Romans 6:21
What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
Truth to Learn
Our sinfulness separates us from fellowship with God.
Behind the Words
The word translated “fruit” is karpos, which can refer to the fruit of a tree (or other crop) or that which results from our actions. It is this latter meaning of “fruit” that is implied in today’s verse.
“Ashamed” is from the Greek word epaischunomai, which is made up of epi, meaning “upon” or “on account of” and a form of aischunō, which means “to be ashamed.” Hence epaischunomai refers to the shame that someone has brought upon himself or herself.
Meaning Explained
In the previous verse Paul told us that when we were slaves to sin (before we were saved) we were free from (not in bondage to) righteousness. The clear implication is, now that we are slaves to righteousness we are free from sin and should not obey it like a master. Remember also, back in verse fifteen Paul asked the rhetorical question, “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?” Since that verse he has been arguing that we certainly should not continue in sin because we now have a new master and we are not under the obligation to sin like we previously were.
In the current verse Paul is making another point in reference to his rhetorical question. Since we once were in bondage to sin we know its effects, we’ve tasted its bitterness, and we’ve reaped its fruit. He is implying here that having once experienced these effects and knowing our tendency to sin, we should not indulge in it now. We can look back at the sinful life we used to live and see that not only are the “pleasures of sin for a season” (Hebrews 11:25) not lasting, but the consequences of these sins are lasting and we are ashamed of them. Therefore, why would we even consider going back to a state where we were controlled by our sinful impulses?
We are very aware of the end result of our sinful past, and a life characterized by sin, produces death. “But,” you may say, “I’m now saved so I have eternal life and will never die again spiritually.” This is absolutely true, but the definition of death is separation. To die physically is to be separated from this mortal world. To die spiritually is to be spiritually separated from God (that’s the worst part of the punishment of Hell, eternal separation from God). If you are truly saved, then you will never, ever, ever, ever be spiritually separated from God because He has adopted you into His family and has promised that He will never leave you nor forsake you. But – when we sin (after we have been saved) we are separated from fellowship with God and that type of separation (death) can only be overcome by humbling ourselves and confessing our sin to God.
Application
We’ve all done things in the past that we are not very proud of, haven’t we? So the real question is, “Do you have anything that you need to confess to God right now?” He’s ready to forgive you and restore fellowship with you if you do. That’s grace!
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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