Romans 5

• We're all Guilty (Chapters 1-3)
• God gives us Righteousness (Chapters 4-5)
• You don't have to live like we used to (Chapters 6-8)
• Israel has a hope and future (9-11)
• Now, how should we live? (Chapters 12-16)

Romans 1:18-3:20 depicts a court scene:

• In 1:18-32, the unrighteousness of the Gentiles is exposed to the light. Then, Paul listed twenty-five charges against man.
• In chapter 2:1-16, he shows that the self-righteous are equally guilty before God. The moralists of Paul’s day were men of culture, refinement and intellect, but they too were inexcusable.
• In the remainder of chapter 2, verses 17-29, Paul strips the Jew of every vestige of the cloak of self-righteousness, so that
• when we reach chapter 3, verse 19, God’s startling verdict is “Guilty!”
• Then, chapter 4 tells us how we can be cleared of our guilty verdict.
• To this point in the Book of Romans, Paul has convinced us all that the only way of salvation is to be justified by grace, through faith.
• Now he will tell us what the practical benefits of this are.

We have here in Romans 5 a statement of the Christian's POSITION:

• 1. Justification; a state of acceptance with God, who, for Christ”s sake, regards and treats the believer in Jesus as righteous, and not as guilty. Until the conscience is assured of Divine favor and forgiveness there is no solid peace.
• 2. Who secures it? Jesus Christ. Although Paul has already shown this at length, he refers again in both these verses to the Redeemer, to whom we owe justification, and all the blessings which follow in its train. It is through him that we have been brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand
• 3. How is it obtained? By faith. Christ has done all that is necessary, on his part, to secure our salvation. But there is needed something upon our part. We have to receive upon the Divine terms, as a free gift, the greatest of all blessings. It is a spiritual act and attitude and exercise, indispensable to the new life.
• 4. By what title is it held? By that of grace; it is gratuitous. This is for our advantage; for no question is raised as to our fitness. The only question is as to God”s faithfulness; and this is not only pledged, but absolutely sure.

The key to Romans chapter five is the word "rejoice." The person who has been justified by faith in Jesus Christ can rejoice because of the results of believing on Christ. This is obvious from the opening word in chapter five, "THEREFORE." Because of our new relationship to God we can rejoice in our spiritual position, we rejoice in our present circumstances and we rejoice in LORD God.

Since this chapter begins with the word "Therefore", we need to go back to chapter 4 to see what the "Therefore" refers to:

Romans 4:22-25: And because of Abraham's faith, God declared him to be righteous. Now this wonderful truth -- that God declared him to be righteous -- wasn't just for Abraham's benefit. It was for us, too, assuring us that God will also declare us to be righteous if we believe in God, who brought Jesus our Lord back from the dead. He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised from the dead to make us right with God.

(1) *Therefore, SINCE we have been **made right in God's sight by faith, we have ***peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.

