Many Christians believe they commit sin because they are still sinners. But the real truth is this: Jesus freed us from the power of sin. So why do Christians commit sin? That’s the focus of this month’s teaching letter. Let’s begin in Romans 5 with verses 12, and 19 through 23.
(12) Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
We are born into this world as sinners. It’s not our fault. Point the finger at Adam. The moment he ate of the forbidden tree he corrupted the human spirit and condemned us to an eternity without God. So, you see, committing sin is not what makes us sinners. We sin because we are born with a nature that wants to sin.
(19) For as by one man's disobedience (Adam) many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one (Jesus) shall many be made righteous.
With our first birth, we receive a sin nature, a corrupted human spirit. When we are born again, our second birth, we receive a spotless and sin-free human spirit. We no longer have sin living in us! Praise God! But we must say “yes” to Jesus. If we don’t: Not being born again = eternal death in the lake of fire.
(20) Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
(21) That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
More sin does not mean More grace.
There are Christians who believe that no matter how much they sin, God’s grace will be there to cover them. But if we read verse 21, and I mean really read it, we’ll see that the sin is not acts of sin but the sin nature. Do you see the words “reigned” and “reign”? They mean “to rule, or to govern, to act as king.”
We can read verse 21 this way and maintain scriptural integrity: “In the past, the sin nature was king in your life. It decided what you would and would not do. It also condemned you to an eternity in the lake of fire. But now you can receive God’s grace through a new sinless nature. And if you will allow that nature to lead and guide you in deciding what you will and will not do, then an eternity with Jesus Christ awaits you.”
With all of this in mind, let’s jump into Romans 6.
(1) What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Do you see what Paul is doing here? He’s asking us to think about what we just read in Romans 5:20-21. “So, you’re telling me that committing sin is not a big deal because you will still receive God’s grace?” I can hear Paul’s exasperation: “Really? Seriously!”
(2) God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
“If you believe this, you are nuts! If a person is dead to sin how can he commit sin? He can’t! He is dead to sin! Spell it with me: D-E-A-D!” How many of you know a person who has died? When did she last call you, send you an email or a friend request on Facebook? I like the way Knox renders this verse: “We have died, once for all, to sin; can we breathe its air again?” No sir. We cannot.
Until we submit to our new nature, our minds will think like the old dead nature.
When a person dies, he ceases to function. He no longer exists except in our minds. You see, the born again experience does not affect our minds! That’s why we have to change our thoughts on purpose to agree with our new nature, our new uncorrupted human spirit.
(3) Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
(4) Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Do you see the word “should”? You know that means we have a choice, right? We have to choose to walk in our new life. A person who is not born again cannot make such a choice – it is impossible.
(5) For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
(6) Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
(7) For he that is dead is freed from sin.
The “body of sin” that is destroyed is the sin nature – the corrupted human spirit that is passed down to us from Adam. When we are born again it gets destroyed – “annulled”. When a marriage is annulled our laws say it never happened; it never existed. That is what this word communicates about the corrupted human spirit. When it is destroyed it the Bible treats it as if never existed.
A slave’s life
The word “serve” is “slave”. On the surface this word doesn’t give us a warm and fuzzy feeling does it? Stay with me. ? It’s the Greek word doulos. In the Hebrew it’s ebed. In Bible times a servant was paid a wage and had the freedom to come and go as he pleased. No so with a slave. He was subject to the will of his master. He had no freedom and no will of his own.
New Testament scholar R. C. Trent says a doulos is a person “who is in a permanent relation of servitude to another, his will altogether swallowed up in the will of the other.” This description sheds light on why Jesus says “nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” when he’s in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39).
Before we are born again, we are in a permanent relationship of slavery to the sin nature, our corrupted human spirit. We are powerless to change that relationship. Only a person with a pure, uncontaminated, life-giving spirit can do it for us. The person has to purchase our freedom. Jesus willingly paid that price once and for all! Now we are in a permanent relationship of slavery to righteousness. Thank you Jesus!
A willing slave to God is not a demeaning or diminished position.
The text reads “we should not be a slave to sin.” Most bibles translate doulos as servant or bondservant because society views the words slave and slavery negatively. But the concept of slavery, ladies and gentlemen, is essential to understanding how Jesus lived and how we are to live as Christians.
What Paul says is astounding. “We have been freed from the slavery of the sin nature so that we can enter a new slavery – slaves to righteousness!” We’re no longer slaves to a corrupt human spirit. Now we’re sons and daughters of God who willingly choose slavery because we love our Heavenly Father.
(8) Now if (since we know that) we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
(9) Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
(10) For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
(11) Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The word “reckon” removes all doubt about Paul’s heritage. He was a southerner! The word “reckon” paints an image of a person reviewing documents like official proceedings, text citations, and monographs in order to make an informed decision. After reading the last piece of evidence she concludes that, yes, these are the facts in this matter. They will stand up in court!
