Rom 6:1-23, Obedience is the pathway to a full life, slavery to sin is a painful way to live

1. Introduction 1:1-17 (includes purpose, 8-15; and theme, 16-17)
2. The Need for God's Righteousness 1:18-3:20
3. The Imputation of God's Righteousness 3:21-5:21
1. The description of justification 3:21-26
2. The defense of justification by faith alone 3:27-31
3. The proof of justification by faith from the law 4:1-25
4. The benefits of justification 5:1-11
5. The restorative effects of justification 5:12-21
4. The impartation of God's righteousness 6:1-8:39
1. The believer's relationship to sin 6:1-23
1. Freedom from sin 6:1-14
2. Slavery to righteousness 6:15-23
2. The believer's relationship to the law 7:1-25
3. The believer's relationship to God 8:1-39
Review: Use chart of justification, sanctification, and glorification
Chapter 3-5 has described our positional justification, now Paul focuses on our progressive sanctification


Rom 6:1-7 (NIV) What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.


5 If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.


• Why does Paul ask a so obvious question in verse 1? (There are some 70+ rhetorical questions in Romans)
• In 5:20-21, he argued that the law was a good thing because it showed us our sin by increasing our definition of sin
• Our recognition of sin shows us our need for grace, that is, we are completely underserving
• It is a stupid argument, but one that others were making against Paul.  Recognizing our sinfulness is a good thing; being sinful is not a good thing
• When did we die to sin?
• At our conversion, at the point of our rebirth
• Constable (2010) writes, "Paul did not say that it is impossible to live in sin or that sin is dead to the Christian (i.e., that it no longer appeals to us). He meant it is unnecessary and undesirable to live in sin, to habitually practice it."
• Paul has already made the argument that we are justified by faith alone.  He now uses baptism to describe what happens to our life
• Note that other passages clearly show that baptism does not save or that one is not saved if they are not baptized, but …
• Clearly, Paul assumes that all the believers have been baptized
• Our baptism
• Identifies us with Christ' death (sin is paid)
• Identifies us with his resurrection (we are given a new life)
• Identifies us with our future life (we will be given a new body)
• Baptism shows
• Sin was crucified (our old self was crucified)
• Positionally, we are no longer slaves to sin
• We are free from sin
• What does it mean to be freed from sin?
• The "old man" is the person you were before you came to Christ
• That person is dead
• One can choose to adopt his characteristics, but you can never be that old man again
• The old man is not the same as the old nature
• The old nature remains with us until we die
• The old nature is the same as the flesh
• Constable (2010) writes, "I prefer not to use the term "new nature." It does not appear in Scripture. The New Testament presents the Christian not as a person with two natures warring within him or her. It presents the Christian as a person with one sinful nature (the flesh) that is in conflict with the indwelling Holy Spirit (cf. Gal. 5:16-23). It also speaks of the Christian as struggling with the decision to live as the new man that he or she now is. Our alternative is to live as the old man who we were but are no longer (cf. Rom. 7:13-24).
• Constable (2010) writes, "Death ends all claims."
• Two problems
• The unbeliever may not see himself as a slave to sin, but he is
• The Christian may not see himself as free from sin, but he is
• The chain has been broken -- we are free of sin's domination.  Its enticement will be our struggle until glorification


Rom 6:8-14 (NIV) Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.


11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. 14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.


• What does Paul say about Christ and his death?
• Christ died to sin.  He cannot die again.  It is a once for all death
• Differs with Catholicism which has a perpetual sacrifice in the Catholic mass
• Jesus cannot die again.  Death's rulership is gone.  Death's mastery is gone
• How does the implication of Christ's death apply to us? ("in the same way")
• His death means that we will never have to come "under the enslaving, spiritual death-dealing power of sin (Constable, 2010)"
• "Since God has united us with Christ we should "consider," "count," or "reckon" ourselves as those who are not under the dominating influence of sin any longer. The verb is a present imperative in the Greek text indicating that we should definitely and constantly view ourselves this way. We must realize that we are free to enjoy our new relationship with God forever (Constable 2010)."
• Paul concludes that this knowledge should affect us how?
• Don't give into sin (you do not have to sin, sin is not our master)
• Don't give into lusts (you do not have to lust, sin is not our master)
• Offer the parts of our body to God as an instrument of righteousness (List from Constable, 2010)
• Eyes -- what we look at
• Ears -- what we listen to
• Mouth -- what we say
• Hands -- what we do
• Feet -- where we go
• Hearts -- what we love
• Minds -- what we think about
• Will -- decisions we make
• Interesting, Paul almost seems to blame the law.  What does he say in verse 14?
• When we were under the law, sin held a certain mastery over us
• When we are under grace, sin has no mastery
• Constable (2010) writes, "Sin will no longer master the believer. The basic reason for this is that we are not under the Mosaic Law as the authority under which we live but under grace. Satan can no longer use the Law to hinder the believer's progress (cf. 3:23). God has redeemed us, not by the Law but by grace. We now live under that authority. Paul [will deal] with the tension this situation creates for the believer in chapter 7."


Rom 6:15-23 (NIV) What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey — whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.


19 I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.


• Well if the law is not over us anymore, should we just go ahead and sin?  Obviously not (By no means!)
• We do have an obligation, but what is different?
• We are not obligated to the law
• We are obligated to righteousness.  Apparently righteousness is not the same as the law
• What is the benefit of living in sin?  What do people reap from sin?
• Shame
• Death
• The contrast to living in righteousness is what?
• Holiness
• Eternal life (which is often describes as a quality of life)
• "If our life sucks, maybe the problem is that we living for the flesh and not for God"
• APPLICATION: Constable (2010) writes, "Verses 15-23 teach truth by way of contrasts. Obedience to sin yields unfruitfulness, shame, and death. Obedience to righteousness results in progressive sanctification and the fullness of eternal life."