Romans Part 6: Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

[Robert]

In part 5, we saw how faith in the Lord justifies those that believe; as we are guilty under the Law and have no excuse, trusting in Christ and his sacrifice on Calvary washes us in his precious blood and fulfills the demands of the Law. God's justice is satisfied, and we are now free to enter into a new life with God, reunited with him as our father instead of our judge.

Now in part 6, The Lord explains via his chosen writer, Paul, how we should walk in regards to sin:


"What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?"(Romans 6:1-3, NASB)


God, through Paul, has to address the fact that after reading chapter 5, there would be those reading it that would think that because grace abounded because of sin, it was alright to sin. After all, if we sin more, then that means more grace can be bestowed, and that we were doing God a tremendous favor by doing so.

Right?

Wrong.

The Lord informs us that we are now dead to sin, and that because of that, we cannot live in it any longer. Upon trusting in him, we join Christ in death; we are crucified with him and baptism is symbolic of our burial with Christ:

"Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin" (Romans 6:4-7, NASB)


But as much as we die with him, so we shall live with Him as well, as scriptures tell us. But this world, guilty under the law and rife with sin, reasons that if grace abounded because of sin, then more sin would be good. More sin equals more grace according to its' twisted logic. This is a tragic misunderstanding of what the Law's purpose was: to make sin more apparent to us. And because we are no longer of this world, nor living under sin, we cannot walk in the ways of either anymore. This is why God has to stop for a chapter to explain all of this: there are those who would equate freedom in Christ with the 'freedom to sin' of which no such thing exists.

"Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus." (Romans 6:8-1, NASB)


To drive the point home even further, the Lord points out that though we are dead to sin here, we have life with Him. Sin got what was due to it when Christ died on the cross; after that, Jesus lived to God. And it was never at any point that he didn't live to God, but that at one point he bore sin for all of us, in our place. As the sacrifice, he bore the punishment meant for us, and died as though he were guilty. But when he arose, sin had no bearing on him any further; Christ's work was finished and sin's power was smashed to pieces. As he lives, so too do we that trust in Him; our old selves are crucified with him, we are buried with him in baptism, and we live again in Him to God, no longer bearing the stain of guilt.

"Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace." (Romans 6:12-14, NASB)


The Lord recognizes that though we are His, our bodies are still fallen and therefore susceptible to sin. His solution is that we do not even give sin one inch of ground, let alone the opportunity to fester: we don't yield our bodies nor any part of them to sin for a moment. Unlike the unsaved, who are imprisoned in sin, those who name the name of Christ have a choice, and do not have to obey sin, PERIOD. Because we are no longer under the law, sin has no hold on us and not only do we NOT have to listen, but we do not have even listen to its' calls to us. God is our master now, and sin is effectively told to "hit the skids".

But it is up to us to live unto God; God cannot do it for us.

"What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. " (Romans 6:15-17, NASB)

God knows the hearts of the Roman believers, but He still has to answer the question that was surely posed not only in their minds, but in the minds of future believers who would read this book as well: is grace a license to sin? And the Lord's answer is "NO", but God reveals divine wisdom here instead of using a sterner stance; He reveals that whatever you choose to serve becomes your master. Paul then writes that he knows that the believers at Rome have take to the teaching of the Gospel, and that they have chosen to serve righteousness and not sin. And through Paul's pen, God acknowledges this as well to both them and the generations who would read the letter.

"I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:18-23, NASB)

Having spoken in terms that would easily be understood and applied because of the flesh's predilection towards sin, God then continues on to reinforce that serving sin would only produce more sin and misery would be the result. But to serve God, who is righteous, would result in righteousness and eternal life. These things could not be earned by merit, but given by the Grace of God, and this is what the Lord directs them to do; God never pushes towards death, but life. He encourages the sinner to repent, the guilty to become washed by the blood of the lamb at the foot of the Cross, and encourages the weary to continue in well-doing. This is capped off by the reminder that the wages of sin is death, but the gift that God offers freely is eternal life through Jesus. The Lord ends this chapter with yet another invitation for those who have not yet received to partake of this incredible offer of merciful grace.

