Daily Bible GNT May 31 Scroll

Dead to Sin but Alive in Union with Christ

Romans 6 What shall we say, then? Should we continue to live in sin so that God's grace will increase? ²Certainly not! We have died to sin--how then can we go on living in it? ³For surely you know that when we were baptized into union with Christ Jesus, we were baptized into union with his death. ⁴By our baptism, then, we were buried with him and shared his death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of the Father, so also we might live a new life.

⁵For since we have become one with him in dying as he did, in the same way we shall be one with him by being raised to life as he was. ⁶And we know that our old being has been put to death with Christ on his cross, in order that the power of the sinful self might be destroyed, so that we should no longer be the slaves of sin. ⁷For when we die, we are set free from the power of sin. ⁸Since we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹For we know that Christ has been raised from death and will never die again--death will no longer rule over him. ¹⁰And so, because he died, sin has no power over him; and now he lives his life in fellowship with God. ¹¹In the same way you are to think of yourselves as dead, so far as sin is concerned, but living in fellowship with God through Christ Jesus.

¹²Sin must no longer rule in your mortal bodies, so that you obey the desires of your natural self. ¹³Nor must you surrender any part of yourselves to sin to be used for wicked purposes. Instead, give yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life, and surrender your whole being to him to be used for righteous purposes. ¹⁴Sin must not be your master; for you do not live under law but under God's grace.

Slaves of Righteousness

¹⁵What, then? Shall we sin, because we are not under law but under God's grace? By no means! ¹⁶Surely you know that when you surrender yourselves as slaves to obey someone, you are in fact the slaves of the master you obey--either of sin, which results in death, or of obedience, which results in being put right with God. ¹⁷But thanks be to God! For though at one time you were slaves to sin, you have obeyed with all your heart the truths found in the teaching you received. ¹⁸You were set free from sin and became the slaves of righteousness. ¹⁹(I use everyday language because of the weakness of your natural selves.) At one time you surrendered yourselves entirely as slaves to impurity and wickedness for wicked purposes. In the same way you must now surrender yourselves entirely as slaves of righteousness for holy purposes.

²⁰When you were the slaves of sin, you were free from righteousness. ²¹What did you gain from doing the things that you are now ashamed of ? The result of those things is death! ²²But now you have been set free from sin and are the slaves of God. Your gain is a life fully dedicated to him, and the result is eternal life. ²³For sin pays its wage--death; but God's free gift is eternal life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord.

War against the Amalekites

1 Samuel 15 Samuel said to Saul, "I am the one whom the LORD sent to anoint you king of his people Israel. Now listen to what the LORD Almighty says. ²He is going to punish the people of Amalek because their ancestors opposed the Israelites when they were coming from Egypt. ³Go and attack the Amalekites and completely destroy everything they have. Don't leave a thing; kill all the men, women, children, and babies; the cattle, sheep, camels, and donkeys."

⁴Saul called his forces together and inspected them at Telem: there were 200,000 soldiers from Israel and 10,000 from Judah. ⁵Then he and his men went to the city of Amalek and waited in ambush in a dry riverbed. ⁶He sent a warning to the Kenites, a people whose ancestors had been kind to the Israelites when they came from Egypt: "Go away and leave the Amalekites, so that I won't kill you along with them." So the Kenites left.

⁷Saul defeated the Amalekites, fighting all the way from Havilah to Shur, east of Egypt; ⁸he captured King Agag of Amalek alive and killed all the people. ⁹But Saul and his men spared Agag's life and did not kill the best sheep and cattle, the best calves and lambs, or anything else that was good; they destroyed only what was useless or worthless.

Saul Is Rejected as King

¹⁰The LORD said to Samuel, ¹¹"I am sorry that I made Saul king; he has turned away from me and disobeyed my commands." Samuel was angry, and all night long he pleaded with the LORD. ¹²Early the following morning he went off to find Saul. He heard that Saul had gone to the town of Carmel, where he had built a monument to himself, and then had gone on to Gilgal. ¹³Samuel went up to Saul, who greeted him, saying, "The LORD bless you, Samuel! I have obeyed the LORD's command."

