28. ROMANS CHAPTER 6 VERSES 19-23 - MESSAGES IN ROMANS – DEAD TO SIN; SLAVES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. SANCTIFICATION, ETERNAL LIFE AND DEATH – MESSAGE 28
[1]. STAND FOR CHRIST AND DELIVER
{{Romans 6:19 “I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh, for just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, SO NOW PRESENT YOUR MEMBERS AS SLAVES TO RIGHTEOUSNESS, resulting in SANCTIFICATION.”}}
Paul’s comment about speaking in human terms certainly had a lot of spirituality in it. Why would the Apostle say they were weak in the flesh, and would he apply that to all of us? I suspect what he is saying is that ALL of us are weak in the flesh because we are all sinners by nature and retain that sin nature until we enter the Lord’s presence. Every single one of the Lord’s servants can testify to the fact that sin is so subtle and the flesh is often our undoing.
This verse summarises the overall thoughts of the previous number of verses. We enter on a different comparison here in the impact of the verse. Contrasted are impurity and lawlessness AND sanctification. Interestingly he states, “resulting in further lawlessness,” and that means when lawlessness is set loose it multiplies itself enormously.
We see that in increasing riots such as the Black Lives Matter and Islamic lawlessness in our cities and anti-Semitic riots and demonstrations. As we approach the end of the Church age lawlessness will increase. Britain, France and the USA are being overrun by lawlessness in riots and violent protests.
Let us take a look at this verse – {{Matthew 24:12 “and because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold,”}} and we must be careful here because Jesus is speaking of the times in the Tribulation in Matthew 24 and this is where the verse fits. There will be great lawlessness in the Tribulation because the Lawless One (Antichrist) will rule the world. The Tribulation happens after the RAPTURE so as we quickly approach the Rapture then we will expect an increase in lawless behaviour, and that we are seeing. It is all getting ready. {{1 Timothy 1:9 “realising the fact that law is not made for a righteous man, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,”}}
Once a person is committed to lawlessness then he loses sense of reason and equality. It belongs to Satan for he is the lawless one as will be his king pin in the Tribulation – {{2 Thessalonians 2:7-9 “for the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way, and then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming, that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders,”}}
The remainder of Romans 6 verse 19 tells us to unite with righteousness; to serve righteousness (by being obedient to the Lord and His word.) Paul continues to say that leads to sanctification, which is the same Greek word as holiness. God wants holy people not ones tainted by sin and the world. How do you avoid being polluted by the world?
It all depends on how far you are from the Lord. If you are distant it means you have neglected fellowship, neglected the living word and become cold in your faith. Sanctification is an ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in one sense of practical walk, and the closer you are to Jesus, then the greater that walk will change you.
One expression here requires an act of the will. Because we are Christians, it does not mean we are robots controlled by the Lord. In fact more is required of us to make choices, BUT with the leading of God. Our desires should match the Lord’s desires. This is that expression - so now present your members” and that is the individual choice that is yours. In disobedience you may refuse but to do so is to live an unprofitable life and fail in sanctification.
[2]. THE SINNER IS FREE FROM THE DEMANDS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
{{Romans 6:20 “When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.”}} VERY THOROUGH COVERAGE
This is an interesting thought and a bit like the way this works – “A member of the soccer team is not bound by the rules of the tennis club.” Tennis has no application to the soccer. Before a person is saved then he/she was a slave to sin, and constantly sinned with no regard to penalty or outcomes. What was “Christian” was foreign and the thought of righteousness meant nothing. In fact it was probably despised.
Once a person (I think it was one of a group of bicycle riders) stole over $100 from my car and that did not please me. That was a few years ago but I often think about it. What my conclusions are, is that the person who did it has no conscience whatever about stealing. It is just common to the unsaved person as barking is to a dog. It is the natural outcome of the unconverted person.
If it was a Christian who stole that money, he/she would have such a conscience about it as the Holy Spirit convicts the person about the action. The deeper the sanctification, the deeper the conviction. Why does God do that? It is to increase our sanctification; to make us more and more like Christ who is holy. {{1 Peter 1:15-16 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behaviour because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”}}
The supermarkets where I live and now elsewhere I believe, are doing away with checkouts and relying on people to process their own goods at these self-operating things. I am sure the way people behave there, that they don’t put everything through and when it comes to fruit and vegetables, they put the much lower, wrong amounts per kilogram. You can not rely on people’s honesty when they are sinners and slaves of sin. The honest people end up paying more to make up the losses of the cheats.
Just because one is a slave of sin and free from the control of righteousness, it does not mean that the person is free from judgement or accountability. Paul is working through these arguments and the conclusion comes in the final verse of the chapter. The wages will be paid. Those wages are eternal death in the lake of fire. There is still much in the way of contrasts in this chapter.
