Sermon notes March 16th, 2025

Romans 6

Romans 5:20-21                                             New King James Version

20   Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 

21   so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord

I want us to see this in the New Living Translation (NLT)

Romans 5:20-21                                            New Living Translation

20   God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. 

21   So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

• The Jewish objector comes forward with what he thinks is a clinching argument: He felt that everything revolved around the law. Now this objector learns that sin and salvation center not in the law but in the Grace of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. That being the case, he might be tempted to ask, “Why then was the law given?” The apostle answers, the law entered that the offense might abound. It did not originate sin, but it revealed sin as an offense against God. It did not save from sin but revealed sin in all its awful character.
• A modern version of this argument is as follows: “You say that men are saved by grace through faith, apart from the law. But if all you have to do, “to be saved is believe”, then you could go out and live in sin.” Right?
• According to this argument, grace is not sufficient motivation for holy living. Some preachers say you must put people under the restraints of the law. We say it like this “we’re under the restraints of love”.

It has been suggested that there are four answers in this chapter to the initial question, “Shall, we continue in sin”?

1. You cannot, because you are united to Christ. Reasoning is found in (vv. 1–11).                             1. Reasoning
2. You need not, because sin’s dominion has been broken by grace. Appealing (vv. 12–14).             2. Appealing
3. You must not, because it would bring sin in, again as your master. Commanding (vv. 15–19).      3. Commanding
4. You had better not, for it would end in disaster. Warning      (vv. 20–23).                                          4. Warning

Romans 6:1-4                                               New King James Version 

1   What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 

2   Certainly not!  How shall we who died to sin, live any longer in it? 

• Paul’s first answer, then is that we cannot continue in sin because we have died to sin? This is a positional truth. When Jesus died to sin, He died as our Representative. He died not only as our Substitute—that is, for us in our place—but He also died as our Representative—that is, as us. Therefore, when He died, we died. He died to the whole question of sin, settling it once and for all. All those who are in Christ are seen by God as having died to sin.
• This does not mean that the believer is sinless. It means that he is identified with Christ in His death, and in all that His death means.

3   Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus, were baptized into His death? 

4   Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

• Please remember water baptism does not save you. Only the work of the cross by our Savior can save you. Water baptism gives a visual demonstration of baptism into Christ. 
• It pictures the believer being immersed in death’s dark waters (in the person of the Lord Jesus), and it pictures the new man in Christ rising to walk in newness of life. There is a sense in which a believer attends the funeral of his old self when he is baptized. As you go under the water you are saying, “All that I was as a sinful son of Adam was put to death at the cross.” As you come up out of the water your saying, “It is no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me.” 

Romans 6:5

5   For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 

• Just as we have been united with Christ in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be united with Him in the likeness of His resurrection. The words in the likeness of His death refer to the believer’s being put under the water in baptism. 
• The actual union with Christ in His death took place over two thousand years ago, but baptism is a “likeness” of what happened then. We not only go under the water; we come up out of the water, in the likeness of His resurrection. 
• Just as we have been united with Christ in the likeness of His death (immersion in water), so we are united with Him in the likeness of His resurrection (being raised out of the water).

Romans 6: 6-7

6   knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with that we should no longer be slaves of sin.  7   For he who has died has been freed from sin. 

• Here is a man, for example, who is sentenced to die in the electric chair for murdering a police officer. As soon as he dies, he is freed (“justified”) from that sin. The penalty has been paid, and the case is closed.
• Now we have died with Christ on the cross of Calvary. Not only has our penalty been paid, but sin’s stranglehold on our lives has been broken. We are no longer helpless captives of sin.

Romans 6:8-9

8   Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 

9   knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 

• Ginōskō = knowing

is a vivid word that means "to know by experience". It can also mean "to learn to know" or "to become acquainted with". 

It can refer to experiential knowledge, knowing someone in a relational sense, or knowing God in a spiritual sense. 

