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Turn to Romans 6. In chapters 3 through 5 Paul drilled into our hearts that great truth of justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. And we heard those soul-refreshing words, “where sin abounded, grace super-abounded.” In our greatest guilt, God’s grace goes deeper. So, what is our attitude toward sin? The word “sin” appears 17 times in Romans 6. In verse one of chapter six Paul asks, “Is it okay to continue a life of sin so that grace might abound even more?” Paul’s answer? “Don’t even think about parking there.” He answers this way because of one major truth: when you came to Christ, God joined you to Christ, you died to sin once for all with Christ, you were buried with Christ, and you’ve been raised up with Christ to walk in newness of life.
Now we come to a similar but different question in verse 15.
Romans 6:15, What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!
Paul tells us we’re not under the law’s jurisdiction; rather we’re under grace. If we can’t continue a life of sin, what about sinning occasionally? We’re not going to live in sin, but surely it’s okay to sin once in a while. After all, we’re covered by God’s abounding grace, right? What do you think Paul’s answer is?
Before going further, I want to be sure we understand that Christians are not exempt from sin trouble. We still have the remains of sin in our flesh and as the Scottish preacher Alexander Whyte put it, “The hounds of our sin will howl after us all the way to heaven and leave their slabber (slobber) on heaven’s door handles.” But the real issue this morning is this – what is your attitude toward sin? J. C. Ryle in Holiness said the best remedy for our churches is “a clearer apprehension of the nature and sinfulness of sin.” Here are thoughts about sin we should carry with us.
- We are at war with sin. We’re not coasting downhill in the sin car or riding the sin roller coaster for the thrill ride. It’s not a game; it is a war.
- When we sin, we should not make excuses for our sin or blame others. We must confess and forsake sin as Proverbs 28:13 says.
- We must be radical about dealing with our sin, tearing out eyes, cutting off hands and feet when they make it easy to sin. We’re in the sin-killing business by the power of the Holy Spirit. As John MacArthur put it, “We should be as vigorous to killing our sin as Samuel was when he hacked Agag to pieces.” Don’t pussyfoot around with sin.
- We don’t wonder how far we can go in sin and still be a Christian. Instead, we flee sin like Joseph fled from Mrs. Potiphar. Sin is our enemy.
I don’t need to tell this group that the whole idea of sin as rebellion and disobedience against God is scoffed at, ridiculed, and reinterpreted in our world. I saw a Bible for sale on Amazon this week called the “Queen James Version.” It’s edited to prevent “homophobic misinterpretation.” Sin has the hiss and sting of that old dragon the devil in it. Sin kills and binds and blinds and debases and pollutes and enslaves and destroys and deceives and ultimately delivers human beings into eternal destruction. Jesus warns us in Matthew 7 about that broad way that leads to destruction.
Back in verse 15 Paul poses the question, “Is it okay to sin every once in a while?” And once again Paul answers, “MAY IT NEVER BE!” DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT PARKING HERE! Why? Because Christian, you are a slave to a new Master. As we go through vss. 15-23, I want you to see that most of what Paul says are facts or indicatives. There’s only one command in this passage (v. 19). Why? Because God wants you to understand who you are in Christ before He tells you what to do.
THE TWO MASTERS
Romans 6:16, Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?
First Paul expresses an obvious truth from the world of slavery: you are the slave of whomever you obey. How do you know who your master is? Whom are you obeying as an employee? If you are employed by XYZ Company, you’ll be showing up every day to work for the XYZ Company. You won’t be showing up at the ABC Company. Whom you obey shows who your master is. There are only two masters in this world, and every single human being is a slave of one or the other. There is Master Sin and Master God. That’s it. There’s no neutral zone here. You’re either a slave of one or the other. You can’t be a slave of both.
So, if you present yourself and habitually show up to serve sin, you show that sin is your master. Paul isn’t saying if we present ourselves to sin, that sin BECOMES our Master. No, whom you obey reveals who your Master is. And right away Paul warns, if your actions show that sin is your Master, you need to see that obeying Sin leads to death. And here’s a fact – every one of us was born the slave of Master Sin. Many people think if they become a Christian, they’ll give up their freedom. “If I become a Christian, I won’t be free to do whatever I want.” The reality is that they are already slaves – slaves of sin. They just don’t realize it. The Jews told Jesus, “We’ve never been enslaved to anyone.” Jesus said, “Everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.” The only true freedom is in Christ. He said, “If you continue in My word, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free!” There are only two masters, God or Sin. Period. The big question is, who is your master?