• *Therefore: Paul restates the great truth of Romans chapters three and four - made righteous or justified BY FAITH.
• **made right = JUSTIFIED in KJV.
  • Justified by faith speaks of a legal decree. Romans 1:18-3:20 found us guilty before the courts of God’s law, God’s glory and our own conscience. Then, Paul explained how because of what Jesus did for us, the righteousness of God is given to all who believe. The guilty sentence is transformed into a sentence of justified, and justified by faith.
  • Justification can be defined as that act of God whereby He declares absolutely righteous any and all who take shelter in the blood of Christ as their only hope for salvation.
  • Justification is a legal term which changes the believing sinner’s standing before God, declaring him acquitted and accepted by God, with the guilt and penalty of his sins put away forever.
  • Justification is the sentence of the Judge in favor of the condemned man, clearing him of all blame and freeing him of every charge. Justification does not make the sinner righteous, but when God sees him “in Christ,” He declares that he is righteous, thereby pronouncing the verdict of “not guilty.” In modern jurisprudence, a sentence in any court must be in keeping with the facts presented. A judge has no right to condemn the innocent or to clear the guilty. Only God can clear the guilty.
  • . If God is to justify a guilty sinner, He can do it only on the ground that the payment for sin has been met. The only way that God could be both merciful and just was through Calvary, where Jesus Christ paid the penalty for sin. There He vindicated His Holy Law and at the same time showed mercy to sinners. The vicarious sufferings and death of Christ are the cause of our justification before God.
  • This is Justification, to stand before God with all accounts paid, and clothed in the righteousness of His only Son, Jesus Christ.
  • The unnamed thief on the cross believed and was immediately forgiven, made righteous, guaranteed to be with Jesus Christ in paradise - he didn't belong to a church, never even went to a church, didn't get baptized, didn't speak in tongues, didn't have "communion", didn't go down the aisle, didn't tithe, didn't pray to Mary or the so-called "saints" nor any of the other things so many churches and "christians" proclaim to be necessary for salvation. If you do a search on this, you'll discover the common false argument that he probably had been baptized sometime beforehand!
  • Luke 23:41-43: We deserve to die for our evil deeds, but this man hasn't done anything wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom." And Jesus replied, "I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise."
  • In Galatians 2:16 Paul makes the greatest statement of salvation by grace through faith as opposed to a salvation by works. He writes,  And yet we Jewish Christians know that we become right with God, not by doing what the law commands, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be accepted by God because of our faith in Christ -- and not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be saved by obeying the law."
  • How do we become a child of God? Galatians 3:26: So you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
  • Here is Paul's formula for evaluating the basis of our assurance of salvation: Galatians 6:15: It doesn't make any difference now whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we really have been changed into new and different people.
  • Job 9:2: "Yes, I know this is all true in principle. But how can a person be declared innocent in the eyes of God?
  • Job 25:4: How can a mere mortal stand before God and claim to be righteous? Who in all the earth is pure?
  • Acts 13:38-39: "Brothers, listen! In this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. Everyone who believes in him is freed from all guilt and declared right with God -- something the Jewish law could never do.
  • Romans 3:26: And he is entirely fair and just in this present time when he declares sinners to be right in his sight because they believe in Jesus.
  • Romans 8:33: Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? Will God? No! He is the one who has given us right standing with himself.
  • 2 Corinthians 5:21: For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ
• ***Peace:
• This is not the peace of God spoken of in other places (such as Philippians 4:7). This is peace with God; the battle between God and us is finished - and He won, winning us. Some never knew they were out of peace with God, but they were like drivers ignoring the red lights of a police car in their rear-view mirror - they are in trouble even if they don’t know it, and it will soon catch up to them.
• If you have really believed on Christ, you will have peace with God. If you are justified you are a member of His family. There is no longer any hostility between you and God. You are at peace with Him. We don' t have to worry about dying and facing God. The prospect of death does not hold a dreadful fear or terror over us because we know we have peace with Him. Because we are justified, we have lost our fear of God. We now have an intimate love relationship with Him.
• The peace “of” God is the idea that God has no longer holds us accountable for the payment for our sins as that was taken care of by the “cross”. The peace “with” God is Him saying to us in effect, “Come on over to Me. Now that the price has been paid, I want you to come close to Me and be with Me.” The peace “of” God is about forgiveness. The peace “with” God is about developing a personal relationship with God.
• The Matthew Henry’s Commentary observes: “There is more in this peace than barely a cessation of enmity, there is friendship and loving-kindness, for God is either the worst enemy or the best friend.”
• Colossians 1:20: and by him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross.

(2) Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now STAND, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory.

• The Living Bible paraphrases verse two, "And we confidently and joyfully look forward to actually becoming all that God had in mind for us to be."
• KJV: By whom also we have ACCESS by faith into this grace wherein we stand , and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
• This access is like the access that Esther gained to enter the throne room of Xerxes. We not only have access, we stand there! The gentile did not have access to the temple - only the courtyard of the gentiles. The woman only had access to the Courtyard of the Women. But, the male Jew had access to the entire temple area - except the sanctuary. However, only the High Priest had access to the Holy of Holies, and then only once per year. WE have immediate access to His very presence, His Holy of Holies at ANY time!
  • Hebrews 4:16: So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.

(3) We can REJOICE too, when we run into PROBLEMS and trials, for we know that they are good for us -- they help us learn to ENDURE.

