Romans 6:5-23

Romans 6:5-23
When we trust Christ as our Savior we are united with Him in His death and resurrection. I can't fully explain this, but according to v. 6, because we are united with Christ in His death, our sinful selves were somehow crucified with Him, and sin loses its power over us. We are capable of sin (as we well know), but we are not slaves to it. In the same way we died with Christ, we will also live with him because we are united with Him in His resurrection.

Beginning in v. 12, we see a series of imperative sentences or commands. "Do not let sin control the way you live, do not give into sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God...use your whole body...to do what is right for the glory of God." The very sentence structure here tells me that we have choices. We CAN sin if we choose to, but we don't have to. "Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God's grace." v. 14

Everyone has a master of some kind. Without Jesus, we are slaves to sin. As believers we can still choose to be slaves to sin, or we can choose to obey God which leads to righteous living. v. 16 In reality, we can become slaves to righteous living. v. 17-22

In Romans 6 we have seen a series of contrasts: life vs. death in v. 1-11; slavery vs. freedom, in v. 12-22; and now wages and gifts in v. 23. We have EARNED death (wages) because of our sin, but God offers us the GIFT of eternal life through His Son, Jesus. He has already paid for the gift. We cannot work for it or pay for it as then it would no longer qualify as a gift. Our job is to receive it and say thank you!