Romans 6 part 2

How we respond to God’s delivering power

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Slaves to righteousness
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 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? 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. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to 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! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:15-23)

So here Paul develops the concept of changing masters - from sin to righteousness. People can easily look for excuses to continue in sin. Intellectual excuses are common and this often means trying to make the bible back up such reasonings. For instance, a favoured one is – "I’m not under law but under grace". This can be taken to mean: "I will be forgiven for everything, even wilful, calculated and unrepented sin."

Paul deals with excuses using the illustration of a slave [see my comments on slavery in part 1]. It becomes a matter of choices - whom will you serve? Paul maintains that submission to sin makes it our master. In fact, Jesus referenced sin in these terms too:
They answered him, ‘We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?’ Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it for ever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:33-36)

obedient

We need to consider our choices, habits, thought patterns, and whether or not we are living with a fervent passion to obey our Lord’s commands. We change our life by changing our choices. The energy for this is our passion for Jesus. We also have to overcome spiritual warfare directed at us, and any opposition from other people. This passion for Jesus can be renewed every day through being filled with the Holy Spirit. We can then make the choice: either we submit to sin as our master or to righteousness as our master. It is a great help if we receive the wholesome teaching which Paul had in mind:
you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. (Romans 6:17)
This 'pattern of teaching' is not just the Creeds about Christian beliefs, but it is how we should behave (or walk). Walking in the Spirit does not necessarily come naturally: we need to be taught about right and wrong behaviour. This is why Christians who are maturing are ‘teachable’ people: they do not presume to know everything. Christian teaching should be wholesome teaching about holiness in the Christian life.

In discussing how we are to live, Paul uses the phrase ‘offer yourselves’ which has the sense of ‘yielding’. Yielding is a choice and not a passive state. It particularly focuses on the body (which also includes the mind) because ‘the body ruled by sin’ becomes robbed of its power when we are living fervently in the Spirit. Sin is driven by thoughts and passions, often stirred by things we see or hear from others, or the things with which we fill our minds. We may have to free ourselves from the influence of strong personalities who would lead us away from God. We must allow the Holy Spirit to educate us about the ways in which we previously submitted to sin; or maybe even how we are deceived into thoughts and actions which lead to sin.

holiness

Paul describes sin in two ways:
slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness (Romans 6:19)
'Impurity' is a catch-all word covering every kind of sin. It relates to actions against the holy standards of God. 'Ever-increasing wickedness' has the meaning of turning away from a lifestyle governed by good rules (it is also called 'lawlessness' which means living without laws). Together they refer to a life devoid of those principles and rules which come from bible study, good teaching and the enlightening work of the Holy Spirit. In contrast to impurity, the end-product of a living commitment to righteousness is 'holiness'. Holiness is a state of purity before God. The Temple was holy because it was dedicated to everything of which God approved. We are to be temples dedicated to holy living.

We previously lived in a state of ignorance about what holiness entailed:
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! (Romans 6:21)
Being ashamed of our past sins is a sign that holiness means something to us. It also acts as a protection from falling back into the negative consequences of sinful habits. There is an unfortunate freedom that ignorance of sin produces, as Paul points out. Christians can live in ignorance regarding righteousness too if they are not taught well. But it is a path that leads to downfall.

repentance

But teaching, both in church life and by the Holy Spirit's anointing will undoubtedly produce an experience of shame as we see how far we have fallen short of the glory of God:
What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? (Romans 6:21)
The meaning of shame has changed in our society. It is now used to denote hatred or a negative view of oneself. On this basis it is clearly something to avoid. But in this passage it is used with the meaning of acute embarrassment, or guilt about past selfish and sinful behaviour. We should not deride shame in this context.

Without being ashamed of past sins the Christian will never find that broken and contrite heart which God values most highly:
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. (Psalm 51:16-17)
David illicitly persuaded himself that he could commit adultery. He tried to cover it up; but only found repentance when he felt the shame of his behaviour. Brokenness and contrition are highly prized experiences for the maturing Christian.

cleansed

No amount of actions including taking Communion can be a substitute for genuine sorrow over sin. Jesus expressed this in the Sermon on the Mount:
‘Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.’ (Matthew 5:4)
This is the heart of the Beatitudes. Mourning and shame over sin leads us to the blood of Jesus:
and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)
Paul says that the end of a life lived shamelessly in sin is death. But a life transformed and purified by Jesus leads to eternal life. Jesus also stressed the need for cleansing in the Sermon on the Mount:
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (Matthew 5:8)
The word ‘pure’ here means ‘cleansed’. The cleansed are blessed because, having felt the shame of their sin, they are broken when they consider how they fall short of God’s good will. They come to Jesus and are washed clean by his cleansing blood.

fruit

Holiness comes from both walking in the Spirit and being cleansed by the blood of Jesus. This benefit should be evident:
the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. (Romans 6:22)
Holiness is not a vague ‘spiritual’ quality. Some religious people try to give the impression of being ‘holy’ by their mannerisms; but you really need to live with them to see if it is more than just a show. Holiness is expressed in a person's life by the manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit. It is a list which shows the evidence of holiness in the Christian's life:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:22-24)

These attributes of holiness lead to actions which can be observed. Also, fruit is the reproductive part of a plant. When we are living in holiness God can use us in the cause of sharing the gospel with others. [The reference in these verses to where the law fits in will be looked at in the next chapter.]

life

And so, Paul concludes this section:
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
It is interesting how Paul personifies sin here as an employer paying wages. There is no doubt that we can get something out of sin – it provides wages. Sin has its adherents because there are rewards in terms of pleasures, prosperity, influence, status, celebrity, and much more. But over a lifetime, the death inherent in sin will deteriorate a person's character - what terrible wages!

But God’s gift is the opposite. It is a free gift and not earned like wages are. And even more remarkably, we begin to enjoy it now. Eternal life is not just for the future. Here and now can be a taste of heaven – a changed character that no longer wants to sin. Eternal life starts here and death is just a transfer to a new life without the present human limitations. However, we should never forget that the wrath of God is against sin and all who choose to submit to its mastery:
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them. (John 3:36)

[I will now include an interlude dealing specifically with sin, Law and grace before we meet them in chapter 7]