Romans 6:15-23 Grace and Sin Part 2 of 2

“For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!” Rom 6:15

The first half of Romans 6 addresses the question “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?”. The second half of Romans 6 addresses the question “Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?”. The answers to these questions are an emphatic “By no means!”

Under a law-based relationship with God, behavior is rewarded. Good behavior earns good things from God and bad behavior earns punishment. “For the wages of sin is death…” (6:23) Intuitively, this would be a good system for discouraging sinful behavior. Unfortunately we have a sin nature that is aroused when under God’s law (7:5). Trespasses increase under the law. (5:20) The law makes us conscious of sin. (3:20) Regardless of the rewards and penalties, the sin nature rules in this system.

Under a grace-based relationship with God, God declares a sinner righteous – certainly not what the sinner deserves. With righteousness comes the free gift of eternal life. (6:23) Under a grace-based relationship with God, it is just as if, and every bit as true as being crucified with Jesus and being set free from the old master of sin. It is just as if, and every bit as true as being resurrected to life with a new master, God. Under the grace-based system, a transformation takes place as evidenced by choices you make that would have never been made when you were a slave to sin. (6:17-18)

When you were a slave to sin: (1) you were on the path to death, (2) you were enslaved to impurity, (3) you were enslaved to “ever-increasing wickedness”, (4) you were free from the control of righteousness, and (5) you earned what you deserved, death.

When you are a slave to God: (1) it will lead to practical righteousness (i.e. right behavior), (2) your life shows evidence of being controlled by righteousness, (3) you are on a path leading to holiness, (4) you are ashamed of sinful acts committed when enslaved to sin, and (5) the free gift of eternal life is waiting for you at life’s end.

We will understand the transformation issue better when we get to Romans 8. Paul explores the believer’s relationship to the law even further in chapter 7.