True freedom …

Romans 6:1-14

¹ Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? ² Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? ³ Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? ⁴ For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.

⁵ Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. ⁶ We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. ⁷ For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. ⁸ And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. ⁹ We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. ¹⁰ When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. ¹¹ So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.

¹² Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. ¹³ Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. ¹⁴ Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

Paul is answering some wrong ideas about sin. In chapter 5 Paul told us how sin entered the world because of what one man (Adam) did, so can it be undone by what I do, if I obey the law? Absolutely not. The law only shows how big my sin problem is. Sin can only be undone by what Christ did. Then does it matter what I do? If God’s grace deals with my sin, am I free to do whatever I want? Again, absolutely not.

Paul began Romans by telling us that sin starts with rejecting God. All the things we do and become that degrade us and make us less than God made us flow as consequences. The solution to my sin begins with restored relationship – being “united with Christ” – and the consequences of being reconciled with God are even more profound.

Because I am now united with Christ, somehow, I was united with him in his death and that breaks all power and authority that sin might have over me. And I’m also raised with him to life together with him now, with his Spirit. And I have a firm hope of complete resurrection like his when Jesus brings all things to completion. And now I have real freedom – not to do whatever I want (that’s the sin trap) – but to be what he made me to be, walking with him and doing my small part of the things he’s doing. There’s no room for continuing to walk in sin (in rejection of God) when I’m walking with him.

That’s not to say I won’t get things wrong – I’m a work in progress (Paul will get to that in chapter 7). But I’m free to love and worship him with my heart and with what I do – with the whole of me.

Written by David Cornell