The One Year Bible Club with Teaching
Commentary by Nick Boork
July 20
Romans 6:1-23
Commentary by Nick Boork
July 20
Romans 6:1-23
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July 20 – Romans 6:1-23
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed 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, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion 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 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
OKAY, HERE’S MY TEACHING COMMENTARY
In this chapter of Romans six the apostle Paul goes deep into the meaning of what it means to be in Christ and how he has set us free from the power of sin. He starts by asking a question: Should we continue in sin that grace may abound? Why did he ask this? Because in chapter 5 Paul had just given a clear teaching on justification or being completely forgiven of all of our sins through the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ for every person. The emphasis is on the grace of God providing this great salvation. So, once a person has received Christ and has been forgiven does it mean they can just continue to live in sin because the grace of God will cover and forgive all of their sins?
Well, on the one hand, the Lord will always forgive us because we are sure to sin after being saved. This is why we have the promise in 1 John 1:9 that if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This promise is for the Christian and God knows that we’re going to need forgiveness and cleansing because we are all sin from time to time after being born again.
But on the other hand, after a person has been born again it means that they have received the new divine nature of Christ within them. That spiritual nature causes us to be made new creatures in Christ old things have passed away and all things are become new for the born-again believer. However, we all still live in the flesh and have to deal with the temptations of sin and of the devil. The good news that we find in Romans chapter 6 is that Christ has not only forgiven us our sins but has also broken the power of sin to rule over us! This is why Paul says in answer to his opening question shall we continue to sin that grace may abound, he says absolutely not. Then he asks another question; do you not realize that all of us who have been baptized into Christ were baptized into his death? He clarifies this question by saying all of us that have been baptized into Christ have died to sin and have been raised to live a new life with Jesus Christ living on the inside of us.
One of the key verses is Romans 6:6 which says; Knowing this that are old man has been crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed that we should no longer be slaves of sin. In other words, you need to realize that when Jesus Christ died on the cross our old sin loving nature was also crucified with him there AKA “the old man.” What this means is that the carnal, fleshly, sin loving part of us has been completely broken when Christ was nailed to the cross. This means that now we are no longer slaves to sin and we do not have to yield ourselves to the temptations and lusts of our flesh and just cave-in to every sinful desire that comes our way.
For this to work we have to do two things: first we need to present ourselves to God as servants of righteousness making a commitment to live a life that pleases God and then second we need to consider ourselves as being dead to sin but alive to God through Jesus Christ. Romans 6:11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
WORD INSIGHT
The word in Romans 6:17 “FORM” is a very important word to understand because it reveals in a word picture how Christ has made us free from the power of sin in the flesh.
Form means a "form" or mold (Vines Expository Dictionary of NT Words)
…the standard of teaching (Amplified)
How this works is the Gospel becomes the mold into which our lives are poured and we conform to the image of Jesus Christ. It’s like when raw iron ore is being formed into bars of steel. It first has to be melted to be poured into the form of a steel bar. After the steel is cast it is then processed to become whatever the engineer has designed it to be. In the same way, when we yield to the fire of God’s love and his Holy Spirit we are melted and obey from our heart the Lord Jesus Christ through the teaching of the word of God. As we embrace the word of God with all of our hearts the Spirit of God causes us to be set free from sin and be conformed to the very image of Jesus Christ! This is the power of the gospel to set people free from not only the condemnation of their sins but from the controlling power of sin and itself! Notice the end result of having received this kind of teaching concerning being joined together with Christ through his death and resurrection: Verse 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
The form of teaching is the complete message of the gospel that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, was buried and was raised again from the dead the third day. When we hear, receive and believe this form of teaching the Holy Spirit causes us to be baptized in Christ Jesus. The word baptism means to be fully immersed into something and for the Christian that something is a person the Lord Jesus Christ. This is first and foremost a spiritual baptism when we are born again by the Holy Spirit. The physical act of water baptism by immersion is the outward ceremony of one declaring their faith in Jesus Christ. For this reason, being water baptized by immersion after you become a Christian is a very important step that you do not want to skip because you are willingly following Christ, declaring your faith and in a very real sense submitting your life to Jesus as Lord of your life by following his instructions to be baptized in water. When Jesus appeared to his apostles after he rose from the dead he gave what is commonly referred to as the great commission to go and preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations. One of the things he said to do was to baptize those that believed in him Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Baptism in water has a much deeper meaning when you understand that you have been joined together with Christ in his death and raised together with him to newness of life! Paul concludes the chapter by emphasizing what kind of fruit this teaching produces in the lives of Christians saying that instead of living a life of sin which produces death now in union with Christ you live a life of righteousness which produces the fruit of holiness as you move towards eternal life with Jesus Christ. Romans 6:22-23 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?
1) After forgiveness the Lord Jesus has provided freedom from the power of sin in the flesh.
2) Water baptism is the ceremony of being joined to Christ in his death and resurrection to newness of life.
3) Our old man has been crucified with Christ. We have to know and believe this to live free.
4) Every Christian still needs to make a choice to commit themselves to living free from sin and being servants of
righteousness as children of God.
5) The by-product of walking close to Jesus is a holiness and eternal life!
6) Confess your position in Christ according to the Word of God.
Father in heaven, I confess by faith my position in Christ according to the Word of God:
PRAYER TO APPLY THE WORD OF GOD TO OUR LIVES
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed 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, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion 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 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
OKAY, HERE’S MY TEACHING COMMENTARY
In this chapter of Romans six the apostle Paul goes deep into the meaning of what it means to be in Christ and how he has set us free from the power of sin. He starts by asking a question: Should we continue in sin that grace may abound? Why did he ask this? Because in chapter 5 Paul had just given a clear teaching on justification or being completely forgiven of all of our sins through the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ for every person. The emphasis is on the grace of God providing this great salvation. So, once a person has received Christ and has been forgiven does it mean they can just continue to live in sin because the grace of God will cover and forgive all of their sins?
