#1632 Romans 7 Part 2 Wretched

 

13 Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by working out my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.

14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, having been sold into bondage under sin. 15 For what I am working out, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16 But if I do the very thing I do not want, I agree with the Law, that it is good. 17 So now, no longer am I the one working it out, but sin which dwells in me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the working out of the good is not. 19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one working it out, but sin which dwells in me.

21 I find then the principle that in me evil is present—in me who wants to do good. 22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 23 but I see a different law in my members, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a captive to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. Romans 7: 13-25 LSB

Romans 7: 13-25

V. 13 Did that which is good become a cause of death for me - The short and sweet is No. Death didn't come by way of the law, and the law is good, but death entered the world through sin. The law points out the cause, it exposes the evil. 

13When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone. 14But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed. 15Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.… James 1: 13-15

11Not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. 12Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned. 13For sin was in the world before the law was given; but sin is not taken into account when there is no law.… Romans 5: 11-13

V. 13c Sin would become utterly sinful - When you are born again you receive a new nature, but you still live in your old flesh, and so basically a war ensues, and I love the way Voddie used to describe it, there is now two dogs, and the one you train and feed the most is going to be the one that wins. Your new nature awakens a conscience that desires the things of God, but your old nature wants to snuff it out. It's anything but pretty. It is why in Ephesians 6 Paul describes it as warfare and tells us about putting on the whole armor of God. What do you feed on? The word of God, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, which also becomes your weapon, the Sword of the Spirit. The world and your flesh will pull you away from that, have you spend hours of mindlessness in front of the television, day dreaming, and they will laugh at you for praying, but these are the means God gives us. He also gives us brothers and sisters, pastors who preach the word and make it come alive to us. Your new nature wants to grow but it needs to be fed, and when it hears the word of God, hears what He calls sin, it will want to call it sin too. It will want to be set free from it, and we will come to realize that it is difficult to find forgiveness when we refuse to acknowledge it as sin in the first place. The more you read God's word, the more you will want to repent and pray for strength to stand. When he says, "sin would become utterly sinful", it's like turning on a light and realizing your standing in a septic tank. It's more than intellectual assent, reading off a list of sins and saying, "yeah, the Bible calls this sin", it goes much deeper than that, "my Lord and Savior Who died for me calls this sin, and so I hate it." A good sign of a new nature is that your own sin will bother you more than that of other people. 

…15From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.… 2 Timothy 3: 15-17

V. 14 The law is spiritual, but I am fleshly - Again, two natures trying to occupy the same place. Paul is in agreement with the law, he loves the law, but he still has to battle the flesh. You will more and more see the importance of Christ and His work as you grow. It is easy for us to become proud in religion, but the reality is that salvation is of the Lord. You didn't exercise a faith born of your own brilliance, many smart people die and go to hell. Many religious people go to hell trusting in their own works, but if you were saved it was of the Lord. This is beyond beautiful too, because if you worked for your salvation then how would you know when you reached it? If God gave it to you and then told you, "now don't mess up, don't drop it." That would be the same as saying, "you're damned". No one can save themselves by keeping the law because everyone is in constant violation of it, yet no one is ever saved that is not confronted by the law and caused to grieve over sin. You were once powerless in this, a slave, but now you are a warrior, you have the Spirit of God abiding in you, and it is not a desire to check off boxes, not a drive to earn that salvation which you couldn't, but an innate desire to please your new Master, Jesus Christ. 

11Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same pattern of disobedience. 12For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.… Hebrews 4: 11-13

…5You welcome those who gladly do right, who remember Your ways. Surely You were angry, for we sinned. How can we be saved if we remain in our sins? 6Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind. 7No one calls on Your name or strives to take hold of You. For You have hidden Your face from us and delivered us into the hand of our iniquity.… Isaiah 64: 5-7

…26Therefore I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like I am beating the air. 27No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. 1 Corinthians 9: 26-27

Vs. 15-20 I practice the very evil that I do not want - He has a renewed mind. He knew about evil before, but now the bar has been raised, the standard is Christ, and my actions fall short. Pride is still at the door, so even when I think I am doing good I find that I am sinning. It's breaking Paul's heart, and it is wonderful. The new nature is alive in him and it does not want sin, and it shines light upon the old nature. Paul identifies more with the new nature, nurtures it, and I don't believe for a moment that he is sinning more than he used to before his encounter with Christ, but being a new creature, developing from a baby Christian to an adolescent to a mature man of God, the closer he gets to Jesus the more appalling his sin becomes. He is wanting to go home. 

MacArthur writes

The apostle has already established that none of those things characterize the unsaved. The unbeliever not only hates God’s truth and righteousness but suppresses them, he willfully rejects the natural evidence of God, he neither honors nor gives thanks to God, and he is totally dominated by sin so that he arrogantly disobeys God’s law and encourages others to do so (Ro 1:32).

S Lewis Johnson comments that…

it is difficult to imagine an unsaved man diagnosing his case so perfectly, or affirming such things of an unsaved person. He has a clear view of himself (Ro 7:18, 24). He has a noble view of the Law (Ro 7:16, 19). In three ways he is a saint. He hates sin (Ro 7:15, 16; can this agree with Ro 3:7?). He delights in the Law of God (Ro 7:22). He looks for deliverance to Christ alone (Ro 7:25). John Stott comments, "Now let me repeat that anyone who acknowledges the spirituality of God's law and his own natural carnality is a Christian of some maturity." - PA

…18who have deviated from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already occurred, and they undermine the faith of some. 19Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from iniquity.” 20A large house contains not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay. Some indeed are for honorable use, but others are for common use.… 2 Timothy 2: 18-20

…127Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold, even the purest gold. 128Therefore I admire all Your precepts and hate every FALSE way. 129Wonderful are Your testimonies; therefore I obey them.… Psalm 119: 127-129

Vs. 21-22 In the inner man - Paul, at his core, wants to serve God in everything but in this life he is aware that there is a constant struggle, a war between good and evil. It's important not to become confused or dualistic here. The flesh, your body, skin, eyes, heart, all that, that returns to dust. It is a temporary temple. Some of the ascetics would call the flesh in that sense evil and would whip themselves, mutilate themselves, basically commit another kind of sin in order to deal with their sin. This is talking about two natures that are competing within the framework of this earthly temple. The old nature will die with this body though, and you will be given a new temple, unsoiled, undefiled. Your hand is not evil, but you can choose to do evil with it. 

…33“We are Abraham’s descendants,” they answered. “We have never been slaves to anyone. How can You say we will be set free?” 34 Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son belongs to it forever.… John 8: 33-35

Wuest explains that law (principle)…

… could refer to a law such as the constant rule of experience imposing itself on the will such as a modern scientific law, or the Mosaic law, or to the law of sin which Paul speaks of as in his members (Vincent). The last interpretation seems most in keeping with the times in which Paul is writing, and with the context. The law in his members warring against the law of his mind is, of course, the evil nature. Paul finds a condition that when he desires to do good, this evil nature always asserts itself against the doing of that good. He brings out the same truth in Gal 5:17 (note) where he says,

“The flesh (evil nature) has a passionate desire to suppress the Spirit, and the Spirit has a passionate desire to suppress the flesh. And these are set in opposition to each other so that you may not do the things which you desire to do.” (Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)

In this verse Paul says that evil is the constant rule of experience imposing itself on the will. Paul found that evil is still present in an individual whenever he wants to do good.

