What has God done about sin? He has given us a New Life thru his Son Jesus Christ. To allow us to share the Holy Spirit of Jesus upon our old self and be a live to God instead of being dead.Thank God now being a live, sin can not control us. You have a choice who your master will be.
Romans 6: Well then, should we keep sinning so that God can show us more and more kindness and forgiveness? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we became Christians and were baptized to become one with Christ Jesus, we died with Him? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of The Father, now we also may live new lives.
Since we have been united with Him in His death, we will also be raised as He was. Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also share His new life. We are sure of this because Christ rose from the dead, and He will never die again. Death no longer has any power over Him. He died once to defeat sin, and now He lives for the glory of God. So you should consider yourselves dead to sin and able to live for the glory of God through Christ Jesus.
Do not let sin control the way you live, do not give in to its lustful desires. Do not let any part of your body become a tool of wickedness, to be used for sinning. Instead, give yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life. And use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master! You can shoose sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God and receive His approval. Thank God! Once your were slaves of sin, but now you have obeyed with all your heart the new teaching God has given you. Now you are free from sin, your old master, and you have become slaves to your new master, righteousness.
I speak this way, using the illustration of slaves and masters, because it is easy to understand. Before you let yourselves be slaves of impurity and lawlessness. Now you must choose to be slaves of righteousness so that you will become holy.
In those days, when you were slaves of sin, you weren't concerned with doing what was right. And what was the result? It was not good, since now you are ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom
If forgiveness is guaranteed, do we have the freedom to sin as much as we want to? Paul's forceful answer is "Of course not! Such an attitude - deciding ahead of time to take advantage of God - shows that a person does not understand the seriousness of sin. God's forgiveness does not make sin less serious, His Son's death for sin shows us the dreadful seriousenss of sin. Jesus paid with His life so we could be forgiven. The availability of God's mercy must not become an excuse for careless living and moral laxness.
In the church of Paul's day, immersion was the usual form of baptism,that is, new Christians are completely "buried" in water. They understood baptism to symoblize the death and burial of the old way of life. Coming up out of the water symbolized resurrection to new life with Christ. If we think of our old sinful way of life as dead and buried, we have a powerful motive to resist sin. We can consciously choose to treat the desires and temptations of the old nature as if they were dead. Then we can continue to enjoy our wonderful new life with Jesus (see Galatians 4:27 and Colossians 2:12 and 3:1-4 for more on this concept).
6:5 Because we are united with Christ in His death, our evil desires and bondage to sin died with Him. Now, united by faith with Him in His resurrection life, we have unbroken fellowship with God and freedom from sin's hold on us. For more on the difference between our new life in Christ and our old sinful nature read Ephesians 4:21-24 and Colossians 3:3-15.
6:6,7 The power of sin over us died with Christ on the cross. Our "old sinful selves," our sinful nature, died once and for all, so we are freed from its power. The 'power of sin' refers to our rebellious sin-loving nature inherited from Adam. Though we often willingly cooperate with our sinful nature, it is not us but the sin in us that is evil. And it is this power of sin at work in our life that is defeated. Paul has already stated that through faith in Christ we stand acquitted "not guilty" before God. Here Paul emphasizes that we need no longer live under sin's power. God does not take us out of the world or make us robots -- we will still feel like sinning, and sometimes we will sin. The difference is that before we were saved we were slaves to our sinful nature, but now we can choose to live for Christ (see Galatins 2:20).
6:8,9 Because of Christ's death and resurrection His followers need never fear death. That assurance frees us to enjoy fellowship with Him and to do His will. This will affect all our activities -- work and worship, play, Bible study, quiet times, and times of caring for others. When you know that you do not have to fear death, you will experience a new vigor in life.
6:11 "Consider yourselves dead to sin" means that we should regard our old sinful nature as dead, unresponsive, to sin. Because of our union and identification with Christ, we will no longer want to pursue our old plans, desires, and goals. Now we want to live for the glory of God. As we start this new life, the Holy Spirit will help us become all that Christ wants us to be.
6:14, 15 If we are no longer under the law but under grace, are we now free to sin and disregard the Ten Commandments? Paul says, "Of Course Not!" When we were under the law, sin was our master -- the law does not justify us or help us overcome sin. But now that we are bound to Christ, He is our Master, and He gives us power to do good rather than evil.
6:16-18 All people have a master and pattern themselves after him. "Without Jesus , we would have no choice we would be enslaved to sin, the results would be guilt, suffering, and separation from God. Thanks to Jesus, however, we can now choose God as our Master. Following Him, we can enjoy new life and learn how to work for Him. Are you still serving your first master, sin? Or have you chosen God?
6:17 To "obey with all your heart" means to give yorself fully to God, to love Him, "with all your heart , all your soul, and all your mind" (Matthew 22:37).
And yet so often our efforts to know and obey God's commands can best be described as "halfhearted". How do you rate your heart's obedience? God wants to give you the power to obey Him with all your heart.
6:17 The "new teaching" given to them is the good News that Jesus died for their sins and was raised to give them new life. Many believe that this refers to the early church's statement of faith found in
1 Corinthians 15:1-11.
6:19-22 It is impossible to be neutral. Every person has a master -- either God or sin. A Christian is not someone who cannot sin but someone who is no longer a slave to sin. He or she belongs to God and has been given the power of choice.