This chapter serves to underscore that salvation then is not so that we may sin freely in any capacity, but that we are indeed free FROM sin. We do NOT have to commit sin, and that our desire should be to the Lord rather than to our own fleshly desires. Salvation is to reunite us WITH the Lord, not as a permission slip so that we may have room on our plates to pile a fresh, steaming heap of even MORE sin. As soon as a believer learns that Salvation is not "cheap grace" for the purpose of soteriological gluttony, they will be able to truly serve the Lord.

It is the difference between selfish Adam, who chose to eat the fruit, and Jesus Christ, who chose to do the Father's will, no matter the cost. Obedience is costly in this world, but far costlier in eternity is rebellion.



In part 7, we will look at the conflict between the flesh and the spirit. Until then, I bid all of you peace.


YBIC,


-Robert

[mattfivefour]

Good stuff, bro.

[Meg]

I'm loving this series Robert. I trusted the Lord to help you write this, and obviously He was faithful as usual. Can't wait to see part 7!

That being said, what does soteriological gluttony mean? (Don't answer for him either, Matt... )

[Robert]

I'm loving this series Robert. I trusted the Lord to help you write this, and obviously He was faithful as usual. Can't wait to see part 7!

That being said, what does soteriological gluttony mean? (Don't answer for him either, Matt... )

"Soteriological gluttony": soteriology is the study of salvation, while gluttony is self-explanatory. In other words: people wanting forgiveness and salvation just so they can scrape their old sin off their plates and get a fresh new pile of it. It's my way of saying a free pass to sin. I call it "soteriological gluttony" because they are trying to use salvation as a means to have their old sin excused so they feel safe enough to commit new ones, and are not interested in serving the Lord.

[Meg]

"Soteriological gluttony": soteriology is the study of salvation, while gluttony is self-explanatory. In other words: people wanting forgiveness and salvation just so they can scrape their old sin off their plates and get a fresh new pile of it. It's my way of saying a free pass to sin. I call it "soteriological gluttony" because they are trying to use salvation as a means to have their old sin excused so they feel safe enough to commit new ones, and are not interested in serving the Lord.

Thanks for the clear explanation. Excellent point too...

[Saved2011]

Where's Part 7...WHERE??!!!
LOL

I LOVE these!!!

[Elijah's Mantle]

good study Ill be here a long while

and I learned a new word
good one Robert

Jesus teaches death to self and sin and assuredly soteriological gluttony

remember
It is in dying that we are born to eternal life

some deaths are GOLDEN and GOOD
Its by God's grace alone that I could die
some deaths to some things Yet live
all the more in Christ Jesus
his sweet sweet grace
grows greater each day I believe

[NUmarcus]

I am guessing here...but would an individual exhibiting Soteriological gluttony be approaching the cross from a selfish and unrepentant perspective and subsequently probably is not saved?

The Lord recognizes that though we are His, our bodies are still fallen and therefore susceptible to sin. His solution is that we do not even give sin one inch of ground, let alone the opportunity to fester: we don't yield our bodies nor any part of them to sin for a moment. Unlike the unsaved, who are imprisoned in sin, those who name the name of Christ have a choice, and do not have to obey sin, PERIOD. Because we are no longer under the law, sin has no hold on us and not only do we NOT have to listen, but we do not have even listen to its' calls to us. God is our master now, and sin is effectively told to "hit the skids".

But it is up to us to live unto God; God cannot do it for us.

What would be the practical application for this? Example: Someone who has led a life of partying; glutton; adultery; gambling; drugs; or what not, but has been convicted of the need for Christ. The mess that this life has created is in front of them. They have come to Christ for salvation and they realize; regret; even hate what this sin has done to them BUT that call to (insert old sin) once again is strong...they hate it...but they also welcome it in a weird way. What is the application in this example of temptation? Would an example of serving righteousness be to go into prayer at that moment and ask Christ for the strength he/she does not have since the flesh is still fallen?