Paul says “Listen, based on what I’ve said up to his point, consider ourselves, without question, dead to the sin nature, the corrupted human spirit. Hey, we are not sinners anymore. We have a new life. We are alive with a new uncorrupted human spirit through Jesus Christ!” (I feel some praise rising up!)
If we don’t understand this fact, really this truth, we will continue to yield to the sin that lives in our un-glorified bodies instead of making our un-glorified bodies yield to our new sinless human spirits.
We are corpses to sin.
This is what Paul is trying to get us to understand! A person who is dead – if you touch her will she flinch? No! Will she open her eyes? No! Will she respond to a lighted match? No! Do you see this?
(12) Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Paul says do not let sin reign “in your mortal body.” He doesn’t say reign “in your spirit.” You see, just like the mind, the body does not get born again. That’s why the Bible says we must mortify the deeds of the flesh – blow them to smithereens! If you're taking notes, see Romans 8:13 and Colossians 3:5.
(13) Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
We can override our new sinless nature and act like we have a sin nature.
Where do we yield to sin? We yield first in our minds. The word “yield” is critical to understanding why we sin. The word means “to place or present before, to place at hand, or to furnish.” Paul says don’t present yourself to sin – don’t put yourself in a place to be tempted to sin.
Let me give you an example. You decide to go to a bar but only for a cherry cola and CCR’s “Bad Moon Arising” is playing on the jukebox. (Go ahead admit it. You’ve heard it!) You have just made yourself available to sin, not to mention you are ruining your Christian testimony. You may not drink alcohol the first time or the second time or even the third time. But if you keep going back to the bar, if you keep making yourself available to the alcohol, eventually you are going to have a drink.
Now, if you see nothing wrong with going to a bar and throwing back a few, perhaps it’s time to do what Ray Stevens did and “Have A Little Talk With Myself.” Yeah, some of you have heard this one too.
(14) For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Paul connects the sin nature with the Law. “The Law was given to people who had a sin nature,” he says. “Now that we have God’s life, the Law doesn’t apply to anymore. We are free from the dominion of sin. We now live under a new law – the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:2b).
(15) What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law (because we don’t have a sin nature), but under grace (because we have a nature like God’s)? God forbid.
(16) Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants (slaves) to obey, his servants (slaves) ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
To whom are you yielding? To whom are you presenting yourself to?
Paul says that whoever we decide to yield or present ourselves available to will be our master – the soul and body or the uncorrupted human spirit. One leads to the lake of fire and eternal separation from God and the other to an eternity in God’s presence. (I’ll let you figure out which one!?)
So why do Christians commit sin?
They decide, on purpose, to make themselves available to sin, for example, through TV programs and movies that “nurture” sinful thoughts. They also have people in their lives who “bring sin with them.” What kind of sin Bro. Barry? You have a friend who is living with his girlfriend. The Bible says two single people cannot have “a husband and wife relationship.”
You are making yourself available to sin by spending time with him like everything’s okay. It’s not. He’s in sin and so are you if you don’t distance yourself from him. I don’t want you to miss what I’m about to say.
If we continue to make ourselves available to sin we can lose our salvation.
That is what “sin unto death” is talking about. Let that sink in ladies and gentlemen.
(17) But God be thanked, that ye were the servants (slaves) of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
(18) Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants (slaves) of righteousness.
(19) I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants (slaves) to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity (You’re still going to the bar. You continue to watch movies that nurture sinful thoughts.); even so now yield your members servants (slaves) to righteousness unto holiness (Stop going to the bar! Stop watching the movies!).
(20) For when ye were the servants (slaves) of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
(21) What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
(22) But now being made free from sin, and become servants (slaves) to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
(23) For (when you are a slave to sin) the wages of sin is (eternal) death; but (when you are a slave to righteousness) the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
How important is grace?
The “wages of sin is death.” Because of our sin nature, our corrupted human spirit, through no fault of our own we were headed for eternal damnation. But now “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, God’s grace rescues us from the eternal death that waits for everyone with a corrupted human spirit. We now have eternal life! Thank you Jesus!
A Christian sins on purpose, not because of who he is, but because he refuses the leading of his sin-free living-giving human spirit. He chooses to give into a rebellious unsubmitted mind and a body that lusts after the flesh (“If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with.” C’mon. I know some of you have heard that Isley Brothers’ tune too.). And if he continues, he’s committing the most egregious act anyone can commit – he’s turning his back on salvation and he doesn’t even know it. Ladies and gentlemen, if this is you, fall on your knees right now and repent. It’s not too late.
We will look at Romans 7 the next time we are together. Everyone please stand.
