Bible Study

If God’s grace is always larger than our sin, should we go through the work of changing our ways? If our salvation doesn’t depend on our work, should we simply remain the way we were? Is it OK for us to continue to sin?

"By no means!" Paul exclaims. We should quit sin, even though our salvation does not depend on our success in quitting sin. Obedience cannot earn us salvation, but it does have a purpose.

Death of the sinful self

"We died to sin," Paul says. "How can we live in it any longer?" (v. 2). What does Paul mean? Sin does tempt us, and we struggle against it. But sin makes no sense in our lives. It is self-contradictory to want salvation, to want to escape the death that sin causes, and yet want to sin.

"Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?" (v. 3). What this question needs, Paul says, is knowledge about what Christian baptism does. A person who is baptized into Christ is baptized into his death. But baptism doesn’t make all our sinful desires disappear, so what has died?

Jesus died, and in baptism, we died with him. The penalty for our sins is fully paid. Through faith, we are united with Jesus in his death and in his burial. Paul then explains the purpose: "in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life" (v. 4).

We were baptized/buried with Christ for this purpose: that we might live a new life. We do not continue life the way it was—we change. Baptism unites us not only with Jesus’ death but also his life (v. 5). We were symbolically buried so that we might also rise to a new way of life.

But why would anyone want to live in sin and live with Christ? This combination makes no sense. Why would anyone want to live forever with righteousness, if they want to live in sin right now?

"For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with" (v. 6). Our old person was a body under the power of sin, and it was killed on the cross.

Why? "... that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin" (vs. 6-7). In baptism, our old selves die, so we can escape the bondage of sin. Sin has no more authority over us. When we are united to Christ, we terminate the old life, leave sin behind and live a new life.

In making this point, Paul introduces new imagery: slavery and freedom. Sin is not just something we choose to do—it is a power that works against us. When we die with Christ, we are liberated from this evil slavemaster. We do not continue serving it, but we live a new life. We do not live perfectly, but we are to live in a new way.

Alive to God

"Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him" (v. 8). In this chapter, Paul is dealing with life right now. Do we continue in sin? No—we live with Jesus.

"For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him" (v. 9). Jesus has been freed from death and sin, and as we are united with Christ, we are freed from those powers, too. They have no authority over us. Sin may attract us at times, but it cannot force us to do its will. We are no longer slaves of sin.

"The death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God" (v. 10). This is the choice set before us: We can serve sin, or we can serve God. Paul tells us to copy what Christ does: "In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus" (v. 11). When sin tempts us, we are to count ourselves dead. We can say, No, my desire for that is dead.

This isn’t automatic, or else Paul wouldn’t have to tell us to do it. Our bodies may still have some life in them for sin, but we are to count ourselves as dead to sin. We must remind ourselves that we are really in Christ. We are to resist sin day by day.

But the Christian life is not simply a matter of refusing sin, of playing dead. We are to be alive—alive to God. Our desire to live for him should be vigorously alive!

"Therefore," Paul writes, "do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires" (v. 12). Of course, we do sin, but we know that Christ has paid the penalty. Our salvation is not in jeopardy, but we are still told to obey God and quit sinning.

A battle rages for control of our bodies. The old slavemaster, sin, has been defeated by Christ, but it still continues to attack us. It tries to recapture us, so we must resist it.

"Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness" (v. 13).

Who will win the battle? Let God win, Paul says, because you have been brought from death to life. That is what baptism pictures. You don’t have to let sin rule. Instead, let God rule.

We shouldn’t let sin use our body parts as tools to make us more wicked. Instead, we need to let God use our bodies as weapons of righteousness, as people who work for his kingdom.

"For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace" (v. 14). Under the law, we’d be condemned to die. But the penalty of sin has been paid, the power of sin has been broken, the captives of sin have been set free. Christ’s mercy has triumphed over the penalty prescribed by the law.

And because we are under grace, sin is not our master. Going back to sin is stupid—like running back to our old slavemaster, like a prisoner who has been pardoned running back to the old jail cell. It makes no sense to seek salvation at the same time as seeking sin. Either we want to get away from it, or not. Grace makes it possible for us to escape.

Slaves of righteousness

"What then?" Paul asks. "Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!" (v. 15). Paul tackles the question again. In this half of the chapter, he gives another way to arrive at the same answer. He develops the analogy of slavery.

"Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?" (v. 16).

If you choose sin, you are enslaving yourself to a master who will beat you and work you to death. Instead, choose to be a slave of doing right. The rewards are much better.

The Roman Christians made the right choice, Paul said. "But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness" (vs. 17-18). They obeyed the gospel.

"I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness" (v. 19). How did Paul know that the Romans were weak? Because all Christians are weak, in their natural selves.

The Romans had become slaves of righteousness, but they needed to be exhorted to continue. If we don’t resist sin, it gets worse and worse—ever-increasing wickedness. Instead, we want the habit of doing good. When we do that, it gets better and better—righteousness leading to holiness.

"When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!" (vs. 20-21). When we sin, it might look like we are free from outside control, but we are really enslaved. Sin produces death, and we do not want to serve that kind of master.

"But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life" (v. 22). As shown in baptism, Christ has set us free from sin—but we are also under obligation. We are slaves to God, and his benefits are infinitely better: holiness and eternal life.

How is eternal life the "result" of being set free from sin? In earlier chapters, Paul vigorously denied that our obedience causes or earns our salvation—salvation is a gift, based on faith, not works. Here, Paul makes a contrast: sin leads to shame and death; obedience leads to holiness and eternal life.

Why should we fight sin? Here is Paul’s summary: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (v. 23). Sin has bad results. It gives us what we deserve. New life in Christ, on the other hand, has wonderful results, in this life and in the future. It is not a miserly payout—it is a generous gift, given in advance.

Choose life, Paul says. Let righteousness reign! Be alive in Christ!