Romans 6 – Page 2 – Ministry of Grace Church

Category: Romans 6

Romans 6:13 – Stand Beside God

Posted on January 22, 2018 by Will

And do not present your members as weapons of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as weapons of righteousness to God.

Truth to Learn

We have a choice to use bodies as weapons of unrighteousness or as weapons of righteousness.

Behind the Words

The word “present” is the Greek word paristanō, which literally means “to stand alongside.” The image is of a leader who is challenging his people to step forward and stand beside him. Standing alongside is a sign of unity with the leader and a sign of submission to the leader.

The word translated “members” is the Greek word melē, which literally means “the limbs or other parts of the body.”

“Weapons” is the Greek word hoplon, which means “an implement or a tool.” It is often applied to an implement of war such as armor or an offensive weapon.

The word “dead” is from the Greek nekros, which refers to a dead body. The interesting thing is that it is expressed here as a plural, so it should probably be translated as “dead ones.” Throughout this chapter Paul uses this word as a plural noun. It is actually expressed as ek nekrōn, “out of the dead ones.” The image here is that of Christians having been raised from the membership of the “dead ones” and placed into the membership of the “living ones.” This same expression was used back in verse nine in reference to Christ having been raised from the dead (ek nekrōn).

Meaning Explained

When we submit ourselves to our own lusts we are yielding ourselves to them and they become our masters. That’s what Paul is telling us NOT to do. In the second half of the verse, He tells what we should do.

When Paul uses the word “members,” he could be talking about members of our physical body or members of the body of Christ, that is, the church. Based on the context it’s obvious that he is referring to the members of our bodies. However, this does not simply mean the physical parts. It includes the emotional and psychological parts as well. Paul is telling us that we should not yield even part of ourselves, physical or otherwise, to the control of our lusts. When we yield a part of ourselves to our lusts, that part is then used as a weapon of unrighteousness, causing us to sin.

When he tells us that we should not “present” the members of our body, he is telling us that we should not “stand beside” or “join in with” our lusts, not even with part of our being. When we do, that part of us which is surrendered is used as a weapon against us, driving us further into sin.

Instead, Paul commands us to stand beside God, as if we were already alive from among the dead ones (which, spiritually we are). Then we are to yield our members as weapons, or tools, of righteousness. When we are fully yielded (submitted) to Him, we will not succumb to our lusts, and God can use us for acts of righteousness and as witnesses for Himself.

Application

Because of our sin nature (our old man), we will never be able to live without sin, but that doesn’t mean that we have to remain in sin and continue our sinful habits. We have a choice to allow our desires to control us or to exercise control over them. It all comes down to this. What are you submitted to, your own selfish desires or God’s will?

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 6:12 – Who’s Your Ruler?

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Will

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, to obey it in its lusts.

Truth to Learn

Don’t let sin take control of your life.

Behind the Words

“Reign” is a word we looked at in the final verse of the previous chapter of Romans. It is basileuō, which means “to be king or to have ruling power over.” It is expressed here in the imperative mood indicating it is a command, “do not allow sin to rule over your mortal body!”

The word translated “mortal” is thnētos, which is derived from the verb thnēskō, meaning “to die.” Hence, thnētos refers to something which is subject to death.

“Obey” is from the Greek word hupakouō, which is made up of hupo (or hypo) meaning “under” and akouō, meaning “to hear.” Hence, hupakouō literally means “to hear under.” It is a picture of a disciple listening to, hearing, and obeying the teaching of his or her master.

The word, “lusts” is a translation of the Greek word, epithumia, which is made up of epi, meaning “above or over” and a form of thumos, meaning “the mind.” As we put these together we see it means “to have overly strong thoughts or desires.”

Meaning Explained

This verse and the next form a two part summation of what Paul has been saying in the past few verses with some explanation added. He just told us that we should consider ourselves dead to sin, but living to God. Here he tells us what he means by considering, or reckoning, ourselves dead to sin. He says, “Don’t let sin reign in your mortal bodies.” In other words, the way we reckon ourselves dead to sin is to not let it have control. If sin is reigning in our life, it is ruling over us and we are submitting ourselves to it; we are letting it control us. If we are dead to sin, then we are separated from the dominion of sin and we will not live in obedience to it.

The second half of this verse has been viewed by some Biblical scholars as questionable. They believe that it has been added and was not part of the original letter. Others, and I agree with them, believe that it rightly belongs here since it appears in most reliable manuscripts.