• The Christian should expect a path of tribulation. Justification gives no assurance of an easy earthly path: quite the reverse. But it brings heavenly joy into the midst of the trouble.
• Morris: "Tribulations is a strong term. It does not refer to minor inconveniences, but to real hardships".
• Spurgeon: “A Christian man should be willing to be tried; he should be pleased to let his religion be put to the test. ‘There,’ says he, ‘hammer away if you like.’ Do you want to be carried to heaven on a feather bed?”
• Spurgeon: “ ‘Tribulation worketh patience,’ says the apostle. Naturally, it is not so. Tribulation worketh impatience, and impatience misses the fruit of experience, and sours into hopelessness. Ask many who have buried a dear child, or have lost their wealth, or have suffered pain of body, and they will tell you that the natural result of affliction is to produce irritation against providence, rebellion against God, questioning, unbelief, petulance, and all sorts of evils. But what a wonderful alteration takes place when the heart is renewed by the Holy Spirit!”
• Martin Luther: “Whatever virtues tribulation finds us in, it develops more fully. If anyone is carnal, weak, blind, wicked, irascible, haughty, and so forth, tribulation will make him more carnal, weak, blind, wicked and irritable. On the other hand, if one is spiritual, strong, wise, pious, gentle and humble, he will become more spiritual, powerful, wise, pious, gentle and humble.”
• 2 Corinthians 1:4: He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.
  • King James Version: Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

(4) And ENDURANCE develops strength of *CHARACTER in us, and character strengthens our CONFIDENT EXPECTATION of salvation.

• *CHARACTER: The Greek word, rendered “character”, dokime, literally means “test.”
• Long afflictions borne patiently show a Christian what he is; they test his faith, and prove that it is genuine.
• 1 Peter 1:6-7: So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while. These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold -- and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

(5) And this expectation will not disappoint us. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

• 1 John 4:8-10: But anyone who does not love does not know God -- for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
• James 1:2-4: Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.
• Tribulation -> Pressure -> Patience ->Endurance -> Experience -> Proven Character or Maturity -> Hope - The confident expectation that we will not be disappointed.

(6) When we were utterly *helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.

• *helpless: The idea expressed by the Greek word asthenon is that we were "incapable of working out any righteousness for ourselves."

(7) Now, no one is likely to die for a good person, though someone might be willing to die for a person who is especially good.

• Paul is saying that there is a possibility of someone willing to die for a worthy person, however rare the case may be, but never of one in which a righteous person willingly takes the place of someone who is unworthy of the sacrifice.
• This is just saying that it would have been a little more understandable that Jesus would die on the cross for us, if we had been good people.

(8) BUT God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS.

• His death is substitutionary meaning someone else died in our place to pay our sin debt. Christ died for (huper), instead of, on behalf of the ungodly. He died "for us." He died for you and me.
• John 11:50: Why should the whole nation be destroyed? Let this one man die for the people."
• Galatians 3:13: But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."
• What if, instead of a grenade were thrown into the a group of Vietnamese soldiers guarding an American prisoner. Suppose that American soldier, who had been abused and beaten and was permanently scarred and disfigured by his captures, fell on that grenade and gave his life to save his enemies. You say, "People don't do that!" That's right! Human nature recoils at the thought of doing good to one's enemies. However, while man doesn't do that, God does! That is exactly what happened at Calvary! Jesus Christ died for the sins of His enemies. He threw Himself on the grenade of God's wrath and when it detonated, He died to deliver those who hated Him. What love!

(9) And since we have been made right in God's sight *by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God's judgment.

• *by: Hebrew en = in.
• *by the blood = in the blood: Our justification is based on the fact that we were included in His blood (verse 9), when it was poured out and we were also included in His life when He rose from the dead (verse 10).

(10) For since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by his life.

• The key to our justification and glorification is in our IDENTIFICATION WITH what He did. God included us in the death of His Son and in His resurrection. As the person who brought a sacrifice in the Old Testament dispensation laid his hand on the animal that was to be sacrificed, he indicated to accept that what happened to that animal, in principle, happened to him. That is the meaning of Christ’s substitution for us in His death on the cross. In God’s eye, we were crucified, we died, were buried, and rose from the grave. The experience is ours for the claiming. The new life that is ours after our being born again is the resurrection life of Jesus Christ. The Day of Judgment is behind us.
  • Colossians 3:1-4: Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God's right hand in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth. For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
• John 11:25: Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again.
• John 14:6: Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
• 2 Corinthians 5:18: All this newness of life is from God, who brought us back to himself through what Christ did. And God has given us the task of reconciling people to him.
• Colossians 1:21-22: This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you INTO THE VERY PRESENCE OF GOD, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

(11) So now we can REJOICE in our wonderful new relationship with God -- all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us *friends of God.

• *friends: John 15:15: I no longer call you servants, because a master doesn't confide in his servants. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.
• We should begin every day, with a simple commitment to Christ. "Lord Jesus, I give you this day. It is yours. You purchased it at Calvary. I am yours. Here is my life. You take it and live it through me. You be my Lord and Master. Come live your life through me today." Your daily life becomes an intimate walk with God. He is free to break in on you at any moment through out the day. That is real peace and joy.

