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?