beddome was born at Henley-in Arden, Warwickshire, January 23, 1717. His father was a Baptist minister. He studied at various places, and began preaching in 1740. He was pastor of a Baptist society at Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, until his death in 1795. In 1770, he received the degree of M.A. from the Baptist College in Providence, Rhode Island. He published several discourses and hymns. "His hymns, to the number of 830, were published in 1818, with a recommendation from Robert Hall." Montgomery speaks of him as a "writer worthy of honour both for the quantity and the quality of his hymns."
Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins
God, in the Gospel of His Son
God, in the gospel of his Son,
makes his eternal counsels known;
where love in all its glory shines,
and truth is drawn in fairest lines.
Here sinners of a humble frame
may taste his grace and learn his name;
may read, in characters of blood,
the wisdom, pow'r, and grace of God.
The pris'ner here may break his chains;
the weary rest from all his pains;
the captive feel his bondage cease;
the mourner find the way of peace.
Here faith reveals to mortal eyes
a brighter world beyond the skies;
here shines the light which guides our way
from earth to realms of endless day.
O grant us grace, almighty Lord,
to read and mark your holy Word;
its truths with meekness to receive,
and by its holy precepts live.
Written by Benjamin Beddome
Have you ever thought of yourself as a slave? I know we may call our boss a slave driver or we may feel we’re controlled by chocolate, or the like. But have you thought of yourself as a slave to sin? Before salvation, we didn’t care about sin. We cared about getting punished, maybe, but we soaked up the “life.” Paul reminds us in his letter to the Romans that we produced nothing as slaves to sin. Whatever good we might have done, the ultimate result was death because of our sin. Paul goes on to say that as believers, we are set free from sin but are now servants of God producing fruit. He ends this paragraph with, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We have been given the ultimate and permanent gift of salvation because of Christ’s work on the cross.
Our hymn writer, Benjamin Beddome, said it this way, “The pris'ner here may break his chains; the weary rest from all his pains; the captive feel his bondage cease; the mourner find the way of peace.” We are prisoners to sin until we surrender to Christ as our Lord and Savior. It is simple enough: admit you are a sinner, repent from your sins, and believe in Christ as God’s son. This is a gift of grace.
Today is the perfect day to be free from the consequences of your sin. Accept God’s grace and peace through Jesus Christ.
Just pondering . . . Bro. Rick