Paul says that the way we keep sin from reigning in our mortal bodies is by not obeying it in its lusts. God has put desires within us that are necessary for survival, such as the desire to eat, the desire to rest, and the desire to procreate. However, when we allow these thoughts and desires to get so strong that they overcome us and control us, then they become sinful to us. The Apostle John says that these desires (lusts) are not of God but are part of the world system:

Because all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. (1 John 2:16)

We should not allow these desires to control us.

Application

If you are living to God through Jesus Christ then you must have control over your sinful desires. Don’t let the world system stir up your desires. Don’t let the world system rule over you. Take control of your life by submitting to God!

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 6:11 – What’s Your Choice?

Posted on January 18, 2018 by Will

In this way you also, reckon yourselves to be truly dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Truth to Learn

We don’t have to live in sin. We can choose to live to God.

Behind the Words

“In this way” is from the Greek word houtōs which is from the pronoun houtos, meaning “this thing.” Houtōs connects what follows with “this thing” which has just been talked about. It is most often translated as “likewise” or “in this manner.”

“Reckon” is a word that Paul has used repeatedly. It is from logidzomai, meaning “to put together with one’s mind.” It is usually translated as “to consider, to reckon, or to impute.”

The word translated “alive” is zaō, meaning “to live.” It is expressed here as a participle so it should be translated as “living.” So this verse should say “… reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but living to God …”

Meaning Explained

Just as Jesus is now dead to sin, Paul says we ought to also consider ourselves dead to sin. Because of His death we are no longer under the bondage of sin; we have been freed from that master. But, we still have our sin nature to battle and it gives us the tendency to sin. We are still inclined to sin because our sin nature tempts us to act on our desires, which then become sins (see James 1:14-15).

But Paul says that we should consider ourselves dead to sin and to the uncontrollable desires that produce sin. Since we are no longer under the bondage of that slave master, we now have a choice of whether to sin or not to sin. Before we were saved we didn’t have that choice, but since we now have that choice, Paul says “make that choice!” Determine not to let your sin nature control your life.

Have you ever had someone say to you, “Don’t think about an elephant!”? As soon as someone says that, we immediately think about an elephant. That’s the way our minds work. We can intentionally think about something but we can’t intentionally “not think” about something. God knows this, which is why whenever He tells us to quit doing something, He also tells us what to replace it with. He tells us what to think about so that we can avoid thinking about the elephant.

In this case, Paul tells us that the way to consider ourselves dead to sin is by living to God through Jesus Christ. That is, we should endeavor to emulate Jesus; we should try to follow His example. We should be humble, unassuming, committed to the glory of God, and morally pure. The trouble is, we can’t be just like Him because our sin nature and the devil still exist. But they don’t stop us from trying to live the way we should. And when we stumble, when we do sin, “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one!” (see 1 John 2:1) He’s ever pleading our case in the court of heaven and he shows our innocence with His blood; therefore, when “we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (see 1 John 1:9)

Application

Since we now have the choice, let us commit ourselves daily to be living to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 6:10 – Identity Crisis?

Posted on January 17, 2018 by Will

For the death that He died, He died to sin once; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.

Truth to Learn

We have identified ourselves with Jesus Christ in His death to sin. We should also identify ourselves with Him in living for God.

Behind the Words

The word translated “once” is ephapax, which means “once and only once.” Though some translations seem to indicate that Christ died once for everyone, it really says that He died once and only once for all of time and eternity.

Meaning Explained

Paul makes a couple of key points in this verse that we all need to learn. The first is contained in the expression, “For the death that He died, He died to sin.” Paul is explaining the meaning and purpose for Christ’s death. The purpose of His death is that he died to sin. That is, he died paying the penalty for sin so that sin should no longer have dominion over any of us. His death paid for all our sins so, even though sin used to be our slave master, that bond has been destroyed and we are now free from the dominion of sin.

But his death means more than just that we are freed from sin. Paul says that He died once and only once. In other words, He will never have to die again because the sin penalty has been taken care of forever by His onetime death. Since the sin penalty has been taken care of once and for all, we will never have to die after we leave these mortal bodies. We will have to die physically (unless we are raptured) in order to shed these mortal bodies, but we will never have to die spiritually because our sins have been completely paid for.

Remember that death means separation, so we will never again be separated from God – for all eternity. This is not true for those who will be cast into the Lake of Fire. They will be eternally separated from God. That, in fact, is one of the worst torments that they will face in Hell, being eternally separated from God (eternally dead!).

The second half of this verse now tells us what’s on the other side of the coin. Since Jesus Christ will never die again, He lives with respect to God the Father who raised Him from the dead. That is, His life is a testimony to the power of God the Father. Likewise, we who have had our sin penalty paid once and for all (which, incidentally, becomes a problem for those who think they can lose their salvation since it was taken care of once for all time, not just until the next big sin). We now owe this eternal life that we possess to the one who paid our penalty for us.

