Today, we transition into Romans 6 where a new topic is introduced. In fact, in Romans 6-8 we will be instructed on the topic of sanctification. Up to this point in the book of Romans, Paul has been building a case proving that "...there is no one who is righteous." He has also established the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ came to earth to buy back man from the clutches of sin and death. So, in Romans 4-5 we learned about justification by faith which is what renders our salvation.
As we transition into Romans 6-8 we will learn about sanctification or the process whereby God is changing the soul of the believer. Our souls is made of three parts: our minds, our wills and our emotions. It is our justification gets us into heaven and our sanctification gets heaven into us now. We might say that sanctification is the acquisition of the wisdom of God. Or, the ability to live in concert with God's culture.
In v.1 of today's passage we read, "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?"
Everything the Apostle Paul presents in Romans 6 is in response to the question, "Since the grace of God was so magnified by our sin, shouldn't we continue to deliberately sin so that His grace will be magnified even more?"
Now, it is imperative that we understand the Apostle Paul is talking about a lifestyle of sin, not just a single sin or two here and there. Even though we have trusted Christ as our Savior, we will yet sin. Being a Christian does not mean that we will cease to sin. In this verse, the Apostle is describing the lifestyle of a believer who deliberately chooses to ignore God's definition of things and embraces what he knows to be opposite of God's definitions. He also knows this is foolishness.
In November of 1981 I had been a Christian for only a couple weeks. A few friends, knowing that I was struggling with my dad's death, came to my house and invited me to go out on the town with them. Their goal was to cheer me up. While riding in the car, we did what we had done so many times before; we smoked a couple of joints. Many, many times before, we had done this. However, for the first time in my life, I felt guilty over what I was doing. I didn't understand why I felt guilt. It took me quite some time before I began to understand why I had that experience: it was the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life. I had been born again and the presence of God in my life, caused me to have a new angle on life. Even though I was a brand new Christian, I instinctively knew that it was unwise to smoke marijuana. This happened because I had entered into a personal relationship with God and through His Holy Spirit He had begun changing me from the inside out which is what sanctification is.
In v.2 of today's passage we read, "By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"
Now, it is imperative that we understand the Apostle Paul is talking about a lifestyle of sin, not just a single sin or two here and there. Even though we have trusted Christ as our Savior, we will yet sin. Being a Christian does not mean that we will cease to sin. In this verse, the Apostle is describing the lifestyle of a believer who deliberately chooses to ignore God's definition of things and embraces what he knows to be opposite of God's definitions. He also knows this is foolishness.
In November of 1981 I had been a Christian for only a couple weeks. A few friends, knowing that I was struggling with my dad's death, came to my house and invited me to go out on the town with them. Their goal was to cheer me up. While riding in the car, we did what we had done so many times before; we smoked a couple of joints. Many, many times before, we had done this. However, for the first time in my life, I felt guilty over what I was doing. I didn't understand why I felt guilt. It took me quite some time before I began to understand why I had that experience: it was the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life. I had been born again and the presence of God in my life, caused me to have a new angle on life. Even though I was a brand new Christian, I instinctively knew that it was unwise to smoke marijuana. This happened because I had entered into a personal relationship with God and through His Holy Spirit He had begun changing me from the inside out which is what sanctification is.
In v.2 of today's passage we read, "By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"
In this verse the Apostle Paul begins to answer the previously asked question. The question? Should we continue to live a lifestyle of sin so that God's grace may abound and be magnified in our lives? Paul's answer was the strongest adversative he could have chosen. How could those who had come to understand the utter futility of sin continue to make the choice to be defined by it intentionally?
The Apostle is giving us another comparison, pointing out that if we are dead to sin, it is mindless to conclude that we would want to continue to serve the tyrant that once enslaved us. This is an argument of intelligence. Prior to our relationship with Christ, sin was our natural way of thinking. We depended on our sinful default mode to live our lives. But, when we turned to Christ and trusted Him as our Savior, it all changed. It does not make sense that we would choose to live in the muck and the mire of sin, especially since we have been born again and we see life anew. Again, Paul wasn't speaking of a believer's occasional falling into sin, because that happens to everyone. No, Paul was speaking of those who intentionally, willfully choose to sin as an established pattern of their life.
Essentially, the Apostle is telling us to get up and to start growing in this newness of life that we have been given through the Lord Jesus. The problem for those to whom Paul wrote this book was they believed that their obedience to the rules earned them God's favor. They also believed it resulted in salvation. But throughout Romans, Paul has been showing us that there is no way we can earn God's approval. To be holy is to be defined by God and to choose to live accordingly.
But the great news is that God's favor towards us comes not on the basis of what we've done for Him, but on the basis of what He's done for us. He doesn't expect any of us to pass the course before enrolling in it. And, our enrollment will be finalized when we get to heaven. The Lord Jesus decided to take the test for us and then He chose to give us the grade that He got, and He got an A-plus.
Our understanding of this wonderful truth should revolutionize the way we live our lives. Holy living is sanctified living which is set apart living. We have been set apart to live in concert with His culture which yields the fruit of the Spirit in and through our lives. If we have been saved, we will bear fruit because God's presence is in our lives. Salvation produces holy or whole living, primarily because holy living is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. And, the purpose of our sanctification is that others might look into our lives and desire what we have ... an honest relationship with the God of the universe who is delivering us from this world and ourselves.
