Introduction
Have you ever caught yourself, in a moment of temptation, rationalizing that you will yield to temptation this time and then later you will ask for forgiveness? What logic allows you to think this way? What theological understandings allow you to even consider this possibility?
At such a time, the power of sin is in evidence. The fact of temptation and the desire to yield to it show how powerful the magnetic pull of sin is in our lives. But what makes us think that we can yield and then expect to be forgiven?
One thing about going through a red light where there is a red light camera is that the punishment is immediate and not in doubt. At any other corner, where there is only a chance that a policeman is watching, we might risk driving through a “dark orange” light, but where there is a red light camera, we would be foolish to risk it because we know that we will be punished. In our spiritual life, if we live under law, it is like living in the presence of a red light camera. When we sin, we know that the all seeing God knows our sin and we can expect punishment. Of course, as we saw in the last message, even living under law does not prevent people from sinning.
But because of Jesus, we are not living under the “monitoring of the red light camera.” We are living under grace. The death of Jesus on the cross has purchased our salvation and we are forgiven and freed from the power of sin and live under the grace of God. When we think, “I will sin and then ask for forgiveness,” it shows that we have grasped the power and the wonder of grace. Forgiveness is based on the faithfulness of Jesus and we are the recipients of a grace. If we “drive through the red light,” so to speak, we won’t necessarily be punished immediately and will be forgiven if we ask for forgiveness.
Yet even as we think like that, we have a sense that there is something wrong with that logic. What is it?
One of the first times I studied Romans was in an IVCF Bible study which I attended each week when I was in university. I remember that each time we met we would think about and discuss a passage and as we talked about it we would be left with questions, which we desperately tried to answer. The next week, when we went on to the next passage, we found an answer to the question left over from the previous week. This is how Romans is written. It builds on itself and you have to read and study it carefully and sequentially to really understand it. As you go on, questions which have arisen are answered in subsequent passages.
The question I have raised about how to think about sin, the law and grace is a question that arises out of the previous message. In Romans 5:20 we read, “The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more…” Two questions, asked in Romans 6:1 and 15, arise out of the words and ideas in this statement.
On one level, the language and writing of Romans seems to be deeply theological and some people get bored with it and dismiss it because of that. But as we read these things and think about questions such as I have mentioned above, we quickly realize that these deep theological truths are intensely practical. So please join me in some theological reflection which must have a powerful impact on how we live. The text we will examine this morning is Romans 6:1 – 7:6.
The Questions
There are two questions which are asked in Romans 6:1,15. Before we look at these questions, however, we need to think about three words which appear in Romans 5:20 and throughout Romans 6 because we need to understand the meaning of and the relationship between these three words.
Law, Sin and Grace.
As we examined Romans 5, we learned that sin not only refers to the sinful acts we do, but also to sin as a power, a magnetic force in the world, which came into the world because of Adam’s disobedience and now draws every person on earth into its grasp. God gave the Law to Moses for two purposes. One was that it would demonstrate the presence of the power of sin. In that purpose it was wildly successful. Because the law reveals what is wrong, we know that we do wrong and the presence of the power of sin is clearly demonstrated. The other purpose was that the law was a means of grace. It was God’s gift to help people avoid the power of sin. In that purpose, it did not succeed. The fault was not that the law was bad, but that it was too weak to prevent us from yielding to the power of sin. The power of sin was too great and we were unable, even with the help of the law, to overcome that power. In order to make us right, God sent Jesus who did not yield to the power of sin, but lived a holy life and died in order to overcome the power of sin and to bring us life. Therefore, we are made right with God by the faithfulness of Jesus when we receive the gift of God’s grace by trusting Him. This is the salvation we have received, the gift from God which is a gift that comes from His grace.
The Questions
Grasping the wonder of the gift of grace raises the first question. That question is found in Romans 6:1 and asks, “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” If God forgives us by grace, and if, as Romans 5:20 says, “where sin increased, grace increased all the more…” then, it seems logical that there is freedom to sin because we will receive grace. In other words, because we are under grace, we can follow the logic we are tempted to follow, that we can sin and then expect that we will receive forgiveness. The question assumes, and we must understand, that grace is pretty amazing. Some would even state it more strongly and say that what this question suggests is that God’s grace is magnified when we sin and then receive His grace. The seemingly logical conclusion is that we should sin lots and lots and when God forgives us our many sins it shows how amazingly gracious He is.
The second question is found in Romans 6:15 and asks, “Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?” Earlier we noticed that the law was given as a boundary to help people avoid sin. We also noticed that it didn’t work. Instead of being made right by obeying the law, we have been made right by the blood of Jesus and, therefore, we are under grace. This question means that if we are not under the boundary of the law, we are free. The implication is that we can do as we please. There is no fence anymore and we can wander at will. If you have cattle in a field, the fence lets them know where the boundary is. If you remove the fence, it is an invitation, in fact almost a permission for them to wander wherever they want. With the fence of the law removed from us, does that not mean that we are free to wander wherever we want and do whatever we want?
