Romans 6:1-14

The last section of Romans left off with "where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." Paul starts this section with an argumentative question: "Shall we continue to sin, that grace may abound?" Because we know that grace is magnified when it encounters sin, should we try to amp the process by adding more sins to be taken care of by grace? Paul's answer was, "God forbid." Heavens NO! We should not indulge in sin so that we can say that we live under grace and grace is so amazing to take care of the mound of sin upon which we continue to add more sins. We are free under grace, but that does not give us freedom to sin. It gives us freedom to serve God.
     If you've been reading my blog, you know that I like to pick out key words that repeat in a section. In this section, the concepts of death and of life are conspicuous. Paul ended the last section teaching that by sin, death (separation from God) entered the world. Here, he has a little different spin, so hold on. The reason that we are not freed by grace to sin as much as we want is that we are dead to sin. We are separated from it, and it no longer has a hold on us. As Christians, Christ saved us from the penalty of sin at conversion, but He continually saves us from the power of sin through sanctification. Baptism is a wonderful picture, used here by the writer, to show what happens to the new believer at the point of justification. When the one being baptized stands in water, he makes a cross with his body and the water. He is them immersed in the water to symbolize Christ's burial. Thank goodness the preacher does not leave him under the water, but he is then raised to mimic Christ's resurrection. Paul says, "You partook of Christ's death when you claimed Him as Savior. He died to sin ONCE. Once is all it takes. You also took fellowship in His burial, which was a public sign of His death. Because He didn't stay dead, neither should you! You are raised to walk in a newness of life!"
     Life is the other key word in this passage. In verse 5, Paul uses the word planted to represent the dying process. When we take on the seed of righteousness who is Christ, we are made dead to sin and are planted in Him. Plants don't stay in the ground, but they grow. As Christians, we are commissioned to come up out of the ground and grow. We cannot continue to go back to the old ways of death. We must walk forward and let Christ continue the process of renewal. Sin and death do not have power over the Messiah. Because we take on Him in our conversion, we also are not under the power of sin. You are under grace to live! So be FREE to live for God.
     Are your 'members' yielded as instruments of righteousness or unrighteousness? Are you choosing to walk in grace and life? Or are you choosing to walk under the power of sin and the law?