(12) When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.

• Here begins A NEW SECTION. It is not now a question of what we have DONE but of what we ARE. The question of what we have done, even of having sinned before God, has been met by the sacrifice of our Lord on the cross, bearing the judgment due to our sins, and enabling God to forgive us freely in His amazing grace. But here it is, we repeat, a question of what we are.
• Why did Paul and God hold Adam responsible for the sinfulness of the race when it was really Eve who sinned first? They did so because Adam was the person in authority over and therefore responsible for Eve (Genesis 2:18-23; 1 Corinthians 11:3). Furthermore, Eve was deceived (2 Corinthians 11:3), but Adam sinned deliberately (1 Timothy 2:14).

(13) Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. And though there was no law to break, since it had not yet been given,

(14) they all died anyway -- even though they did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. What a contrast between Adam and Christ, who was yet to come!

• We all die, not because of the sins we have committed, but because of the sin of Adam. We do not die because of our transgressions of the law, for people began to die long before the law was given. We die because we are human, the descendants of Adam, the one who sinned.
• 1 Corinthians 15:45-49: The Scriptures tell us, "The first man, Adam, became a living person." But the last Adam -- that is, Christ -- is a life-giving Spirit. What came first was the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. Every human being has an earthly body just like Adam's, but our heavenly bodies will be just like Christ's. Just as we are now like Adam, the man of the earth, so we will someday be like Christ, the man from heaven.

(15) And what a difference between our sin and God's generous gift of forgiveness. For this one man, Adam, brought death to many through his sin. But this other man, Jesus Christ, brought forgiveness to many through God's bountiful gift.

• 1 Corinthians 15:22: Everyone dies because all of us are related to Adam, the first man. But all who are related to Christ, the other man, will be given new life.
• We inherited Adam's DNA and sin was part of the DNA.

(16) And the result of God's gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man's sin. For Adam's sin led to condemnation, but we have the free gift of being accepted by God, even though we are guilty of many sins.

(17) The sin of this one man, Adam, caused DEATH to rule over us, but all who receive God's wonderful, gracious gift of righteousness will LIVE in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.

•  God’s gift to mankind in Jesus Christ does not restore us to the kind of life Adam possessed before he sinned, but to a life of incomparable greater quality. Jesus states: “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (KJV)
• God picks up where Adam left off and He brings His original plan to fulfillment.
• 1 Corinthians 15:56-57: For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. How we thank God, who gives us victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord!

(18) Yes, Adam's one sin brought condemnation upon everyone, but Christ's one act of righteousness makes all people right in God's sight and gives them life.

• A new life is needed if we are to stand before God.
• 2 Corinthians 5:17: What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!

(19) Because one person disobeyed God, many people became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many people will be made right in God's sight.

(20) God's law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God's wonderful kindness became more abundant.

• Galatians 3:19: Well then, why was the law given? It was given to show people how guilty they are. But this system of law was to last only until the coming of the child to whom God's promise was made. And there is this further difference. God gave his laws to angels to give to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people.

(21) So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God's wonderful kindness rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

NOTES:

• Unless otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New Living Translation, copyright 1996, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois.
• Disclaimer: Source material for this study has been gleaned from many different sources. I have attempted to acknowledge these sources at romansoverview.blogspot.com/2012/12/romans-references.html

Romans 6

This has to be one of the most difficult chapters to understand, let alone discuss. Yet, it is extremely important because it applies to how we are to live our Christian lives.

Chapter 5 = salvation; chapter 6 = walk.

Up to now, Romans has been about what God has done for sinful man, and how all is received by grace, through faith, without works. Paul has not said how this applies to everyday life, nor has Paul addressed a very practical and important question - if I sin, do I then lose my salvation, and, if I do, can I get my salvation back? He has also not addressed how I can keep from doing what I was doing in the past - what came naturally, what everyone else was doing.

In this chapter, Paul gives us four steps designed to help us with practical Christian walk:

1. We must "know" certain facts about our union with Christ, specifically that sin no longer possesses the dominating power over the believer that it has over the unbeliever (vv. 3- 10).
2. We must "reckon" (believe) these facts to be true of us personally (v. 11).
3. We must "present" ourselves to God in dedication as His slaves to perform righteousness (vv. 12-14).
4. We must "obey" God (vv. 15-23). If we do not, we will find ourselves falling back under the domination of sin in our lives and becoming its slaves once again.