In both questions, the underlying understanding is that we live because of the grace of God and that grace is, as the song says, “amazing!” We have been given a gift in spite of our great rebellion. We are forgiven in spite of the fact that we have done nothing to deserve it. We need to understand how great grace is to the point that these questions seem logical.
The Answers
However, the answer to both of these questions is the most emphatic “no” possible. Paul asks, “Shall we go on sinning that grace may increase?” And answers, “By no means!” He asks, “Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?” and answers, “By no means!” Please notice that in verse 2a and 15b we have the same phrase, “by no means,” with an exclamation mark after it. Paul uses the most emphatic Greek construction to indicate with as much force as possible that these conclusions are not logical. I even think the NIV translation is a little gentle when it says, “by no means.” A simple “no” will not do. Today we might say, “no way!!” and add as many exclamation marks as possible.
“No way!!!” “We died to sin!!!” 6:1-14
It is not at all logical to think that just because we are under grace we can sin so that grace will increase. It is not logical at all to permit ourselves to sin because we know that we can ask for forgiveness afterwards. The reason it is not logical is that the entire meaning of receiving God’s gift of grace is that we have died to sin(6b). In the verses which follow(3-8), Paul gives three illustrations which demonstrate the meaning of the grace we have received.
Illustrations
The first illustration is found in 6:3,4 and explains the meaning of baptism. Baptism symbolizes our relationship with Jesus and what He has done. Jesus died and rose again. When we identify with Jesus by trusting Him and symbolize that through baptism, we identify with His death and resurrection. Baptism illustrates what has really happened within us. It is a picture of what has happened in our life and that is that we have identified fully with Christ and just as He died, we have died to sin and just as He was raised, so we also have been raised to a new life. Through baptism we are saying that we are no longer living in the kingdom where sin has power, but in the kingdom where Christ reigns. In our community, baptism is sometimes seen as a rite of passage. It is that, but not, as we often think, from childhood to adulthood, but rather, it is a rite of passage from one kingdom to another.
The word “united” in verses 5-7 gives us another illustration of what has happened to us when we received the gift of grace. The Greek word would have been a word used to speak of setting a bone. When a person breaks a bone, it is separated from itself. With a splint or a cast, the doctor sets or unites the bone so that it becomes one again. In just such a close way we have been united with Christ, we have become one with him. When Jesus was crucified, He died to sin. We are so closely identified with Him that we also have died to sin. It is our common understanding that when a person is dead, sin is overcome. In Christ, we have died so that sin, as a power, no longer has power over us.
The third illustration in verses 8-10 reminds us of the victory which has taken place through the resurrection of Christ. Just as Jesus rose from the dead and lives to God, we also have been transferred from the kingdom of sin and death and become members of a new kingdom in a new community. When Jesus died, he died to sin and was removed in that moment from the power of sin and came eternally into the reign of God to live to God. Our trust in Him means that we also have died to sin and been transferred into the kingdom of God so that we can live in Christ under the reign of Christ.
Therefore:
To put all of this in the simplest terms, the entire meaning of having received grace is utterly contrary to living with acts of sin. Our identification with Christ means that we have been freed from the power of sin and that we can live a totally new life.
Are you living that life? Clearly we still are influenced by sin and still engage in acts of sin. When Jesus freed us from the power of sin, he gave us the possibility and power to choose to live in obedience to Him. John E. Toews says, “It is possible for Christians to be slaves of sin by acts of sin. Paul’s exhortations are aimed at this possibility.” The power of sin has no right in our lives, but we need to choose to live outside of the influence of its power. So in Romans 6:11-14 there are a number of exhortations which call us to live according to who we are.
We have died to sin, so Romans 6:11 calls us to count ourselves dead to sin. It is a theological, spiritual, mental exercise to remember that we belong to those who are alive to God and have died to sin.
Since we are no longer under sin, we should do what 6:12 says and “not let sin reign” in our bodies. We can choose to give authority to Christ in our lives or we can choose to give authority to sin. Because we belong to Christ, we are called to give authority to Christ.
I have seen people on MDS come up to the person in charge and smartly indicate to them, “reporting for duty, sir.” By saying this, the volunteer is indicating, I have made a choice to put myself at your disposal today. I suspect that when Kerry is managing people on the MDS projects, he appreciates people with such an attitude. We should have such an attitude to God according to Romans 6:13 which calls us to first of all offer ourselves to God and then to offer the parts of our body to Him as instruments of righteousness.
There is a way of thinking which emphasizes that God accepts us as we are. That is true if it means that God is gracious to sinners, but it is false if it becomes an excuse to continue to live in sin. John Toews says, “…the modern gospel that ‘God accepts us the way we are’ is nothing less than heresy. God calls Christians to change – to become slaves of Jesus as Lord, to live in God’s kingdom, and to become soldiers of righteousness in the battle with evil.”
In 6:14, Paul states a sort of conclusion, but it is unusual and not what we would expect. We would expect it to say, “For sin shall not be your master, because you have died to sin.” That is the logical conclusion of the argument and certainly worthy of note. Having received God’s grace, it is not logical to live in sin, but rather to recognize that we are now in a new kingdom in which righteousness reigns and therefore we are to live in righteousness.