I'm driving at something I have seen on message boards and what not...the "I asked Jesus into my heart and life, but I can't stop sinning and I hate it!" ----> which leads to ----> "Am I really saved?"

I may be getting ahead here and into the what the flesh desires, the spirit does not etc. If so, a "its in part X" will suffice.

Read through parts 4-6 this morning. Great stuff! Thanks for pulling it together and posting!

[Meg]

I am guessing here...but would an individual exhibiting Soteriological gluttony be approaching the cross from a selfish and unrepentant perspective and subsequently probably is not saved?



What would be the practical application for this? Example: Someone who has led a life of partying; glutton; adultery; gambling; drugs; or what not, but has been convicted of the need for Christ. The mess that this life has created is in front of them. They have come to Christ for salvation and they realize; regret; even hate what this sin has done to them BUT that call to (insert old sin) once again is strong...they hate it...but they also welcome it in a weird way. What is the application in this example of temptation? Would an example of serving righteousness be to go into prayer at that moment and ask Christ for the strength he/she does not have since the flesh is still fallen?

I'm driving at something I have seen on message boards and what not...the "I asked Jesus into my heart and life, but I can't stop sinning and I hate it!" ----> which leads to ----> "Am I really saved?"

I may be getting ahead here and into the what the flesh desires, the spirit does not etc. If so, a "its in part X" will suffice.

Read through parts 4-6 this morning. Great stuff! Thanks for pulling it together and posting!

This is exactly what the man who led me to Christ described as happening to him. He had asked the Lord into his heart, but found himself incapable of overcoming sins he didn't choose to discuss. He said that he finally got alone in prayer and just said "Lord I thought it was supposed to work better than this". He said "something" (understood to be the Holy Spirit by us both when he shared this with me) came over him and he was free from those sins from that point on.

There is an absolutely tragic failure in many churches to guide new Christians in their growth in Christ. These church -- I guess I have to use the word "leaders" here, are so caught up in the business aspect of doing church that they completely lose sight of the reason the Church exists in the first place. There is a lot about Christianity they simply cannot teach or learn in school. We serve a living God, this is no myth and not an academic concept, so the only way to really learn is to live in, through and to Jesus Christ. There is simply no possible substitute to applying the precepts of Scripture to how and why we live the way we do, and no substitute for seeking the Lord with all our hearts, in action as well as in faith.

As to your question, are they Saved. It's my opinion that if someone has to ask are they Saved, they are probably lacking something important in their relationship with the Lord, and that something is probably prayer, not from others, but within themselves. A lot of people want to be Christians when all that means is going to church for some Sunday morning entertainment, but when Christianity gets demanding, they back down. I don't have God's cell phone number, so I can't say if such people are going to make Heaven or otherwise, but if they do, it wouldn't likely be by much... This is why both Robert and I feel so strongly about discipling others, it is so important. I want better answers, but even my own understanding is incomplete, as I have never been able to beat smoking. If and when I finally do, I will share how that finally happened on these boards so others can learn. One thing I have learned so far is that daily Scripture reading coupled with daily prayer is indispensable. With these things in place, we come out of sin as a process, a series of careful changes. What the Lord does is deal with issues in a series of steps, because the initial change can be something of a shock, at very least different, and it takes time to get used to the difference, as what was once very new becomes normal. Once that process is fixed in place, Jesus Christ goes to the next issue (almost always, these are wounds of the emotions and spirit), and as the process unfolds, we become very different than we were at the starting point.

