Milo

FREED FROM SIN
Romans 6

“Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires” (Rom. 6:11–12).

The good news is we’re no longer captives of sin. We have a choice.

Background
Sin. Romans 6–8 explores the impact of the Gospel on the individual. Paul portrayed this impact in respect to three vital issues, asking: What about sin? What about the Law? What about our mortality?
In this chapter Paul announced the believer’s freedom from sin through union with Jesus. To understand Paul’s teaching we need to realize that the Bible makes a distinction between sin and sins. On the one hand, sin is a state or condition. It is the corruption of human nature; the warping of the human will, emotions, and understanding. On the other hand, sins are specific acts that intentionally or unintentionally fall short of God’s perfection because of our rebelliousness, our evil desires, or our failure to grasp what is right and good. The good news that Paul announced in this chapter is that through union with Jesus, we have within us the source of perfection! We no longer are limited to the choices, desires, or understanding of a corrupt nature! In Christ, we can at long last actually be, and do, good.
Paul did not teach that the old corrupt nature that expressed itself in acts of sins is gone. Not at all. Sin is still with us. But so is Jesus. And because Jesus is with us, we need no longer commit sins.

Overview
Salvation by grace through faith is no license to sin (6:1–2). By our union with Christ we died to sin and were raised to new life (vv. 3–10). We are not to permit sin to reign in our lives (vv. 11–14), but instead to offer ourselves to God as His slaves, to live holy and righteous lives (vv. 15–23).

Understanding the Text
“Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” Rom. 6:1 The question was sarcastic. It was not the honest doubt of a person who wonders why, if a person knows he is going to heaven, he or she would want to live a good life. That person, with significant insight into human nature, asks, “If I didn’t fear damnation, what would keep me from doing wrong?”
The questioner of verse 1 said, “If God gets so much glory out of freely forgiving sinners, then maybe you’d better keep on sinning, so God can get even more glory!” Paul’s response was a shocked me genito, a phrase we might render “God forbid!” or “Unthinkable!” or “Never!”
Shock is an appropriate response. God has no affinity with sin at all. He forgives sinners. But with forgiveness He calls each believer to live a holy and righteous life. The ultimate evidence of God’s grace is not seen in forgiveness of sin. It is displayed in the moral transformation of the sinner.
Christians are called “trophies of grace.” God has won us in Christ. Up there, on His figurative shelf, we do bring Him glory. But no trophy if tarnished and dulled brings much glory to its owner. To truly reflect the glory of God’s grace, we need to live lives that are polished and pure.

“[We] who were baptized into Christ” Rom. 6:2–4. Paul wasn’t thinking of water baptism here. Instead he was using the word baptizo as a metaphor: we have been immersed in Jesus. Unlike a piece of cloth immersed in dye that it might take on its color, we have by faith plunged into Jesus and become so completely united to Him that the death He died was our death, and the resurrection life He possesses now is our life too.
Perhaps the closest modern analogy is found in “community property” states. Say a poverty-stricken young woman marries a multimillionaire. At the moment of marriage, the law considers half of all he owns hers. It is as if, legally, she had been a participant when he earned his millions. And now that they have been united in marriage she has his vast resources to draw on.
This is what Paul said about you and Jesus. When you believed in Jesus, you were united to Christ. It is as if, theologically, you hung there on the cross with Him. When Jesus died, you died. And when Jesus was raised from the dead, you too were raised! Now that you have been united by faith to Jesus, you have His vast spiritual resources to draw on. And the result? “We too may live a new life.”
Next time you’re tempted to sin, picture yourself immersed in Jesus. Draw freely on His resurrection power. Choose that new life that is yours!

“So that the body of sin might be rendered powerless” Rom. 6:6. Immersed in Jesus, our old self was crucified with Him. This is the basis of our ultimate freedom from sin’s very presence at our resurrection. But until then, sin is all too present with us. We feel its pull; we sense it in thoughts that chase one another through our minds. But, thank God, sin though present is “rendered powerless.” At last we can ignore sin’s pull (see DEVOTIONAL).
As Martin Luther said, “We can’t keep the birds from flying around our head. But we needn’t let them build a nest in our hair!”