Barnes has a good explanation of the law writing that…

There is a law whose operation I experience whenever I attempt to do good. There have been various opinions about the meaning of the word law in this place. It is evident that [it] is used here in a sense somewhat unusual. But it retains the notion which commonly attaches to it of that which binds, or controls. And though this to which he refers differs from a law, inasmuch as it is not imposed by a superior, which is the usual idea of a law, yet it has so far the sense of law that it binds, controls, influences, or is that to which he was subject. There can be no doubt that he refers here to his carnal and corrupt nature; to the evil propensities and dispositions which were leading him astray. His representing this as a law is in accordance with all that he says of it, that it is servitude, that he is in bondage to it, and that it impedes his efforts to be holy and pure. The meaning is this: "I find a habit, a propensity, an influence of corrupt passions and desires, which, when I would do right, impedes my progress, and prevents my accomplishing what I would." Comp. Gal 5:17-note. Every Christian is as much acquainted with this as was the apostle Paul. (Albert Barnes. Barnes NT Commentary) - PA

…16I ask that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Then you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18will have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth…

…19of the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, 21to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.… Ephesians 3: 16-21

Vs. 23-25 Wretched man that I am - This is when we know we have seen ourselves rightly. Too many today miss the true gospel, the beauty of God's holiness, substituting it for self help, self esteem and self worship. God owed you death, but somehow we feel entitled to not only live in the sin He hates, the thing that brings us death and sorrow, but we also believe that God should somehow commend us in this, allow it to not only continue, but to also enhance it. We don't come to hate sin on our own, only consequences. Paul is seeing beyond the consequences; he is hating his sin, and it is here that you can appreciate the otherliness of God, that yes, He is a God of love, of mercy, of forgiveness, but over each of His attributes hangs the crowning attribute of His holiness. He is holy, holy, holy. So many false teachers today forget to mention that God is also just, and that He is angry with the wicked all the time. They take away the beauty of the cross by making light of the very sins which demanded it. God is love, but He is also just, so in order to show us His love and to not violate His holiness, He paid the price of sin with the life and death of His only Son. 

…8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. 10And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.… 1 John 4: 8-10

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#1631 Romans 7 Part 1 Till Death

 

Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is master over a person as long as he lives? 2 For the married woman has been bound by law to her husband while he is living, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. 3 So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.

4 So, my brothers, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were constrained, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.

7 What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! Rather, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law. For I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, worked out in me coveting of every kind. For apart from the Law sin is dead. 9 Now I was once alive apart from the Law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died; 10 and this commandment, which was to lead to life, was found to lead to death for me. 11 For sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Romans 7: 1-12 LSB

Romans 7: 1-12

Or do you not know - This takes us back to the end of Romans 6 and the reality of sanctification, that we are no longer slaves to sin, that our bodies will die, but our spirits are now alive unto righteousness. Paul has already made it clear that we are not to continue in sin, that the law was good in it's purpose of revealing the trespass, and that Christ died not for us to continue sinning, but to be redeemed from sin and death. Paul is helping those who would err to either side of this, the legalist who would appeal to his preference, rejoicing as if in his own works or what he chooses not to do has somehow saved him, or the liberal, who thinks they have a license to do the things that Christ had to die for, making light of His sacrifice. 

…13Do not present the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and present the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness. 14For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. 15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law, but under grace? Certainly not!… Romans 6: 13-15

That the law has jurisdiction - While a criminal is alive, he is subject to prosecution and punishment. When he dies he obviously can no longer be prosecuted or punished.

Jurisdiction (2961) (kurieuo from noun kurios = master - power of control rather than physical strength) means to rule or have dominion over and speaks of individuals who exercise authority or have control over others (Lk 22:25, Ro 14:9, 2Co 1:24). To be lord of, to rule over, to have dominion over or to exercise lordship over. Scripture personifies various things which control human life including law (Ro 7:1), Sin (Ro 6:14) and death (Ro 6:9). Here clearly Paul personifies the Law as that which controls human life.

