Wow - what powerful verses! Through Paul, God tells us over and over in chapter 6 that through His Son Jesus Christ we have died and been resurrected, so that now we are able to live a life of holiness, not given to sin but repenting and purging sin from our lives as we pursue the relationship with God that we have been adopted into! We shouldn't take it lightly that so much time is spent explaining this from different angles - this is important doctrine.
In response to his question in verse 1 "Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?" Paul has explained that, as Christians, we have been united with Christ through baptism into Him and His death, so that we can walk in newness of life. In verses 6 and 7, Paul will expound on our baptism in Christ, and provide a clear answer to the question in verse 1 (which he asked not in search of an answer but in order to set the stage for God's answer).
Let's dig in to verse 6! Paul starts off by using the Greek word ginōskō which is translated 'knowing' or 'we know' - and by definition means 'to know absolutely' or 'to be sure, understand'. We can be absolutely positive that whatever Paul is about to say is a perfect promise from God to us, and we know that God is faithful in keeping His promises. Prepare to be encouraged by our Heavenly Father through Paul!
Continuing in verse 6 we see the first part of God's promise that we can 'know', and be absolutely sure of: "We know that our old self was crucified with him" - Being 'crucified with Christ' is a continuation of Paul's explanation that we have been baptized into Christ's death, that we have been united with Him in a death like His. In verse 6, though, Paul adds clarity to what has been crucified - our 'old self', our 'old man' - basically who we are before Christ, complete with our sinful nature, our love of darkness, and our contempt towards the Light.
Some other verses that speak to this crucifixion that has taken place in the life of a believer:
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20
And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Galatians 5:24
But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Galatians 6:14
We can see in all three of these verses the same truth that Paul is talking about in Romans. The 'I' that we were before Christ, the sinful passions and desires, the love of the things that the world has to offer - these things are all part of the old man that was crucified with Christ when we were baptized into His death, and washed by the regeneration of the Holy Spirit.
So, the first thing that we can be absolutely sure of is this: when we became Christians, our old self was crucified, as Christ was crucified - this is not something that happens to some believers, or something that might happen to all believers...this doctrinal truth that God promises happens to all who are adopted into His family. The more we lay hold of this truth and trust this promise, the more we will see it affect our lives!
As we move into verse 6 a little more, Paul uses the Greek word hina (denoting purpose or result) to transition into the explanation of why our 'old man' was crucified: in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing. The very purpose of our 'old man' (described here as the 'body of sin') being crucified was so that it would be 'brought to nothing'. The Greek word used here literally means to render useless, to be ineffective. Again, this is not a suggestion but a promise from God:
Who we were as condemned sinners has no bearing on who we are as God's children!
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13,14
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
Eph 2:9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8,9
Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Hebrews 9:22-24
But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit Titus 3:4,5
It is so important for us to recognize that this miracle of regeneration is the power of God changing us, so that we can respond in a way that glorifies God for what He has done - by revealing what He has done in us to the world around us! There will always be a response in the lives of those who have been regenerated - which can be summed up as repentance, a life now lived moving towards God and away from sin. The response reveals that regeneration has actually taken place (James 2:18). Throughout chapter 6, Paul will continue to talk about this moving away from sin and the fact that we have the responsibility, as God's children, to cultivate this response to magnify its power in our lives!
Ok, back to verse 6 in Romans. We have looked at God's promise that our flesh has been crucified with Christ and rendered powerless over us. Paul now takes that exact truth one step further - explaining in even more detail both the power that sin did have over us as lost people and the even greater power of regeneration: "so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin."
The word enslaved...not usually associated with anything pleasant is it? As humans, we like to be in control, and that includes not considering ourselves enslaved to anyone or anything. The Bible is very clear, however, that we are all slaves - either to sinfulness or to righteousness. The Greek word by definition means to be a slave to - involuntarily or voluntarily - be in bondage, serve.
By telling us that we are no longer enslaved to sin, Paul is saying here in verse 6 that, at some point in our lives we were enslaved to sin - that being before regeneration. As lost people, we were under the bondage of the flesh - controlled by the sinful pursuits and desires that both satisfied our flesh and condemned our souls. Paul spent a lot of time throughout the beginning of Romans describing what every single one of us looks like from God's perspective in light of His perfection. Some examples:
They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
Romans 1:29-31
But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. Romans 2:5
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive." "The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes."
Romans 3:12-18
and other places in scripture:
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. Eph 2:1-3
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Col. 3:5-8
There are many, many other places as well that describe the evil heart of man in our lost state (this study goes into much more depth with more references in chapters 1,2, and 3 that we previously covered).
I believe it is crucially important for us to spend time attempting to grasp just how evil we are before a perfectly Holy God. When we understand that Paul isn't just describing the 'bad' people in the world, but every single one of us prior to regeneration, we can begin to truly appreciate what Paul what Paul says in Romans 6:6 - we are no longer enslaved to sin!