“Offer yourselves to God” Rom. 6:11–14. Freedom from sin has a price tag. The tag reads, “Offer yourselves to God.”
From the beginning individuals have assumed that “freedom” is being able to do what a person wants to do, when he wants to do it, with no reference to anyone or anything. That idea has absolutely no correspondence with reality.
The fact is that we human beings are creatures, and as creatures we always serve some master. The master may be sin, expressing itself as a passion for wealth or power, or merely as a selfish passion for one’s own way. Or the master may be God. But it is impossible for us to live without a master.
I can think of many reasons why God is a better master than sin. But one of them surely is the thing Paul mentioned in verse 23. “The wages of sin is death.”
Personally, I’d much rather offer the parts of my body to God as “instruments of righteousness.”

“You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness” Rom. 6:18. In a way, the Christian life is one of extreme simplicity. In every situation, ask yourself, What is the righteous thing to do?
Folks sometimes try to complicate this, and argue that they often don’t know the righteous thing to do. That may be. But we nearly always know when something is the wrong thing to do!
What it boils down to is: Don’t do what you know or suspect is wrong. You may not be positive a particular course of action is best. But you surely will recognize actions that are wrong.

“What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of?” Rom. 6:19–23 This is a fair question. What does any person get out of sin? A momentary thrill? An instant of satisfaction? A mercurial sense of power? This is what sin offers at best—and with sin comes a sense of guilt and deep dissatisfaction. When you add endless death to the list, sin doesn’t seem to pay well at all.
Righteousness pays off in holiness. That isn’t highly valued by the world, but it can buy inner peace, freedom from guilt, joy, a sense of being right with God and yourself, and eternal life.

DEVOTIONAL
Just Don’t Jump
(Rom. 6:1–14)
Donald Grey Barnhouse used to say about this passage, “When the old captain shouts, just don’t jump!”
Dr. Barnhouse was a master at finding illustrations to make the most complex concepts simple and clear. We surely need that gift to help us with Romans 6. What’s all this about “the body of sin” being “rendered powerless”? And “death no longer having mastery” over us? How do we explain “count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God”?
Barnhouse would say we’re like the crew of a ship at sea. We took orders from our captain, body of sin. But then one day while we were still at sea, that captain was replaced, and authority passed to a new captain, God. So body of sin was rendered powerless, with no right of mastery over us at all. God is the only One we have to obey.
The trouble is, the old captain is still on board the ship, and even though he has no authority, he keeps on shouting orders. Because we’re so familiar with his voice, we all too often find ourselves jumping to obey him. What we have to do, Barnhouse said, is to “count yourselves dead” to the old captain’s orders, and just don’t jump to obey his commands.
I always liked the illustration. Isn’t it great that we don’t have to jump when a sinful thought urges us on to sin? What fun to tell sin to go jump instead!

Personal Application
Resist the devil. And thumb your nose at sin.

Quotable
“We are too Christian really to enjoy sinning, and too fond of sinning really to enjoy Christianity. Most of us know perfectly well what we ought to do; our trouble is that we do not want to do it.”—Peter Marshall

LIFE IN CHRIST
Romans 5

“For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one Man, Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:17).

Life or death do not just lie at the end of two pathways. They are the two pathways.

Overview
Justified by faith, we have peace and joy (5:1–5). This is all because of Christ, who died for us sinners (vv. 6–8) and who lives to maintain our new harmony with God (vv. 9–11). As the sin of one man, Adam, doomed our race to death (vv. 12–14), so the gift of one Man, Jesus Christ, overflows to bring life to all who believe (vv. 15–19). In Christ grace reigns, and eternal life is ours (vv. 20–21).

