A Study Of The Book Of Romans Lesson #15 Series

Book of Romans

Lesson # 15

Romans 6:15- 6:23

By Rev. James May

In the lesson last time we were drawn by Paul to take notice that even though we are under Grace, and no longer under the Law, that the Grace of God was not to be taken for granted, and that we are not to presume upon God’s grace by continuing in sin.

Sin cannot reign over, control or defeat a Born Again Child of God, unless we allow it to happen intentionally, because we are now dead to sin. We should live according to the Spirit of God, in obedience to his Holy Word and under the leadership of the Holy Ghost. A life that is dead in Christ, buried in Christ and risen with Christ is a life that is no longer under sin for Christ has paid the debt of sin and we are free in him.

Romans 6:15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

Since we are not under the condemnation of the law of God anymore, but have been set free by the blood of Jesus and have been given the wonderful grace of God, does that give us the right to live in sin; or to commit sin on a habitual level and still expect God’s grace to cleanse us? Paul emphatically states, “God forbid that we should think in such a manner.” Those who are redeemed of the law should never want to go back under that law, but when we leave the presence of the Lord, presuming upon his grace, and decide to live a life of sin, then we are once again come under the curse of the law, and only judgment awaits.

Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Paul continues to answer his own question from verse 15. In doing so, he makes an example that comes from the relationship of a servant to his master. It is a given that any servant must be obedient to his master or face some serious consequences. No doubt, every one of those saints in Rome would fully understand his analogy. After all, the Romans were known for making slaves and servants of every conquered foe. And the Jews had a long history of not only being slaves and servants, but having other people as their own slaves and servants. No matter which side of this picture you saw, the analogy was easily understood.

Paul says that it is the duty and command of servant to obey those over them, and to refuse to do so would often mean harsh imprisonment or death. They were at the beck and call of their masters and nothing else mattered. It didn’t matter if they felt like it, or they were already busy, or they were tired, or they had made other plans – whatever the master wanted done was to done immediately. The servant’s whole reason for living and breathing was to fulfill every wish of his master.

Of course it follows that if you were a servant to a master, then you were to be absolutely yielded to whoever owned you. There was no other choice!

Paul goes on to say that when a servant is owned by a master, then he has no freedom and no ability to be involved with anything or anyone that would take away from being always available at the master’s call.

A servant could not serve his own god’s, because he had a master, and that master was his “god” and would tolerate him serving no other. It is impossible to be a good servant, always available for two masters. A servant, or a slave, can only serve one master at a time. It just isn’t possible to serve more than one!

In the beginning we served the devil and he was our master. We did whatever he wanted; and it resulted in the sin and breaking of the law of God. The service we gave to the devil was good in our eyes, but in God’s eyes it was sin. We were in a plate of contempt for God, hatred for all that he stood for and we were in allegiance with the arch enemy of God. What a terrible condition to be in, even if you are a slave! Regardless of how we thought about it, we were servants to the devil and he was our master, leading us down a path of unrighteousness, and into eternal punishment.

But now, because of Christ, we are set free for being a servant to Satan; and now we have a choice to make. God pays the full price of our redemption, and then gives us full freedom of choice on which way will go from there. But there is a catch because there are only two ways to choose from. We can choose to serve the Lord, or we can choose to go back and serve the devil. It will be one or the other, and even if we say that we refuse to choose, then by default, we choose the devil.