[3]. THERE IS NO BENEFIT FROM PAST EVIL DEEDS
{{Romans 6:21 “Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed for the outcome of those things is death?”}}
Now the logical question comes. The Apostle asks that his readers think back to the time before their salvation; to the time when they had no righteous restraints on their lives and could do what they wanted under the law of fleshly liberty.
The question for them is what benefit did they obtain when they were doing all these sinful things. Those acts of sin and unrestrained pleasure and idolatrous practices, what benefit or decency came from those? The implied answer of course is, “Nothing,” and Paul rightly concludes the believers are ashamed of those things of the past.
The outcome of that sinful practice was to be death for – {{Genesis 2:17 “but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.”}} Spiritually, they died to God and eternal life, to enter eternal death. It is serious but mankind refuses to listen in most cases.
These last few verses are a warning to these Romans not to backslide or to dip back into the flesh. After all their baptism at the time of conversion showed they had died to the old things and have risen in new life for Christ. That being the case, how can they possibly return to the old, dead things?
[4]. THERE IS A BEAUTIFUL PROGRESSION ENDING IN ETERNAL LIFE
{{Romans 6:22 “Now having been FREED FROM SIN and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit resulting in SANCTIFICATION, and the outcome, ETERNAL LIFE,”}}
There was no benefit in following the flesh and belonging to Satan’s camp. All that would result in death, but they are freed from death through faith in Christ and have been freed from the hold of sin over their lives. That is a freedom all of us must tenaciously hold on to, and not revert to the old, sinful passions.
They have passed from that bondage to sin; from slaves of sin, to slaves of God. The slaves of course are bond servants, lovingly and willingly connected with the Lord and Saviour. Because of that there is benefit for them where there was none before.
The benefit is sanctification, in being declared holy by a holy God. This is a great blessing by grace where we are considered holy in God’s sight when we know our own failings and flaws. We possess the righteousness of Christ according to this verse – {{2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him, 2 Corinthians 6:1 and working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain,”}}
Sanctification is both a standing in faith, and an ongoing action. You can’t divorce the position from action, for lives must be lived as sanctified lives. Sadly too many of us have a considerable gap between the position, and the ongoing action of sanctified lives being lived out.
In verse 22 there is a progression from being freed, joined forever with God, sanctification and lastly, eternal life. These are definite steps. The born again Christian has a rich heritage, all brought about through the sacrificial death for us of the Lamb of God. We owe Him everything, for Jesus gave everything.
[5]. THE FINAL CONTRAST FOR THE CHAPTER
{{Romans 6:23 “for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”}}
In a sense, this verse sums up all that has gone before in six chapters. In the first three chapters, Paul puts all mankind on trial and all are found guilty. There is no one who is righteous, not even one. Then he examines faith and grace and bondage, and the deliverance from the hold of sin. God’s free gift of salvation is eternal life for all who surrender to the claims of Christ, but rejection of that will result in death.
Sin always brings about death, for separation is death, and sin has separated man from the fellowship of God, that same delightful time that Adam and Eve had for a short time until disobedience took its toll.
Death always earns payment. One can not be neutral here. There are wages attached to death and they are horrible, for death results in eternal separation from God in a spiritual death in hell.
I think Paul is emphasising “free gift” here for he has spent a considerable time in working through bondage and freedom. Christians are delivered from the bondage of sin and the Law (Law for the Jews) and now live in freedom with Jesus Christ.
Eternal life has started while on earth. I have eternal life now, though the realisation of it will burst on me the moment I am in the Lord’s glorious presence. My Lord Jesus Christ has done everything. I can do nothing and that is why the expression is often used – “by faith” and “through faith”.
[6]. A GLIMPSE INTO CHAPTER 7
I am not starting Chapter 7 but only raising these things so you can look into it before I post next time.
The ending of Chapter 6 is very decisive for it places the Christian in a position of FREEDOM from bondage, but the person in Chapter 7 is in BONDAGE. We will look at that next time, but suffice to say here that the one in the seventh chapter is not a Christian; he is NOT a Christian struggling with the two natures. That is an impossible situation following on from Chapter 6. This is where I would differ from nearly every commentator. Chapter 7 is maybe the most misunderstood chapter in the bible.
NOTE - This sixth verse in Chapter 6 ends with “WE SHOULD NO LONGER BE SLAVES TO SIN.” We are NO longer that, but that is what chapter 7 is about, so the normal interpretation is wrong.
We live right now in the power of His resurrection. That is victory NOT defeat, but in Chapter 7 it is defeat NOT victory.
Romans 6:11 says WE ARE DEAD TO SIN. CHAPTER 7 CAN’T APPLY the way people say it does.