THE GREAT CHANGE OF MASTERS – vv. 17-18
Romans 6:17-18, But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
Here’s a fact of life – I was a slave of sin. I woke up every day to serve sin. That’s who I was. I didn’t choose to make sin my master. I was born that way. When Adam opened the door of disobedience, sin rushed into the human race and set up its throne. Now sin rules the hearts of every single human being from birth. We were all born slaves of Master Sin. This doesn’t mean we all do all kinds of horrible things. It just means we lived our lives the way we thought best. Like Frank Sinatra boasted, “I did it my way.” You may have been a good person, a good husband or wife, parent, worker, really moral. You wouldn’t dream of cheating on your wife or husband, or living together outside of marriage, or stealing donuts from Schnucks. You may have been a social activist working hard to save the planet. Lost people think they are free to do whatever they please. But why don’t they want to believe in Christ, admit their sin and need of salvation? They are slaves of sin. They are helpless in themselves to repent and receive Christ. Their own sin blinds them to their real need.
But whether I was living a good life or really messing up morally or otherwise, I was a slave of Sin. My heart was an idol factory, as Calvin put it. I worshiped my own comfort and pleasures and what I thought was best for me. My heart did not love Christ. I didn’t live to please God. I wasn’t trusting in Jesus Christ as my Savior. I didn’t know it, but my heart really was at war with God. I was a slave of sin.
BUT THANKS BE TO GOD! Not “Thanks to you Romans, you delivered yourself from your slavery to sin.” Not, “Thanks to all the self-help programs and humanistic counsel that saved you.” No, it is God! God, we thank YOU! God gets all the credit here. Here’s God’s beautiful grace in action toward sinners. What did He do? He rescued us! He pulled off the most wonderful extraction operation ever. He freed us from sin’s bondage and made us slaves of a gracious, loving, righteous God! God has done it. We didn’t deliver ourselves. Let’s notice each step in this verse, realizing each step is because of what God has done.
#1 You became obedient. Obedient means to put your ear under the authority of someone. God opened your ears to hear and submit to Him. “My sheep hear my voice.” Faith always includes obedience to Christ.
#2 Your obedience came from your heart. It didn’t come in a legalistic or moralistic or behavioral way, but from your heart, the center of your being. You obeyed whole-heartedly with zeal from a changed heart.
#3 You bowed your heart to a specific pattern or mold of teaching. You didn’t just follow a feeling or an experience, but a teaching. You didn’t just follow some neat, spiffy ideas to perk up your life and help you feel better about yourself. No, God brought you a specific message, and that message is the gospel of Jesus Christ…from the wrath of God on your sins, to the work of Christ on that cross making propitiation for you, to justification by faith alone. You bowed your heart to this message.
#4 God delivered you into this message. Watch this. “Committed” is passive and means you were delivered over by God into this message. Here’s the gospel message, like a mold or pattern, like you pour Jell-O into a mold and let it firm up. God takes us, slaves of sin, and pours us into the form of the gospel message and makes us His slaves. It is all God’s sovereign and saving work and He does it through the teaching of the gospel. Don’t ever accept the idea that we don’t need teaching, but just need to be like Jesus or imitate Jesus or try to do what Jesus did. Remember WWJD – “What would Jesus do?” That’s not the gospel and it doesn’t save. The gospel is not just a good feeling or some mystical experience. The gospel is the powerful message of Jesus Christ and His work in and for us. We need the powerful gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s exactly what Paul said in Romans 1:16, “I’m not ashamed of the gospel, it’s the power of God to save all who believe.” And this is what God uses to deliver us from slavery to sin. This is what it means to be saved. This is that great change of Masters, from sin to God.
Wayne Mack tells the story of a Spanish speaking couple who got saved. Neither could read English, but the husband began attending a Bible study. He came home and told his wife that all the other guys had words on their T-shirts. He didn’t know what the words said, but one day when he came home, his wife had a T-shirt with words on it waiting for him. Neither knew what the words said but he wore the T-shirt to the next Bible study. When he came home, he told his wife they were the best words ever. “Where did you get those words?” he asked her. “Right over there on the sign on the restaurant across the street. What do the words say?” “Under new management!”
What happens when God pours your life into the mold of the gospel? You come under new management. Look at verse 18. You have been freed from sin’s mastery. When you came to Christ, God liberated you once for all from sin’s absolute rule over your life. Paul’s not saying you were freed from ever sinning again, because sin is still running around in your flesh, barking after you like those bloodhounds. But when you came to Christ, God extracted you from sin’s kingdom.
