Bible Version: New International Version (NIV)
Application Notes: Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
Romans 6
Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ
1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
Slaves to Righteousness
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
19 I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Application Notes
6:1-8:39 This section deals with sanctification--the change God makes in our lives as we grow to be more like him. Romans 6 explains that believers are free from sin's control. Romans 7 discusses the continuing struggle believers have with sin. Romans 8 describes how we can have victory over sin. Paul describes the tension we feel and the choices we must make every day. God knows about the battles we face.
6:1-4 In the church of Paul's day, immersion was the usual form of baptism-new Christians would be completely "buried· in water. They understood baptism to symbolise the death and burial of the old way of life. Coming up out of the water symbolised resurrection to new life with Christ. If we think of our old, sinful life as dead and buried, we have a powerful motive to resist sin. We can consciously choose to treat the desires and temptations of the old nature as if they were dead. Then we can continue to enjoy our wonderful new life with Jesus. (For more on this concept, see Galatians 3:27 and Colossians 2:12; 3:1-4.)
6:1-2 If God loves to forgive, why not give him more to forgive? If forgiveness is guaranteed, do we have the freedom to sin as much as we want? Paul's forceful answer is "By no means!" Such an attitude-deciding ahead of time to take advantage of God's mercy-shows that a person does not understand the seriousness of sin. God's forgiveness does not make sin less serious; His Son's death for sin shows us the dreadful seriousness of sin. Jesus paid with his life so we could be forgiven. The availability of God's mercy must not become an excuse for careless living and moral laxness.
6:5-23 Because sin brings death, we need new life through oneness with Christ. In this chapter, Paul assures his readers a second time that God has broken sin's power. We have joined Jesus Christ in baptism (6:3) and have been united with him in his death (6:5). Paul uses relational terms in describing how we grow closer to Christ as we transfer from the old life to the new. When we were united with Christ in his death, our evil desires and slavery to sin died with him. Now, united by faith with him in his resurrection life, we have unbroken fellowship with God and freedom from sin's hold on us. (For more on the difference between new life in Christ and our old, sinful nature, see Ephesians 4:21-24 and Colossians 3:3-15.}
6:6-7 The power of sin over us, as well as the penalty for sin. died with Christ on the cross. Our "old self," our sinful nature. died once and for all, so we are freed from its power. The "body ruled by sin" refers to our rebellious, sin-loving nature inherited from Adam. Though we often willingly cooperate with our sinful nature, the desire to do so comes from our old nature. And it is this power of sin at work in our lives that is defeated. Paul has already stated that through faith in Christ we stand acquitted, having been declared not guilty before God. Here, Paul emphasises that we need no longer live under sin's power. God does not take us out of the world or make us robots-we will still feel like sinning, and sometimes we will sin. The difference is that before we were saved, we were slaves to our sinful nature, but now we can choose to live for Christ (see Galatians 2:20).
6:8-9 Because of Christ's death and resurrection, his followers need never fear death. That assurance frees us to enjoy fellowship with him and to do his will. This affects all our activities--work and worship, play, Bible study, quiet times, and time spent caring for others. When you know that you don't have to fear death, you will experience a new vitality in life.
6:11 "Count yourselves dead to sin" means that each day we should regard our old, sinful nature as dead and unresponsive to sin. Because of our union and identification with Christ, we are no longer bound to carry out those old motives, desires, and goals. So let us consider ourselves to be what God has in fact made us. We have new life through oneness with Christ, and the Holy Spirit will help us become all that Christ has declared us to be.
6:12 How can we keep this command to not let sin control the way we live, to not give in to its desires? We can take the following steps: (1) identify our personal weaknesses, (2) recognize the things that tempt us, (3) stay away from sources of temptation, (4) practice self-restraint, (5)consciously invest our time in good habits and service, (6) lean on God's strength and grace, and (7) let the peace of Christ till our hearts.
6:17 To "obey from your heart" means to give yourself fully to God-to love him "with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind·"(Matthew 22:37). Yet so often our efforts to know and obey God's commands can best be described as halfhearted. How do you rate your heart's obedience to God? Do you respond quickly to him? Are you eager to learn and ready to change? God wants to give you the power to obey him with all your heart.
6:17 The "pattern of teaching" that they were to obey was the Good News that Jesus died for their sins and was raised to give them new life. Many believe that this refers to the early church's statement of faith found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-11.
6:19-22 It is impossible to be neutral. Every person has a master--either God or sin. Christians still sin, but we are no longer slaves to sin. We belong to God. Jesus becomes like a coach who has given us a new role, new assignments, and a new training regimen that will bring out the full benefits of our new life.
6:23 You are free to choose between two masters, but you are not free to adjust the consequences of your choice. Each of the two masters pays with their own kind of currency. The currency of sin is eternal death. That is all you can expect or hope for in life without God. Christ's currency is eternal life--new life with God that begins on earth and continues forever with God. What choice have you made?
6:23 Eternal life is a gift from God. Because it is a gift, it is not something that we earn or something that must be paid back. Consider the foolishness of someone who receives a gift given out of love and then offers to pay for it. A gift cannot be purchased by the recipient. A more appropriate response to a loved one who offers a gift is graceful acceptance with gratitude. Our salvation is a gift of God, not something of our own doing (Ephesians 2:8-9). He saved us because of his mercy, not because of any good things that we have done (Titus 3:5). How much more should we accept with thanksgiving the gift that God has freely given to us!
Taken from Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition - (NIV)