Hi and welcome back. Today we’re going to start a brand new chapter in Romans. Chapter 6 deals with sin and the question of whether we should continue in sin. So let’s get right into it.
Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?
Basically what this objector is saying is that if all you have to do to be saved is to believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins, and believe that he was raised from the dead, then you can continue with your sinful lifestyle.
In other words the more you sin the more God’s grace is amplified. Paul answers with the following rebuttal.
Romans 6:2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
Paul makes it clear that as Jesus died to sin, we too have died to sin. We have identified in Christ’s death.
Galatians 5:24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If you are dead to sin that means you have renounced it.
You have repented of your sinful past. It doesn’t mean that you are never going to sin again. But it does mean that you are striving to walk a path that is pleasing in God’s sight. We may occasionally stray off that path, but we don’t continue to feed our flesh with worldly desires.
If you walk around with the mindset once saved always saved you are setting yourself up for failure.
Romans 6:3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
Baptism is symbolic of a believer’s identity with Christ.
It is an outward public acknowledgment of our faith. We as Christians who have partaken of baptism, symbolize our death to sin when we are immersed in the baptismal water.
Romans 6:4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
Again, as we come out of the water, that symbolizes our new life in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Romans 6:5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
When Paul says in a death like his it doesn’t mean being crucified but rather that we are dead to sin. Sin no longer has dominion over us again, the reference of a resurrection like his refers to our walking in newness of life.
Romans 6:6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
The old man or the former life no longer has us in bondage to sin.
Ephesians 4:22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,
Ephesians 4:23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
Ephesians 4:24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Out with the old and in with the new!
I think it’s important to understand that Paul is using repetition as a teacher. In order to understand a concept sometimes it bears repeating. So if what we’re studying sounds like you’ve heard it before, in this chapter it’s because you have.
Romans 6:7 For one who has died has been set free from sin.
The following example is directly from the Believer’s Bible Commentary.
Let’s say there’s a man who is sentenced to die in the electric chair for murdering a police officer. As soon as he dies he is freed from that sin. The penalty has been paid and the case is closed.
Now we have died with Christ on the cross of Calvary. Not only has our penalty been paid, but sins stranglehold on our lives has been broken. We are no longer the helpless captives of sin.
Romans 6:8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
We have died to sin; we live to righteousness.
As such, we will live with him in this life and the life to come. Thank you Jesus!
Romans 6:9 We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.
We now have a living Hope.
Jesus rose out of that grave. For three days that grave held him captive. But death no longer has dominion over him. He rose from that grave and he will never see that grave again. Hallelujah!
1 Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Romans 6:10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.
Jesus’ death on the cross for sin was a one and done. Amen.
This horrific death will never have to be repeated. He was a perfect sacrifice. Unlike animal sacrifices that had to be repeated over and over again.
Jesus has always lived to God. But now he lives as the risen Christ at the right hand of the Father.
This is a good place for us to stop. But before we go, let’s review these first 10 verses. The theme is sanctification. That is how we are able to live holy lives. We have died with Christ and we have risen with Him. The old man is no longer and we now walk in newness of life. This is symbolically seen through water baptism.
One final note. Baptism is not a prerequisite for salvation.
We could go on and on about this subject. But I think I’ll save it for a later date. Suffice it to say, For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Ephesians 2:8
Thank you for listening today. I hope that this Bible study has blessed you in some way. I encourage you to go over the material that we’ve been covering and dig even deeper to make this study more personal and relevant to you. As always may you have a week full of opportunities to share this good news with those that need to hear it.