Romans 6:1-4 ESV
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 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.”
A lot of people these days have this false notion that our
salvation is all about Jesus forgiving us our sins so that when we die we can
go to heaven, and so we can escape the punishment of hell. For this is the way
it is being presented widely these days. And so they think that once their sins
are forgiven that their sins no longer matter to God, and so many of them are
continuing in deliberate and habitual sin under the guise of God’s grace.
But God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, trains us
to renounce (to say “No” to) ungodliness and fleshly lusts, and to live
self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return.
For Jesus Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to
purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good
works” (see Titus 2:11-14; cf. Ephesians 2:10).
But the gospel of our salvation does not grant us the right
to continue in deliberate and habitual sin under the guise of God’s grace. For
God’s grace delivers us from our slavery to sin so we can live righteously in
obedience to our Lord’s commands (New Covenant). So, we are not to continue in
sin, making sin our practice, for if sin is what we practice, and if
righteousness and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, we will not
inherit eternal life with God.
Now, when this talks about our salvation, it is described as
us being baptized into Christ’s death. This is not caused by water baptism. For
you can go through the waters of baptism and never be crucified with Christ in
death to sin. This is speaking of a spiritual baptism of the Spirit of God
whereby we die with Christ to sin, and we are buried with him by baptism into
death, and then we are raised with him to walk in newness of life in him.
Romans 6:5-7 ESV
“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. 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. For one who has died has been set free from sin.”
Now when we believe in Jesus Christ with God-given faith
(Ephesians 2:8-10), our old self is crucified with Christ so that we will no
longer be enslaved to sin. For if we have died with Christ to sin we have been
set free from our slavery to sin. So sin is to no longer have mastery over our
lives. We are not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies, to make us obey its
passions (v. 12). For Jesus set us free from our bondage to sin so that we
could now serve him with our lives and walk in obedience to his commands.
Romans 6:15-16 ESV
“What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 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?”
So, again, God’s grace does not give us the freedom to keep
on in deliberate and habitual sin, making sin our practice. For if sin is what
we obey, it leads to death, but if obedience is what we obey, it leads to
righteousness and to sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (vv.
19,22). And so we need to take this to heart. Our salvation is NOT carte
blanche to continue walking in sin. It is freedom from our slavery to sin so we
can walk in righteousness and holiness in obedience to our Lord and to his
word.
Romans 6:20-23 ESV
“For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 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. 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. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
I remember vividly the first time I really got this. For
verse 23 here had always been a part of a collection of Scripture verses used
in the presentation of what was called the gospel. And Romans 6:23 just
followed right after Romans 3:23, which says, “For all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God.” And then, “For the wages of sin is death, but the
free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” So it gives the
impression that if we just receive this free gift of God, that we now have
eternal life with God.
But if you go back to Romans 3, vv. 24-25 say this, “and are
justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.”
So then we have to look at what redemption is. It has to do
with God buying us back from our lives of slavery to sin and winning us back to
him and to his righteousness and holiness. It involves us being rescued from
what enslaved us so that we can now live for our Lord and honor him with our
lives (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). It is about deliverance from our old lives of
living in sin so that we can now live holy lives, pleasing to God.
And then we have to look at what faith is. Jesus Christ is
the author and the perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2), and this faith is
not of our own doing, but it is gifted to us by God (Ephesians 2:8-10). And we
can’t even come to faith unless God the Father draws us to Christ (John 6:44).
And the word “faith” means to be persuaded. And since this faith comes from God
and not from ourselves, then it is God who is persuading us. And he persuades
us as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need
to repent of our sins and to follow him in obedience.
And then we have to take Romans 6:23 in the context of the
whole of Romans 6 which keeps telling us that we are not to continue in sin for
we died to sin so we would no longer be enslaved to sin so we are not to let
sin reign in our bodies to where we obey its passions. For if sin is what we
obey, it will end in death, not in life everlasting. For the wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is eternal life. And what is that gift? Death to sin
and living to God and to his righteousness in the power of God. Please take
this to heart.
[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom
6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:19-20; 2 Co 5:15,21; Tit
2:11-14; Jas 1:22-25; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Rom 12:1-2; Eph 2:8-10; Heb 12:1-2; Jn 6:44;
2 Pet 1:1; 1 Co 15:58; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:21-23; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13]
Praise
the “I AM!”
An
Original Work / February 24, 2012
Jesus, my Savior, full of compassion,
Glorious in power, mighty in strength;
Gracious Redeemer, mighty deliv’rer,
My heart adores Him. Praise to His name!
Perfect salvation my Lord provided
When He died for my sins on a tree;
Crucified my sins; conquered in vict’ry,
When He arose, so I could be free!
I am so thankful for His forgiveness;
Grateful that He chose to pardon me,
Giving me new life full in His Spirit,
So I can serve Him; His servant be!
Walking in daily fellowship with Him,
Obeying Him whate’er He commands;
Forsaking my sins, living in freedom,
I will endure with Him to the end!
He gives me peace and calm reassurance
In times of sorrow, or in distress.
His grace is sure, and oh, how sufficient
To meet me in my need for sweet rest.
Oh, how I love You, Jesus, my Savior.
My heart longs for You where’er I am.
Your word is precious; speaks to my spirit;
Brings comfort, healing. Praise the “I AM!”
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