What Paul is saying is that the law (speaking of law in general, not just the "Ten Commandments") is like a lord who rules over a man and that man remains subject to the lordship of the law as long as he lives (in Adam). The only thing that can severe a man's relationship with "Lord Law" is a death! And that death came about when the believer died with Christ on the Cross (Ro 6:6-11, cp Gal 2:20, Col 2:20). Since the believer has died with Christ, the power of the old ruler "Lord Law" has been broken (forever)! The law can no longer "prosecute or punish" us so to speak. This freedom from the ruling power which law previously exercised over us (When we were still "in Adam" and were not yet believers alive "in Christ" 1Cor 15:22), is one of the great truths of the Good News, the Gospel.

Ironside comments that Paul's

argument here is that the law has dominion over men until death ends its authority or ends their relationship to it. But he has just been showing us in the clearest possible way that we have died with Christ; therefore we died not only to sin, but we have died to the law as a rule of life. Is this then to leave us lawless? Not at all: for we are now, as he shows elsewhere (1Cor 9:21), "under the law to Christ", or "enlawed" - that is, legitimately subject - to Christ our new Head. He is husband as well as Head, even as Ephesians 5 so clearly shows. (Romans Commentary) - Precept Austin

…8Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately. 9We realize that law is not enacted for the righteous, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for killers of father or mother, for murderers, 10for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching… 1 Timothy 1: 8-10

Vs. 1b-3 The law is master over a person as long as he lives - Paul moves into a word picture using the marriage covenant. The Bible is filled with such pictures to help us understand these doctrines, all the way back to the OT. While your spouse is alive you would be bound to them, and it's not saying this as a horrible thing, but to show the strength of the bond, that it is only broken by death. In our case it is us identifying with Christ in His death that releases us from the law of sin to serve righteousness instead. There is another beautiful picture of this in the OT law, that of the Sanctuary or City of Refuge, the manslayer and the Avenger of blood. This picture takes everything to a whole other level when realize the reality of Christ and His death. The Sanctuary City was a place where someone who had killed another person, but not maliciously, like in a farming accident, or in the case of self defense, could flee. He needed to run because of the avenger of blood, like for us, the wages of sin is death and it is coming for us with the full force of the law. Blood had been spilt, and those who spill blood, the Scriptures are clear, by man shall their life be taken. But in the story of the Cities of Refuge we see that intent is also important, negligence too, but the spiller of blood in this case did not set out to murder, yet blood had been spilt. In each of these cities was a priest, and here is the beautiful picture, probably 1200 or more years before Christ came. The manslayer flees to that city and the Avenger of blood is not aloud to pursue him in that city, so he is safe as long as he stays there and as no irrefutable proof is shown to the contrary of his claim. But there is a way he can leave there and that the Avenger of Blood will lose his jurisdiction over him. There is a way for the manslayer, the sinner, you, me, to be free, and that is when the priest of that city dies. We have a High Priest, Who is Jesus Christ the righteous, and He has died on our behalf. Paul is showing it yet another way, look, you identify with Christ in His death and you walk away a free man. 

…3The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife. 5Do not deprive each other, except by mutual consent and for a time, so you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again, so that Satan will not tempt you through your lack of self-control.… 1 Corinthians 7: 3-5

…38So then, he who marries the virgin does well, but he who does not marry her does even better. 39A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, as long as he belongs to the Lord. 40In my judgment, however, she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.… 1 Corinthians 7: 38-40

14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. 16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.… Hebrews 4: 14-16

Vs. 4-6 For while we were in the flesh - The law was beautiful when God used it to bring Godly sorrow, to show us that we were trespassers, but before He awakened in us a desire for good, the law was not only a burden but a temptation to us. Think about it, you tell your child, "no, don't touch that, it's an owee!" Your child looks at you, acknowledges that you are there and said something in the negative, but when you leave she grabs a pair of tweezers and sticks it in the electrical outlet. The law wasn't bad, but it was only as useful as her ability to obey it. Fortunately the repercussions weren't permanent, but sometimes I do wonder. We have laws that are to protect other people from us too, that's why we have street lights, but if you don't obey the red light you may get T-boned or do that to someone else as you fly through an intersection, and yet we test the boundaries of such things all the time. We question God as the law giver when he tells us not to do something because it defies the natural order, His creative intent, and we argue from our feelings, from culture, or look, I'm still physically alive, so this must be okay. Remember, the law is for the lawless, so if you are alive to Christ, then you naturally will grieve over the things of your former nature, the sin that He had to die for, and you won't need the law because even when you stumble you will quickly come under conviction, confess your sin, and ask for more grace to help you avoid it and all else that is contrary to Him. You come to realize that the God that made you knows more than you. 