However, that is not what it says. Instead we read, “For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.” This seems unusual, but is written to anticipate the second question.
“No way!!!” We belong to a new way! 6:15-7:6
As we have seen, the second question is, “Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?” Since the boundary marker of the law has been removed and we are under grace, does that mean we can do as we please?
Again Paul responds with a strong negation. There is no way that this is logical. There is no way that it makes sense to live with sin in our lives just because the fence has been removed.
In the verses which follow, Paul uses two illustrations to reinforce this idea.
Choose your slavery
In a world where there were more slaves than citizens, the imagery of slavery must have been quite meaningful. We do not grasp it as well, but can understand that a slave had no rights, but did exactly what the master wanted.
We understand that when we were under the power of sin we were slaves to sin. We could not do what we wanted, we were subject to its power. The mistake we make is to think that since the fence of the law has been removed we are free from everything. That is not true. Being freed from the law does not mean that we are free, but rather that we now become slaves to righteousness. That may sound like legalism, but as we shall see in a moment, it is not. We are not now slaves to rules and regulations, but to the possibility and obligation to live in a new way. We have a new master, we are now slaves to Christ’s reign.
In Romans 6:15ff, Paul is saying that we have the option to choose our slavery. Before we were freed from the power of sin through Christ, we were slaves to sin. Sin is a terrible task master. Sin may sometimes sound like fun, but the reality is that sin always leads to death. This is not only true in the ultimate sense that God’s punishment is upon us and every sinner will die. It is also true in the daily sense that whatever sin we engage in, it always has negative consequences. The sin of gossip destroys another person. The sin of adultery breaks relationships. Lying builds mistrust.
On the other hand, slavery to righteousness, leads to holiness as it says in 6:19. When we follow God and His way, we walk in a way that brings life and joy and peace. In the end, being slaves to righteousness always leads to life as we read in Romans 6:22, “the result is eternal life.”
Romans 3:23 summarizes and invites us to recognize that we will always be slaves, but we can choose our slavery. If we continue in slavery to sin, “the provision of sin is death.” The Greek word can be translated either wages or provision, but because we are talking about slaves the word provision is better. Slaves do not have wages, they have provisions. The provision of sin is always death. But slavery to righteousness always leads to life.
What a strong motivation to leave the practices of sin. We can do it because we are not under the power of sin any more, but are under the power of Christ’s victory. Let us live in that victory.
A New Relationship
The final section, 7:1-6, gives another illustration which motivates holy living. It is written with Jewish thinking in mind. It was hard for the Jews to leave behind the thinking that the law was the boundary to help them live a righteous life. That is why there were such heated debates about the place of the law in the kingdom of Jesus as we see illustrated in Acts 15 and also in Galatians. The law was good, it was God’s provision to help a person live righteously. They would have thought, “if you leave the law, you might as well say, as 6:15 says, ‘Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?’” Many Christians still struggle with this separation. They want to live by rules and would also ask the question in the same way. Of course, Paul has already indicated that this is not logical and should not be followed, but it is important to understand why and, therefore also, how we need to live because we are not under law.
In this last section, Paul uses an illustration from marriage in order to make his point. The illustration points out that a woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive. During that time, she is obligated to keep covenant with him and if she marries another man, she is called an adulteress(3). If her husband dies, however, she is freed from her covenant with him and is free to marry someone else. The point of the illustration is that because we have been united with Christ, we have died to the power of sin and do not need the law as the means by which sin is bound in our life. Therefore, for those Jews who have trouble releasing the law and to those Christians who want to live in legalism, Paul is saying that we are now free from the power of sin and therefore released from the law. Of course that does not mean we are free to sin. Rather, we read in Romans 7:6, that we are free to live in a new way, which is the “way of the Spirit.” Paul will expand on this some more in Romans 8 and this is the question that is left over from this message, which will be answered at a later time. For now we come to understand that just because we are not under law any more, but under grace, does not mean that we are free to sin, rather it means that we are free to enter into a new relationship, a relationship with Christ and are thus free to live in a new way.
Conclusion
Christians are often pulled in two directions. They are pulled back into legalism, to thinking that the way to live in Christ is to set up boundaries. The other is to live in sin, counting on the grace we have received. This passage gives us the theological foundation to understand that neither of these ways are the “in Christ” way to live.
The passage reminds us of the power and the wonder and the amazement of the grace which we have received in Christ. We have received the gracious gift of being set free from sin and have been given life. This gift is given to us when we trust Christ. May we receive God’s amazing grace! May we rejoice in God’s amazing grace!
It teaches us that we are free from the power of sin and therefore we don’t need the law to help us bound sin any more. Rather, we are free to live in a new way, by the Spirit. May we learn to live in this new way.
It teaches us that if we are allowing our selves to be slaves to sin, we have missed the point of the huge change that has taken place when we trusted Christ. Thus it calls us to repent and to become slaves of Jesus Christ. May we allow Jesus to help us live in victory over sin!
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