Romans 6
Exposition and Notes
The beginning of chapter 6 is a pivotal point in Romans. As is the case with a lot of the book, Paul argues with an imaginary opponent of the gospel. But what he’s just taught in the last 5 chapters is going to bring a few objections to it, isn’t it? If justification before God – and therefore entry into glory – is on the basis of Jesus’ righteousness alone, received through faith alone, can we just go on sinning?
That’s the objection faced by Paul (and provided by him) in v. 1. His presentation of the gospel has been so clear that this is a very natural objection. I’m going to divide this chapter into three smaller sections: vv. 1-7, 8-14, and 15-23. The themes of these sections might be we died and so are no longer responsive to sin as if we were its slaves, Christ’s resurrection has given us a new life so we should act like it, and we’ve changed owners because of Christ – from sin to God – so we need to act like it and will get eternal life because of it.
In vv. 1-7 we first see the objection raised, and Paul brings up the symbol of baptism to refute it. We know that he’s using baptism as a symbol here – not a causal thing – for the following reasons: first, ch. 6 follows chapters 1-5 – which show that justification is by faith alone. Second, in v. 3 he makes baptism as a symbol the cause of being in Jesus. Third, in v. 5, he says that our ‘baptism’ will necessarily result in our future resurrection.
Now, on the other hand, Paul is assuming that all believers have been baptized. We should take note of that.
We also should take note of what this passage says baptism represents: not a public declaration of faith – but a celebration in the sovereignty of God in bringing them from death to life, from guilt to justification, and from this world to a future glorious one - because of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
So v. 3 tells us that we have a new life because in v. 5 – Jesus’ resurrection guarantees ours (both present-spiritual and future-physical.) vv. 6 and 7 show us that since we died in Christ, or in other words, our old nature died in Christ, we’re free from sin’s mastery over us.
In this section, you really want your folks to get what baptism represents: everyone who has trusted Christ has crucified the old nature – and has a totally new one – and will be resurrected in glory. We’re no longer mastered by sin.
In vv. 8-14 we have the concept of our new life explored, and it’s applied finally in the first command in Romans – v. 11. V. 8 Tells us that everyone who’s died with Christ will also (in the future Kingdom) live with him. Vv. 9 and 10 tell us that Jesus died because of the sins of others – it was the justice of God. But he now lives for God, or towards God – being responsive to him. V. 11 then says that since we’re united to him, we have to think about ourselves the same way. We’re no longer under the rule of sin – but rather we’re alive – we have a new nature – a nature that is responsive to God and lives for him.
And in 13 and 14 we have this instructed in a command: don’t give your ‘members’ – or different aspects of who you are (mind, body, words, etc.) – to sin for sin to control them – act like who you are! Give your members to God for his control! In 14 Paul gives us the basis for this command – sin will not dominate us, because we’re not under law (or not held guilty by it) – but we live in the economy of grace. We have been saved by Jesus’ works. So the basis for the command is a promise – we aren’t slaves of sin because God has changed everything in Jesus.
In 15-23, Paul stretches out this analogy of slave and master (and sort of apologizes for the ‘human terms’ he uses in v. 19). He raises an objection to what he’s said last. Does not being judged by the law but in the economy of grace result in us sinning more? No – and his answer, in v. 16, is that you’re a slave to whatever you obey – but God (in v. 17) caused us to be obedient to what Paul taught (we trusted Christ), and so we’re no longer slaves of sin but of righteousness.
Because we’ve changed owners, he says in v. 19, we need to act like we have. And as we do, the result is ‘sanctification’ – or ‘holiness.’
He draws things out more in 20-23. He says in 20 and 21 that when we were slaves of sin, righteousness didn’t control us – and the ‘fruit’ – or ‘result’ – was death.
On the other hand, having changed owners, the result is holiness, and the end of that path is eternal life.
In 23 (which is widely misquoted), he gives us the basis for that. If sin is our master and we its slaves, it gives us a wage: death. But if we’re in Christ, God gives us a free gift: eternal life on the basis of what Jesus did.
Suggested Bible Study Discussion Guide
-What are some things you do to try to obey God and fight temptation?
-What has Paul taught about how people stand right before God in ch’s 1-5?
-Is there any connection between trying to be Christlike and the way God declares us righteous?
-Say that you’re going to be looking at the answer to the objection: “If salvation is totally a results of Jesus’ actions received by faith alone, can we go on disobeying God?”
-Pray
-Have someone read vv. 1-7
-Tell them that what’s coming is a treating of ‘sin’ as a master that controls people.
-What are some themes or repeated words you notice?
-What did Jesus death do?
-What did his resurrection do?
-What should we believe about ourselves from this passage?
-What does baptism represent?
-Have someone read vv. 8-14
-What do these verses say about Jesus?
-What’s true of us as a result?
-What are the commands in this section?
-How does this section empower us to obey?
-What kind of thinking about ‘having a sinful nature’ does this passage correct?
-Have someone read vv. 15-23
-What does this section tell us about those who act like they’re slaves to sin?
-What does it tell us about people that have genuinely submitted to Jesus as King?
-How does this passage fix our thinking about our relationship to sin?
-How does it affect how we try to obey God?
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