Week 4 - Romans 6:1-11
Romans 6:1-11 (NIV)
1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Dead to Sin
Paul is so thorough in his letter to the Roman church that he anticipates the questions his audience might have and beats them to the inquisition. He knows the human heart can justify anything! If following the law isn’t the answer to humanity’s problem, then by default, can’t we just ignore the law? If grace’s response to sin is so powerful, why should we stop sinning? Doesn’t sin have to be at full strength in order for grace to have maximum results? Remember that Paul has shown us that God’s covenant through faith has always been about dealing with sin. It’s about being set apart to a new master, a new way of living. Because we are no longer unified with sin, we are now unified with Christ. What is true of Him is true of His followers. He died and rose to life and we too die to our sin nature and rise to a new life, a new identity. Even though we still sin, it is not our identity nor our ultimate reality. We are not under its power with no hope of escape. Do you remember the story of the Israelites escaping from Egypt to freedom? God gave them a new identity, freedom and a new address. However, it would take a lifetime of releasing Egypt’s influence from their thoughts, actions, emotions, etc. The same is true for us. Through faith in Jesus, we receive a new identity (saint), freedom (removed from sin’s power) and a new address (God’s kingdom). But we too have patterns, thought processes and behaviors that are contrary to God’s law. If we’ll live in surrender to Him, He will piece by piece, season by season make our inward and outward lives reflect more and more of who we were actually made to be.
Questions
What happens when Christians minimize their sin and believe it does not matter?
Practically speaking, what does it look like to be dead to sin and alive to Christ?