Exegete Ro 6:16-22 for me, would you?
B. The believer under grace and the problem of occasional sin.
1. (
Romans 6:15) A new question is asked: shall we sin (occasionally) because we are not under law but under grace?
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!
a. Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Paul has convinced us that a lifestyle of habitual sin is not compatible with one whose life is changed by grace. But what about an occasional sin here and there? If we are under grace and not law, must we be so concerned about a little sin here and there?
b.
Shall we sin: Again, the verb tense of the ancient Greek word
sin is important (the
aorist active tense). It indicates dabbling in sin, not the continual habitual sin described in the question of
Romans 6:1.
i. “The verb in verse one is in the present subjunctive, speaking of habitual, continuous action. The verb in verse fifteen is in the aorist subjunctive, referring to a single act.” (Wuest)
2. (
Romans 6:16-17) Spiritual principles we need to understand in order to answer the question.
Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.
a. To whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves: Whatever you present yourself to obey, you become its slave. For example, if I obey my appetite constantly, I am a slave to it. So we have a choice in our slavery: sin leading to death or obedience leading to righteousness.
i. One way or another, we will serve somebody. The option to live our life without serving either sin or obedience isn’t open to us.
b. Though you were slaves of sin: Paul puts it in the past tense because we have been freed from our slavery to sin. He also says that we have been set free by faith, which he describes as obedience from the heart. The faith is put in God’s Word, which he describes as that form of doctrine. All in all, the point is clear: “You put your faith in God and His Word, and now you are set free. Now live every day consistent with that freedom.”
i. As was seen earlier in
Romans 6, we can be
legally free and still
choose to live like a prisoner. Paul has a simple command and encouragement for the Christian:
be what you
are.
ii. Obeyed from the heart is a wonderful description of faith. It shows that faith comes from the heart, not only the mind. It shows that faith results in obedience because if we really believe something, we will act according to that belief.
c. That form of doctrine: This phrase is part of a beautiful picture. The word form describes a mold used to shape molten metal. The idea is that God wants to shape us — first He melts us by the work of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Then He pours us into His mold of truth — that form of doctrine and shapes us into His image.
i. Adam Clarke on that form of doctrine: “Here Christianity is represented under the notion of a mould, or die, into which they were cast, and from which they took the impression of its excellence. The figure upon this die is the image of God, righteousness and true holiness, which was stamped on their souls in believing the Gospel and receiving the Holy Ghost. The words... refer to the melting of metal, which, when it is liquefied, is cast into the mould, that it may receive the impression that is sunk or cut in the mould; and therefore the words may be literally translated, into which mould of doctrine ye have been cast. They were melted down under the preaching of the word, and then were capable of receiving the stamp of its purity.”
3. (
Romans 6:18) Why not then, occasionally sin? Because sin is not our master, and we no longer serve it.
And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
a. Having been set free from sin: What does it mean to be free from sin and to become a slave of righteousness? It means that sin is no longer your boss or your master. Now righteousness is your boss, so serve righteousness instead of sin. It isn’t right to think about pleasing your old boss when you change jobs.
b. Slaves of righteousness: What does it mean to be a slave? A slave was more than an employee. The noted Greek scholar Kenneth Wuest defined the ancient Greek word for a slave here by these terms:
- One born into a condition of slavery.
- One whose will is swallowed up in the will of another.
- One who is bound to the master with bonds only death can break.
- One who serves his master to the disregard of his own interests.
i. The following was once true in regard to our slavery to sin:
- We were born as slaves to sin.
- Our will was swallowed up and captive to sin within us.
- Our bondage to sin was so strong that only death — spiritually dying with Jesus on the cross — could break the bondage.
- We were so enslaved to sin that we served it to the disregard of our own interest, even when sin destroyed us.
ii. Now the following is true in regard to our slavery to righteousness:
- We are born again, now as slaves to righteousness.
- Our will is now swallowed up in the will of God. It is His will that matters to us, not our own.
- We are bound to Jesus with bonds that only death can break; but since He has triumphed over death and given us eternal life, those bonds will never be broken!
- We now willingly choose serve Jesus to the disregard of our own (selfish) interests.
c. Set free from sin: This means that we never have to sin again. Though sin is inevitable until our flesh is resurrected in glory, it isn’t because God has designed a system by which we must sin.
i. Sinless perfection in this body is an illusion.
1 John 1:8 makes this clear:
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Yet we know that in the power of Jesus we each can resist the
next temptation — and that is what Jesus wants us to be concerned with.
ii. “Because of the frailty of man, the Christian at infrequent intervals does yield to the evil nature and sin. But the point is, God has so constituted him, that he need not do so.” (Wuest)
iii. It is mockery to tell a slave, “Don’t behave as a slave” — but you can say that to someone who is set free. Jesus Christ tells us to no longer behave as if we were slaves to sin. We have been set free; now we are to think and live as free people.
©2018 David Guzik – No distribution beyond personal use without permission
