ROMANS
Chapter 6
Contentment
Walk by new rules, towards new ends, from new principles. Make a new choice of the way. Choose new paths to walk in, new leaders to walk after, new companions to walk with. Old things should pass away, and all things become new. The man is what he was not, does what he did not.
Justification
The apostle having at large asserted, opened, and proved, the great doctrine of justification by faith, for fear lest any should suck poison out of that sweet flower, and turn that grace of God into wantonness and licentiousness, he, with a like zeal, copiousness of expression, and cogency of argument, presses the absolute necessity of sanctification and a holy life, as the inseparable fruit and companion of justification; for, wherever Jesus Christ is made of God unto any soul righteousness, he is made of God unto that soul sanctification (I Cor. 1:30). The water and the blood came streaming together out of the pierced side of the dying Jesus. And what God hath thus joined together let not us dare to put asunder.
C. H. Spurgeon
Paul finishes the last chapter by saying, “That as sin hath reigned untodeath, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life byJesus Christ our Lord.” “What shall we say, then?” What inference shall wefrom the super-abounding of grace over sin?
6:1What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase?
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom. 3: 5,8
But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (I am speaking in human terms.) ...... And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say, 'Let us do evil that good may come'?
6:1-8:39 This section deals with sanctification—the change God makes in our lives as we grow in the faith. Romans 6 explains that believers are free from sin’s control. Romans 7 discusses the continuing struggle believers have with sin. Romans 8 describes how we can have victory over sin.
6:1-2 If God loves to forgive, why not give him more to forgive? If forgiveness is guaranteed, do we have the freedom to sin as much as we want? Paul’s forceful answer is By no means! Such an attitude—deciding ahead of time to take advantage of God—shows that a person does not understand the seriousness of sin. God’s forgiveness does not make sin less serious; his Son’s death for sin shows us the dreadful seriousness of sin. Jesus paid with his life so we could be forgiven. The availability of God’s mercy must not become an excuse for careless living and moral laxness.
6:1-4 In the church of Paul’s day, immersion was the usual form of baptism—that is, new Christians were completely “buried” in water. They understood this form of baptism to symbolize the death and burial of the old way of life. Coming up out of the water symbolized resurrection to new life with Christ. If we think of our old, sinful life as dead and buried, we have a powerful motive to resist sin. We can consciously choose to treat the desires and temptations of the old nature as if they were dead. Then we can continue to enjoy our wonderful new life with Jesus (see Galatians 3:27 and Col. 2:12 and Col. 3:1-4 for more on this concept).
TODAY IN THE WORD
The 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, were considered very successful. At these Games, the public address system and electronic timing were introduced to Olympic competition. But by 1914 Europe was at war, and the 1916 Summer Olympics were canceled.
This bit of history reminds us of one of life's realities. When people are at war, they don't really have time to play games. The apostle Paul wasn't playing games with his spiritual life. He had experienced the reality of spiritual warfare in his own heart and life, and he was eager to learn and to share principles for victory.
Today is the second day of our final section in this month's studies. Looked at our enemy, we have seen spiritual warfare up close in the Old Testament and in the earthly ministry of Jesus. Now we need to spend these last two weeks of May learning how to fight the good fight ourselves.
For this we will spend most of our time in the letters of Paul. He was uniquely called of God to reveal the nature of spiritual warfare in this age of the church.
Romans 6 is a great example of this. It is part of Paul's classic statement of the struggle between the flesh and the Spirit in the Christian's life. We've all felt this struggle.
Here in Romans 6 Paul draws a clear line in the sand. The questions in verses 1 and 15 set the stage. In each case the answer is the same. We who know Christ cannot continue to live in sin. Why? Because we have died to sin through our complete identification with Christ in His death and resurrection (vv. 1-14).
C. H. Spurgeon
This seems to be a very plausible temptation, it is one which frequentlycame in the apostle’s way, and therefore he very often had to denounce it.
It is one of the vilest suggestions of Satan that could possibly come to men.
What is sin?
