Made Free from Sin, Believers Became Bondservants of Righteousness

This passage deals with the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who were thrown into the furnace for refusing to bow down to the golden image set up by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Risking death, they refuse idolatry and show their firm faith that they will obey even if God does not rescue them. Their refusal to give in, even before the king's threats, reveals their identity as people who have already died with Jesus on the cross.

The sermon stresses that believers must be not slaves of sin but servants of righteousness. Just as the apostle Paul urged us not to present our members as instruments of unrighteousness, believers must offer their bodies to God and strive so that sin does not rule over them. The miracle of four people walking together in the furnace shows that Jesus Christ is with them, and this is a promise that God is with believers when they keep his word and obey. God does not judge believers who are under grace by the Law, and he helps them turn their wrong lives around.

Believers must choose what kind of faith they live by from day to day, and whether they will use their members as instruments of righteousness or of unrighteousness. Jesus' exhortations to the seven churches show what eternal life and rewards are given to those who overcome. When believers abide in grace with gratitude and obedience, God walks with them to the end and leads them into his kingdom. How must believers strive so that sin does not rule over their bodies, and what faith must they keep for the blessing of eternal life?