In my own development as a Christian, I found that reading the NT for information on what exactly it should mean to be a Christian, trying that on for size in my daily life, and praying -- hard! when it didn't work so well was what worked. I listened to sermons and read books and newsletters for encouragement and a feel for what normal should be. I can testify with very confident certainty that of someone is reading the Bible and trying to live by it, in 2 years or less, you'll know how to tell the real from the fake when it comes to Christianity. You will quickly get to a point where you know from personal experience when a preacher or anyone else is playing you, believe me!

A very very good primer for the new Christian is The Cross And The Switchblade by David Wilkerson, because in that book, they are describing genuine experience of hard core drug addicts and gang members coming to Christ for the first time. Close attention can and should be paid to how the young people supported and encouraged each other as they grew in Christ together, gathering to pray together, depending heavily on the Lord because they didn't know Christianity really could help them until they tried.

There is some emphasis placed on speaking in Tongues, but this isn't critical, as my friend who led me to Christ never has and likely never will, that is just a sign. For that matter, neither does Robert, but for me it is a sign, I do. Only 2 things are critically necessary, that is the Bible, open, read and taken seriously, and prayer, honest and consistent. It is Jesus Christ Who makes the real changes, only He can, ONLY Him. But He very definitely can, and He very definitely does. Both Robert and myself have experienced potent expressions of the Living God in action, in ways we didn't expect. So I hope this helps some. There's a lot of Obfuscation (or beclouding is the hiding of intended meaning in communication, making communication confusing, wilfully ambiguous, and harder to interpret) and downright wrong information going around in the religious landscape, making Christianity even more difficult to understand and thrive in than it already is. But if we search for Jesus Christ in our lives with honesty and sincerity, we will find Him. I am a living testimony to this, Amen.

[NUmarcus]

Good answer Meg! Thank you!

we come out of sin as a process, a series of careful changes. What the Lord does is deal with issues in a series of steps, because the initial change can be something of a shock, at very least different, and it takes time to get used to the difference, as what was once very new becomes normal. Once that process is fixed in place, Jesus Christ goes to the next issue (almost always, these are wounds of the emotions and spirit), and as the process unfolds, we become very different than we were at the starting point.

Hard for our video on DEMAND; instant popcorn; credit and get it world to be patient in this process isn't it? Probably another aspect of bible reading and serious prayer...becoming patient in the Lord when every fiber of our fleshly self screams "NOW NOW NOW!"

[Meg]

Good answer Meg! Thank you!



Hard for our video on DEMAND; instant popcorn; credit and get it world to be patient in this process isn't it? Probably another aspect of bible reading and serious prayer...becoming patient in the Lord when every fiber of our fleshly self screams "NOW NOW NOW!"

NUmarcus, your comment so reminds me of my first year as a Christian. I wanted so badly to be free of the darkness, to make good that precious escape from the street and all it had done to me... I was one scary individual in those days, edgy, dangerous, been way too close to some nasty chasms... I so wanted to be a nice clean Christian lady like the nice clean Christian ladies I saw in church. There are turning points I still remember, how different it felt when the Lord removed things... I remember the Holy Spirit encouraging me, gently telling me He had to take His time and be careful, because if He went too fast, the shock would be too much. Jesus Christ was so precise in that season that lasted several years, first exposing the most painful hurts, the stuff that made me so dangerously angry in the first place and so carefully correcting my perception of myself and other people, and repeating His point of view as many times as it took until I could finally believe that I was worth loving... Amazing Grace...

We're close to moving out of state, but I'll see if I can find some time to go through my old prayer journals where I recorded the changes the Lord was making in me and post some of what I had down before I have to pack the old notebooks. I've been ripped for what was assumed to be something called "journaling", but all I did was keep a diary of the amazing changes that were taking place during that time in my life, and I am still glad I did. Try not to fight the Lord as He guides you. He may say positive things to someone who has suffered a lifetime of criticism like I did, or He may ask us to forgive someone who hurt us, for me it was my family. These things don't make the least bit of sense from a secular viewpoint, but in Christ, it comes alive in a way that nothing else in existence can rival let alone match. I dearly wish churches would teach these things rather than get people to recount the sins we're better off forgetting as much as possible. Its not what I was that matters at all, what matters is what I am becoming, because I am a walking miracle thanks to Jesus Christ... Deep thanks indeed!