Chapter 6 begins with a logical question, raised by the statement in 5:20, as people sinned more and more, God's wonderful kindness became more abundant. If grace abounds where sin abounds, then why not abound in sin that we may enjoy more grace? Did not Paul say,  you are no longer subject to the law ... Instead, you are free by God's grace." (5:14).

Here is the great objection to justification by grace through faith apart from works of the law. It seems to open the door to rampant sinning. In fact, it seems to invite more sinning because if grace is God's act to forgive and accept sinners on the basis of Christ's righteousness, not ours, then would not that grace shine all the brighter if we kept on sinning? The more sin there is, the more forgiveness there is. And the more sinning there is, the greater must be the righteousness of Christ to compensate for it. So doesn't Paul's radical teaching on justification open the door to careless living and indifference to holiness? That is the question Romans 6-8 is meant to answer.

(1) *WELL THEN, should we *KEEP ON sinning so that God can show us more and more kindness and forgiveness?

• *Well Then brings back to chapter 5:18-21:
  • Paul ended chapter five by reminding us that the purpose of the law was to bring a sense of condemnation and an awareness of guilt. It points its finger to all of humanity and says you failed. You have sinned. You stand in the need of God's grace: Romans 5:18-21: Yes, Adam's one sin brought condemnation upon everyone, but Christ's one act of righteousness makes all people right in God's sight and gives them life. Because one person disobeyed God, many people became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many people will be made right in God's sight. God's law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God's wonderful kindness became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God's wonderful kindness rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
• *keep on sinning:
  • Some believers may believe that it doesn’t matter what kind of life a Christian lives.
  • Philips paraphrase: "shall we sin to our heart's content and see how far we can exploit the grace of God"?
• Cheap grace? Grace is never cheap. It is the most priceless gift God could give to mankind. The very thought that all of your sins are wiped away, cleansed, forgiven forever is immense. You can hear the legalist arguing with Paul: "Once saved always saved leads to lawlessness. You preachers of salvation by grace through faith encourage sinful behavior with that kind of teaching." Sad to say, there will be some who will take advantage of it and abuse it. That is always the risk of preaching salvation by grace without discussing practical consequences and loss of reward and being ashamed.

(2) Of course not! Since we HAVE DIED to sin, how can we continue to live in it?

• It is PAST TENSE, a once and for all death. It is death in a judicial sense. We died to sin when we put our faith in Christ as our personal Savior. Only in Russia can a dead man be tried (as is going on right now with the whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky) - the Roman church did it too to Spanish Jews so the church could confiscate the dead Jew's inheritance!
• It refers to something that has already happened, not to something that needs to happen. Paul could have penned a present or future tense verb. He also could have made use of an imperative or an exhortation. Instead, he chose a simple past tense— “died to sin.” It is a past event, an accomplished fact. Paul is making the point that what happened to Jesus happened to us! So, I ask you, “Who are you?” You are a man or woman who has died to sin! The moment you believed in Christ, you died to sin. But please notice, Paul does not say that sin is dead to you; he only says that you died to sin. This does not mean that Christians cannot continue in sin. It means that Christians should not continue in sin and don't have to. It is not impossible to continue in sin; it is unthinkable to continue in sin.
• For us to get wrapped up in immorality, greed, gossip, and bitterness is about as logical as Lazarus (Jesus’ friend in John 11) choosing to clothe himself again with those foul-smelling grave clothes. We can do it, but why would we ever want to? Anyone who says, “Now that I’m saved, I’m free to sin” has totally misunderstood his or her new identity in Christ.
• Paul is using the rhetorical question in Romans 6:2. He is not expecting an answer; he is making a statement. There is no answer to his how question. We can't live in sin if we died to it. That is his statement. That is his answer to the objection.
• Notice that what Paul denies is not that you can never commit a sin, but that you cannot "live in it." "Living in it" corresponds to the question in verse 1: "should we *keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more kindness and forgiveness?" The idea in these two phrases, "keep on" (verse 1) and "live in" (verse 2) is that when we have become united with Christ in his death, we cannot go on with an unchanged pattern of sin in our lives.
• Think of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-24). When the son was at home he wanted his freedom, so he left home to find himself, to be free. But his rebellion only led him into deeper slavery. He was a slave of wrong desires, wrong deeds and literally became a slave who took care of pigs. He wanted to find himself and he lost himself in the process. What he thought was freedom turned out to be slavery. While he was wasting away his inheritance, did he cease to be his father's son? While he was wallowing with the pigs, had he lost his position as his father's son? When he finally returned because he was hungry and miserable because of his sin, was he welcomed back as a slave (as he'd expected) or as a son - as a son (his position)! But, what of the inheritance (his reward)? IT WAS GONE! Butt, was only when he came home and yielded to his father that he found true freedom and love.

