No Longer a Slave to sin – Surrendering to Righteousness

Hello friends and welcome back to The Book of Romans Series. Today we are exploring chapter six. Yesterday we talked about how grace outweighs sin. Today Paul continues the topic of grace and sin.

`

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Verses 1-4)

When we are baptized, we are baptized into Christ’s death and buried with Him. And just as Christ raised from the dead, we too may live a new life. We are born again. Thus, we have died to sin and if we have died to sin, we no longer have any desire to live in sin.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. (Verses 5-7)

We are no longer slaves to sin! We have been set free! Can someone say hallelujah?

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once and for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. (Verses 8-10)

This I think has a double meaning – if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. We live with Him in our hearts on the earth, it’s true, but we also will live with Him in heaven!

My Father has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? John 14:2

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. (Verses 11-14)

'Offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.’ I had to type that out again. I love this. That is going down in my things to pray during my alone time with God – “I offer myself to you as an instrument of 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. (Verses 15-18)

Just because we are under grace, doesn’t mean that we are off the hook and can continue sinning. Because if you continue to live in sin – you become its slave again. But if you live for Christ – you become a slave to righteousness. The word slave can be scary in this context, but I am a servant of God, so I freely offer myself as a slave to righteousness. But the beautiful thing is this, although I am unworthy to even be called His slave, He calls me something else – His child. What love He has lavished on me!

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 from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from 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 result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Verses 16-23)

Here on earth, you are going to be a slave to something. It’s up to you to choose what to. Are you a slave to fear, sin, or depression? Only one can break the chains of such slavery – Jesus Christ. He breaks those chains and makes you free – so the word slave, though a deserving word for us, doesn’t seem to fill the shoes of what I feel as a child of God. I feel – free, lavished with love, joy, and filled with purpose and light.

So, today I surrender to righteousness, so I can be its slave. But I know that my God looks at me with grace that makes me feel like its not slavery at all, but freedom. And it is - freedom!