A. Introduction
1. As we begin our tenth study in this series, let us review what we have learned so far.
a. 1:1 - 1:15 - Paul's greetings and person introduction
b. 1:16-17 - Paul declares the general theme of his epistle.
(1) He borrows it from Habakkuk 2:4.
(2) Translated literally, it reads, "The one who is r __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ by f __ __ __ __ shall l __ __ __."
c. 1:18 - 3:20 - Paul describes in unvarnished detail the sinful condition of all mankind.
(1) G __ __ __ __ __ __ sinfulness
(2) J __ __ __ __ __ sinfulness
(3) U __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ sinfulness
d. 3:21 - 5:21 - Paul teaches the doctrine of J __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ by F __ __ __ __ A __ __ __ __.
(1) Some key terms
- JUSTIFICATION
God's bestowal of righteous status on the sinner who by faith receives Christ as Saviour
- REDEMPTION
The purchase of a slave for the specific purpose of granting his/her freedom
- IMPUTE
To credit to one's account
- PROPITIATION
A self-sacrificing act which turns aside the wrath of the one to whom it is directed
- ATONEMENT
A corrective, amending act of reconciliation
(2) The doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone declares that God has justified all sinners who will receive His forgiveness; that He has done so entirely of His own volition by a single act of His sovereign grace: the atoning sacrifice ("propitiation") on Calvary's cross by Jesus Christ -- the perfect, sinless Lamb of God -- whose blood has redeemed these same sinners, whose righteousness has been imputed by God to them; that this gift of reconciliation is offered to all those who will receive it by faith, according to the Scriptures and to the glory of God.
Sola gratia, sola fide, sola Scriptura, sola Deo gloria!
2. The doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone constitutes the "foundation of the apostles and the prophets" for the believer's relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit. Yet since Paul first set this doctrine forth it has been misunderstood, misinterpreted and misappropriated by many well-meaning people. These wrong-headed responses to this doctrine may be divided into three broad categories:
a. m __ __ __ __ __ __ __
MORALISM is the approach to Christianity that recognizes Jesus as a moral model for mankind and accepts His teaching as an essential moral imperative for society. This response to the doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone does not recognize Christ's deity and, therefore, doesn't concern itself with any "sacrificial ramifications" of His death. It demands no faith, no repentance, no righteous standard beyond a sincere desire to emulate the teachings and the accepting love of the man Jesus.
b. l __ __ __ __ __ __ __
LEGALISM is the "natural religion" of mankind. It could be defined as any attempt to curry God's favour through a codified special behaviour system. Certainly the Jews of Paul's own day were legalists in a most literal sense -- they saw the keeping of God's Law as their vehicle for attaining a suitable degree of righteousness. Many Christians today -- even those truly committed to the doctrine of justification -- manufacture disciplines, regulations and rules designed to provide definition of a righteous lifestyle. Unfortunately, their emphasis very often is transferred from Christ to their "rulebook," producing what Paul elsewhere called "will worship" ( Colossians 2:21-23 ).
c. a __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
ANTINOMIANISM ( "against law" ) is the belief that, since we have been justified by God, clothed with the righteousness of Christ, our sins forgiven and our eternal life secured, we are free from the requirement to obey any moral law. Taken at face value, antinomianism (a term first coined by Martin Luther) might be seen as a "license to sin." Another German pastor and theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, rejected antinomianism as a false doctrine of "c __ __ __ __ g __ __ __ __."
(1) "Antinomianism says, 'I am saved by faith, therefore I never have to be concerned in the slightest about obeying the law.' Antinomianism says that the commandments of God have no binding influence on my conscience. That is not just a distortion of Christianity, it is a fundamental denial of Christianity." R.C. Sproul: Romans
(2) The apostle Paul had already dealt with the notion of "cheap grace" in his first letter to the Christians at C __ __ __ __ __ __. ( If you ever want to know what a church fully involved in antinomianism would look like, look to 1 Corinthians! ) Here, in his letter to the Romans, Paul will use chapters 6 and 7 to set forth the doctrine of s __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ , the name given to that process by which a Christian begins to realize his/her justification; that process whereby a Christian is "set apart unto holiness." Through the life-long process of SANCTIFICATION, believers are becoming in practice what they already are by "position:" PERFECT.
B. TEXT: Romans 6:1-23
1. (v.1- 2) "If salvation is by the grace of God alone, what's to stop someone from taking full advantage of that grace, living a life completely without restraint? Could not the pattern of the justified believer's life be one of an infinite number of repeated patterns: sin - confess -- be forgiven by God; sin - confess - be forgiven by God; etc. etc. on and on for the rest of one's life?
a. There is a terrible logic to this seemingly insolent question. Paul has already declared in 5:20 that where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. Does it not follow, then, if grace is given in proportion to sin, why not sin extravagantly? The greater the sin, the greater the grace!