Understanding the Text
“Peace with God” Rom. 5:1–2. The very first benefit of the believer’s new relationship with God that Paul mentioned was “peace.”
As I wrote this, the Berlin Wall that isolated East and West Germany began to go down. Hundreds of thousands of Germans crossed once impassable barriers to visit relatives in the West that they hadn’t seen for nearly 30 years. But even as the wall began to go down, there was no guarantee of peace. No guarantee that complete harmony between the deeply divided East and West will ever be restored.
Paul exclaimed that we have “peace with God.” Not only has the wall that sin created between us gone down, but we now pass freely into once forbidden territory, knowing that a permanent harmonious relationship between us and the Lord has been established. Paul said we “have gained access” (v. 2). We now stand securely within the circle of God’s grace (v. 2). The two Germanys are uneasy and uncertain about the future; we are filled with joy, for our future is sure.

“We rejoice in the hope” Rom. 5:2. Don’t let the word “hope” throw you. In our language “hope” is a word that suggests uncertainty. “I hope I’ll be able to go with you,” means I’d like to, but I don’t know if I can. A young woman’s “hope chest” was traditionally a place where she stored precious items she would use when—and if!-she married. “Hope” to us is a “maybe” kind of thing.
But it’s not this way in the New Testament. In fact, it’s just the opposite! Hope (elpis) is the settled and confident expectation that we will obtain a future good. Hope is being sure that what God has promised will be ours, even if today we only glimpse it from afar.
What a blessing to remember as we read the New Testament. Because of Jesus, we have hope. We know that we have a share in the glory of God.

“We also rejoice in our sufferings” Rom. 5:3–5. “Hope” is a word about our tomorrows. All too often “suffering” seems to be the word for our today. But Paul said that, because of our peace with God through Jesus, we even “rejoice in our sufferings.”
Perspective provides the reason. A young woman experiencing the pains of childbirth still rejoices—because she knows that her suffering will give birth to a precious new life. She looks ahead, and the promise the future holds gives meaning to her present pain.
It’s just this way with Christians. Knowing that we have peace with God, we are sure that our present is pregnant with promise. We experience joy in suffering because we know out of pain God will bring something good.
Paul even tells us one good our suffering will bring! Our pain will produce perseverance, and this will produce character, and character will produce hope. Through hope, that expectant gaze we fix on the future, we will find the true meaning of life.
This doesn’t mean we’ll have a grim life here, in exchange for a joyful future. Oh, no. It means we will have joy now as well as then. Learning to hope will save us from trying to anchor our souls on the slippery bottom of this world’s riches or fame. As we put our hope in God, His Spirit will flood our hearts with a sense of His love. And this, the present experience of the love of God, will give us present joy.

“Christ died for the ungodly” Rom. 5:6–8. The unmistakable sense of God’s love that floods our hearts even in suffering is a very personal, subjective kind of thing. We know we are loved. We can tell others. But how can they know that God’s love is real?
Paul answered that there is objective as well as subjective evidence of the love of God. Christ’s cross towers in history, casting its shadow in every century, vivid and unmistakable proof that God does love us indeed! While an unusual person might give his life to save a truly good man, Jesus Christ gave His life to save us despite the fact that we were sinners.
There may be times when you and I can’t feel the love of God. But there need never be a time when we doubt it. We need only look to Calvary, and remember why Jesus died.

“We have now received reconciliation” Rom. 5:9–11. This is another of those important “theological” words of the Bible. As with most such terms, its meaning is actually quite simple. It is something like a man who wakes up, finds that his watch has stopped, and turns on the radio to learn the time. When he hears, he sets his watch by the radio time. What he’s done is to “reconcile” his watch to the radio.
Through the death of Jesus, God “reset” our inner clock. Our hearts now ticking in time with His, our values match His own. We are “saved by His life,” for the risen Christ lives within us, to enable us to actually live in harmony with God! Through Jesus we are saved from the wrath that spills over today as the consequences of sinful acts. Through Jesus we have this unutterable joy.
You’ve trusted Jesus to save you from the eternal consequences of your sins through His death. Have you trusted Him to save you in the present by His life? Trust Him, rely on the strength He provides, and you will be able at last to live a life that is truly in harmony with God.

“The gift of righteousness reign[s] in life through the one Man, Jesus Christ” Rom. 5:12–20. The whole passage contrasts Adam and Jesus, each of whom fixed the future of all living in the epoch he initiated. Adam initiated the epoch of sin, and all who descended from him have found themselves trapped in a morass of sin and death. Jesus initiated the epoch of grace, and all who trace their relationship to Christ are freed from sin, to be righteous and to live righteously.
Consider some of the differences brought out in this chapter, shown on the following chart. And rejoice. You have been adopted into the family of the Son whom God loves.

