ROMANS 6:1-23

Far too many people misunderstand God’s grace. In Paul’s day and in our own, there is a sense that freedom FROM sin is freedom TO sin. Grace is a gateway to a new life in righteousness, not a free pass and license to sin even more so that grace will flow.

Freedom from sin is accomplished in death

Jesus’ death on the cross is a serious matter. In fact, the death of the innocent One on behalf of the guilty masses magnifies the deplorable nature of sin. Sin is a killer. Freedom from sin requires a life to pay for sin. When Adam and Eve sinned, an animal died to give them a pelt to cover over sin. Now, in His sacrificial death, our sin is covered over IN Christ.

Freedom from sin is finished in resurrection

Paul reveals to us the powerful work of God that He chose to display in our obedience to the gospel. Herein, Paul teaches the ONLY way “into” Christ is through the divinely-ordained grave of baptism (see also 1 Corinthians 12:13 and Galatians 3:27). Since salvation is found only “in” Christ and the only way “into” Christ is baptism, then how can stubborn men claim “baptism is not necessary”? The gospel is the death, BURIAL and resurrection. If one never goes INTO the grave, one cannot be RAISED from the grave.

Freedom from sin is a walk in righteousness

In spiritual renewal the is of a necessity a distinct change in nature. The old is dead and the new now lives on. To return to the old ways of sin is to raise the dead man … a spiritual zombie, of sorts. On the contrary, our freedom from sin ushers in a new life of devotion to the person and the work of our Master, Jesus Christ. In the life of a Roman slave there was a precise moment when he passed from bondage to freedom called “manumission” when the chains were removed. Read this passage and see the concept of manumission blended with the concept of baptism and you clearly see the point. The moment we rise from the watery grave, we are free!

In sin you earn death … in Christ you receive grace

Baptism earns you nothing. Instead, it is simply the passageway from death to life. We understand it so easily in the physical sense, but so many misunderstand it in the spiritual sense. Obedience in faith is not a meritorious work of man’s righteousness. Rather, it is the humble honoring of the meritorious work of Jesus Himself. Then, from the moment the chains fall away, a life of faithfulness is given back to the One who gave His life on the cross. All because sin has no more claim. In Christ, we are freed from sin!

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