June
30th Romans
6 (Sanctification) We are dead to sin
1:
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may
abound? 2: God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any
longer therein? 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. 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. 8:
Now if 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. 12: Let not sin
therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the
lusts thereof. 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. 14: For sin shall not have dominion over you:
for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
In
this passage Paul talks about the union that believers have in
Christ. This passage is not about christian baptism, its about
baptism into Jesus Christ in which the believer becomes united to
Christ. First, Paul suggests an objection to his teaching. Some might
say, If Gods grace abounds more and more to cover all sin then we
might as well sin more so that Grace might abound. His response to
this devish suggestion is, God forbid. Then he explains why. He asks
a question, How shall we Christians, who are dead, to sin live any
longer in it? Don’t you know, he says, that we who believe have
been baptised into Jesus Christ’s death. We are buried with him in
baptism into death that in Christ we might be raised up from the dead
by the Glory of God. Therefore we should walk in a new life. If we
Christians have been planted into the same death as Christ then we
will also live in the same resurrection power. Our old man is
crucified in Christ so that the body of our sin might be destroyed
and so that we might be free from the ruling power of sin. The person
who is dead is free from sin. If we are dead in Christ we will also
live in him. We know that Christ is not subject to death any more,
death has lost its rule over him. Christ died once but he now lives
in resurrection power to God. In a similar way we are to believe that
we are also dead to sin but alive to God. We must not let sin rule
our lives in the flesh to obey its lusts. Nor must we submit the
parts of our body to unrighteous deeds but we are to submit ourselves
unto God, as those that are living in a resurrection life. If we walk
in the Spirit sin will not dominate our lives. Sin dominated our
lives under law but this will not happen under Grace.
- Why cant we carry on in sin now that we are saved?
- How does Paul describe the Christians relation to sin?
- How does Paul describe the Christians unique relation to Christ?
- What is the way that Paul describes Christian life of victory over sin?
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