Rom
6:1-2 What shall we say
then? Shall
we continue in sin, that grace may
abound? (2) God forbid. How shall we, that
are
dead to sin, live any
longer therein?
Rom 6:15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
This issue of victory over sinful living is something that is so DIFFERENT from what most all churches ever taught and is so unrealized, that it really is a problem, sometimes, to teach it to people.
And as ministers our task is always to make something as easy to be understood and believed as possible, especially when it comes to scriptures hard to be understood.
Let us begin by saying WE ARE DEAD TO SIN. 6:3-7 says clearly that our water baptism is a burial with Christ that verse 17 adds we must have faith and believe from the heart. Rom 6:3-7 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? (4) Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (5) For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: (6) Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (7) For he that is dead is freed from sin. Rom 6:17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
So many people have a vague knowledge of death to sin, but, for the life of them, cannot quite figure out why they still sin if they are dead to it.
PEOPLE DEAD TO SIN WILL STILL SIN IF THEY DO NOT GIVE GOD OPPORTUNITY TO LIVE THROUGH THEM. Now, that immediately raises something that most believers are not aware of.
Let's dig into this. We are dead to sin.
Rom 6:7-11 For he that is dead is freed from sin. (8) Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: (9) Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. (10) For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. (11) Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. We are so freed from sin that we are as dead to it as Jesus Christ was when He died to sin ONE SINGLE TIME.
Likewise, CONSIDER YOURSELF THE SAME. BUT, STILL, WHY DO WE SIN, then? Verse 12 gives a clue. Rom 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. LET NO SIN REIGN. "LET" implies allowing sin to reign.
We may not even realize we are LETTING sin reign over us when we sin, but that is why we sin.
So we have moved on from asking WHY WE SIN, to HOW DO WE STOP ALLOWING SIN TO RULE OVER US? This is a big step.
And this reminds us of verse 2. Rom 6:1-2 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? (2) God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? We do not have to CONTINUE in sin, since we are NOT LIVING TO SIN.
Another word we have to analyze is OBEY. Rom 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. This brings us to another level!
This raises the issue of being SERVANTS!
Verse 13 sheds more light. Rom 6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. YIELD is the same word in Greek as PRESENT as in Roman 12:2... present your bodies a living sacrifice. This tells us WE HAVE BEEN PRESENTING SIN WITH AN OPPORTUNITY TO RULE US everytime we have sinned!
Cut off that opportunity!
So far, we first asked, "WHY DO I SIN?"
We may not have realized this either, but we have actually been presenting our bodies for sin to operate through them and cause us to commit sinful actions.
This takes us back to 6:7-11.
Now, stop and realize something.
Some people think God cannot use them.
So one must have CONFIDENCE that God WANTS TO USE YOU.
Imagine people thinking they're too unclean to be used by God, because they tried and tried to do good, and to stop sinning, and they never succeeded.
Yield YOURSELVES and YOUR BODIES as instruments.
Rom 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Sin cannot have dominion over you or FORCE YOU TO SIN, because you've been freed from sin by death. This death is mentioned again here: Rom 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. Not only dead to sin, but also DEAD TO THE LAW! DEAD BY THE BODY OF CHRIST.
Rom 6:15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. We should NOT BE SINNING.
Not only do we have to know WE DIED TO SIN, but also this: Rom 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? THIS IS DEALING WITH SERVANTS.
When people expect to always sin, THEY ARE YIELDING TO IT!
That is why we have to realize WE DO NOT HAVE TO SIN, BECAUSE WE ARE DEAD TO SIN. Now, once we realize we're dead to sin, and we've simply been letting sin rule by giving ourselves to it due to expecting to sin, we stop expecting.
I said we'd pick this up again, but WE ARE SERVANTS TO SOMEONE.
If we try to do good, by not realizing we can only be servants of someone, then we will experience this: Rom 7:19-25 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. (20) Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. (21) I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. (22) For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: (23) But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. (24) O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (25) I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. Verse 25 sums up the problem.
Instead of making yourselves do good, yield to God as a SERVANT He wants to use, since you died to sin and are alive from the dead to serve God.
Here is one great answer:
Rom 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? Rom 6:17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Notice what changed our position as servants of sin.
Rom 6:6-7 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (7) For he that is dead is freed from sin. Romans 6:17 = Romans 6:3-7 If we sinned after being freed from sin, we ignorantly allowed ourselves to yield to sin so it could rule over us.
Believers ins when they do no t have to, because they DO EITHER NOT KNOW the truth or DO NOT APPRECIATE THE truth that they are dead to sin.
If you were freed from a dictator's government who tortured you and abused you, and you gave him the opportunity to rule over you due to your ignorance that you were freed, do you think he is going to stand there and say he cannot, because you died to him?
When you finally know you are dead to sin, and all set up as a servant of God and of righteousness, to be able to present yourself as an opportunity for Him to live through you, you can do what you never realized nor believed you could do before. There are two kinds of people who never succeed. PEOPLE WHO.. 1) Don't know they are dead to sin. 2) And Expect to sin. OR PEOPLE WHO... 1) Don't know they are dead to . 2) And try to make themselves stop sinning or doing good. Here is the recipe for successful victory. 1) Know you are dead to sin. 2) Know that when you sin you have allowed sin to rule you. 3) Do not make yourself do good and stop sinning, but yield to God and believe that when you present yourself, He'll take the opportunity and USE YOU and ENABLE YOU to do good. God is inside us, but so is sin.
This requires some faith.
Rom 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (2) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. There is the YIELDING AGAIN!
Expecting is FAITH.
Once you spend some time after knowing the truth and the proper concept to have, and start considering yourself dead to sin and alive to God so you can present yourself to Him and see Him use you, you will find it EASIER TO HAVE FAITH FOR THIS.
You'll say, "Now that I know I am dead to sin, and that I have been allowing sin to rule in me and giving it opportunity to do so, since I have been EXPECTING TO SIN, not knowing the reality, ....
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