Freed by Grace!
Intro: The first 3 chapters of Romans show us how all people, Jews and Gentiles, are sinful and have failed to be who they were created to be. We’ve all sinned and we’ve all gone our own way. We are not capable of approaching God’s glory or coming close to Him. Chapters 4 & 5 show us how simple faith in Jesus and His work on the cross eradicates our sin, changes our sinful nature, and makes us right with God. The law served to show us clearly that we cannot fix ourselves! We are all moral failures before God and cannot make ourselves holy. Now Paul says that because of the fact that the law increases sin, but grace always trumps sin through faith, some might think or say, “Let’s really increase our sin so God’s grace can increase even more!” But Paul says, “Huh, uh, uh!” Once we’ve been immersed in God’s grace, our spiritual DNA has been changed in such a way that sin becomes contrary to who we are in Christ and who Christ is in us! Our addiction to sin and self-centered living is broken and we are free to be who we were created to be in Christ!
-So in chapter 6, Paul shifts his focus on the practical area of our lives - our lifestyle. He begins to describe the lifestyle of the forgiven as being immensely different than our lifestyle before we met Christ.
Romans 6:1-14
1. Grace brings death to the old life (1-4a)
1 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more kindness and forgiveness? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? 3 Or have you forgotten that when we became Christians and were baptized to become one with Christ Jesus, we died with him? 4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism.
-God’s grace removes sin, it does not okay it. Sometimes people get the idea that God doesn’t mind a little sin here and there as long as you confess it occasionally. After all, God knew we would sin and He took care of it for us. However, when we say that God took care of it, that doesn’t mean we can live however we want.
-Paul says that those who have put their faith in Christ have died to sin. The word death means separation. When we die physically our spirit is separated from our body. When you come to Christ, the old “you” dies and is separated from the new you. The new you becomes one with Christ – united with Him. This is illustrated by water baptism – the sign that a person is leaving the old life of sin and disobedience, and joining their life to Christ.
-Paul says that we were buried with Christ by baptism. When we go down under the water, that symbolizes the death and burial of the old you and the old way of living. No longer do we live according to the standards of this world. We are dead to the old way of living.
-It is interesting that Paul refers to water baptism as the normal, assumed practice of every believer. It typically occurred immediately after a person called on the Lord and became a follower of Jesus. You never find any place in the Bible where baptism is optional for a believer. No! It was expected and assumed! It was part of the package because Jesus made it so. For many years before Christ came, Gentiles who wished to convert to Judaism were baptized in water to symbolize a complete cleansing from their formerly pagan ways. Jesus brought the new covenant and instituted water baptism as the outward sign of a person entering into a new life with God. They were putting their sins and their past impurities behind them and moving forward in a relationship of love and obedience to God.
-So Paul says, “No! We can’t plan to keep on sinning with the idea that God’s grace has us covered. That would be a presumptuous abuse of the grace of God, and a sign that perhaps we have not really identified with Christ’s death. Grace is a sin slayer! Sin has no place to land in the heart of a follower of Jesus. Does that mean we will never sin? No. But it does mean that we won’t give it a place to stay. It has no hold on us any longer because we are dead to it! So grace brings death to our old lives, but in place of the old comes the new!
2. Grace brings new life (4b-5)
And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. 5 Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised as he was.
-Paul continues using the example of baptism, not only to symbolize the death of our former selves, but also the new life we receive from Christ! We went down under the water in death, but came up out of the water with a new life!
-I love how Paul puts this in 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
-We have a new source of life and fulfillment. No longer do we look for fake gods to fulfill us or give us what we think we need. No longer do we need to have the approval of the world. We live for the audience of One – the Lord Jesus Christ!
-With new life comes a new way of thinking, feeling, choosing, evaluating…. New life brings a new perspective. New life brings new power into our lives so we can make the right choices and bring glory to God in all we say and do.
3. Grace brings freedom (6-7)
6 Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.
-Because of Grace we have a new Master! Instead of serving sin and following its orders, we are free to serve Jesus! By dying to our old selves with Christ, we were set free from sin’s power over us.
-James 1 gives a good overview of how sin works. It begins with evil desire within us; evil desire conceives and gives birth to sin, and sin leads to death. Now it is easy for us to point to the life of a mean, nasty, sinful person and see how this all works, but what about sin in the life of a Christian? We aren’t supposed to be slaves to sin any longer, but Christians still struggle with sinful habits, thoughts, and actions. Paul will deal with this in another place, but I think he has already given the key to freedom: Stay dead! Stay dead to sin, but alive to Christ! Or, as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:31, “I die every day….” Before Paul could ever put his life on the line for Christ, he had to die to his own way of thinking and living. And even though Paul was a prisoner on several occasions, he was a free man in regards to sin. Sin was no longer his master!
-Jesus said, “He whom the Son sets free is free indeed!” So maybe you need to be set free in some areas of your life today. You’ve been a slave to sin long enough! You’re on God’s timeclock, but you’ve been slaving for the enemy. God wants to set you free today! Begin to ask Him for His help, but be willing to do whatever He asks of you.
4. Grace brings a new way of living (8-14)
8 And since we died with Christ, we know we will also share his new life. 9 We are sure of this because Christ rose from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. 10 He died once to defeat sin, and now he lives for the glory of God. 11 So you should consider yourselves dead to sin and able to live for the glory of God through Christ Jesus. 12 Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to its lustful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your body become a tool of wickedness, to be used for sinning. Instead, give yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life. And use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God. 14 Sin is no longer your master, for you are no longer subject to the law, which enslaves you to sin. Instead, you are free by God's grace.
-Starting in v.11 Paul brings this all together for the Roman believers. In response to those who thought it was okay to go ahead and sin since God’s grace would more than compensate for their offenses, he gives at least 5 clear mandates:
1. Consider yourselves dead to sin and able to live for God’s glory through Jesus
2. Do not let sin control the way you live. Don’t give in to evil desires!
3. Do not let your body become a tool of wickedness
4. Give yourselves completely to God
5. Use your body as a tool to do what is right for God’s glory
-Where are you at today? Is the old you dead and buried? Is there new life from God flowing into your spirit each day? Are you experiencing the freedom that God has provided for you? Have you given yourself completely to God?
-If you need some correction in your life today, God wants to help you! He knows, He cares, and He is willing to help you make some changes.
-Maybe you’ve not yet surrendered your life to God. Maybe you’ve not yet given up the old you. God is calling your name today. He wants to give you His life and freedom so you can walk in newness of life!
-Let’s take a moment to let God speak to us, and respond to Him in prayer and in action. If He asks you to do something, honor Him as Lord and do it! You can be free today! That’s what God wants for you!
