The theory of what God has done about sin is all very well but…what do we do about our sin in practice? Just because God has dealt with sin through Jesus doesn’t mean that sin is no longer an issue in our lives. We still have to live with the old nature that pulls us towards sin and away from the righteousness that God has given us. 

“Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace?”

Does the fact that God has shown us His grace mean that it doesn’t matter if we still sin because through God’s grace, we have forgiveness and Jesus’ righteousness? Doesn’t our sinning enhance God’s grace?

Paul’s answer…

If we think that way, our perspective is wrong. We have completely misunderstood grace. Grace does not mean that our sin doesn’t matter any more. Grace means that we are no longer the slaves of sin. 

“Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God’s grace means that He has dealt with sin in two ways…

First, Jesus died to pay sin’s debt, bringing forgiveness,  reconciliation, and a right relationship with the Father. Grace deals with our past. 

Second, Jesus died to break sin’s power over us now. Grace also deals with our present. How does this happen? Jesus didn’t only die for us…we died with Him. Our baptism in water was a declaration, a witness,  and a symbolic action that we were crucified with Him. 

“Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Baptism, as well as being a witness to our faith in Jesus, is also a powerful spiritual reality…a cut off point…a line in the sand…a before-and-after demonstration

of what has happened to us in real terms. Our old self with its sinfulness is dead and buried. We rose again to new life. 

“Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬ ‭CEV‬‬

So, Paul says, this is what has actually happened. 

“Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that 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. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him….When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭5‬-‭8‬, ‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Now, the way to live in this new reality is to change the way we think. How do we do that? 

“Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭12‬-‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Can you see what Paul is saying? First, do not let…that is, do not allow… When we allow something to happen, we give it permission by doing nothing to stop it. We simply keep living our old way without thinking about it. 

We must learn to repent…that is…to return to God’s way…the way to live as He has set out in His Word. The difference for us is that, now, sin can no longer keep us in slavery. We are free not to sin but to obey Jesus through the Spirit in us.

This way is a choice. 

“…Give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭13‬b ‭NLT‬‬

We are continually being confronted with choices. Do I do what is natural to my old nature or do I choose to obey the Lord? I am no longer obliged to choose sin. I can choose to obey the Lord, and the Holy Spirit in me will give me power to do what I have chosen. 

However, there is something even more important to consider. There is a problem! What we choose leads us into slavery! 

What! 

I thought Jesus set us free from sin? Yes, He did but…how we behave leads us into another kind of slavery. 

“Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living….Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭16‬, ‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Slaves are people who have no right or control over their own lives. They can’t do as they please because someone else owns them. The issue for us, then, is…who owns us?

“But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭6‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jesus bought us with His own blood. We don’t belong to sin any more. We belong to righteousness. We are Jesus’  slaves. He is our Master. We have His Spirit in us, guiding us and giving us the power to make the right choices and to do the right thing. When we give ourselves to Him, we learn to live out, more and more, the righteousness He gave us. 

Paul ends this 

section with a warning…

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

If we keep on sinning, we will earn sin’s wages…death. If we love Jesus, we will enjoy the life He gives to us as a gift of His grace…His life working in and through us. 

To be continued