ADAM / CHRIST in Romans 5:11–21
v.
Adam
Christ
v.
12
Introduced sin, death
Introduced grace,
15
righteousness,
17
and life
17
16
Men condemned,
Men given righteousness
16
19
made sinners
and life, and justified
21
16
Judgment a consequence
Grace reigns as a consequence
21
17
All subject to death
Many brought to eternal life
19
19
Disobedient
Obedient
19

“Before the Law was given, sin was in the world” Rom. 5:13. When a friend of mine went through a stop sign, he got a ticket. Later he went to court and argued that the stop sign had been put up only the day before and was hard to see.
It was an interesting argument. The highway commission had determined that that particular intersection was dangerous, and that a sign should be there. My friend didn’t argue about that. He even admitted going through the sign. He argued only that he wasn’t guilty, because the sign was new and obscured.
Paul’s point is something like this. Sin has been in the world since Adam. And because of sin, human beings have been dying since Adam, as a necessary consequence of sin is death. But people were not guilty of sin before there was a law that, “this is wrong.” To be guilty of transgressing the law, law must exist, and be known.
The argument was important for reaching the Jews, who placed altogether too much importance on their possession of Moses’ Law. In essence, Paul said the Jews were worse off than the Gentiles. Gentile and Jew had both suffered spiritual death as a consequence of sin. But the Jews, who had the Law and had broken it, were also guilty!
Thank God, neither death nor guilt is a problem for Christians. Jesus gives eternal life to all who believe in Him. Through Christ we are raised from death to life, freed from the present power of sin, and forgiven every violation. What a difference Jesus makes to those of us who know Him.

DEVOTIONAL
Everywhere You Look
(Rom. 5:1–11)
There’s an old riddle that says: What direction did the polar bear look when he turned his head to the right? To the left? And when he looked straight ahead? The answer in each case is south. He was standing on the North Pole.
It’s something like this with a term we find in Romans 5:1–11. What does a Christian see if he looks back? If he looks ahead? If he looks around? Reconciliation!
Looking back, we realize that the death of Jesus has changed our condition and our heart. We have been reconciled to God, and He has transformed us from enemy to friend (v. 10). Looking ahead we see an endless future in which Christ stands by our side, till ultimately we stand by His throughout eternity (v. 9). Looking around us, we find that we experience joy in serving Jesus. We have a “now” experience of reconciliation as well.
Even the word “saved” is like this. Look back: you have been saved. Look ahead: you will be saved. Look around: you are being saved. Jesus is even now at work within to give you the power to live a holy life.
Our past, our present, and our future are all transformed because of Him. Wherever we look, everything is bright and new, and completely different, because of Jesus Christ, God’s Son.

Personal Application
Let Jesus change your perspective on everything in life.

Quotable
“If you were to spend a month feeding on the precious promises of God, you would not be going about with your heads hanging down like bulrushes, complaining how poor you are; but you would lift up your heads with confidence, and proclaim the riches of His grace because you could not help it.”—D.L. Moody

NO ONE RIGHTEOUS
Romans 2–3

“No one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the Law; rather through the Law we become conscious of sin” (Rom. 3:20).

All have sinned. So all are eligible for the salvation won by Jesus for sinners.

Background
Law. “Law” is one of the most complex concepts in Scripture. The Hebrew Torah may refer to the Pentateuch, to the entire Old Testament, to the Ten Commandments, to the whole body of God’s requirements for Israel, and to the way of life adopted by the covenant community. The Greek nomos, used here by Paul, has these meanings and more. So as we approach each section of Romans it’s important to ask what Paul meant when he spoke of the “law.” In Romans 2 and 3 the basic meaning of “law” is “God’s revealed requirements for righteous living.” Later in Romans the meaning of “law” will shift subtly, and often. Here, however, we need only keep in mind the “revealed standards” aspect of God’s moral law.