(3) Or have you forgotten that when we became Christians and were baptized to become one with Christ Jesus, we died with him?

• King James Version: Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized INTO Jesus Christ were baptized INTO his death?
• The word "baptize" (baptizo) primarily means to "identify with", to "dip," "to plunge," "to immerse." It was a word that was used to describe the fuller who dyed his wool in the dye vat.
• 1 Corinthians 12:13: Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized INTO Christ's body by one Spirit, and we have all received the same Spirit.
• When the Holy Spirit baptized us, we were identified with Jesus Christ in His death, burial, resurrection, ascension and glorification. An intimate relationship or union was formed with Christ. We became identified with Him.
• One of the best pictures of identification is found in the Old Testament on the Day of Atonement. The High Priest killed a goat and offered him as a sin offering. Then he took another goat that is called the scapegoat. Aaron laid both his hands on the head of the live goat and confessed all the iniquities of the children of Israel. The idea is all their sins were identified with the live goat. The sin bearer has identified himself with the sins of the people. He was then led out into the wilderness bearing the sin of the people. The goat was led out to die for the sins of the people of Israel.
• when Jesus died, you died. When Jesus was buried, you were buried. And when Jesus rose from the dead, you rose from the dead. God took what happened to Christ 2000 years ago, brought it forward, and applied it to your experience when you got saved. This is the principle of identification or “baptism.”

(4) 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.

• Paul is talking here of baptism into death, not into water.
• God included us in the death of Christ before we were even born.
• Paul uses many sun (with) compounds (e.g., three in Ephesians 2:5-6).
  1. sun + thapto = co-buried, verse 4; Colossians 2:12.
  2. sun + phuo = co-united with him, verse 5
  3. sun + stauroo = co-crucified, verse 6; Galatians 2:20
  4. sun + zao = co-exist, verse 8; 2 Timothy 2:11 (also has co-died and co-reign)
• *new: The word translated “new” (kainotes) means “extraordinary, astonishing, that which is supernatural. As a Christian, you’re not called to be ordinary; you’re called to be extraordinary because of who your God is!

(5) SINCE we have been *united with him in his death, we will also be raised as he was.

• *united: This is the only place in the New Testament where this word “united” (sumphutos) is used. It means “to grow together.” The Christian is “grown or fused together” with the likeness of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Scholars argue whether this is a reference to a present spiritual resurrection or our future bodily resurrection. It is not either/or; it is both. Our resurrection life in the present ought to anticipate our future bodily resurrection. It is a linear progression. You must know who you are in Christ and let His power enable you to live a resurrected life in the here and now and then and there.
• Our identity changed when we came to Christ. When we believed on Christ as our savior and received eternal life we were dipped into His death and resurrection. His death to sin became our death to sin; His burial became our burial; His resurrection became our resurrection. We have a whole new identity. No longer are we identified with Adam's race. We are now identified with Christ and His family.
  • 2 Corinthians 5:17: What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!
• When Jesus died, we died together with Him. When Christ rose from the dead, we rose with Him. When Christ ascended to heaven we ascended with Him and are now seated with Him in the heavenly places. Our identification with Christ includes the crucifixion with Him, burial with Him and our resurrection, ascension and glorification with Christ. Our identification with Christ is so complete that God reckons us as having experienced co-crucifixion, co-burial, co-resurrection, co-ascension and co-glorification. This is the way God sees us - Ephesians 2:5-6. Then should we not see ourselves in the same manner?
  • Ephesians 2:5-6: that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's special favor that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ, and we are seated with him in the heavenly realms -- all because we are one with Christ Jesus.

(6) 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.

• *old sinful selves: What was crucified with Christ? Literally, "the old man", the "old self" was crucified and buried. We were crucified together.
• **were crucified with him: (SUNestauroµtheµ). This death took place when "we died to sin."
• ***power: The power of sin has been broken in those who believe because their "old sinful selves" (literally, "old man") - that from Adam - was crucified and put to death with Christ. We no longer have to sin, though we still can by choice.

(7) FOR when we died with Christ we were *set FREE from the power of sin.

