Romans 6
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Romans 6
Romans 6
Introduction: ...
We have been studying the book of Romans, and today we will start in Chapter 6 if you want to move on over there in your Bibles.
Chapter six is where the third division of this epistle starts, and Paul introduces the subject of this division in the form of a question.
Romans 6:1 ESV
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?
It is important to note that there is a reason for this. The idea Paul is addressing here has been seen in false doctrines from every generation, including the first century. Including in the time of the apostles that walked with Christ. Even being proposed against the apostles' testimonies.
Had Paul's doctrine been that salvation depends in any degree upon our good works, as some would suggest, no such objection to it could have been made. Against the doctrine of a purely gratuitous justification, the objection is plausible; and as I stated before, there has never been an age in which the false notion that we can do whatever we want as Christians has not been presented as an interpretation for the Apostles as a whole, but especially those like Paul and Peter.
Believe it or not, Christians today still buy into this idea and do whatever they want. And if that is you, Paul would have you know just as he made it known to the Church in Rome; you are very wrong.
So, in Paul's subject opening question, he expels two very wrong ideas of the gospel he had been sharing.
Ultimately saying; Grace is not a license to sin, and even asking the question as a defense of the gospel he was sharing, expels the idea that salvation is somehow obtained through works of any kind.
We know this was the idea because we see that these were both false doctrines addressed directly by the apostles as a whole. Earlier in
Romans 3:8
Romans 3:8 ESV
8 And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.
Therefore when we see
Ga 5:13; 1 Pe 2:16; and Jude verse 4, it becomes abundantly clear that Paul is addressing these common falsehoods upfront.
Galatians 5:13 ESV
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love, serve one another.
1 Peter 2:16 ESV
16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.
Jude 4 ESV
4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Once again, Paul is making his message unmistakably clear while being lovingly firm. This new life was not ours to obtain. It was a gift of God. We didn't, nor could we earn it at all. And in that same vein, we were called into this life to glorify God, not our flesh through continued sin, of which we seem to excel so much so that in our insidious flesh, we would try to justify continued unrepentant sin. Worse yet is that some claim it's the right thing to do.
While this seems absurd, we all do it in our roundabout way; do we not?
Every time we reason our sin away. Every time we justify ourselves diverging from God's word, are we not looking at God and saying; you do not know what's best for me. I know what is best for me!
Thus we are all guilty of original sin, not just inheriting the curse of its existence. Thus far, Paul has made all of those points, and he continues as his focus shifts a bit.
So, if you would, please stand with me as we begin reading Romans 6:1-14 this morning.
Romans 6:1–14 ESV
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
Let us pray!
Today's passage makes three pretty clear points, and I want to give them to you upfront.
Point #1 A Desire Toward Holiness is the Rule with no exceptions
Point #2: The Death of Christ is the Death of Sin Where the Believer is Concerned.
Point #3 In light of the first two points, let all who name the name of Christ "examine themselves whether they be in the faith."
Now looking at the passage directly
In verse two, we see the instinct of the new creature revolting at the thought of such a notion as continuing in sin so that "grace may abound even more!"
"by no means!" Paul writes. In other words, there is no situation where this is acceptable thinking amongst God's children.
As God's children, we were Baptized into Jesus Christ and born into his death. We share in His death so that we may share in His resurrection.
And since He was "made sin" as stated in
2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
and since He was made "a curse for us."
Galatians 3:13 ESV
13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"—
And it was on that tree that Christ took upon Himself all the sins of humankind.
Bearing our sins in His own body on the tree, and rising again for our justification, as Paul told us in chapter 4:25; and that Peter tells us in
1 Pe 2:24
Our whole sinful case and condition, thus taken up into His Person, has been brought to an end in His death.
Those who have been baptized into Christ's death have formally surrendered the whole state and life of sin as a dead thing to Christ. A person who does this has sealed themselves to be not only "the righteousness of God through Christ," but "a new creature" as well. And so, we cannot be in Christ in one effect and not in the other. After all, they are one thing. A believer as a born-again believer has bid farewell to sin, by baptism into Christ's death, to his entire connection with sin. "How," then, "can he live any longer in sin?"
To believe that one can be alive in Christ, alive in sin, is as contradictory as the words life and death themselves. And so, you can see clearly that Paul is putting all believers on the spot.
Unlike some, I will not shy away from this reality. Many pastors have been derelict in doing so, and while I am far from perfect, I do not want to be counted among them in this regard.
And so, here I am calling a spade a spade and laying it all out on the table. If you are truly born again, then your life is not your own. The struggle with sin ends when this body is shed for our new glorified bodies. In the meantime, you will continue to struggle with the flesh, and as God's children, you are expected to deny that flesh, and while I acknowledge it will not always be easy, if you are His, it will show in both your outright rejection of sin and your repentance when you do fall prey to the flesh.
Why? as a result of dying with Christ and being raised with Him, you should walk in the newness of life, says verse 4.
But what is this "newness?" Surely as much as our old life that is now dead and buried with Christ was wholly sinful, the new life in which we rise with our risen Savior must be altogether a holy life; so that every time we go back to "those things of which we are now ashamed" (as
Ro 6:21
says), we believe our resurrection with Christ requires newness of life, and as Peter puts in
2 Pe 1:9
2 Peter 1:9 ESV
9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.
So, this newness is a non-negotiable trait of a true Christian. So sure is Paul of this that he points out the reality the death has no power over Christ or those raised through Him.
I love how the New Living Translation phrases verses 5-10 in light of this passage.
