Verses 1-2 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 - Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

A. "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?"

1. Paul picks up on the thought that he finished with in chapter five. Chapter five finishes with the glory of grace. "Where sin did abound, grace did much more abound."

2. It seems like Paul quotes some of his questioners who very likely asked, "If grace is shown more glorious by the magnitude of sin then the more we sin the more people can see God’s grace.

3. Paul looks at this point earlier in 3:5-8 when he dealt with the contention that unrighteousness is really good because it demonstrates the righteousness of God.

B. "Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?"

1. Paul uses a strong declaration when he says, "Certainly not." The KJV uses the powerful Elizabethan phrase, "God forbid." While the name of God is not in the original text, the phrase is still understood and being a powerful one in our day. The original language demonstrated a strong and powerful negative. See the footnote in Reese’s commentary on Romans.

2. Paul asked a rhetorical question. "How can those who have died to the practice (lifestyle) of sinning continue living a sinful life." In other words, how could anyone who has tasted to gracious gift of grace in their lives have any desire to continue to sin. See also 2 Corinthians 5:14.
 
 

A. "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?"

1. Paul appeals to the fact that those Christians have died to the old life of sin through baptism. All those who have been baptized have died to sin.

2. Baptism is "into Christ." 

B. "Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."

1. The primary meaning of this passage is not what is usually argued. It is the fact that Christ have died to sin in their participating in the death of Jesus in baptism. We no longer live in sin but have been raised to walk a new life.

2. Two other lessons to learn from this passage

a. We begin our new life at the waters of baptism. When we are baptized into Christ we become Christians.

b. That baptism is a burial.

C. "For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection"

1. This is the greatness of baptism. It is a participation in the death, burial , and resurrection of our Lord. 

2. The likeness of his death is when we are immersed in baptism. The "likeness of his resurrection" is when we are raised up from the waters of baptism.

D. " knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin." 

1. When we are baptized be participate in his death. The old sinful man is "crucified." This is to mark an end to the old sinful life. We are no longer the bondslaves of a sinful way of life.

A. "knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him."

1. When Jesus was resurrected he was raised to never suffer the pains of death.

2. Coffman states, "This verse is not a technical statement of the deity of Christ, but implies it." It is certainly true that it is Christ who has dominion of death not death over him. See also 1 Timothy 1:17.

B. "For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God."

1. While on earth Jesus was subject to temptation like any other man (Hebrews 4:15). This is seen in his temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1ff), and exchange with Peter (Mark 8:32-33), and logically in the Garden of Gethsemane.

2. His dying to sin meant that at the point of death Jesus no longer was subject to temptation like other men. He will never be subject to temptation like he was on earth.

3. He now has returned to the state (spiritually) of perfect agreement with the will of the Father. While on earth Jesus physical will could be at variance with the Father’s (Matthew 26:39), even though he subjected his will to that of the Father. In this regard see Hebrews 5:8-9.
 
 

A. "Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

1. This is a continuing picture of what happens at the point of our immersion into Christ. We die to a life and practice of sin. Just (likewise) as Jesus died to be subject to sin in his death, so too in our spiritual death we die to being under the domination of sin.

B. "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts."

1. This passage answers two possible questions that arise from this passage.

a. Since we are Christians under grace does it matter if we live in sin? Paul says NO! As far fetched as this sound there have been some who professed to being Christians who held to this philosophy, the infamous Russian Orthodox monk Rasputin being the most famous. Since we did to sin in our baptism we must not give in to the lusts of our bodies.

b. Second, do Christians commit sin after their baptism? Again, there are some who erroneously concluded from Scripture that once one becomes a Christian he/she is no longer subject to any of the temptations of the flesh. They appeal to this passage and also to 1 John 3:9, "Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God." It becomes obvious from a reading of the Scriptures that Christians are subject to sin (1 John 1:7-9; Romans 3:23; 2 Peter 2:20-22). 

2. Christians should no longer continue a lifestyle of sin, since they have died to the practice of sin. Paul does not say it is impossible for Christians to, either hypocritically or deliberate reentering the world, to begin living that lifestyle. He says that Christian should not do that as long as they remember that they died to the practice of sin in their immersion.

a. Reese says that this literally means "the sin" and could just as easily be substituted by "the Devil" reigning over our bodies. Since sin is the means by which the Devil controls mankind, when we control sin in our lives we control the Devil’s influence.

C. "And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin..."

1. We are not to give our lives over as tools in the hands of the Evil One. It become painfully obvious that the primary tool of the Devil in the world today is through the lives of those whom have given themselves over to him. 

2. See also 1 Peter 2:11

3. This is more than a negative command to stay away from the domination of sin. We must give our selves as active tools of righteousness. We must submit willingly to the will of God. See Romans 12:1-2; James 4:7.