• *set free:
• The words translated “set free” (dikaioo) here is the same word translated “justified” or "made righteous" throughout Romans. In this context, though, the word means even more than “set free.” It is a legal word that could be literally translated “righteously released.” You no longer have to sin. Once you were shackled to sin, but now you’ve been set free! Jesus said it best: “So if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free.” (John 8:36). You CAN live a radically new life - or, you can keep on living your own way and continue to obey the orders of a commander who is dead.
• We have a new standing (position) before God. He has pronounced us "Acquitted!" "Set Free!" "Forgiven!" Let us never forget it is because Jesus Christ died in our place on the cross as our substitute. The blood of Jesus cleanses us of every sin. Because of His death, you have been set free!
• The freedom we have in Christ is not a freedom to do anything we want to do, but to be everything God wants us to be. We are free to live the Christian life.
• Galatians 5:1, 13: So Christ has really set us FREE. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law. ...  For you have been called to live in freedom -- not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love.
• Charles Hodge well said, "The believer can not continue to serve sin for he who has died (with Christ) is justified, and therefore free from sin, free from its dominion. This is the great evangelical truth which underlies the apostle's whole doctrine of sanctification. The natural reason assumes that acceptance with a holy and just God must be founded on character, that men must be holy in order to be justified. The gospel reverses this, and teaches that God accepts the ungodly; that we must be justified in order to become holy."
• The power of sin nature over us was broken when we died with Christ. It was not eliminated. It does not make us incapable of sinning. However, it does set us free from mandatory obedience to sin nature as a slave.
• • Ephesians 4:22-32: throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception. Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes. You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God's likeness -- righteous, holy, and true. So put away all falsehood and "tell your neighbor the truth" because we belong to each other. And "don't sin by letting anger gain control over you." Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil. If you are a thief, stop stealing. Begin using your hands for honest work, and then give generously to others in need. Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. And do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he is the one who has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

(8) And SINCE we died with Christ, we know we will also share his new life.

•  Paul wrote, "Christ . . . is our life" (Colossians 3:4). Jesus told His disciples, "Abide in Me, and I in you . . . I am the vine, you are the branches" (John 15:5ff).
• Paul tells us in Romans 8:29 that God's goal for His believers is the conformity of our character to the likeness of Christ. Everything that God does in our lives happens to focus on that one supreme purpose. God has selected before hand the goal that everyone who believes on Christ will be conformed to His likeness. God's primary concern is our character, functioning the way He intended us to function, i.e. like Christ. He will not give up on that goal. He will keep at it until the day we stand before Him.

(9) 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.

• In verse nine, death is pictured as master and lord. Since Christ has been raised from the dead, and will never die again, death no longer is master over Him. Death has been conquered. Christ is the Lord over death.
• Death could not hold Jesus Christ, our representative. It cannot hold the believer either. Furthermore neither He nor we will die a second time.

(10) He died once to defeat sin, and now he lives for the glory of God.

• What was that sin He died to? Christ never had a personal experience with sin. He knew no sin. Whose sin? My sin! "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). He paid the penalty for my sin (verse 7). He died for ME & YOU.
• We have been set free, and are no longer slaves to sin. We are free to live the Christian life. As far a God is concerned, we are already on the resurrection side of the grave!
• Christ died once and only once, not once upon a time. It was a definite act at a point and place and time in history. It never had to be repeated. He is alive, never to die again. Moreover, we are in Christ. This is the only way to live the Christian life. Paul's whole argument revolves around our intimate living relationship with Christ.

(11) SO you should *consider yourselves **dead to sin and able to live for the glory of God through Christ Jesus.

• *consider yourselves (logizomai):
• The word logizomai is translated "reckon" (KJV) "count on" (NIV) "consider" (NLT). Paul says reckon on your position in Christ (6:11). "Even so consider (reckon, count on) yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus." The present imperative could mean "do this continually," or "continue doing this." The word "reckon" means to calculate, to take into account, to figure, to count on, consider the fact. Be constantly counting upon the fact that you are dead to sin, and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
• logizomai is the same word used in Genesis 15:6 when God reckoned Abraham righteous.
• Reckoning sin dead in our lives is the beginning of experiencing God’s power to make sin dead and Christ’s life within me REAL.
• What sin are you going to reckon dead today? Consider, count it dead from today on, it has no power to rule your life. Trusting not on your feelings but on faith that He will help you and make this real. Paul’s first instruction (Know) focuses on our Mind. His second instruction (reckon) focuses on our Hearts. His third instruction (Yield) focuses on our Will.
• **dead to sin means dead to the pervasive love for and ruling power of sin. Christians must realize that the mastery of sin has been broken in their lives.