(1) In anticipation of this perfectly logical question, Paul returns in chapter 6 to his diatribe style of teaching. First, he asks himself the question:
Well then, shall we keep on sinning so that God can keep on showing us more and more kindness and forgiveness? [ TLB ]
(2) Next, he answers the question in the strongest language possible:
May it never be! How shall we who d __ __ __ to sin still live in it? [ NASB ]
b. The sanctification of Christians begins with this startling fact: believers have "died to sin."
(1) Before I was justified by God, I was dead I __ sin.
After my justification, Paul says here, I am dead t __ sin.
(2) Remember, the doctrine of Justification by Faith includes the concept of redemption, a slave's being purchased for the specific purpose of his/her being given complete freedom. Believing sinners have been redeemed by the blood of Christ. We were slaves to sin -- utterly chained to it, unable to do anything about it -- but Christ has purchased us and set us free.
John 8:31, 34b, 35a
Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, 'If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.'
'Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.'
'Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.'
(3) But Paul in Romans 6 goes even further than "freedom from the slavery to sin" to believers. He insists that those whom God has justified are actually dead to sin!
2. In v.3-14 Paul delves deeply into this incredible truth.
a. V.5 declares that a Christian is more than "merely" a justified believer; he or she is someone who has entered into a vital personal u __ __ __ __ with Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.
(1) We have been united with Christ in the likeness of His d __ __ __ __ and in the likeness of His r __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __.
(2) Our "o __ __ m __ __" was c __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ with Christ (v.6) and, as a result, our old "b __ __ __ of s __ __" was done away with. The inescapable result of this fact is that we should no longer be s __ __ __ __ __ to sin. Why? For he who has died has been freed from sin (v.7).
(3) In v.8-11 Paul explains the resurrection aspect of our vital union with Christ. Since the resurrected Christ "lives to God" (v.10), those who united with Him can do the same. This ties in directly with Paul's teaching in chapter 5. Believers have been set free from the terrible "reigns" of sin and death and, because of the "reign" of God's grace through Jesus Christ, we are able to "reign" in life, living our lives as "living sacrifices" in response to the Lordship of Christ, living our lives as "living sacrifices" to God.
2. In v.3-4 Paul uses the sacrament of water b __ __ __ __ __ __ by immersion as the perfect "v __ __ __ __ __ __ word" which teaches and re-teaches the truth about sanctification as it is obeyed again and again in the church. Of course, baptism can teach this truth only when it is ministered by the immersion into the waters of confessing believers. One can argue that infant baptism or baptism by sprinkling or affusion communicate Biblical truth -- they do, you know -- but they are less than perfect models of the believer's identification with Christ's d __ __ __ __, Christ's b __ __ __ __ __, and Christ's r __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __.
3. Paul summarizes in v.10-12 with the ever-present "Therefore...."
a. Do not let sin r __ __ __ __ in your body. If sin is controlling my life or any part of my life, it is doing so with my permission! I can no longer use the excuse which works for the unbelieving world: "I couldn't help myself!" (v.12)
b. Do not let any part of your bodies become tools of wickedness, to be used for sinning, but give yourselves completely to God -- every part of you -- for you are back from death and you want to be tools in the hands of God, to be used for his good purposes. (v.13, TLB)
(1) Which of your body parts do you allow to become "tools of wickedness?"
(2) Unsaved folk have no choice in the matter, but Christians do! We can actually choose to yield our bodies to the service of God!
(3) Sin does not have d __ __ __ __ __ __ __ over believers! (v.13)
- We are not under l __ __.
- We are under g __ __ __ __.
4. In v.15 Paul resumes his diatribe, this time in anticipation of questions which might spring from his conclusion in v.14.
a. "People from Jewish background who held the law in high esteem were particularly nervous about Paul's insistence that "by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified" (Galatians 2:16). They believed that Paul's teaching that people cannot fulfill the law for justification would encourage them to disregard the law, to claim to be justified by faith, and then because they accepted no law for justification to embark on a life of lawlessness and sinfulness. To this Paul give another vehement response and proceeds to show that, far from being lawless, justified believers who were formerly nothing more than 'servants of sin' become the 'servants of righteousness.' He makes the obvious, but no less powerful point, that 'to whom you present yourselves servants to obey, you are that one's servants' (Romans 6:16). Those who revered the law and failed, as did everyone, to keep it, were in their breaking of the law exhibiting their 'slavery' to sin. But those who through the grace of God had become united with Christ had been made 'free from sin' and had traded their slavery to sin for a slavery to Christ and the righteousness for which He stands." - D. Stuart Briscoe: Romans (Vol. 6, The Communicators' Commentary)
b. Sanctification flows from justification. They are not the same thing, but one cannot exist without the other. Though inexorably linked, they are different. The chief difference between them begins with the means by which each is accomplished. Justification is a single, "good for a lifetime" act in which God does everything. Sanctification also involves the work of God -- particularly God the Holy Spirit -- but, unlike justification, it involves my participation. Note in v.19 that Paul beseeches all believers to act -- to ...present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
(1) My sanctification is not accomplished by a single act of my will. It requires constant and persistent yielding on my part -- perhaps even a daily re-presentation of myself before the Lord.