Paul’s point is that when we were baptized we were identifying with Christ’s death, which He died to sin. And our baptism also identifies us with His life which we should now live to God.

We are indebted to Christ for paying our penalty and we are indebted to God the Father for graciously declaring us righteous. In gratitude and in debt we should now be living our life for God and not for ourselves.

Application

Now that you have identified yourself with Christ in dying to sin, are you being identified with Him in the way you live? Or, put another way, for whom are you living your life now? And, how thankful are you for the eternal life that you now possess?

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 6:9 – No Separation, Ever!

Posted on January 16, 2018 by Will

knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has lordship over Him.

Truth to Learn

Jesus Christ can never die again!

Behind the Words

“Knowing” is translated from the Greek word eidō, which can mean either “to see or perceive” or “to know” depending on its usage. Here is what The Complete Word Study Dictionary says about this word as it appears in Romans 3:9:

[It is] spoken of man's knowledge as a result of and only in view of his relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ. There are certain things that human beings simply cannot know intuitively unless they become the children of God.

The word is expressed here as a perfect participle. That is, we have known in the past and, as a result, we are continually knowing; we have continual knowledge.

The Greek word translated “has lordship” is kurieuō, the verb form of kurios, meaning “master, lord, or owner.” Thus, kurieuō refers to “lordship or ownership.”

Meaning Explained

This verse is a statement of fact regarding what we talked about in the previous verse. Paul starts off by saying “knowing that Christ … dies no more.” In other words, because we are saved, we have come to know and now are continually aware that Christ was raised from the dead. And, since He was raised from the dead, He will never die again because death no longer has lordship or ownership of Him. That is, death has no power or authority over Him.

Did you know that before the resurrection of Christ, the Devil, Satan himself, had the power to take life? It says so in the book of Hebrews:

Since, then, the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself also in like manner shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him having the power of death, that is, the devil, and might release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. (Hebrews 2:14, 15)

But now that Christ has been raised from the dead, He alone has the keys to death and Hades as it says in Revelation:

And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last and the living one; and I became dead; and behold, I am living forever and ever. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” (Revelation 1:17, 18)

Back in verse two we said that death means separation. Physical death means separation from this body. Spiritual death means separation from God. Since we know Christ as our Lord and Savior, we also know that we have eternal life with Him. We will never be separated from Him. And Paul says that we don’t simply think that we have eternal life, we know it!

Application

As Christians we are united with Christ and can never be separated from Him, ever; not in this life and not in the after-life. We are secure in Him and eternally with Him.

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 6:8 – Eternal Living with Christ

Posted on January 15, 2018 by Will

And if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,

Truth to Learn

We are currently living an eternal life with Christ.

Behind the Words

The word translated “believe” is pisteuō, which means “to believe” or “to have faith.” It is not simply a trust but a firm, dogmatic belief. It is expressed as a present, active, indicative verb, which implies a current and ongoing belief, not just a momentary faith.

“Live with” is translated from the Greek word sudzaō, which is made up of sun, meaning “together with” and dzaō, meaning “to live.” Hence, it expresses a life that is characterized as living together with Christ.

Meaning Explained

This verse is not simply a reiteration of what was said in the previous three verses. It expresses a very deep truth about our new life in Christ. If we, that is our sin nature, died with Christ, then we live again in newness of life just as He is living again. There is a wonderful thing about the new life that Christ has. Because He has already died for sins and is resurrected, He will never die again. His life is eternal. So, if we are living together with Him, we have eternal life now as well.

There are actually two aspects of eternal life for us: future resurrected eternal physical life and current eternal spiritual life. We know that Jesus has eternal spiritual life because He is God, but He also has eternal physical life because He is completely human, and that human life has been raised from the dead so that death no longer has dominion over Him.

Because Jesus paid the price for our sins and we who believe in His death and resurrection have accepted the gift of grace from God, we too are promised to have eternal life with Him. We are promised that we will be raised from the dead. This is spoken of in one of the most precious passages of the entire Bible:

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we all will be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For a trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then will be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." "O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" (1 Corinthians 15:51-55)

However, if you read ahead to verses ten and eleven you will see that the current verse is not referring to our resurrected life, but our life right now. Because we believe with an active ongoing belief, we also live together with Christ. And, if we are living with Him, we can’t also be living in sin. That’s one of the beauties of saving faith – it is also living faith.

