Romans 6:12-23
S L A V E S O F R I G H T E O U S N E S S
The subject of slavery has always been a serious and terrible subject. I just read about a Pennsylvania Quaker by the name of John Woolman who lived in the 1700s. John was not a brave man or a strong one, but he one day heard the call of God to become a “watchman” over the black slaves that were owned by the Quakers at that time. For three decades of his life Woolman visited various farms in Pennsylvania and gently spread the idea of slavery being an evil practice in God’s eyes. Finally, thanks to him, Quakers became the first religious group in America to ban the slave practice among its members. The Apostle Paul, in today’s passage, is also preaching freedom.
Paul’s good news to the Roman believers is that sinners are saved by the grace of God alone, through faith alone, in the atoning work of Jesus Christ alone. Jesus’ perfect life, death for sinners, and His resurrection, provide the sacrifice that pays for our sin and extends God’s forgiveness, as well as the righteousness that unworthy sinners all need to be welcomed into God’s holy presence. Because Christ died and rose as our Representative, we are spiritually united with Him now, and for all eternity!
The apostle now reaches a conclusion with the word “Therefore.” Having taught about our death to sin and our rising to newness of life “in Christ,” and then directing our thinking toward reckoning these as facts in verse 11, Paul tells his readers what they must do now, in response. Since we are in fact DEAD to sin, we are not to allow it to reign as a slavemaster in our physical bodies. As Paul will explain fully later on, even though we have died a decisive death to sin, remaining sin still dwells in us and wants to dictate what we do, say and think.
This remaining sin has forever been stripped of its power to force us into obeying its desires (or lusts); it lost that power the moment God saved us. But being justified by grace through faith in Christ is only the first step in our new lives. When a person is born again, he receives a new heart, filled with new desires to please the Lord--to pursue a life of righteousness. But indwelling sin fights AGAINST those desires and seeks to control you and me like it once did before salvation was born in our hearts. Christians must learn to fight back!
Justification is a work entirely by God. He justifies us--declares us righteous forever--solely on the basis of the work of His Son Jesus. We bring nothing to that except our sin! Even the FAITH that receives God’s offer of salvation is His gift to us who trust in Him. But sanctification is entirely a different matter. In this phase of our salvation we are called to “work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12b-13). Both God AND the saved person are working in this phase of salvation to make us more and more like Jesus in our thinking and behavior. Jesus told His disciples: “If you love Me, keep my commandments.” Our new hearts long to do exactly that, but our old nature keeps urging us to disobey.
Paul tells us what letting sin reign looks like. The “members” he writes about are all the human body parts and functions and powers we possess: minds, emotions, arms, legs, eyes, ears, etc. All those things are “instruments” or tools that can be presented either to unrighteousness or to righteousness. Either given as tools for God to use, or for SIN--our former slave-driver. Once we had no choice but to serve sin and do its lustful will. But we’ve been re-born and set FREE!
Remember, our “old man” was put to death on the cross (Romans 6:6). When Christ arose, a new creature–or new man–was born “in Him.” But indwelling SIN wishes to have us FEED the old man by obeying its old sinful desires and lending our tools to him. Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit urges us to feed the new desires of the NEW man by reading and obeying the Word of God, praying earnestly, sharing our faith with others and worshiping with God’s people. These are all the means of grace God has given to strengthen us in our pursuit of holiness.
Then, God gives us a wonderful promise through his servant Paul: “for sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace” (verse 14). Because we are free in Christ, we are promised victory over our indwelling sin--the old master might win a battle here and there, but can NEVER achieve a final victory. Before our salvation, the burden and curse of the law was heavy upon us. The law only told us to obey perfectly, or we’d face the punishment of God in Hell forever. But now, praise God! Grace has lifted that burden. Jesus perfectly obeyed all God’s commandments in our place and His perfect record is credited TO US!
Paul quickly silences any misconception about this “freedom from the law” in verses 15-16. The grace we are given as sinners saved by grace is never to be an excuse for additional sin. In Bible times people who couldn’t pay their debts often hired themselves out as “slaves” or indentured servants in order to pay off those debts. Paul is saying that obeying the desires of indwelling sin is like owing it allegiance for some benefit sin has given to us! How foolish.
Once a slave of one of the Pennsylvania Quakers had been set free to work for his own livelihood and received all the benefits of that freedom, the hard work involved may have tempted him to return to his old master, until he considered the hardships he had left behind when he was set free. When life began seeming too hard in the wilderness, many of the freed Hebrew slaves complained, saying they ought to return to bondage in Egypt, rather than trusting Yahweh to meet their needs. Are you and I trusting our Savior to provide? Or are we trusting SIN?
It is God Himself Paul thanks for the response of the Roman Christians to the call of the gospel. He actually says they were “delivered to” that “form of doctrine”-- that presentation of saving truth. In effect, their status of servitude was transferred from one master (sin) to another (righteousness). To be free from one of those two masters, is automatically to be obligated to the other one. To produce for the one, is to deny fruit to the other, agriculturally speaking.
Most believers look back with shame on the fruits of their former bondage to sin. Before our conversion, we were busy working for SIN, the slave-master. In effect, we were working in the Devil’s plantation as his slaves. Producing the fruit of sinful deeds, words and thoughts. Paul is asking us to think back and consider the end to which all that “fruitfulness” led: DEATH.
Now that God has delivered us from that master, we are free to raise a crop of holy behavior, leading to a life of joy, peace and love in God’s presence forever! Verse 23 beautifully sums up Paul’s encouraging admonition. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Sin is a lying, cheating, cruel slave-master, offering us temporary pleasure, but dispensing misery and disappointment. Sin’s wages, paid for our services, will only lead to a hellish grave.
God’s gift of life in service to Christ, on the other hand, is unfathomably generous and kind! When Peter asked Jesus, “And what will there be for us?” Jesus answered: “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.”
In other words, no one can possibly out-give the Lord, who promises a bright and glorious future to His faithful followers, with joy that will never end.