5 Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 8 And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. 9 We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. 10 When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. 11 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
Before moving on, I want to point out three clear statements concerning this false doctrine that Paul is addressing here.
Point #1 A Desire Toward Holiness is the Rule with no exceptions:
I am worried about anyone claiming to be a Christian that has no remorse for sin and should be concerned for them too. Why? Because Scripture makes it clear that this is never the case for the redeemed. I am worried for them, to be clear because they are not born-again Christians and have been convinced that they are.
For the sake of having a name to reference the particular heresy Paul is addressing, antinomianism holds this view and is closely related.
The theologian Hodge refers to the antinomian directly when discussing this passage, saying that; "Antinomianism is not only an error; it is a falsehood and a slander" [HODGE].
So, what is antinomianism?
Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms Antinomianism
antinomianism. An ethical system that denies the binding nature of any supposedly absolute or external laws on individual behavior. Some antinomianists argue that Christians need not preach or practice the laws of the OT because Christ's merits have freed Christians from the law. Others, like the early Gnostics, teach that spiritual perfection comes about through the attainment of special knowledge rather than by obedience to the law. Generally, Christian theology has rejected antinomianism on the basis that although Christians are not saved through keeping the law, we still have a responsibility to live uprightly, that is, in obedience to God's law of love in service to one another (Gal 5:13–14) as we walk by the Spirit (Gal 5:16) who continually works to transform us into the image of Christ the Creator (Col 3:1, 7–10).
Thus Hodge saying:
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 6
Note, (1) "Antinomianism is not only an error; it is a falsehood and a slander" [HODGE]. That "we should continue in sin that grace may abound," not only is never the deliberate sentiment of any real believer in the doctrine of grace, but is abhorrent to every Christian mind, as a monstrous abuse of the most glorious of all truths (Ro 6:1).
Point #2: The Death of Christ is the Death of Sin Where the Believer is Concerned.
Likewise, the resurrection is the death of death itself! As the death of Christ is not only the atonement for sin, but the death of sin itself in all who are vitally united to Him; so the resurrection of Christ is the resurrection of believers, not only to acceptance with God, but to newness of life according to verses 2-11.
Point #3 In light of the first two points, let all who name the name of Christ "examine themselves whether they be in the faith."
And so, now that we are clear I am not going to pull any punches moving forward, you should also know that it is not an ego thing; it is a love thing. And if you have been abusing God's grace at a minimum, you deserve to know the truth. The bible tells us you are in danger of Hellfire, and today is the day you should either surrender or stop pretending.
Because it does not matter how convinced you are, if sin still reigns in your life as supreme, then you still need to come to Jesus and let the old you die so that the new may rise forgiven and alive in Christ.
Listen (pause)
You can get upset with me here today, or you can realize the truth. It does not matter who you are or what you have done in the past. God's grace/faith is sufficient to justify and atone for all sin. That is not a license for you to sin by no means.
So, do not let your sin reign as the master of your life. Instead, let your soul be in Union to the Crucified Savior.
Romans 6:12–23 ESV
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. 15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So, verse 12 shows us that the body, our flesh, is the instrument by which all the sins of the heart become facts of the outward life.
Romans 6:12 ESV
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.
So how acceptable do you think it is for the believer to bend their knee to sin? When we are called to conquer sin.
In light of what we have read today, what situation says that there is nothing we should do about the sin in our lives?
The answer is, of course, nothing!
We have been made more than conquerors through Christ Jesus. Paul later writes in chapter 8:37. So, why is it that we have surrendered ourselves unto sin as the ultimate winner and that there is nothing we can do about it if we are truly born again?
For sin shall not have dominion over you like some tyrant lord over his slaves. Why? Because we are no longer under the law but under the soul transforming grace of God.
The Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible says concerning Chapter Six
The force of this glorious assurance can only be felt by observing the grounds on which it rests. To be "under the law" is, first, to be under its claim of entire obedience, and so, next under its curse for the breach of these. And as all power to obey can reach the sinner only through grace, of which the law knows nothing, it follows that to be "under the law" is, finally, to be shut up under an inability to keep it, and consequently to be the helpless slave of sin. On the other hand, to be "under grace" is to be under the glorious canopy and saving effects of that "grace which reigns through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Consider
Romans 5:20–21 ESV
20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The curse of the law has been completely lifted from off them; they are made "the righteousness of God in Him,"; and they are "alive unto God through Jesus Christ." So that, as when they were "under the law," sin could not but have dominion over them, so now that they are "under grace," sin cannot but be subdued under them. If before sin resistlessly triumphed, grace will now be more than a conqueror.
Romans 8:37 ESV
37 No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
So, today, as we close, I have one simple question for you?
Who or what is it you have been subservient? Because it cannot be both God and Sin. Listen! I am not saying that the believer never sins. Scripture says that a believer should never desire to stay in sin, let alone let it rule their life.
So, whom or what is it that you serve?
With every head bowed and every eye closed. Please ask yourself this question.
Once you have truly contemplated the question, consider where you are. Are you subservient to the flesh? Does sin reign as lord of your life? Are you perhaps the Christian lied to and told, maybe even encouraged to sin in a way? Perhaps you lie to yourself and have surrendered to sin, thinking that there is no way you can defeat this particular sin in your life.
Well, for the believer, this is not an excuse. You have been made more than a conquer through Christ who loved us. That sin in your life, your master is either it or God.
If sin is your master, then stop pretending. If Christ is your master, then stop pretending to be helpless to sin.
Let us pray...
invitation...
sing...
announcements and dismissal