Romans 6:1-23

Paul’s letter to the *Romans

Romans

Hilda Bright and Keith Simons

Chapter 6

Freedom from *sin 6:1-23

Dead to *sin, alive in *Christ 6:1-14

v1 God’s *grace increased because *sin increased. But that is not a good excuse for anyone to continue to *sin. v2 Certainly not! Our lives changed completely when we became Christians. It was as if our *relationship with *sin died. So we must not now live as *sinners. v3 Remember what happened at your *baptism. Our *baptism united us with *Christ Jesus. We were like him at his death. v4 At *baptism, our bodies became like his body while it was still in the grave. Then the Father’s *glorious power raised *Christ from death. And so now, we also have a new life.

v5 By means of our *baptism we have been united with *Christ in his death. So we shall certainly be united with him in his *resurrection. v6 People hammered nails into Jesus when they killed him on the *cross. And we know that our former lives ended with him there. It was as if we died with him. This happened so that our *sinful bodies would lose all their power. Therefore *sin does not still control us. v7 This is because a dead person is free from *sin.

v8 It was as if we died with *Christ. So we believe also that we shall take part in his new life. v9 We know this fact. Because *Christ rose from death, he cannot die again. Death does not continue to have power over him. v10 Because he died, *sin has no power over him. Now that he lives, he lives to give honour to God.

v11 In the same way, consider that your old *sinful nature is dead. Instead, live for God by *faith in *Christ Jesus. v12 Therefore do not allow *sin to control your behaviour. Do not obey the wrong desires of your body, which will die. v13 Do not use the parts of your body as tools to do evil deeds. Instead, give yourselves to God. You are people whom God has brought from death to life. Offer the parts of your body to him. He will use them as tools to do what is right. v14 *Sin shall not be your master. The law does not rule you now. God’s *grace has made you free.

Verses 1-2 Paul has emphasised God’s *grace. So some people were suggesting that they were giving God honour by continuous *sin. They were providing God with the opportunity to show more of his *grace. Paul opposed this idea very strongly. It was a terrible idea. It was a strange way to think.

We know that *sin used to control our lives. But our *sinful lives ended when we became Christians. God rescued us from the power of *sin. Of course, Christians still do wrong things. But they should certainly not allow *sin to control their lives again.

Verses 3-5 Paul reminded them about the meaning of their *baptism. People decided to turn away from their *sins. *Baptism followed (Acts 2:38). So by *faith they began a new *relationship with *Christ. Because of this experience, we take part in his death and *resurrection. Our old, *sinful lives have ended. And we rise again to a new life where we live in order to serve *Christ.

Verses 6-7 Our ‘*sinful bodies’ does not mean that the physical body itself is wicked. People called Gnostics thought this. But it is not true. ‘*Sinful bodies’ means that *sin controls our natural desires. Then our natural desires become *sin. For example, it is natural for the body to need food. *Sin can change our desire for food. We can want more food than we need. Perhaps we steal because we are greedy. And then other people suffer because we have taken their food away.

But now we are united to *Christ by *faith. So our old nature has ended. It is as if our old nature died on the *cross with *Christ (Galatians 2:20). Therefore *sin has no power over us. *Sin was like a master and we were his slaves. *Christ has freed us to obey him.

Verses 8-10 We believe that we shall have a part in *Christ’s new life. We have a new kind of life in the present. We also have a part in his *resurrection. *Christ was not like Lazarus, whom *Christ brought back to life (John 11:1-44). Lazarus would die again in the end. *Christ’s new life was a completely new kind of life. He died once only. He would never die again. He lives always in order to praise God the Father. Our *resurrection will be like *Christ’s *resurrection. We too shall not die again. We shall live with *Christ always in order to give honour to God.

Verse 11 So a Christian should remember the meaning of his *baptism. He died with *Christ and rose again with *Christ. So that Christian will have a new attitude to the way that he lives. ‘If anyone is in *Christ, he is a completely new person’ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Verses 12-14 These verses show how Christians must behave in their new *resurrection life. Their whole attitude to *sin must change. Every part of the body can *sin. With our eyes, we can look at wrong things. With our ears, we can listen to bad talk. Our mouth can say things that can hurt other people’s minds. Our hands can work in bad ways. Our feet can take us to places that we should avoid. We should not use our bodies as tools to serve *sin. Instead, Christians should use their bodies to serve God. They should do what God wants. They should go where God wants them to go. Therefore *sin should not be a Christian’s master. The law orders us to obey God. But God’s *grace gives us the desire and power to obey him.