D. "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace."

1. Sin should no longer be the controlling force in the life of the faithful Christian. We are under grace, having been saved by the grace of God (Ephesians 2:7-9)

2. Christians can confidently affirm the ability to overcome temptation and remain faithful because the understand that they live and survive through the grace of God. They are not under the Law of Moses, where every transgression required payment by the one who sinned. They are under grace, where there is constant forgiveness through the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:7).
 
 

A. "What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!"

1. Paul certainly doesn’t mean that the Christian is not under any obligations in serving God, as he will proceed to affirm. He is not under the Law of Moses, that law which condemned without any hope of salvation within itself. We are under a law of grace, which provides forgiveness of past and present sins. See Romans 8:1-2; 1 Corinthians 9:21; James 1:25.

2. Paul is saying that grace puts us under obligation to live different from the world. See Titus 2:11-12.

3. Paul uses the same strong affirmation as verse one ("God forbid!" - KJV). He cannot imagine anyone believing that just because one lives under grace that they believe that they can live a lifestyle of sin. This is not referring to physical impossibilities, for the Bible talks about those who go back into the lifestyle of the world (See 2 Peter 2:20-22), but is stating that is should not happen.

B. "Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?"

1. This is a picture of one who was a slave. Once he was sold to another the old master had no claim over him. He was completely the property of the new master.

2. Notice that Paul gives what causes a person to be a "slave of Christ." One either obeys the Devil in living a life of sin, or obeys Christ by living a life of obedience.

C. "But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered."

1. This, in a nutshell, simply repeats what Paul had said at the beginning of the chapter. 

2. Obedience comes from the heart. See Romans 10:9-10. 

3. Baptism is the "form of doctrine" because it is the participation in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. It is there that we receive the benefits of the shed blood of Christ. It is the expression of our obedience that is required of all men. See Matthew 7:21; Hebrews 5:8-9.

4. This gives the two actions that are required on the part of the slave of sin in order to become free from sin. He/She must:

a. Obey the form of doctrine - by being baptized into Christ.

b. Obey from the heart - with true sincerity.

D. "And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness."

1. We have become free from the domination of sin in our lives. We have voluntarily become the servants of Christ.

2. It is a ironic that in order for us to become free from the bondage of sin we must voluntarily become the slave of Christ. But it is a more than fair exchange in that we are giving up the pain and sorrow that sin always leads to for the joy, peace, and true happiness which our servanthood to Christ leads to.

3. This is just another way of saying that we are no longer free to deliberately sin, i.e. be bound by sin as our master. Our new master, the one we gave ourselves to voluntarily, is a righteous way of life.
 
 

A. "I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh."

1. Paul is saying that he was speaking in terms which they could understand, instead of speaking in more spiritual terms. He used the illustration that Romans, fresh out of idolatry, could readily understand. The status of slaves and being sold from one master to another was a normal part of society in Rome. It has been estimated that there were more slaves than free men in the city of Rome during the first century.

a. The Scriptures always sought to put in human terms great spiritual truths that come from the mind of God.

2. Concerning this whole section Coffman gives an interesting paraphrase, " To paraphrase this verse, without metaphor, Paul was simply telling the disciples that just as they once used all their time and resources in committing impure and lawless deeds, now thy should use all their energies in doing the things that honor God and bless humanity. ‘Iniquity unto uniquity...’ means more and more iniquity."

B. "For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness..."

1. Coffman’s comments are succinct here. They had lived "all out" for wickedness before they became Christians, now they should live "all out" for righteousness, since righteousness is now their master.

C. "For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death." 

1. There is a sense in which those who have not been saved by the blood of Jesus are free from the "master" of righteousness. They are subject to wicked living.

2. Paul asks, "what good came out of your wicked living. What really comes from wicked living but death (separation from God).

D. "But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life."

1. Paul is urging the Roman brethren to set their minds to live righteous lives. Their "fruit" (byproduct of their right living) is being set apart to God. Each Christian’s live should be dedicated to serving God. It is a simple truth that the farther we try to separate ourselves from sin the closer we get to God.

2. The word holiness here is translated "sanctification" in other translations (ASV, NASV).

E. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

1. Why should we live godly, righteous lives? Because the just reward to living a lifestyle of sin is separation from God eternally.

2. They end of righteous living "in Christ" is just as sure, though not considered a wage. We do not deserve salvation, no matter how godly we live. It is the "gift of God." But because we are in Christ Jesus through our baptism into Christ we can expect the blessing of eternal life, because we are faithful unto death. See also Revelation 2:10.

Copyright 1999 by Grady Scott may be reproducted for non-commercial purposes at no cost to others.