…5Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit. 7Do not be amazed that I said, ‘You must be born again.’… John 3: 5-7

16So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.… Galatians 5: 16-18

…20idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,…

…23gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us walk in step with the Spirit.… Galatians 5: 20-25

Vs. 7-12 So, the law is holy - We can see has all this is building, from defining the sins they were in bondage to back in Romans 1, to showing that we are saved by grace and not of our own works. So why doesn't he just say just that? Because of the excesses, because Paul is inspired of the Holy Spirit, Who knows that men will run to the legalism of the Pharisees or the wantonness of the pagans. He is cutting off all these avenues. The law didn't create sin, it revealed it, but our fallen natures saw it also as an enhancement to sin. Men desire to make themselves little gods, to rebel, to chase what calls from the pit. We love lies by nature, and we are at enmity with the law giver. When He says, "don't", then like Lucifer, we say, "did He really mean that?" 

1Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’ ” 2The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, 3but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You must not eat of it or touch it, or you will die.’ ”…

…4“You will not surely die,” the serpent told her. 5“For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.… Genesis 3: 1-6

23But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me. For you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” 24Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. 25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.… Matthew 16: 23-25

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#1630 Romans 6 Part 2 Do You Not Know

 

15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! 16 Do you not know that when you go on presenting yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching to which you were given over, 18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 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, leading to further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, leading to sanctification.

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 Therefore what benefit were you then having from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit, leading to sanctification, and the end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6: 15-23 LSB

Romans 6: 15-23

Vs. 15-16 Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace - This starts off much in the same way as verses 1-14, and the answer is the same, may it never be, a reiteration for those who weren't paying attention the first time, or for those who would try to minimize this. There are stern warning in Scripture against false professors and those who would try to bring another gospel. Death entered the world through sin, and so those that cling to sin also cling to death. Listen to Jesus' words:

14If you ask Me for anything in My name, I will do it. 15If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—… John 14: 14-16

…21Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’… Matthew 7: 21-23

Vs. 17-18 That pattern of teaching to which you were given over - Paul is reminding them of the gospel that they believed, that which explained the present state of the world and their being as under sin, fallen and deserving death. They were called out of death into life by way of that gospel which pointed to Christ as the only remedy. Paul has had to fight both sides of error, those that say it is Christ and this, a decision, a work, and then those who say you are under grace and therefore free to sin as much as you want. Both are wrong and so Paul, as any good reformer, is defending the purity of the gospel, bringing them back to the heinous idea of sin, and the glorious, undeserved gift of grace through our Lord Jesus. How can anyone who truly believes this remain a slave to sin, how can we take so lightly what our Lord gave His life atone for. It is the highest ingratitude that a man can muster, to say that he is in Christ and yet only metaphorically, that there is no change in his life and behavior. 

…7which is not even a gospel. Evidently some people are troubling you and trying to distort the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse! 9As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be under a curse!… Galatians 1: 7-9

…9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts, 10nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.… 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11

3For at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures—living in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 5He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.…

…6This is the Spirit He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that, having been justified by His grace, we would become heirs with the hope of eternal life. 8This saying is trustworthy. And I want you to emphasize these things, so that those who have believed God will take care to devote themselves to good deeds. These things are excellent and profitable for the people.… Titus 3: 3-8

You became obedient (5219) (hupakouo [word study] from hupó = = agency or means, under + akoúo = physical hearing and apprehension of something with the mind) literally means to listen under with attentiveness and to respond positively to what is heard. It means to hearken or give respectful attention to.

