Romans 6

What’s Happening?

Paul has just said that Adam’s actions caused Sin and Death to spread and increase throughout human history. Paul even goes so far as to say that Sin and Death “ruled over” humans. But paradoxically, this has only served to highlight the grace and glory of God (Romans 8:20-21). Adam’s great sin merely set the stage for Jesus to offer a greater redemption. Now, because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are ruled by grace and the hope of eternal Life. But Paul imagines that some of his readers might misunderstand the point he’s trying to make. “If sin simply gives God the opportunity to give us grace, why not just keep sinning and get more grace?” But Paul says this question completely misunderstands what it means to no longer be ruled by Sin in Death (Romans 6:1-2).

In baptism, all followers of Jesus join his conquest over Sin and Death. When Christians are pulled out of the water, they are raised, like Jesus, to a new, obedient life. Bodies that were once ruled by Sin are now set free from it (Romans 6:1-7). Since Jesus has defeated death, death no longer rules over him. The life he lives now is spent in service to God (Romans 6:8-10). In the same way, followers of Jesus have died to their old lives of sin and unrighteousness and been raised to a new eternal life. So followers of Jesus should never look for opportunities “to sin and get more grace.” Instead, we should put aside all that and live in service to the gracious God who rescued us (Romans 6:11-14). Sin and Death no longer bind us; rather, we are bound and ruled by the God who has given us grace and eternal life in Jesus.

Paul then says that in the same way we are no longer bound to Sin, we are no longer “under the law” but “under grace” (Romans 6:14). Paul highlights that the ruling power in a follower of Jesus’ life is neither Sin nor the Jewish laws, but the grace and eternal life secured by Jesus. Paul is concerned that some might misunderstand his quick aside and think, “Since we’re not under the Jewish laws anymore, that means we can do what we like” (Romans 6:15). But in response, Paul says to think about the practice of slavery. A slave is “under” the control of their master. Similarly, humans were once under the control of the slavemaster Sin, and it led to our death. But now humans are under the leadership of their Master Jesus, and he commands obedience that leads to eternal life (Romans 6:16-19). Being under grace is not an excuse to disobey. 

Paul then appeals to their personal experience to make the same point. Before they met Jesus, they were ruled by their sinful desires, and they personally experienced the death Paul has described. But now that Jesus rules them, they are becoming more godly and more confident of the eternal life Jesus has secured by his grace (Romans 6:20-23). From their own experience, being “under grace” isn’t a license to sin but true freedom from sin’s slavery.

Where is the Gospel?

Paul has made the argument that humans were once enslaved to Sin and couldn’t obey God’s commands. This is the history of the Old Testament. Adam and Eve were given a paradise to enjoy. God gave them a law to preserve and protect them. But they broke that law, enslaved humanity to the power of Sin, were exiled from the Garden, and died. Similarly, Moses freed God’s people from slavery in Egypt and led them to a new homeland, only to succumb to Sin’s slavery himself and die before he set foot there. The kings David and Solomon transformed Israel’s twelve tribes into a Kingdom, but they were also enslaved to the power of Sin. Within a generation, civil war breaks out, and Israel begins a long and slow death. The kings after them continued to prove Sin’s mastery of God’s people, and they continued to break God’s laws until Babylon exiled Israel from the country God gave them. All of Israel’s history is proof of the power of Sin. And as Paul briefly mentions, the inability of God’s laws to free them from Sin’s slavery.

God’s people need a new Master, and that’s exactly who Jesus came to be. Jesus came to rescue his people from the slavery of Sin and the power of Death. In his death, Jesus mastered death both in his grave and in the hearts of all who trust him. Because of Jesus, God’s people are under the slavery of their Savior and the power of eternal life (Colossians 1:13-14). We are slaves not to disobedience and death but to righteousness and life. We are freed from repeating the mistakes of our forefathers. And our new master, Jesus, gives us the power to obey his commands and experience his eternal life.

See for Yourself

I pray that the Holy Spirit will open your eyes to see the God who has freed his people. And may you see Jesus as the one who has defeated the power of death and sin and freed us to live for him.