Two kinds of slave 6:15-23

v15 We certainly shall not *sin just because the law no longer rules us. We certainly shall not *sin because of God’s *grace. v16 You know this fact. When you give yourselves to obey someone, you become that person’s slaves. If *sin controls your life, you will die. But if you obey God, you will become *righteous. v17 Thanks be to God! You used to be slaves to *sin. But now you gladly obey what we taught you. v18 God has freed you from *sin. Now *righteousness controls you.

v19 Because of your human weakness, I have written this in a way that you can understand. You used to offer parts of your body as slaves to a *sinful life. You were becoming more and more wicked. But now give your bodies as slaves to a *righteous life. Then you will become *holy. v20 You used to be slaves to *sin. At that time, *righteousness did not matter to you. v21 You did things then that now cause you to be ashamed. You did not receive any benefit from them. The result of these things is death. v22 But now that *Christ has freed you from *sin, God has made you his slaves. The benefit that you receive causes you to live a *holy life. And the result is *eternal life. v23 When you *sin, the only result of your efforts is death. But *eternal life is a free gift from God. And we receive it because of what *Christ Jesus our *Lord has done.

Verse 15 Paul repeats his thoughts from verse 1. Law no longer rules them. But to continue in *sin is a terrible and stupid idea. If they have accepted God’s *grace, they will try to obey him.

Verse 16 People who choose to obey someone become that person’s slave. A slave must do everything that his master orders. A person who *sins becomes *sin’s slave (John 8:34). The result of *sin will be *spiritual death. Those who obey God will live in the right way. God has forgiven them. He has considered them to be *righteous. Nobody can serve *sin and serve God at the same time. ‘Nobody can serve two masters’ (Matthew 6:24).

Verse 17 Paul praises God because of the Christians in Rome. They have accepted God’s promises and they have obeyed him. And, like other new Christians, they learnt how to please God. Since the beginning of the first church, the *apostles taught that (Acts 2:42). And Paul too could write to the Christians in Thessalonica, ‘We taught you how to live in order to please God’ (1 Thessalonians 4:1). So Christians knew that they should not *sin.

Verses 18-19 God has freed them from *sin. So they can become as slaves to a right manner of life. Paul is sorry to compare the life of a Christian to that of a slave. But he uses this language to help them. They are slow to understand. They need someone to remind them about the results of *sin. It is like the effect when someone becomes a slave. That person has to learn how to obey his master. In the end, the master controls the slave completely. And if Christians begin to *sin, they will soon become more and more wicked. It is easy to *sin at first in small ways. But one *sin follows another sin. And worse *sins follow. However, if Christians obey God they will begin to live a *holy life. And their lives will please God.

Verses 20-22 *Sin does not really benefit anyone. It controls people. It ruins people’s lives. And it causes death. ‘Death’ is what Revelation (20:14; 21:8) calls the ‘second death’. This is the terrible punishment that is the result of *sin. And it is permanent. But people do not have to suffer that punishment. *Christ died so that we can be free from the power of *sin. And we are free as soon as we invite him into our lives. Then, because *Christ has freed us from *sin, we can be God’s slaves. We can live a *holy life on earth. And afterwards, we will live with God in heaven.

Verse 23 A soldier received his pay because he had earned it. His wages were what he deserved. A slave also had to work hard. But he did not receive any wages. He worked because his master forced him to work. So a slave’s efforts achieved nothing good for the slave

Paul has explained that Christians used to be slaves to *sin. In other words, *sin was like a master. *Sin controlled their lives. But they received no wages and no benefits for their efforts. Death was the only result of their efforts.

God’s *grace is wonderful. He gives a free gift that nobody deserves. People receive this gift of *eternal life by *faith in what Jesus did. People receive this free gift when they invite Jesus into their lives. Nobody could earn their own *salvation. Only Jesus could pay the price to free people from *sin. And he did that when he died on the *cross.

And so Christians are glad that Jesus is their *Lord (in other words, their master).