Overview
God alone is competent to judge (2:1–4), and He judges Jew and Gentile on the basis of truth (vv. 5–11). Gentiles sin against their conscience (vv. 12–16). Jews boasted of possessing God’s Law (vv. 17–20), but law is of no value to those who break it (vv. 21–29). Those entrusted with the words of God must respond with faith (3:1–8). Yet Scripture shows that no human being is righteous (vv. 9–18). Thus the law’s intent is to make man conscious of sin, not to be an instrument of salvation (vv. 19–20). Through faith in Christ’s blood we are given a righteousness apart from the law (vv. 21–26). Jew and Gentile are saved by faith (vv. 27–31).

Understanding the Text
“You are condemning yourself” Rom. 2:1–3. One of the hardest things we have to learn is that when we point a finger at others, we point four at ourselves!
That’s what Paul said here. We look at another person’s actions, and we say, “That’s wrong.” And as soon as we do, we admit that moral standards exist. After all, we used some standard to determine he or she was “wrong”! So anyone who judges others, and we all do, says in effect, “It’s right to judge. Standards do exist.”
Of course, once judgment is introduced, our own actions become subject to examination. And when God measures our actions, He uses a more demanding standard than we possibly could: truth.
You might try that on a friend who pretends, as many do these days, that morality is personal and relative. Such folks will tell you, “What I do may be wrong for you, but it’s all right for me.” Well, if you ever hear a moral relativist condemn any action, say, “Gotcha! You just condemned yourself.” And then explain. By admitting that moral standards exist, that person made himself subject to judgment. By God.

“God’s kindness leads you toward repentance” Rom. 2:4–5. The next question folks are likely to ask is, if God judges sin, why doesn’t He do something about the real bad guys? Paul’s answer to this is a stunner.
If He did something about the child abusers and rapists right now, He’d have to do something right now about you! God is holding back Judgment Day to give people a chance to repent. God’s failure to zap people when they sin isn’t evidence of His disinterest. It’s evidence of His kindness and love.
How glad you and I can be that the Lord waited for us. Judgment Day will come. Let’s pray that before it does, many sinners will respond to the kindness of God and come to know the Lord.

“Persistence in doing good” Rom. 2:6–11. Paul isn’t suggesting that doing good will get anyone to heaven. He’s just making it clear that knowing good isn’t enough. God judges what we do, without showing favoritism to the Jew or the Gentile.
The philosopher Plato assumed that if a person knew the good, he would be sure to do it. It doesn’t take long to show how foolish that notion is. Just try for three days to do only what you know is good and right. And see how long before the gap between knowing and doing appears.
It’s a fun challenge to pose to a person who claims he or she doesn’t need salvation. After a couple of days of trying to do only what he judges to be right and good, suggest he read Romans 2:7–8.

“They are a law for themselves” Rom. 2:12–16. What if a person says, “God’s not fair. There are people all over the world who don’t even know what His standards are.”
Paul’s answer was that God bends over backward to be fair. Those who don’t know God’s standards “are a law for themselves.” Every society and every individual has standards. They may not be God’s standards. But they are standards—and they fall into the same categories as do the standards expressed in Moses’ Law. There are sexual standards. There are standards governing how others should be treated. There are standards about work and payment. And so on.
So, just to be fair, God is willing to judge men by their own standards, not His! It’s fair. But people still don’t have a chance. Even using the lowest of human standards, all have sinned! Every person’s conscience accuses him or her of falling short not just once, but many times. If we were completely honest with ourselves, and evaluated our own actions by truth, every one of us would confess, “I have sinned.”

“You . . . brag about your relationship to God” Rom. 2:17–29. Paul knew that any Jewish reader of his letter would argue that a distinction should be made between Jews and Gentiles. What Paul said about folks being sinners might fit the Romans and the Greeks and the Scythians, and citizens of the good old U.S.A. But it doesn’t fit the chosen people!
So Paul took a look at the basis of the brag. Yes, Israel knew God’s will and even approved of it. But the issue is, did the Jew do God’s will?
Circumcision, that sign of membership in God’s covenant people, doesn’t help a person who breaks the Law. And uncircumcision doesn’t hurt the person who keeps it. What God cares about is the heart, and a person’s personal relationship not with the Law but with Him (see DEVOTIONAL).

