We love with Jesus because we love righteousness like He does.

Romans 6:17-18 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. There are five points of encouragement in these verses that should motivate us to live to love with Jesus. First, we thank God because our salvation is totally from God, therefore thanksgiving should naturally flow from our hearts. Second, we give God thanks for what He has accomplished on our behalf. We were slaves of sin, but now we have been set free from sin’s power of eternal death. Third, we thank God because He didn’t just set us free from sin’s control. He did a work of grace in our hearts, giving us heart-driven obedience to the gospel truth. Fourth, we thank God that there is a form of teaching to be committed to that is timeless, liberating, and God-glorifying. And fifth, thanks be to God that we have joyful hearts in living for righteousness. We are willing slaves of righteousness. We feel privileged to live righteously for God’s glory. Living to love with Jesus is what being slaves of righteousness looks like. Let’s remember Paul’s point in these verses is to explain why we don’t have a careless, antinomian (that’s lawless) attitude because of the grace in which we stand. Thanks be to God that we don’t have that attitude. He has transformed our hearts and committed our hearts to righteousness so we don’t continue living under the dominion of sin in our mortal bodies. We live to love with Jesus for the glory of God because He accomplished such a wonderful work of grace. We love righteousness like Jesus does. The writer of Hebrews quoted Ps. 45:7 which describes Jesus. “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness.” That love of righteousness lives in us if Jesus lives in us. That’s why we love to live to love with Jesus! It’s the righteous thing to do in light of the grace of God which we enjoy and our union with Jesus. Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com