Roman ~ a person from the city called Rome, or a description of anything that has a relationship with Rome. Rome was the most important city in the world at the time when Paul wrote this letter. It was the capital city where the Emperor lived.
Emperor ~ ruler over many countries.
sin ~ evil deeds against God’s law; or to do such deeds.
Christ ~ the Greek word for Messiah, that is, Jesus.
Greek ~ the language in which the authors wrote the New Testament; or a word that describes anything that came from the country called Greece; or the people who came from Greece; or anyone who followed the same culture as people from Greece.
Messiah ~ the Jews’ word for the king who would come to rescue them; the Christ (that is, Jesus).

New Testament ~ the last part of the Bible, about Jesus and the early church.

Jew, Jewish ~ a person whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people or members of the family or nation in the past.
grace ~ God’s love that people do not deserve.
relationship ~ a friendship; or way in which people know each other.
sinners ~ people who sin. God has not forgiven these people because they have not repented.
sin ~ evil deeds against God’s law; or to do such deeds.
repent ~ to change one’s mind totally; when someone who was doing wrong things begins to obey God.

'baptise, baptism ~ use water as a sign that Christ has freed a person from sin.
baptism ~ when they put a person into water, or put water on a person; the way that we show to everyone that we belong to Christ and his church.
Christ ~ the Greek word for Messiah, that is, Jesus.
sin ~ evil deeds against God’s law; or to do such deeds.
church ~ (1) all Christians; (2) members of a local group of Christians.
Greek ~ the language in which the authors wrote the New Testament; or a word that describes anything that came from the country called Greece; or the people who came from Greece; or anyone who followed the same culture as people from Greece.
Messiah ~ the Jews’ word for the king who would come to rescue them; the Christ (that is, Jesus).

New Testament ~ the last part of the Bible, about Jesus and the early church.

Jew, Jewish ~ a person whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people or members of the family or nation in the past.
glorious ~ a description of something that has great glory.
glory ~ great beauty and honour. Only God (or Christ) has perfect glory.
Christ ~ the Greek word for Messiah, that is, Jesus.
Greek ~ the language in which the authors wrote the New Testament; or a word that describes anything that came from the country called Greece; or the people who came from Greece; or anyone who followed the same culture as people from Greece.
Messiah ~ the Jews’ word for the king who would come to rescue them; the Christ (that is, Jesus).

New Testament ~ the last part of the Bible, about Jesus and the early church.

Jew, Jewish ~ a person whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people or members of the family or nation in the past.
resurrection ~ when a dead person becomes alive again.
cross ~ two pieces of wood that people have fixed together in the shape of a cross. Soldiers would attach a criminal to a cross in order to kill that person.
sinful ~ sinful people do things against God or other people; they do not obey God's commands; they do not do what God wants them to do; sinful actions are actions that are against God’s commands.
faith ~ trust in someone or something; the things that Christians believe about Jesus.
sin ~ evil deeds against God’s law; or to do such deeds.'baptise, baptism ~ use water as a sign that Christ has freed a person from sin.
baptism ~ when they put a person into water, or put water on a person; the way that we show to everyone that we belong to Christ and his church.
Christ ~ the Greek word for Messiah, that is, Jesus.
sin ~ evil deeds against God’s law; or to do such deeds.
church ~ (1) all Christians; (2) members of a local group of Christians.
Greek ~ the language in which the authors wrote the New Testament; or a word that describes anything that came from the country called Greece; or the people who came from Greece; or anyone who followed the same culture as people from Greece.
Messiah ~ the Jews’ word for the king who would come to rescue them; the Christ (that is, Jesus).

New Testament ~ the last part of the Bible, about Jesus and the early church.

Jew, Jewish ~ a person whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people or members of the family or nation in the past.
sinful ~ sinful people do things against God or other people; they do not obey God's commands; they do not do what God wants them to do; sinful actions are actions that are against God’s commands.
righteous ~ good, holy.
holy ~ something or someone that is special for God.
righteousness ~ goodness; a right relationship with God.
relationship ~ a friendship; or way in which people know each other.
holy ~ something or someone that is special for God.
eternal ~ without end. When we use the word ‘eternal’ to describe God’s qualities, we mean ‘without beginning or end’.
Lord ~ God; the word that we may use for Jesus when we obey him; someone who rules or who is a master.
spiritual ~ a description of something that belongs to the spirit.
apostle ~ someone who goes out to preach about Jesus; one of the 12 men whom Jesus sent out.
preach ~ to tell and to explain the good news about Jesus.
salvation ~ rescue from evil things; when God forgives us our evil deeds.