Hupakouo is in the aorist tense which points to an action which has been completed at a definite time in the past. What time? Clearly, when they believed the life giving Gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24). The Roman Christians had given wholehearted obedience to the gospel to which they had been committed, including all the doctrines Paul taught in the book of Romans. Now they possessed a new nature which enabled them to obey their new master, the Lord Jesus Christ. - PA

V. 19 Present yourselves as slaves to righteousness - They probably didn't see themselves as slaves to sin to begin with, that is truly a gift to come out of delusion. Most today see following after the flesh, after the sins they enjoy as freedom, and he has been confronting this idea as the result of a fallen nature, a broken mind, leading to no mere misunderstanding, but pure insanity. Though you have been made alive, yet you will still battle against temptation. The war last until you go home, and you find new battles every day, those of want and those of plenty. When you see yourself as strong then you often find that you are far from that. Spend much time alone in prayer, in the word of God.

John Piper explains Paul's in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh…

In other words, as humans we grope in our weakness and finiteness for language that is sufficient for great and glorious and complex realities, and have to settle for words and images that are partially helpful and partially misleading. Paul knows good and well that there were aspects of slavery that he would not want us to attribute to our relation to righteousness or to God, even though he says that we are “enslaved” to righteousness (Ro 6:18) and “enslaved” to God (Ro 6:22).

Jesus, you recall, did the same thing in John 15:15 “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.” So there are some aspects of slavery that we should apply to our relationship to God and some that we should not. And there are some aspects of friendship that we should apply and some we should not. We judge from the context what aspect of an image we are to focus on.

Slavery in Romans 6:6, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22 does not imply mainly being forced against our will to do something. It mainly implies that our wills are enslaved. They are bound to do sin or bound to do righteousness because by nature we either see the rewards of sin or the beauty of righteousness as more attractive. So in both cases we do what we want most to do. (See full sermon Slaves to God, Sanctification, Eternal Life) - Precept Austin

…11Now these things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12So the one who thinks he is standing firm should be careful not to fall. 13No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide an escape, so that you can stand up under it.… 1 Corinthians 10: 11-13

Vs. 20-21 From the things of which you are now ashamed - Non believers, false professors, and the spiritually immature still take pride in the things for which they should be ashamed. Brokenness is the most beautiful of all the flowers, and seldom seen. People can't by nature make the words from their mouth penetrate their stony hearts, though their mouths make the words and follow the patterns they have been taught, but the true professor is guttural, speaking from a new heart and a conscience that has been brought into life. More and more you see the anguish in their eyes, the desire to move away from sin, and without trying the bad tastes it leaves in their mouth. Godly sorrow is a wonderful thing, and cursed be those who would try take it away. Let the penitent mourn, as blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Let me apologize without you playing it down, for it grieves my soul.   

5At the evening offering, I got up from my humiliation with my tunic and cloak torn, and I fell on my knees, spread out my hands to the LORD my God, 6and said: “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, because our iniquities are higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached the heavens. 7From the days of our fathers to this day, our guilt has been great. Because of our iniquities, we and our kings and priests have been delivered into the hands of the kings of the earth and put to the sword and captivity, to pillage and humiliation, as we are this day.… Ezra 9: 5-7

…7To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but this day we are covered with shame—the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, and all Israel near and far, in all the countries to which You have driven us because of our unfaithfulness to You. 8O LORD, we are covered with shame— our kings, our leaders, and our fathers— because we have sinned against You. 9To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, even though we have rebelled against Him… Daniel 9: 7-9

Vs. 22-23 But the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord - Grace is unmerited favor. You deserved only the wages of sin, but God provided Christ in your stead. How should that affect the way you live? Are you a slave to sin or of righteousness?