(12) Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to its lustful desires.

(13) 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.

• *body: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: Or don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
• You will never be dead to the temptation to sin, it’s always there.

(14) Sin is no longer your master, for you are no longer subject to the law, which enslaves you to sin. Instead, you are FREE by God's grace.

• Giving in to sin results in people increasingly becoming obedient slaves to sin.

(15) *SO since God's grace has set us FREE from the law, does this mean we can go on sinning? Of course not!

• *SO: Paul now takes another look at the question posed in the first verse (should we keep on sinning?).
• The Apostle calls us to a wholehearted and total commitment to Christ. "Do not keep on presenting your members to sin . . . but once for all present yourselves to God."
• Paul stresses a new creation, a new relationship with God even though he is not yet perfect. It is progressive spiritual growth in the likeness of Christ. Paul still has to deal with sin because he is still a sinner.
• Do not make the grace of God an excuse for sinning. Grace can never lead to license.
• In spite of all that Christ has done for us it is possible for us to go back into our bondage to sin. But it is a choice we make. We may choose to become entangled to sin. It is not because we haven't been set free. It is not because the sin nature hasn't been broken. It is simply because we do not reckon ourselves to have been crucified with Christ. We do not count upon the fact that sin no longer has authority over us. When we choose to sin we become servants of sin. I don't have to sin because I have been set free. God has set us free to live the Christian life. This is what God has done in His grace for us.
• If a man habitually sins, he is still sin’s servant. And the end is death. By his deliberate acts he evidences the fact that he does not know the Lord, that he has never been crucified, buried, raised with Him. Every true child of God will take the road that leads to the confession of sin and to the forsaking of sin when that road is pointed out to him. Of course, he may sin and be forced to exclaim, “O wretched man that I am!” But every true believer will want to serve his new Master; otherwise, he would only prove himself to be sin’s servant still. A man in Christ has a new nature; he wants to please his new Master. Therefore, if a professing Christian is constantly falling into sin and has no conscience about it, he gives evidence that he has never been born again.

(16) Don't you realize that whatever you choose to obey becomes your master? You can choose sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God and receive his approval.

•  The basic truth is: ultimately there are only 2 masters = we can choose to obey sin or the Lord. When we yield (surrender, give in) to our sin nature, we are not simply sinning but we are developing sinful habits. When we obey sin we get enslaved to a lifestyle that leads to death. Not a loss of our salvation, but alienation from God. We lose our fellowship with Him. We lose our joy, peace, spiritual growth, our clear conscience. It leads to more sin unless we turn to God in genuine repentance, confess, then He forgives and restores and helps. If we choose to obey God, submit to Him, develop habits of holiness, those will lead to purity in our lives.
• We still have free will. We still have our old sin nature, it has been rendered inoperative by the cross but it is still there as long as we are alive on planet earth. It no longer has authority over us in that we can overcome but its potential is there until we are with the Lord.
• We are slaves to whatever controls our lives. That’s the bad news. Here’s the good news: As believers, we get to choose our master! An unbeliever has no choice of masters. He is a slave to his old self, and therefore, a slave to Satan. As hard as he may try to break free, the chains of sin keep yanking him back. He can never break free. He is Satan’s indentured servant. But a Christian has been liberated to serve a new Master. We can opt for “obedience resulting in righteousness.”

(17) Thank God! ONCE you WERE slaves of sin, BUT NOW you have obeyed with all your heart the new teaching God has given you.

(18) NOW you are FREE from sin, your old master, and you have become slaves to your new master, righteousness.

(19) 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.

(20) In those days, when you were slaves of sin, you weren't concerned with doing what was right.

(21) 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.

(22) BUT NOW you are FREE from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.

• It is not possible to live the Christian life without union with Christ. Every believer is in Christ. Live your life so close to Christ that know that you are in Him.

(23) FOR the *wages of sin is DEATH, but the FREE gift of God is eternal LIFE through Christ Jesus our Lord.

• *wages: Paul uses an interesting word for “wages” (opsonion). The word he uses refers to the daily food payment a Roman soldier would receive.

Next time we shall study chapter seven, which shows that in our standing before God we are also dead to the law, and that our state is in the flesh. Then later, we shall see from chapter eight that our life is in the Holy Spirit.

NOTES:

• Unless otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New Living Translation, copyright 1996, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois.
• Disclaimer: Source material for this study has been gleaned from many different sources. I have attempted to acknowledge these sources at romansoverview.blogspot.com/2012/12/romans-references.html