Application

Think about this: if we are living “with” Christ right now because of our belief in His death and resurrection, we have eternal life (both aspects of it). If we currently have eternal life, then we can’t lose it (if it’s eternal it can’t end). In other words, if our faith is real we can’t lose this salvation we have!

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 6:7 – Freed by Death

Posted on January 12, 2018 by Will

For he who has died has been set free from sin.

Truth to Learn

The death of our sin nature freed us from the bondage of sin.

Behind the Words

The word translated “slaves” in the previous verse is the Greek word douleuō, which is the verb form of doulos, meaning “one who is in a permanent relation of servitude to another, his will being altogether consumed in the will of the other.” It refers to a person who has no rights of his own, one who exists only as the property of someone else. Therefore, douleuō means “to be a slave.”

The word translated here as “set free” is the word dikaioō, which means “to justify” or “to declare righteous.” The word is expressed in the perfect tense. As we pointed out a couple verses back, the perfect tense in Greek refers to completed past action with a resultant state of being, where the emphasis is on the resultant state of being. The word following dikaioō, however, is apo, meaning “from.” When used in this way, the word dikaioo refers to our having been “freed from something” with the emphasis on the resultant state of being (we have been and, therefore, are now free from sin).

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse Paul told us that since our old man (our sin nature) was crucified with Christ, we should not serve sin. He is telling us that previously (before our salvation) we were not willingly serving sin but we were under bondage as a slave to sin. We had no choice but to obey our sinful lusts because of our sin nature. That is, we had no free will when it came to deciding whether we would obey our sinful nature or not, we had to!

Now that we have crucified our sin nature, however, we no longer have to be subject to sin. That’s what Paul is saying in the current verse, “he who died (our old man) has been freed from sin.

So, the point that Paul is making is, since our old man was crucified with Christ and is now dead, we are no longer forced to be a slave to our sin nature or to sin. We are now freed from that slavery. Do you see the point? We no longer have to obey our sinful impulses. We now have a choice. That is, we can choose to obey God or to obey our sin nature. Before we were saved we did not have this choice.

Does that mean that we always choose to obey God? Unfortunately, the answer is no. All too often, we choose to obey our sin nature instead of obeying God. That, as Paul taught us in the previous chapter, is where grace comes in. Even though we follow our own desires instead of God’s moral law, we have been declared righteous and we need not fear the wrath of God. But – we should not continue in our sinful ways. Our sin nature has been crucified so we have a free will to choose good over evil.

Application

This entire chapter of Romans is about recognizing that we are freed from the slavery of sin. We have a choice every day whether or not we will voluntarily submit ourselves to God. If we don’t submit to God then we will be submitted to sin, there is no middle ground.

To whom do you want to be submitted?

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 6:6 – A Servant’s Choice

Posted on January 11, 2018 by Will

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.

Truth to Learn

We are no longer slaves of sin. We don’t have to submit to it.

Behind the Words

The word translated “old” is palaios, which is an adjective of time, meaning “in the past, long ago, or that which is old.”

Meaning Explained

Paul starts off this verse talking about “the old man.” What he is talking about is our sin nature, which we have inherited from Adam. You may recall what he said back in verse 19 of the previous chapter: ”For as through one man's disobedience many were made sinners.” The reason we were made sinners is because we inherited the sin nature from our father Adam. Paul refers to this sin nature as “the old man,” and he tells us here that our sin nature was crucified with Christ.

He talks about this old man in a couple of other places in the New Testament as well, and in each case admonishes us to put off the old man.

that you put off, concerning your former behaviour, the old man which is being corrupted according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, (Ephesians 4:22-23)

Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his practices, and have put on the new man which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, (Colossians 3:9-10)

From these passages it is clear that Paul uses the expression “the old man” to indicate our sin nature, which was corrupted by the lusts and inclinations toward evil that existed in each one of us before we were saved.

Paul tells us that this sin nature was crucified with Christ so that the body of sin might be destroyed. There has been much debate over what exactly is being referred to by the expression “body of sin” but I believe that it is simply a personification of our sin nature just as “the old man” is. And, if our old man was crucified with Christ, then he died just as Christ died. If our old man is dead then we can no longer be a slave to him. We are free from him!

Before we were saved, we were slaves to sin because of our sin nature. As slaves to sin we did not have a choice of whether we sinned or not. Now that we are saved, however, we are no longer slaves to the old man and we are free to live without being controlled by sin. In other words, before we were saved we had no choice but to sin. Now that we are saved we can choose to sin or not to sin. And even though we do continue to sin, we have that choice and Paul tells that we should not serve sin any more.

Application

If you are a Christian you have the choice to either serve your sin nature (the old man) or God. You cannot serve two masters. You must choose one or the other.

