A SURVEY OF THE BOOK OF ROMANS” ROMANS 6:1-14 THE CALL TO A GODLY WAY OF LIVING

In this most sublime epistle of Romans, Paul has declared that both Jews and Gentiles are guilty before God, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  However, God accepts all sinners who trust Christ as Saviour, and He declares them righteous on the basis of their faith (Romans 5:1).

In Romans chapters 6-8, Paul will discuss how saved sinners can be set free from sin’s reigning power through identification with Christ in His death and resurrection.  Thus far, Paul had been advancing that justification is by faith alone; and that it is a gift of God’s grace apart from works.  In connection with Paul’s argument in Romans 5:20 and his question raised in Romans 6:1 – “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” may lead one to conclude that a saved sinner may continue to sin to magnify the grace of God.  Paul’s answer to the question raised in verse 1 was “God forbid” in verse 2.  Continuing in sin is indeed no option to the child of God who has turned to Christ and has partaken of His resurrection life!  Christians cannot continue in sin because they are dead to sin (v. 2).  Christians died to sin at their conversion.

Having explained that Christians have died to sin in verse 2, Paul declared that Christians have been baptized into His death (v. 3).  Christians are one with Christ – identified with Christ in His death.  Moreover, not only are Christians identified with Christ in His death, but we are identified with Christ in His burial and resurrection (vs. 4-5).  As Christ has died and was buried and rose again, the believer has identified with Christ and has experienced through sanctification the power to live victoriously for God!  Because of the believer’s intimate union with Christ (planted together), he has in some sense entered into a real death with Christ on the cross when he trusted in Christ as his Saviour.

In verse 6, Paul declared that the “old man is crucified with Christ.”  The old man represents the believer’s pre-salvation life.  Paul went on to say that the physical body of the believer was rendered powerless as an instrument of sin when the old man was crucified.  The believer is no longer to serve sin because he has died to sin and its reigning power (v.7).  As the believer comes to understand that he has died with Christ (v. 8), he will understand that he is a new man, for “old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (II Corinthians 5:17).  The reality in verse 8 that the believer knows that he shall live with Christ is his solid belief in the historical resurrection of Christ (I Corinthians 15:17).  Through Christ’s powerful resurrection, He conquered death.  He will not again die, for He destroyed death’s “dominion over Him” (v. 9).   Every believer has the confidence that Christ has destroyed the power of both sin and death when He rose from the grave (v. 10).

In verses 11-14, the key to knowing that the believer has victory over sin’s dominance is to view the word “reckon” (v. 11).  The word “reckon” means to “consider or count as a fact.”  The believer is to keep on counting that the facts revealed in verses 1-10 are true.  Since the believer has died with respect to sin, he is now exhorted to live victoriously with respect to God.  In verses 12-14, Paul finally exhorted the believer to a life that honors God by not allowing sin to rule as a king.  God has graciously set us apart so that sin should not have dominion over us.

May God Bless!