• The apostle John used ginōskō to describe the deeper knowledge that characterizes God. 

In the Bible, ginōskō appears in Luke 8:10, where Jesus tells his disciples that they have been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God.

Romans 6:10-11

10   For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 

11   Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

• Paul has described what is true of us positionally. Now he turns to the practical outworking of this truth in our lives. We are to RECKON ourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
• The word reckon in Greek is "Lo-gis-o-mai" is to reckon, count, compute, calculate, count over your thoughts
• We reckon (count) ourselves dead to sin when we respond to temptation as a dead man would. 
• Augustine is almost universally loved by Christians, Saint Augustine lived from 354 to 430 AD
• One day Augustine was accosted by a woman who had been his mistress before his conversion. When he turned and walked away quickly, she called after him, “Augustine, it’s me! It’s me!” Quickening his pace, he called back over his shoulder, “Yes, I know, but it’s no longer me!” What he meant was that he was dead to sin and alive to God. A dead man has nothing to do with immorality, lying, cheating, gossiping, or any other sin. This life is a process, it’s continual work. 
• Now we are alive to God in Christ Jesus. This means that we are called to holiness, worship, prayer, service, and fruit bearing.

Romans 6:12-14

12   Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 

13   And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 

• That brings us to the third key word in this chapter—PRESENT. We must not present the members of our body to sin, to be used as weapons or tools of wickedness. Our obligation is to turn control of our members to God, to be used in the cause of righteousness. After all, we have been raised to life from death; and, as we are reminded in 6:4, “we should walk in newness of life”.
• We have not, however lost our desire to sin. We still want to sin, at times, even knowing how destructive our sin is. Paul has commanded us not to volunteer to sin, not to let it take control of our bodies. Now he puts an even finer point on his command. We must not present our members, any part of our bodies, for sin to use to do unrighteous things.

14   For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

• Now another reason is given why sin shall not have dominion over us as believers. The first reason was that our old man was crucified with Christ (6:6). The second reason is that we are not under law but under grace.

Romans 6:15-16

15   What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 

16   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? 

• It is a simple fact of life that when we submit ourselves to someone as our master, we become that person’s slave. Likewise, if we sell out to sin, we become slaves of sin, and eternal death lies waiting at the end of that road. 
• If, on the other hand, we choose to obey God, the result is a holy life. Sin’s slaves are bound by guilt, fear, and misery, but God’s servants are free to do what the new nature loves. So why be a slave when you can be free?

Romans 6:17-21

17   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. 

18   And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

• Correct doctrine should lead to correct duty. Responding to the truth that they had been set free from sin as master, they became slaves of righteousness. The phrase free from sin does not mean that they no longer have a sinful nature. Neither does it mean that they no longer commit acts of sin. The context shows that it refers to freedom from sin as the dominating power in life.

19   I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.

20   For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 

21   What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 

• Paul challenges them (and us) to inventory the fruits of an unsaved life, fruits in those activities of which believers are now ashamed. 

   1. Faculties abused. 

   2. Affections lie down. 

   3. Time squandered. 

   4. Influence misused. 

   5. Best friends wronged. 

   6. Our best interests were violated. 

   7. Love outraged—especially the love of God.                                                 sum it up in one word—SHAME.

Romans 6:22-23

22   But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 

• Conversion changes a man’s position completely. Now he is free from sin as his master, and he becomes a willing slave to God. The result is a holy life now and everlasting life at the end of the journey. Of course, the believer has eternal life now too, but this verse refers to that life in its fullness, including the glorified resurrection body.

23   For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

• The apostle summarizes the subject by presenting these vivid contrasts:

1. Two masters—sin and God.
2. Two methods—wages and free gift.
3. Two aftermaths—death and eternal life.

Notice that eternal life is in a Person, and that Person is Christ Jesus our Lord. All who are in Christ have eternal life. It’s as simple as that!