[NUmarcus]

Thanks again Meg! Very good...really hit home.

I wanted so badly to be free of the darkness

Pretty good summation of how I have felt the last 5 months. Thanks again for the elaboration! There is so much that I have read and heard on Salvation; Christian living; Faith; and so on that is truly awesome.....but....it gets amplified about 100 times when folks such as yourself can put handles on it such that fellers like me can go "That is EXACTLY what I am seeing/hearing/going through." I've been praying for clear Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS) direction/teaching/understanding on scripture - living day to day - jobs in His will etc. = Stuff like this is an answered prayer and a blessing. Thanks!

We're close to moving out of state

for a safe move for you and yours. I did that more times than I care to remember when I was in the military. I would be really happy if I could avoid doing that ever again.

[Meg]

Thank you for your precious prayers, dear Brother. I swing back and forth between being excited about moving back west and leaving my adorable little house... There is so much I am going to miss here, I am so thankful for the hope of Heaven, because if this life was all I would ever have... well... Please pray for me that my hip get better out there and I can at least go back to work!

[nillapoet]

I've been wanting to go back and do a more in depth study of Romans. Glad I saw this post Robert. I'll have to go back and read the other ones.

[Robert]

I am guessing here...but would an individual exhibiting Soteriological gluttony be approaching the cross from a selfish and unrepentant perspective and subsequently probably is not saved?



What would be the practical application for this? Example: Someone who has led a life of partying; glutton; adultery; gambling; drugs; or what not, but has been convicted of the need for Christ. The mess that this life has created is in front of them. They have come to Christ for salvation and they realize; regret; even hate what this sin has done to them BUT that call to (insert old sin) once again is strong...they hate it...but they also welcome it in a weird way. What is the application in this example of temptation? Would an example of serving righteousness be to go into prayer at that moment and ask Christ for the strength he/she does not have since the flesh is still fallen?

I'm driving at something I have seen on message boards and what not...the "I asked Jesus into my heart and life, but I can't stop sinning and I hate it!" ----> which leads to ----> "Am I really saved?"

I may be getting ahead here and into the what the flesh desires, the spirit does not etc. If so, a "its in part X" will suffice.

Read through parts 4-6 this morning. Great stuff! Thanks for pulling it together and posting!

Meg hit it right on with her replies; that said, we have to continually "die to self" each day, as the old nature or "the flesh" is still with us. Each day, we have to deny that part of us its' cravings and put on "the new man". But this doesn't mean we won't have battles, and we will have issues of sin that will be tough to overcome. But as Meg said, the Lord is not going to do it all at once; rather, He does so in a series of careful, elegant steps as so not to overwhelm us with shock, much as a skilled surgeon would when doing an operation on a patient.

When we are tempted, that is the very moment we should do two things: 1) pray and 2) get away from the temptation if we can. When we entertain the idea of sin, it mulls around in our heads, takes root and grows until it becomes such a focus that it becomes all that we think about. This is why we must be careful what comes into our minds via our 5 senses; it only takes a whisper, a fleeting glimpse, or a brief moment of any thought or sense to start the "domino effect" of temptation and sin.

As for "Soteriological gluttony", that is just going to the Lord and asking for forgiveness simply to "cover ourselves" so that w can go out and "sin more". In that, there is no sorrow for sinning against the Lord nor any desire to repent of it and walk away from it. It's simply fearing consequences and seeking a "remedy". They don't hate their sin, nor do they desire to ever leave it; they just don't want it "disqualifying" them from heaven.

God knows our hearts, and He knows who truly hates their sin and who is playing games with Him.

I hope this answers your question NUmarcus! :)

[NUmarcus]

Yet another good answer! Thank you Robert!