Hardin County Church of Christ

A Change in One's Allegiance

A Change in One's Allegiance

          In Romans 6:16 Paul states that whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey. Allegiance is defined very closely to what Paul has stated, a loyalty or commitment of an individual or group to a superior or cause. Simply put, we submit ourselves completely to someone or something that we have a deep interest or regard. Mankind puts forth a great allegiance unto oneself. Looking at the sins listed throughout the Bible they all pertain to satisfying one's own desire or lust. Galatians 5:19-21 KJV 19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told [you] in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

          Paul also emphasized to not let sin reign in our mortal body, that you should obey the lust thereof and to neither yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin; by doing so we allow sin to have dominion over us, Romans 6:12-14. By our yielding ourselves to the lust of the flesh we are giving our allegiance to the flesh, thus serving ourselves. This world tells us to live for the day, "Go for the gusto," as Isaiah 22:13 says, 13 But instead, joy and gladness, slaying oxen and killing sheep, eating meat and drinking wine: "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!". If our allegiance is upon ourselves, we need to repent and turn unto God, for our sins have separated us from God.

           Our allegiance needs to be place upon the One who can save us from our sins, the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul was well familiar with having the wrong allegiance and necessity for change. He had such a zeal for persecuting Christians until the Lord appeared unto him on the road to Damascus, Acts 9. Paul stated in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. We are to submit to Christ at the point of baptism, based on the faith that we gain through study of God's word, Romans 10:17. This faith leads us to repentance, change one's mind from self to Christ, to confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Baptism is the culminating action of faith where one puts themselves into full subjection to Christ by being conformed to the image of His death, in order to also receive the likeness of His resurrection unto life. We have changed our allegiance from ourselves unto Christ, the King of kings, Lord of lords. Amen

Mike Parks
Hardin County Church of Christ
Radcliff, KY 40160




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