Today, we continue our study of Romans 6 where we are learning about the overall theme of sanctification found in Romans 6-8. The specific theme in Romans 6 is the Christian's relationship to sin. Sanctification is about the salvation of our soul. And, the soul is made up of three parts: our minds, our wills and our emotions. So, sanctification is what it looks like for our souls to be in the process of being delivered from the domination of sin.
In v.15-16 of today's passage we read, "15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?"
The Apostle's question here is slightly different than the question in v.1 but essentially the same. In v.1, the question is: "Can we go on abiding in sin, living in a lifestyle of sin?" But now, the question is "shall we sin." Paul is raising the question of whether a Christian ought to choose to sin occasionally because he enjoys the momentary pleasure that sin gives.
We all face this proposition multiple times in a day. We are so tempted to sin because sin appeals to our sin nature and it is so doggone fun, but it is foolish to serve sin. At times, we all are confronted with the feeling "Why not give in? After all, I'm not going to hell because of this. My salvation rests on Christ and not on me. And actually, God is not going to reject me because of this, for the Law does not condemn me any longer. I am not under the Law. It is love that will discipline me; Law will not condemn me. I'm already forgiven; so why not deliberatetly sin?"
As believers in Christ, we can go on and sin deliberately, even if it is only occasionally, but we must be mindful of what sin does to us. Sin is out to destroy us. When we yield to sin, we are in danger of becoming slaves to sin. In John 8:34 we read, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he that commits sin is the slave of sin." A slave is someone who is not in ultimate control of his own actions, someone who is at the disposal of another person, someone who has to do what that other person says. When we choose to tell a lie, we give one of the clearest evidences of the operation of this principle in our lives. When we tell one lie, we can be sure one is soon to follow.
In v.17 of today's passage we read, "But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance."
This verse literally reads, "You have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine into which you were delivered." It does not read "which has delivered to you." It reads, "into which you were delivered." The Apostle used the Greek word here that means "a casting mold." And, the mold is in the shape of a servant. When we came into this world, we were poured into a mold, and when we came out after the molten metal cooled, we came out as slaves of sin. But, thank God that we responded to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ by obeying the form into which you were poured. When God saw us as slaves to sin, by His great grace, He melted us down and reduced us to His mold. And, with God as our newfound Father, our goal is now to be defined by Him and His righteous culture. The key is to obey Him from our hearts. And the engagement of our hearts with God's heart comes as we learn to trust Him. And the more we go through the trials of life, the more we will get to know His heart for us.
In v.18 of today's passage we read, "You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness."
When we were born again, we began to see the utter idiocy of sin. The cross of Christ delivered us from the rules that we long thought would obtain for us rightness before God. The cross erased our past and has given us a future full of promise. The cross of Christ has set us free so that we can now grow in the culture of God. Once we get to this place, we gladly choose to be slaves of righteousness. In fact, it is really not that smart to obey sin. It is wisdom that leads us to obey God and His word. And, our obedience to God's word is the expression of our faith in Him. And it is in this context that we learn to trust Him to the point of being slaves to His righteousness.