(2) Then [ Jesus ] said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." ( Luke 9:23 [NKJV] )
c. "To be under grace instead of law is to be led by the Spirit (Galatians 5:18). The law makes sin known (3:20), whets one's appetite for the forbidden (5:20), and hence leads to condemnation. The law is not thereby the opponent of grace, but its prelude (Galatians 3:24). The law demands righteousness, but cannot produce it, and those who try to fulfill it on their own become oppressed by its demands. To be under grace is to be free from the guilt of knowing the right but falling short of doing it. Grace means '..that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus' (8:1). It means that despite ourselves God is for us (8:31), God is faithful (1 Corinthians 1:18), and God frees us for himself (Galatians 5:1). - James R. Edwards: Romans (Vol. 6, New International Biblical Commentary)
5. V.23 is one of the most familiar in all the Bible. It communicates a truth clearly when left to stand alone, but it forms part of a wonderful passage when considered in the context of the paragraph which begins in v.20.
a. In those days when you were slaves of sin you didn't bother much with goodness. And what was the result? Evidently not good, since you are ashamed now even to think about those things you used to do, for all of them end in eternal doom.
But now you are free from the power of sin and are slaves of God, and his benefits to you include holiness and everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:20-23 [NKJV] )
b. Note the "triple contrasts" in v.23:
(1) w __ __ __ __ compared to a g __ __ __;
(2) s __ __ compared to G __ __;
(3) d __ __ __ __ compared to e __ __ __ __ __ __ l __ __ __.
C. APPLICATION
1. The believer plays an active role in his or her own sanctification. Romans 6 includes three verbs which point to the believer's responsibility toward realizing in practice what God has declared to be truth in doctrine.
a. k __ __ __ (v.3, 6, & 9) (This verb focuses on the believer's m __ __ __. )
"In practice, we should constantly be reminding ourselves who we are. We need to learn to talk to ourselves, and ask ourselves questions: 'Don't you know? Don't you know the meaning of your conversion and baptism? Don't you know that you have been united to Christ in his death and resurrection? Don't you know that you have been enslaved to God and have committed yourself to his obedience? Don't you know these things? Don't you know who you are?' We must go on pressing ourselves with such questions, until we reply to ourselves: 'Yes, I do know who I am, a new person in Christ, and by the grace of God I shall live accordingly.'" - John Stott: Romans: God's Good News for the World
b. r __ __ __ __ __ (v.11) (This verb focuses on the believer's h __ __ __ __.)
(1) The Greek verb translated as "reckon" in many Bible translations is the same one rendered elsewhere in this epistle as "impute." Do you remember what it means? It means "to credit to one's account." In the context of v.11 we might understand it to be saying, "Take this into account." Here it simply means to believe that what God says is true in His Word is really true in your life.
(2) "Paul didn't tell his readers to feel as if they were dead to sin, or even to understand it fully, but to act upon God's Word and claim it for themselves. Reckoning is a matter of faith that issues in action. It is like endorsing a check: if we really believe that the money is in the checking account we will sign our name and collect the money. Reckoning is not claiming a promise, but acting upon a fact. God does not command us to become dead to sin. He tells us that we are dead to sin and alive unto God, and then commands us to act upon it. Even if we do not act upon it, the facts are still true." - Warren W. Wiersbe: Be Right
c. y __ __ __ __ (v.13) ( This verb focuses on the believer's w __ __ __. )
(1) Yielding ("Presenting" in some versions) myself to God is the a __ __ which is the third step in the three-step process involved in Christian "doing:"
- K __ __ __ a fact.
- B __ __ __ __ __ __ it to be true.
- A __ __ accordingly.
(2) Martin Luther summed it up succinctly. "Love Christ, then do whatever you want."
D I S C U S S I O N G U I D E
1. Romans 6:6 refers to the crucifixion of the believer's "old self" to the cross with Christ. Colossians 3:9 teaches the same thing. But what is Paul teaching in Ephesians 4:17-22? If my "old self" has been crucified, why do I need to "put it off?"
2. In Romans 6 Paul celebrates our having been freed from "slavery to sin" yet informs us in v.22 that we are "slaves to God."
a. How can this be, if we have been made free in Christ (John 8:31-35)?
b. Is slavery to God any different than slavery to sin? _________ How so?
3. R.C. Sproul says that sin, for the believer, is no longer neccessary but is inevitable. How can both these statements be true?
4. Read Romans 6:1-4. Regarding water baptism:
a. In what way is it important in the church?
b. In what way is it not important?
c. If all "modes" of baptism do teach some Biblical truth, how should the mode of baptism as ministered in a local church be chosen or retained?
d. Read the Great Commission, Matthew 28:19-20. What does this passage add to our understanding of the sacrament of baptism?
5. John MacArthur equates the difference between "knowing" and "reckoning" with the difference between "doctrine" and "belief." What do you think he means by this?
6. The Bible seems to clearly teach that the believer's sanctification is the necessary issue of justification. Share some evidence of this on-going process in your life.