We were, but no we are not! Sin controlled us and condemned us, but it can do neither any longer - we have been set free by a much more powerful force - the miracle of regeneration. The putting to death by crucifixion the old man, and resurrection into new life, through Jesus Christ! And Paul tops it off with verse 7:
For one who has died has been set free from sin.
When the old man is crucified, we are set free - set free in the Greek means rendered just or innocent. How could we, such sinful creatures, be rendered just by a God who is perfect and cannot tolerate the slightest hint of sin in His presence? The point that Paul is driving in Chapter 6 is that, through the power of regeneration, we die to sin - but it doesn't end there. We are resurrected in newness of life, and that includes this:
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
God sees us wrapped in His Son's perfect righteousness, no longer controlled or condemned by the sinfulness we once loved! So, when Paul poses this question: "Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?" - our response ought to echo Paul's "By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?" Father, forgive us for taking this too lightly, we pray that you would reveal to us more every day how sinful and evil we used to be, that we might better appreciate the gift you have given!
We know the flesh, with all of it's sinful desires, will not completely disappear until we leave this earth, but the flesh along with it's sinfulness no longer carries any power to condemn or control us - because it has been crucified and brought to nothing.
I think it's important to recognize that our old self being crucified and brought to nothing is something that happens within the regeneration process, through which our heart is changed from stone to flesh. We have no power to cause any part of regeneration - regeneration is the miracle of spiritual resurrection that happens by the grace of God, through Jesus Christ, enacted by the Holy Spirit. Some of the many verses that speak to this miracle:
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. Ezekiel 36:26,27
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13,14
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
Eph 2:9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8,9
Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Hebrews 9:22-24
But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit Titus 3:4,5
It is so important for us to recognize that this miracle of regeneration is the power of God changing us, so that we can respond in a way that glorifies God for what He has done - by revealing what He has done in us to the world around us! There will always be a response in the lives of those who have been regenerated - which can be summed up as repentance, a life now lived moving towards God and away from sin. The response reveals that regeneration has actually taken place (James 2:18). Throughout chapter 6, Paul will continue to talk about this moving away from sin and the fact that we have the responsibility, as God's children, to cultivate this response to magnify its power in our lives!
Ok, back to verse 6 in Romans. We have looked at God's promise that our flesh has been crucified with Christ and rendered powerless over us. Paul now takes that exact truth one step further - explaining in even more detail both the power that sin did have over us as lost people and the even greater power of regeneration: "so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin."
The word enslaved...not usually associated with anything pleasant is it? As humans, we like to be in control, and that includes not considering ourselves enslaved to anyone or anything. The Bible is very clear, however, that we are all slaves - either to sinfulness or to righteousness. The Greek word by definition means to be a slave to - involuntarily or voluntarily - be in bondage, serve.
By telling us that we are no longer enslaved to sin, Paul is saying here in verse 6 that, at some point in our lives we were enslaved to sin - that being before regeneration. As lost people, we were under the bondage of the flesh - controlled by the sinful pursuits and desires that both satisfied our flesh and condemned our souls. Paul spent a lot of time throughout the beginning of Romans describing what every single one of us looks like from God's perspective in light of His perfection. Some examples:
They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
Romans 1:29-31
But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. Romans 2:5
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive." "The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes."
Romans 3:12-18
and other places in scripture:
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. Eph 2:1-3
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Col. 3:5-8
There are many, many other places as well that describe the evil heart of man in our lost state (this study goes into much more depth with more references in chapters 1,2, and 3 that we previously covered).
I believe it is crucially important for us to spend time attempting to grasp just how evil we are before a perfectly Holy God. When we understand that Paul isn't just describing the 'bad' people in the world, but every single one of us prior to regeneration, we can begin to truly appreciate what Paul what Paul says in Romans 6:6 - we are no longer enslaved to sin!
We were, but no we are not! Sin controlled us and condemned us, but it can do neither any longer - we have been set free by a much more powerful force - the miracle of regeneration. The putting to death by crucifixion the old man, and resurrection into new life, through Jesus Christ! And Paul tops it off with verse 7:
For one who has died has been set free from sin.
When the old man is crucified, we are set free - set free in the Greek means rendered just or innocent. How could we, such sinful creatures, be rendered just by a God who is perfect and cannot tolerate the slightest hint of sin in His presence? The point that Paul is driving in Chapter 6 is that, through the power of regeneration, we die to sin - but it doesn't end there. We are resurrected in newness of life, and that includes this:
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
God sees us wrapped in His Son's perfect righteousness, no longer controlled or condemned by the sinfulness we once loved! So, when Paul poses this question: "Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?" - our response ought to echo Paul's "By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?" Father, forgive us for taking this too lightly, we pray that you would reveal to us more every day how sinful and evil we used to be, that we might better appreciate the gift you have given!
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