¹⁴Samuel asked, "Why, then, do I hear cattle mooing and sheep bleating?"

¹⁵Saul answered, "My men took them from the Amalekites. They kept the best sheep and cattle to offer as a sacrifice to the LORD your God, and the rest we have destroyed completely."

¹⁶"Stop," Samuel ordered, "and I will tell you what the LORD said to me last night."

"Tell me," Saul said.

¹⁷Samuel answered, "Even though you consider yourself of no importance, you are the leader of the tribes of Israel. The LORD anointed you king of Israel, ¹⁸and he sent you out with orders to destroy those wicked people of Amalek. He told you to fight until you had killed them all. ¹⁹Why, then, did you not obey him? Why did you rush to grab the loot, and so do what displeases the LORD?"

²⁰"I did obey the LORD," Saul replied. "I went out as he told me to, brought back King Agag, and killed all the Amalekites. ²¹But my men did not kill the best sheep and cattle that they captured; instead, they brought them here to Gilgal to offer as a sacrifice to the LORD your God."

²²Samuel said, "Which does the LORD prefer: obedience or offerings and sacrifices? It is better to obey him than to sacrifice the best sheep to him. ²³Rebellion against him is as bad as witchcraft, and arrogance is as sinful as idolatry. Because you rejected the LORD's command, he has rejected you as king."

²⁴"Yes, I have sinned," Saul replied. "I disobeyed the LORD's command and your instructions. I was afraid of my men and did what they wanted. ²⁵But now I beg you, forgive my sin and go back with me, so that I can worship the LORD."

²⁶"I will not go back with you," Samuel answered. "You rejected the LORD's command, and he has rejected you as king of Israel."

²⁷Then Samuel turned to leave, but Saul caught hold of his cloak, and it tore. ²⁸Samuel said to him, "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel away from you today and given it to someone who is a better man than you. ²⁹Israel's majestic God does not lie or change his mind. He is not a human being--he does not change his mind."

³⁰"I have sinned," Saul replied. "But at least show me respect in front of the leaders of my people and all of Israel. Go back with me so that I can worship the LORD your God." ³¹So Samuel went back with him, and Saul worshiped the LORD.

³²"Bring King Agag here to me," Samuel ordered. Agag came to him, trembling with fear, thinking to himself, "What a bitter thing it is to die!" ³³Samuel said, "As your sword has made many mothers childless, so now your mother will become childless." And he cut Agag to pieces in front of the altar in Gilgal.

³⁴Then Samuel went to Ramah, and King Saul went home to Gibeah. ³⁵As long as Samuel lived, he never again saw the king; but he grieved over him. The LORD was sorry that he had made Saul king of Israel.

A Prayer for Deliverance

Psalm 60 You have rejected us, God, and defeated us;

you have been angry with us--but now turn back to us.

²You have made the land tremble, and you have cut it open;

now heal its wounds, because it is falling apart.

³You have made your people suffer greatly;

we stagger around as though we were drunk.

⁴You have warned those who have reverence for you,

so that they might escape destruction.

⁵Save us by your might; answer our prayer,

so that the people you love may be rescued.

⁶From his sanctuary God has said,

"In triumph I will divide Shechem

and distribute Sukkoth Valley to my people.

⁷Gilead is mine, and Manasseh too;

Ephraim is my helmet

and Judah my royal scepter.

⁸But I will use Moab as my washbowl,

and I will throw my sandals on Edom,

as a sign that I own it.

Did the Philistines think they would shout in triumph over me?"

⁹Who, O God, will take me into the fortified city?

Who will lead me to Edom?

¹⁰Have you really rejected us?

Aren't you going to march out with our armies?

¹¹Help us against the enemy;

human help is worthless.

¹²With God on our side we will win;

he will defeat our enemies.

This reading is from The Holy Bible, Today's English Version, Second Edition copyright © American Bible Society, 1992;
Old Testament copyright © American Bible Society, 1976, 1992; New Testament © American Bible Society, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992.

These daily Bible readings from the Good News Translation (GNT), formerly the Today's English Version (TEV), are published by BibleNetUSA. The web site and BibleCard® designs are by iCreative. All BibleCard® images are copyrighted by iCreative. All rights reserved.