- Transgression
- Coming short
- Trespass
- Iniquity
- Rebellion
- Betrayal
C. H. Spurgeon
If the sinfulness of man has really given an opportunity for the display ofdivine mercy, then the devil’s logic would be, “ Let us commit more sin,that there may be more room for grace to work.” But Christians havelearned their reasoning in another school, and to such diabolical argumentsthey answer in the words of the apostle:
Our Daily Bread
Some Christians seem to give up trying to grow in difficult areas of their lives. They have suffered so many defeats that they think they will never make any progress. They react much like a city government that stands idle while blighted areas deteriorate.
Some cities are showing remarkable success in bringing new life and radical improvement to decayed sections. They label these areas enterprise zones, a name that carries with it the idea of potential for vast upgrading through much time and effort. By looking at the problem through new eyes, they see it as an opportunity for constructive restoration rather than ongoing deterioration. This new attitude is bringing results.
Christians need a similar outlook. We too should begin to see our own areas of perennial failure as enterprise zones, where focused prayer and concentrated effort can produce improvement. We need not live in spiritual defeat. No sin has the power to conquer us. Christ's death on the cross broke the stranglehold of sin, and it no longer has dominion over us (Rom. 6:14). When some sin has us in its destructive grasp, we should claim God's help, change our attitude about it, and turn our area of defeat into an enterprise zone.
Don't let yesterday's failures hamper tomorrow's efforts.
Golden Thought
It is a precious doctrine that the saints are safe, but it is a damnable inference from it that therefore they may live as they like. It is a glorious truth that God will keep his people, but it is an abominable falsehood that sin will do them no harm. Remember that God gives us liberty, not license, and while he gives us protection, he will not allow us presumption.
C. H. Spurgeon
“Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” That were very horribleinference. It is one great instance of the shocking depravity of man that theinference has been drawn sometimes, I hope not often, for surely Satanhimself might scarcely draw an inference of licentiousness from love. Still,some have drawn it.
Our Daily Bread
The subject of the TV Program left me shaking my head in disbelief. This particular news-magazine feature showed how some people prepare for Ash Wednesday. On Tuesday they do as much sinful stuff as they can get away with; all the time knowing that the next day they would ask for God's forgiveness and give up those sins. Self-denial may be a popular activity during the season of Lent, but I don't think it's what Jesus had in mind when He spoke of taking up one's cross and following Him. His call for self-denial was to a daily commitment to Him in all areas of life.
When Paul wrote to the church at Rome, he anticipated that people would believe that it didn't matter to God if they were less than totally committed to His Son. He knew that some would think it okay to go on sinning while presuming on God's mercy. Paul found it unbelievable that people of faith would think they could continue in sin just so they could experience more of God's grace. Instead, he declared that we should consider ourselves dead to sin. As believers in Jesus, we need to follow Him faithfully every day. It's never right to take a time-out from our commitment to Him.
Following Christ has two requirements:
Believing Him and Obeying Him.
C. H. Spurgeon
The fifth chapter ends up in this way, that “where sin abounded, etc…Jesus Christ our Lord.” Then he goes on to say, “What shall we say then?”
What inference shall we draw from the fact that where sin abounded, gracedid much more abound? Shall we be base enough to draw a wickedinference from a gracious statement? Shall we continue in sin that gracemay abound? It is a horrible suggestion, and yet it is one which has comeinto the minds of many men, for some men are bad enough for anything;they will curdle the sweet milk of love into the sourest argument for sin.
“Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid.” With allthe vehemence of his nature,
Golden Thought
The faith which saves is not an unproductive faith, but is always a faith which produces good works and abounds in holiness. Salvation in sin is not possible, it always must be salvation from sin. As well speak of liberty while the irons are still on a man's wrists, or boast of healing while the disease waxes worse and worse, or glory in victory when the army is on the point of surrendering, as to dream of salvation in Christ while the sinner continues to give full swing to his evil passions.
Illustration
The skeleton of a woman was found on the hot sands of the Mojave Desert. Before death, she had written a note which read: I am exhausted and must have water! I do not believe I can last much longer! she died of thirst and exposure just two miles from Surprise Springs where water flowed in abundance.
Golden Thought
It would be nothing less than devilish for a man to say, I have been forgiven, therefore I will sin again. There is no remission where there is no repentance. The guilt of sin remains on that man in whom the love of sin still remains.