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#1629 Romans 6 Part 1 May It Never Be

 

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were 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. 5 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, 6 knowing this, that our old man 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; 7 for he who has died has been justified from sin.

8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all, but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Even so consider yourselves to be 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 lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting your members 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. 14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. Romans 6: 1-14 LSB

Romans 6:1-14

V. 1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may increase - Sounds like a dumb question, but Paul has already been accused of teaching an antinomian view. All these chapters build on each other, and now Paul is going deeper into what the new birth looks like, what it means to be born again, a new creature. He is showing that our salvation doesn't end with justification, that there is also sanctification, where we are being conformed more and more to the image of Christ. It all happens when a person is genuinely saved, they are regenerated, given the gift of faith and repentance to believe that the God who justifies also sanctifies. He not only pays our debt, but He changes us from within, and we don't know everything all at once, in fact, in time and space our sanctification can seem to drag on forever. He gives us His word though, and it is there that we grow, not only in knowledge but also desire. Our new nature causes us to see more things in light of what they really are, sin, and we come to detest this in ourselves more and more as we grow. This is not just an old argument from Paul's time, but those who have reformed back to Scripture in every age have come up against this sort of apostasy that says, "I am a Christian, Jesus has paid for my sins, I said a prayer, but I don't call some things sin that He calls sin, or I know this is a sin, but I am more of a carnal Christian." There is no such doctrine as that of the carnal Christian. A lot of churches that teach that also remove unpopular Biblical teachings like church discipline and the life style and other qualifications required of those who teach, who are elders, deacons and in other forms of ministry. These are religious, but do not bare the fruit of being born again. 

…7However, if my falsehood accentuates God’s truthfulness, to the increase of His glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner? 8Why not say, as some slanderously claim that we say, “ Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is deserved! 9What then? Are we any better? Not at all. For we have already made the charge that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin.… Romans 3: 7-9

More on Romans 3 Antinomianism

…12As for those who are agitating you, I wish they would proceed to emasculate themselves! 13For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love. 14The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”… Galatians 5: 12-14

…15For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorance of foolish men. 16Live in freedom, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 17Treat everyone with high regard: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.… 1 Peter 2: 15-17

…18With lofty but empty words, they appeal to the sensual passions of the flesh and entice those who are just escaping from others who live in error. 19They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves to depravity. For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. 20If indeed they have escaped the corruption of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, only to be entangled and overcome by it again, their final condition is worse than it was at first.… 2 Peter 2: 18-20

3Beloved, although I made every effort to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt it necessary to write and urge you to contend earnestly for the faith entrusted once for all to the saints. 4For certain men have crept in among you unnoticed— ungodly ones who were designated long ago for condemnation. They turn the grace of our God into a license for immorality, and they deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. 5Although you are fully aware of this, I want to remind you that after Jesus had delivered His people out of the land of Egypt, He destroyed those who did not believe.… Jude 1: 3-5

V. 2 May it never be - That's a pretty straightforward answer, followed by the logic of reality, of how can we claim this to be the case yet have our actions not match our words? Where is this new creature, and how can he or she claim to have been buried in Christ's death, yet so love the things which required it? "May it never be."

…14By His power God raised the Lord from the dead, and He will raise us also. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16Or don’t you know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”… 1 Corinthians 6: 14-16

May it never be (15x in NAS = Luke 20:16; Ro 3:4, 6, 31; 6:2, 15; 7:7, 13; 9:14; 11:1, 11; 1 Cor 6:15; Gal 2:17; 3:21; 6:14) - Certainly not! (Amplified), By no means! (NIV), Far be the thought (Darby), Impossible!, Absurd!, Nonsense! God forbid that we should ever begin to think like that (Pritchard), What a ghastly thought! (Phillips), Perish the thought! (MacArthur)

Me genoito is the strongest Greek idiom to indicate repudiation (refusal to accept and implies a casting off or disowning as untrue, unauthorized, or unworthy of acceptance) and even conveys the idea of outraged indignation. One could translate somewhat prayerfully as “may such a thing never occur”.

