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When James Cain wrote the novel The Postman Always Rings Twice it had nothing to do with the postal service. Rather the book is a sexual thriller. Cain gave the book the title because he received several rejection letters for his manuscript, and each day the postman would bring him another rejection he would ring the doorbell two times.

Things are rarely as they appear until you dig deeper. As we come to this fourth article we have been saying the same thing about the meaning of Easter.

As the last article concluded we asked a common question, if sin is gone for the believer, then why do people of faith still "sin".

Paul declares in Christ, "We are those who have died to sin" (Romans 6:2).

As we saw previously, from God's point of reference we have died with Christ. This is why Paul continues by stating, "The death he (Christ) died, he died to sin once for all" (Romans 6:10).

Through the cross Jesus removed the sting of death and sin by his one perfect offering. To clarify even further Paul next shares, "Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Romans 6:11).

Many people try to soften the Apostle's words by saying he means to try to sin less often.

The church in Corinth had no such misunderstanding. They understood that in Christ their sin was gone, past, present and future. Period. So some asked the question still asked today, "If I can't sin, then does that mean I can do anything I want to do?"

Paul's response is very telling. He doesn't disagree with their conclusion but instead responds, "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable" (1 Corinthians 6:12).

The first half of the sentence was probably a motto in Corinth which was known for its loose morals, "All things are lawful for me." Paul's response is, "True, but not all things are profitable."

Paul is essentially saying, "Nothing you do is seen by God as sin because you died with Christ and now God only sees him in you. Yes, you could do anything, but that doesn't mean you should." In fact, Paul was nauseated that people might use the grace of God to indulge their every whim.

We also previously said that you can't live the Christian life. Indeed, you were not meant to, only Jesus can and he now lives his life through you and it is his life in you that is pleasing to the Father. Your job is to simply be a vessel for his outpoured life and trust that in him "It is finished" (John 19).

To further eliminate the idea of performance based religion scripture makes the astonishing promise, "He has saved us--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time" (2 Timothy 1:9).

It has nothing to do with anything you or I did do, will do or ever could do. Anyone who tells you anything different has completely missed the mark. Jesus promised his disciples just moments before his arrest, "I myself will be in them" (John 19:26).

Grace is about redemption and forgiveness freely given and a price completely paid by another. In Christ you have died to sin and were given grace before the beginning of time.

About the Author:
A former pastor, Tobin holds both a B.A. and an M.A. in theology. Having traveled widely in the Marine Corps and as a graduate student, Tobin has spent the past 15 years gathering some of the world's most powerful life-changing truths. He's the author of The Life That Is Really Life: How Biblical Truth Can Transform Your Spiritual, Emotional, Physical and Relational Health which is available on Amazon and at his website twominutesermon.com