So … who are you serving today?

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 6:5 – My Fellow Sprouts

Posted on January 10, 2018 by Will

For if we have been joined together in the likeness of His death, so also will we be in the likeness of His resurrection,

Truth to Learn

Christian actions should bear a resemblance to Jesus Christ.

Behind the Words

“We have been” is translated from ginomai, which means “to begin to be” or “to come into existence.” It is expressed here in the perfect tense. The perfect tense in Greek expresses a past completed action with a resultant state of being, but the emphasis is on the resultant state of being. So the emphasis here is on the fact that, because we began to be together with Him in the past we are now joined together with Jesus Christ in form and action.

The word translated “united together” is an interesting word. It is the Greek word sumfutos, which is a compound word made up of sun, meaning “together” and a form of phuō, meaning “to germinate, to sprout, or to spring up,” as a plant springs up from the ground. It implies not only a unity of form but a unity of action as well. This expression is representative of a field of grain in which the seeds have all been sown at the same time and have sprung up together, but it is also used of other common experiences. Here it means that we are intimately connected or joined together in form and action with Christ.

Meaning Explained

In this verse Paul declares that if we were joined with Christ in death (by identifying with his death) then we shall also be joined with him in His resurrection. It may seem strange that Paul would use an expression that means “spring up together” as a likeness to death. However, Jesus said this regarding his own death:

Truly, truly, I say to you, If the grain of wheat that falls into the earth does not die, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12:24)

So Paul is saying that we have been intimately joined together with Christ in our planting (Christ’s death and our identification with that death) and, therefore, it is perfectly natural to assume that we will grow up together with a strong resemblance of each other. That’s why Paul says that “so also will we be in the likeness of His resurrection.”

The Apostle John said this about our resurrection body:

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it was not yet been revealed what we will be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. (1John 3:2)

Some day we will have a resurrected body just like Jesus has now! But Paul is not referring to the body here as John is in his letter. Paul is telling us that because we have been planted together with Christ, portrayed by baptism, we should resemble Him even now, not physically but behaviorally. In fact, the very name “Christian” that we carry with such pride and joy means “one who is like Christ.”

Application

If we are going to bear His name, then we need to bear His resemblance, acting like Him as well! Lord, help me to so resemble Jesus Christ that people around me will see Him in all that I do.

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 6:4 – Raised to New Life

Posted on January 9, 2018 by Will

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, so also we should walk in newness of life.

Truth to Learn

Because of Christ’s resurrection we should live differently.

Behind the Words

The words “we were buried with” are from the Greek word sunthaptō, which is made up of sun, meaning “together” and thaptō, meaning “to bury.” In the New Testament this word only appears here and in Colossians 2:12. In both instances it refers to us being buried together with Christ in, or through, baptism.

“Raised” is from egeirō, which literally means “to arouse” or “to cause to rise.” It means to awaken someone from sleep, whether it be restful slumber or death itself.

The word translated “newness” is kainotēs, which is derived from kainos, meaning “new.” Kainotēs refers to a renewal, not simply an experience similar to the past, but a qualitatively different one. Hence, here it refers to a newness of life that has a different quality from the previous life that we had without Christ.

Meaning Explained

For Christians, baptism is a public declaration that a person has accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It is not part of the salvation process; it happens after salvation. This current verse and those that follow describe a mode of baptism referred to as “immersion.” Though this is the mode of baptism that most closely identifies us with the death and resurrection of Christ, it is not the only form of baptism used by Christians today. For the sake of discussion in these verses, however, we will assume that Paul is talking about baptism by immersion.

Baptism involves the baptizer laying the person being baptized backwards into the water until he or she is completely submerged. Paul says that this person was, “buried with him (Christ) through baptism into death.” The person being baptized is then raised back up and allowed to stand. Paul says, “that just as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, so also we should walk in newness of life.”

What Paul means is that as we were laid back in the water we were identifying ourselves with Christ’s death. We were demonstrating that we died with Christ. When we were raised back up, we were identifying with the resurrection of Christ, entering into a new kind of life, that is, eternal life. And Paul says, since we were raised from the dead, we should now walk in this new kind of life. This new life is to be qualitatively different from our former life. It is not to be characterized by sin because, as he said in verse two, we died to sin.

Application

Let me ask you, my Christian friend, “Does the kind of life you are living now differ significantly from the kind of life you lived before you were saved?” It should!

Are you walking in this new kind of life in a manner that is worthy of Jesus Christ, the One you have identified with?

If you were arrested today for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? I certainly hope so!

In God's service, for His glory,