Me genoito expresses "the revolting character of the rejected assertion, as well as a conviction of its falsehood. (F. Godet - Romans Commentary)

For a Christian to continue in sin, because his sins are forgiven and because grace will abound, is an abominable thought to Paul and it should also be so to all who by grace through faith in Christ are true saints or holy ones. - Precept Austin

Vs. 3-5 Who were baptized into Christ Jesus - Baptism is more than being dunked in water, that is the public act of obedience and identification. It is symbolic of what has taken place, that a sinner has come to see himself rightly, confessed himself a sinner, asked for God's forgiveness, and placed his trust in the life and deeds of another, Christ, believing that His death satisfies the wages of sin. Paul is demonstrating that if this thing is so bad, so heinous as to require God to receive the curse, as cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree, then how can we view sin in such a light way any longer, how do we continue it? Remember, if you are a child of God, then who the Lord loves he disciplines. You may struggle with sin, but at least your struggling and He won't leave you there. 

John MacArthur states the point forcefully writing that - Paul is saying that death and life are incompatible. It is impossible to be dead and alive at the same time. So a Christian can't be living in sin when he has died to it. All who come to Christ make a break with sin, a definite act that took place in the past at the moment of salvation. If someone abides in a state of sin, he is not a believer. The apostle John said, "No one who is born of God practices sin, because he is born of God" (1Jn 3:9). The person who remains in a constant state of sinfulness gives evidence that he has never left his unregenerate state." (from Romans 6:1-5 Dying to Live Part 1)

Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse, commenting on this verse, wrote, "Holiness starts where justification finishes; and if holiness does not start, we have the right to suspect that justification has never started (Romans, vol. 3: Eerdmans, 1961). - PA

…8If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.… 1 John 1: 8-10

Vs. 6-7 So that we would no longer be slaves to sin - Everyone is a slave, and those who are most tightly bound are those who think they aren't. People always resort to calling good evil and evil good. So, we call our sin, our chasing of corrupt passions, freedom, enlightenment, and we call those who call it sin, pent up, religious, bigoted etc. God is offering us renewed minds to see things not based upon our own want, or the soiled intellect of a fallen nature, but the way He sees it. He is offering freedom from the delusion that now enslaves you.  

…19For through the law I died to the law so that I might live to God. 20I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. 21I do not set aside the grace of God. For if righteousness comes through the law, Christ died for nothing.… Galatians 2: 19-21

…13For the circumcised do not even keep the law themselves, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. 14But as for me, may I never boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything. What counts is a new creation.… Galatians 6: 13-15

…4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. 5Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry. 6Because of these, the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.… Colossians 3: 4-6

…9Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices, 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.… Colossians 3: 9-11

Vs. 8-11 Even so, consider yourselves to be dead to sin - Walk like Christ, be worthy of the name Christian, make it obvious, people shouldn't have to take you by your word, it should be clear that there is a new person. 

John MacArthur comments that…

If the believer is to fully live out his new life in Christ, he must begin by knowing he is not what he used to be. Once the believer knows the foundational truths about his death, burial, and resurrection with Christ, and his victory over the penalty and power of sin, he is well on his way to victory in the Christian life. Doubts and fears become less and less because he knows he is dealing with a vanquished foe, a monarch who has been dethroned. The believer has been resurrected to new life and therefore has the confidence to strip away his grave clothes and live victoriously! (Dying to Live - Pt 3) - PA

Vs. 12-14 For sin shall not be master over you - Take up the fight.

…11Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand.…

…14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.… Ephesians 6: 11-16

…22I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them as my enemies. 23Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. 24See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the way everlasting.… Psalm 139: 22-24

…9The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? 10I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve. Jeremiah 17: 9-10

…9Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. 10Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11Cast me not away from Your presence; take not Your Holy Spirit from me.… Psalm 51: 9-11

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