I.        INTRODUCTION

A.      In the previous lesson, we saw that Paul declared how blessed a Christian is through Jesus Christ (Rom. 5).

                                                             1.      God has lovingly offered us rich spiritual blessings through Christ that are impossible for us to have through any other means.

                                                             2.      Christ also counteracted all of the negative effects of Adam’s unrighteousness through the positive effects of His own righteousness.

B.      In chapter 6, Paul anticipated and answered a fallacious argument that someone would make regarding sin and grace based on his statements in Romans 5:20-21.

                                                             1.      Paul had said that where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.

                                                             2.      The ridiculous response to this statement would be that we should sin more so that grace will increase (Rom. 6:1).  Such a response exposes a fundamental lack of understanding about the life of a Christian.

                                                             3.      Paul sought to set straight this lack of understanding by challenging it with this question: “How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” (Rom. 6:2)

II.      DEAD TO SIN: CONCEPT

A.      Baptism is symbolic of a burial in the likeness of Christ’s burial (Rom. 6:3-4), indicating that the believer has died with regards to sin.

                                                             1.      To be baptized into Christ Jesus is to be baptized into His death.

a.       The meaning of Christ’s death is stated in verse 10 – “For the death that He died, He died to sin, once for all…”

b.       When a believer submits himself to be baptized into Christ’s death, he is taking part in Christ’s death, which means that He, like Christ, has died to sin.

                                                             2.      This makes sin incompatible with a Christian’s life.

a.       No one is buried until he is dead.  If a person is still alive to sin, then he cannot rightly be buried into Christ’s death.

b.       Therefore, death to sin, which is the rejection of sinful practices (i.e., repentance), must precede a believer’s burial into Christ’s death by baptism.

B.      The figure of baptism is not complete unless a Christian ceases from sin, for it requires the believer who was buried in baptism to also rise up in newness of life just as Christ arose (Rom. 6:5-7).

                                                             1.      Christ did not remain in the grave after He was buried, but rather He arose and lived again.

                                                             2.      Therefore, a believer who is baptized in the likeness of Christ’s burial must also live in the likeness of Christ’s resurrection.

a.       There is more to this than simply coming up out of the water of baptism.  This requires that the believer’s former sinful ways are done away forever.

b.       The new life of a Christian is one that is no longer enslaved to sin.  Sin has no claim on one who has been buried into Christ’s death and raised up in newness of life.

C.      A Christian’s hope for eternal life with Christ rests on whether or not he lives now in the semblance of Christ’s new life (Rom. 6:8-11).

                                                             1.      The appeal of being united with Christ in His death is that a Christian will also be united with Christ in His eternal life.

a.       When Christ was raised from the dead, He broke free from death’s bonds and will never die again.  “Death is no longer master over Him.”  See Hebrews 2:14-15.

b.       It is our desire to also be free from the bonds of death, and God offers this to us only through Christ Jesus.

                                                             2.      Therefore, a Christian must live for the same purpose for which Christ now lives, and that purpose is God.

a.       Christ died to sin, and now He lives to God.  For Christians, this means that we must also consider ourselves “to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

b.       This is not merely a state of mind, but it is a practical matter of how we live our lives as we will see in the rest of this chapter.

III.   DEAD TO SIN: APPLICATION

A.      A Christian’s death to sin and life to God are practically and simply demonstrated by the way the Christian uses his body (Rom. 6:12-13).

                                                             1.      The deeds of the body expose the master of the soul.  If your body is engaged in sin, then sin reigns over you.  However, if your body is engaged in righteousness, then God reigns over you.

                                                             2.      Notice that being “alive to God in Christ Jesus” (v. 11) is really a matter of presenting “yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God” (v. 13).

B.      God’s grace allows a believer to be free from the effects of sin, but only when the believer chooses to serve God rather than sin (Rom. 6:14-20).

                                                             1.      The meaning of verse 14 is that those who are under grace (Christians) shall not be mastered by sin, unlike those who would be under law.

a.       Those who were under the law of sin and death had no choice but to be mastered by sin because they violated the law.  They were guilty and had to die, for there was no provision for forgiveness.  They were held in the power of sin, which is death.

b.       However, one who is under grace has been freed from sin, and sin cannot be his master unless he allows it to be.  Sin has mastery over him only if he chooses to obey sin.

                                                             2.      Paul anticipated another ridiculous response in verse 15, which, essentially, is the notion that Christians can sin with impunity because they are under grace.  He answered this response in verses 16-20.

a.       This notion is basically similar to the Calvinistic doctrine of “once saved always saved.”  This is the false idea that there is nothing a Christian can do to forfeit his salvation.

b.       Paul presented only two options for us to choose: either serve sin and reap death, or obey God and reap righteousness.  There is no other alternative.

c.        Thankfully, Christians have chosen to become “obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which <they> were committed.”  This resulted in our freedom from sin and enslavement to righteousness.

d.       Notice in verse 19a that Paul said he was “speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.”  This indicates that these things are understood intuitively by spiritual minds, but Paul was appealing to men who were weak and worldly.  Such is the case when men make such foolish arguments.  See 1Corinthians 2:14-3:1.

C.      In spiritual terms, the choice between sin and God is made easy, for the results of those choices are incomparable (Rom. 6:19b-23).

                                                             1.      The appeal of Paul in these verses is to choose between slavery to sin or slavery to righteousness based on the results that we will receive.

a.       Slavery to sin results in impurity, lawlessness, and death.

b.       Slavery to righteousness results in sanctification and eternal life.

c.        By comparing the benefits of these two choices, only one choice is appealing, and that is to be enslaved to God through righteousness.

                                                             2.      Notice how verse 23 gives a final and clear presentation of the two choices.

a.       It describes death as the “wages of sin,” indicating that death is due payment for a life of sin.  If one chooses sin, this is his only valid expectation.

b.       It also describes eternal life as the “free gift of God.”  This is God’s gracious gift to those who choose to serve Him in righteousness, and the receipt of that free gift cannot be separated from the practice of righteousness.

IV.    CONCLUSION

A.      By the truth taught in Romans 6, no spiritually minded person would ever choose sin or argue in favor of sin, for it is obvious that Christians have been set free from sin to their own benefit.

                                                             1.      It is a foolish and carnal argument to say, “Let us continue in sin that grace may increase,” or, “Let us sin because we are not under law but under grace.”

                                                             2.      It is a foolish and carnal argument when anyone argues in favor of sin, whether it is “once saved always saved” or otherwise.

                                                             3.      The bottom line is that Christians are dead to sin and alive to God.

B.      In the next chapter, we will consider similar reasoning in regards to the Law of Moses, showing that Christians are also dead to the Law.