Village Schools of the Bible

ROMANS: Heart & Soul of the Gospel
A Devotional Study of Romans
by Max Frazier, Jr.

ROMANS 6: Sanctification

Now, let us turn our attention to Romans 6, that great chapter about sanctification, or as one writer has put it, "the right way of union with Christ." The following chart helps us to understand the differences between justification and sanctification:
Justification Sanctification

1. How does God deal with the sinner and his sin.

1. How does God deal with the power and pollution of sin.
2. Deals with the guilt of sin. 2. Deals with the power of sin.
3. God declares a man to be righteous. 3. God makes a man to be holy.

There are two questions in this chapter.

1. (verse 1) - Shall we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? verses 1-14 answer this problem of continuance in sin - "God forbid!"

verse 2- it is impossible for a Christian to continue in sin because we are dead to sin

2. (verse 15) - Shall we sin because grace does abound?

verses 15-23 answer this problem of committing single acts of sin - "God forbid!"

Three key words are found in this chapter: Know (verses 3,6,9); Reckon/Count (verse 11); and Yield/offer (verse 13)

ROMANS 6:1-14 - CONTINUANCE IN SIN?

Notes on the word KNOW

Verse 3- If we are to know victory over sin in our lives, we must know that we died with Christ on the cross. When He died, we died. When He was buried, we were buried. Return to study notes index

Verse 6 - Know our old man has been crucified. We cannot continually re-crucify our old man. He was crucified once for all (see Galatians 2:2). When we exercise faith in Christ, we enter into that crucifixion.

Verse 6 - What does it mean "body of sin be destroyed?" Does it mean annihilation? No! Sin is still with us (see First John 1:8). The word "destroy" means "to be made of no effect, rendered powerless." The term "body of sin" refers to our own bodies. Sin finds its source in the will, but uses the body as an instrument.

Verse 9 - Know death has no dominion over us. We do not die anymore. Christ paid the debt of sin in full. When the debt is paid in full, the creditor has no more power over the debtor.

Verse 10 - summarizes these three points:

a. When Christ died, we died.

b. When Christ died, our old self was crucified.

c. When Christ died, we died no more.

Notes on the word RECKON/COUNT

Verse 11 - We are to know this truth and are to reckon/count it to be so. Don't ever lose sight of it! Don't ever doubt it!

Notes on the word YIELD/OFFER

Verse 13 - The word "instruments" is a military term for weapons. Paul says, "Don't take your weapons and give them to the enemy." The first phrase in verse 13, "do not offer/yield" connotes the idea of continuous yielding. Do not yield your weapons all the time, day after day, hour after hour, to sin. The phrase "but yield/offer" connotes the idea of a once for all yielding.

Verse 14 - The promise is stated here. If we know, if we reckon/count, if we yield/offer, then sin has no dominion over us. It is the grace of God that breaks the power of sin.

ROMANS 6:15-23 - COMMITTING SINGLE ACTS OF SIN

The picture portrayed here is of a man with two masters. He will either serve Satan or he will serve God. He will either serve sin or he will serve righteousness. The word "servant/slave" occurs eight times in this passage: verse 16 (twice), verse 17, verse 18, verse 19 (twice), verse 20, and verse 22.

Verse 16 - If you start to obey sin, you are thereby admitting the mastership of sin (see Matthew 6:24).

Verses 17-18 - We are free from sin; we died to it. We have risen from the dead and now have a new life and a new master.

Verse 20 - There was a time in my life when I was a servant of sin and righteousness had nothing to do with me. But once freed from sin, the opposite is true.

Verse 22 - We have the fruit and the end right now.

Verse 23 - If I serve sin, I get paid wages - death. If I serve God, I get a gift - everlasting life.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Two very precious thoughts emerge from this chapter. The first is found in verses 5-14 and could be stated like this: Because I have experienced death through Jesus Christ, I should live in a different manner. One of the great scriptural truths about salvation is that it is a death experience. When Christ died on that cross, I died. When those nails pierced His hands and feet, they also pierced mine. Paul says that we have been united with Him in His death. Paul stated it this way in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ lives within me." Yet, even though dead, I still must daily choose whom my body will obey and serve. I was attracted to the imperative uses of the verbs in verses 11-14. Everyday I must make those conscious choices as to either serving sin or serving righteousness. But it helps when making those choices if I stop to consider that I am dead...it is Jesus Christ who lives through me.

The second thought is found in verses 15-23 and could be stated like this: The only way of life open to mankind is that of a slave. I know this flies in the face of what we are taught...that man is free and independent. But Paul paints an entirely different picture. We are slaves either to sin or to righteousness, to Satan or to Christ. I cannot be independent from either. Both masters have a standard of expectations for their slaves, and both reward their slaves for obedience. Satan's reward is that of death. Christ's reward is that of eternal life.

So, how should I live? Well, that is my choice. But, whatever my choice, I must be willing to bear the consequences that comes with that choice.

QUESTIONS TO PONDER AS ONE READS THESE VERSES:

1. A key word in verses 3,6,9, is the word "know." Read each verse carefully and decide what three things we must know if we are to live victoriously over sin.

2. Look at your own life. How does sin express itself through you? What instruments does sin use in your own life?

3. How can you experience deliverance from sin? Why is this idea so hard to accept?

4. What are the rewards of serving sin? What are the rewards of serving Christ? For whom are you serving?

Romans 5:12-21 Return to the Table of Contents Romans 7