Illustration
When the State of Washington first passed a law taxing the retail sales of gasoline, the legislature slipped up on one very important detail: they forgot to attach a penalty to a violation of the law. At first dealers began collecting and paying the tax, a very small one comparatively, but when they discovered the error in the law they refused to comply. The legislature then had to be called back into special session in order to attach a penalty to a violation of the tax law and make it retroactive.
Golden Thought
Listen! If you are God's child, I will tell you how you will like to live. You will desire to live in perfect obedience to your Father, and it will be your passionate longing from day to day to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. The nature of sons which grace implants is a law unto itself. The Lord puts his fear into the hearts of the regenerate so that they do not depart from him.
Our Daily Bread
The subject of the TV program left me shaking my head in disbelief. This particular news-magazine feature showed how some people prepare for Ash Wednesday. On Tuesday they do as much sinful stuff as they can get away with, all the time knowing that the next day they would ask for God's forgiveness and give up those sins.
Self-denial may be a popular activity during the season of Lent, but I don't think it's what Jesus had in mind when He spoke of taking up one's cross and following His (Matt. 16:24). His call for self-denial was to a daily commitment to Him in all areas of life.
When Paul wrote to the church at Rome, he anticipated that people would believe it didn't matter to God if they were less than totally committed to His Son. He knew that some would think it okay to go on sinning while presuming on God's mercy. Paul found it unbelievable that people of faith would think they could continue in sin just so they could experience more of God's grace. Instead, he declared that we should consider ourselves dead to sin (Rom. 6:11). As believers in Jesus, we need to follow Him faithfully every day. It's never right to take a time-out from our commitment to Him.
Paul has said God credits righteousness to the one who believes in Christ. He has shown that Christ also gives life to the one who believes. Now He shows us that life is Christ-life: a resurrection life that frees us to be righteous as well as to be credited with righteousness.
TODAY IN THE WORD
Members of a Dallas, Texas church were surprised one Easter Sunday a few years ago when two parking lot attendants approached their cars to collect parking fees. The church had rented a downtown auditorium for a special Easter service, and members were told they could park on nearby lots without charge. But the men in the parking lot that morning wore official-looking orange vests, and asked for the fees in a business-like way. So hundreds of surprised church members paid the fee, only to learn later that it was a scam.
Those phony parking lot attendants are a good illustration of the way sin tries to run our lives. The men had no authority to collect the fees, but they demanded the money anyway. And they got away with it, because the churchgoers were so used to paying to park downtown that they ignored the “freedom” they had been given that Sunday and handed over the money.
Beginning in Romans 6:1, Paul turns his thoughts to the way we should live as people who have traded sin and death for the righteousness and eternal life found in Jesus Christ. This section of Romans (6:1-8:39), which explains our need to grow in Christ, describes the concept of sanctification, a term meaning to be set apart for a special purpose.
That purpose is to become more like Jesus Christ and less like our old sinful selves. This is the ideal--but Paul knew some people would try to argue that if sin caused God’s grace to overflow (5:20), why not sin even more?
Paul squelched that idea with the statement, “We died to sin” (v. 2). When we received Christ as our Savior, we identified with Him in His death and resurrection. The result is that sin no longer has any authority over us because we died to our old way of life. Of course, we are still liable to sin’s influence because our old nature still resides alongside the new.
6:2May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
C. H. Spurgeon
The whole spirit of the gospel is opposed to the idea of sinning becauseGod is gracious. It is a horrible Satanic suggestion, — “As pardon can beso easily obtained from God, let us sin the more against him.” The baresuggestion is utterly degrading and diabolical. It is to be scouted at once.
The grace of God makes us dead to sin. This is the grace of God, whichdelivers us from the power of evil, and if this be so, how can we live anylonger therein?
C. H. Spurgeon
Now, he goes on by an argument to prove that those in whom the grace ofGod has wrought the wondrous change cannot possibly choose sin, norlive in it.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The demand for absolute liberty brings men to the depths of slavery.
C. H. Spurgeon
The two terms are exactly opposite to one another. If, through grace, weare dead to sin how can we live in it ? If, sinners as we are, we come toChrist to be saved from sin, then it would be a complete misuse oflanguage to talk of being saved from sin, yet still to continue in it. Besides,the apostle goes on to show that the ordinance, by which believers in Jesusare to be admitted into the visible Christian Church will not suffer them tocontinue in sin.
6:3Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?