And at the same time God extracted you, He enslaved you to Himself and His rule. You didn’t try to do this. This doesn’t happen gradually through a catechism class. God did it and He did it the moment you submitted your life to Christ. You are under new management and sin will never be your master again! This is what Jesus said is John 8:36, “If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” Now you’re serving God and you desire to please Him. There are ups and downs, three steps forward, one or two backwards, but you’re moving forward, motivated, and finding joy in serving your new master. Now, we finally come to a command in verse 19.
BE WHAT YOU ARE – v. 19
Romans 6:19, I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification (holiness).
Paul says, “Okay, let me put the cookies on the lowest shelf here.” Remember how you used to present your life, your thoughts, words, actions, habits to your own pleasures? You took your stand with Master Sin and whether it was in your heart or in your actions, you were not pleasing God but yourself – impurity and lawlessness. Maybe you saw yourself sliding further and further into a godless life. And you served sin without even thinking about it. You weren’t living your life for God’s glory. Your thoughts were habituated to pleasing self. You never even questioned whether you were being selfish or self-centered or conceited or all about you. You just were! And notice, there is a progression in sin. We might call it progressive degradation. You see it in Romans 1 as God gives people over to religious and sexual and social perversions.
SO NOW! Here’s the only command in this passage. God made you slaves of righteousness – LIVE THAT WAY! BE WHAT YOU ARE! Present your life, your thoughts, your words, your relationships to God. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:9, “I make it my goal to please Him.” Just as eagerly as you were all about pleasing self, now be all about obeying God! The Spirit of God will empower you. Just as you developed habits of selfishness, now as God’s slave develop habits of godliness. BE WHAT YOU ARE. Realize God’s purpose in saving you. He made you His slave to pursue holiness or sanctification!
REMEMBER THE FRUIT AND END OF THESE TWO SLAVERIES
Romans 6:20-22, For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. 22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.
YOUR OLD SLAVERY (v.20). Go back and think about your life before Christ. Ask this question, “What did serving sin do for me? What value was it all?” The answer, of course, is nothing. Martyn Lloyd-Jones put it so bluntly, “It was a useless life, a fruitless life, a vain life, a life that is non-productive, and finally, it leads to nothing and ends in nothing but death, final eternal separation from God and His life.” And if God hadn’t intervened, that Master Sin, who was so alluring and assuring and pleasing to you, would have taken you straight to hell. The end of those things is death! Plus, you did stuff you wouldn’t want anyone else to know about…stuff that you’d be ashamed to stand up here and tell us about. Should we sin because we’re not under the law but under grace? You know the answer.
YOUR NEW SLAVERY (v. 22). But now! Whether you remember the exact time or not, there must be a “but now” in your life. You weren’t born God’s slave. Somehow God got the gospel message to you, did that great work of regeneration, transferring you from being sin’s slave to being His own slave. You were producing rotten fruit for death. Now God is producing godly fruit through your life for holiness and eternal life. Not wrath, not damnation, not condemnation, but enslaved to God where your life produces the beautiful fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.
Every believer in Christ can say, “I’m not what I ought to be and I’m not what I’m going to be, but praise God, I’m not what I used to be!” And now with God as your Master, how does He treat you? He is a wonderful Master. He loves us and cares for us, and works in us to produce the fruit of the Spirit that is beautiful. We are growing in sanctification – we are becoming more and more like Christ. And when we do blow it and sin, He is forgiving. We couldn’t have a more wonderful Master. And what is the end, the outcome in verse 22? Not eternal death, but incredible reality of eternal life!
Paul ends this passage with a simple one line. Charles Spurgeon called it “a Christian proverb, a golden sentence, a divine statement worthy to be written across the sky.” We have it on our church cards.
Romans 6:23, For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Notice the clear contrast: wages and free gift. People still enslaved to Master Sin will be paid the wages they deserve – death. But people enslaved to God are given what they don’t deserve, the free gift of eternal life, and all because of Jesus Christ our Lord.
What is your attitude toward sin and toward your obedience to God? What kind of fruit is your life producing? If you are here without Christ, look carefully at that verse 23. Sin’s wages are death. And sin always pays. It will be either your death or Christ’s death. How do you get eternal life? It’s a free gift in Jesus Christ our Lord. There’s only one thing you can do: receive Christ, believing the promise that He and He alone can save you from the consequences of your sin. Why would anyone refuse this free gift? There’s only one reason. They are dead in their sins and blinded by Satan. But what makes any man or woman a Christian? God’s pure, sovereign, beautiful grace. As Paul said, “Thanks be to God!”