“God’s faithfulness” Rom. 3:1–8. God chose Israel, and generation after generation proved faithless. Did God fail? Not at all. God kept His promise and all who believed experienced His blessing. Don’t think if someone fails to respond to the Gospel that God has failed. God faithfully keeps His promise and welcomes all who come to Him by Jesus.

“What shall we conclude then?” Rom. 3:9–18 Paul showed by argument that no one is righteous, and that all have sinned. Now he proved it, by quoting Scripture.
Like D.L. Moody, we should be ready to say, “God said it. I believe it. That settles it.” When God has spoken, there is no more to say.

“Through the Law we become conscious of sin” Rom. 3:19–20. Some folks think of the Law as a ladder to climb, so we can approach God. It’s not. The Law is a mirror to look in, so we can see ourselves, and realize how much we need God to approach us in Jesus.

“God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement” Rom. 3:21–26. The NIV translation here is weak, for the Greek hilaserion means not atonement but a “sacrifice of propitiation.” The sacrifice of Jesus satisfied the just requirements of our holy God. Jesus died not just to cover our sins, but to pay for them.
In that great act which satisfied the claims of justice once and for all, God Himself was shown to be righteous. He did not just “overlook” sin. He imposed the penalty sin demands. But He imposed it on His own Son instead of on you and me.
At last God is displayed as just in forgiving the sins of those who lived in the past—and in forgiving our sins. Even those we will commit in the future.
How great God is. And how beyond imagination His love.

“We uphold the Law” Rom. 3:27–31. How wonderful this principle of faith. It excludes boasting, for we are saved by God, not by anything we do. It opens the door of salvation to Gentile as well as Jew, for any human being who hears can believe. And it puts Law in its rightful place, not as a means of salvation, but as a revelation of the righteous standards of God.
We believe in Law, and in righteousness. But we do not believe that keeping God’s Law can save, or make us righteous within. For that we look to Christ, and to Him alone.

DEVOTIONAL
Halfway Christians
(Rom. 2:25–3:20)
In early American colonies founded by religious groups, the vote was often reserved for believers. But as new generations came along, all too often grandsons and granddaughters were not converted. How could a way be found for these folks to vote—and thus keep the wealth and power in the hands of established families?
The answer was the “halfway covenant.” God, the theologians proposed, was committed to save the children of believers someday. So they were halfway in the church anyway. So if your parents were Christians in good standing, you could vote, even if you didn’t believe in Jesus yourself.
People always seem to be looking for a “halfway” religion. The Jews of Paul’s time possessed the Law and circumcision. They were God’s covenant people, His chosen nation. Wasn’t that good enough? In this passage Paul said no. Not only isn’t it good enough; it doesn’t mean a thing (2:25–29). Jews had the advantage of circumcision and knowing the words of God. But that didn’t save them.
Folks today too look for a halfway kind of Christianity. My parents were good Christians. Doesn’t that count? I’ve belonged to my church, the “true church,” since I was a child. Doesn’t that count? I tithe. How about counting that?
Well, having Christian parents and being in church all our lives is certainly an advantage. But it doesn’t take us even halfway to salvation.
Paul tells us why. Jews and Gentiles alike are all in the grip of sin (3:9). As the Scripture says, “There is no one righteous, not even one” (v. 10). The only thing that counts, the only thing that can save us, is breaking the grip of sin. And neither Mom and Dad, our racial heritage, or our church membership can do that.
How glad we can be that Jesus Christ takes us all the way, not just halfway, to God. By Jesus’ death and resurrection, and through faith in Him, we become Chrstians indeed.
All the way Christians.
The only way.

Personal Application
Count on nothing but Jesus to save you.

Quotable
“The Gospel is Good News. But Jesus never said it was easy news. The central truth of the cross is death before life, repentance before reward. Before His Gospel can be the Good News of redemption, it must be the bad news of the conviction of sin.”—Charles Colson