Well, on the one hand, the Lord will always forgive us because we are sure to sin after being saved. This is why we have the promise in 1 John 1:9 that if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This promise is for the Christian and God knows that we’re going to need forgiveness and cleansing because we are all sin from time to time after being born again.
But on the other hand, after a person has been born again it means that they have received the new divine nature of Christ within them. That spiritual nature causes us to be made new creatures in Christ old things have passed away and all things are become new for the born-again believer. However, we all still live in the flesh and have to deal with the temptations of sin and of the devil. The good news that we find in Romans chapter 6 is that Christ has not only forgiven us our sins but has also broken the power of sin to rule over us! This is why Paul says in answer to his opening question shall we continue to sin that grace may abound, he says absolutely not. Then he asks another question; do you not realize that all of us who have been baptized into Christ were baptized into his death? He clarifies this question by saying all of us that have been baptized into Christ have died to sin and have been raised to live a new life with Jesus Christ living on the inside of us.
One of the key verses is Romans 6:6 which says; Knowing this that are old man has been crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed that we should no longer be slaves of sin. In other words, you need to realize that when Jesus Christ died on the cross our old sin loving nature was also crucified with him there AKA “the old man.” What this means is that the carnal, fleshly, sin loving part of us has been completely broken when Christ was nailed to the cross. This means that now we are no longer slaves to sin and we do not have to yield ourselves to the temptations and lusts of our flesh and just cave-in to every sinful desire that comes our way.
For this to work we have to do two things: first we need to present ourselves to God as servants of righteousness making a commitment to live a life that pleases God and then second we need to consider ourselves as being dead to sin but alive to God through Jesus Christ. Romans 6:11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
WORD INSIGHT
The word in Romans 6:17 “FORM” is a very important word to understand because it reveals in a word picture how Christ has made us free from the power of sin in the flesh.
Form means a "form" or mold (Vines Expository Dictionary of NT Words)
…the standard of teaching (Amplified)
How this works is the Gospel becomes the mold into which our lives are poured and we conform to the image of Jesus Christ. It’s like when raw iron ore is being formed into bars of steel. It first has to be melted to be poured into the form of a steel bar. After the steel is cast it is then processed to become whatever the engineer has designed it to be. In the same way, when we yield to the fire of God’s love and his Holy Spirit we are melted and obey from our heart the Lord Jesus Christ through the teaching of the word of God. As we embrace the word of God with all of our hearts the Spirit of God causes us to be set free from sin and be conformed to the very image of Jesus Christ! This is the power of the gospel to set people free from not only the condemnation of their sins but from the controlling power of sin and itself! Notice the end result of having received this kind of teaching concerning being joined together with Christ through his death and resurrection: Verse 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
The form of teaching is the complete message of the gospel that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, was buried and was raised again from the dead the third day. When we hear, receive and believe this form of teaching the Holy Spirit causes us to be baptized in Christ Jesus. The word baptism means to be fully immersed into something and for the Christian that something is a person the Lord Jesus Christ. This is first and foremost a spiritual baptism when we are born again by the Holy Spirit. The physical act of water baptism by immersion is the outward ceremony of one declaring their faith in Jesus Christ. For this reason, being water baptized by immersion after you become a Christian is a very important step that you do not want to skip because you are willingly following Christ, declaring your faith and in a very real sense submitting your life to Jesus as Lord of your life by following his instructions to be baptized in water. When Jesus appeared to his apostles after he rose from the dead he gave what is commonly referred to as the great commission to go and preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations. One of the things he said to do was to baptize those that believed in him Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Baptism in water has a much deeper meaning when you understand that you have been joined together with Christ in his death and raised together with him to newness of life! Paul concludes the chapter by emphasizing what kind of fruit this teaching produces in the lives of Christians saying that instead of living a life of sin which produces death now in union with Christ you live a life of righteousness which produces the fruit of holiness as you move towards eternal life with Jesus Christ. Romans 6:22-23 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?
1) After forgiveness the Lord Jesus has provided freedom from the power of sin in the flesh.
2) Water baptism is the ceremony of being joined to Christ in his death and resurrection to newness of life.
3) Our old man has been crucified with Christ. We have to know and believe this to live free.
4) Every Christian still needs to make a choice to commit themselves to living free from sin and being servants of
righteousness as children of God.
5) The by-product of walking close to Jesus is a holiness and eternal life!
6) Confess your position in Christ according to the Word of God.
Father in heaven, I confess by faith my position in Christ according to the Word of God:
- In Christ all my sins have been forgiven through his blood.
- In Christ I have been buried with him in baptism and I am raised to newness of life
- My old man is crucified with Christ on the cross and I am set free from the power of sin.
- I consider myself to be dead to sin but alive to God in Christ
- Now I produce the fruit of holiness as a servant of righteousness, in Jesus name amen!
PRAYER TO APPLY THE WORD OF GOD TO OUR LIVES
ORDINATION
We provide Ministry Credentials and Ordination through Diamond Ministerial Association. Click to learn more and apply! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/ordination
ONLINE COURSES
For Bible courses and ministry resources see our online school Diamond Institute. Enroll free today and get access to our free and pay as you go courses. http://www.diamondinstitute.org/enroll
We provide Ministry Credentials and Ordination through Diamond Ministerial Association. Click to learn more and apply! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/ordination
ONLINE COURSES
For Bible courses and ministry resources see our online school Diamond Institute. Enroll free today and get access to our free and pay as you go courses. http://www.diamondinstitute.org/enroll