6:17-20 What do we learn from what Paul says here?
6:17-20 What do we learn from what Paul says here?
In V17-18 Paul is contrasting Christians' old relationship to sin and their new relationship to God. He is reminding us that we were once servants of sin but have been set free from its power because we obeyed the gospel truths he is expounding here.
We were changed and converted by them and the change has wrought in us obedience to God that originates in the depths of our heart. We are now wholeheartedly in accord with God because of our union with Jesus (CP V22; 8:1-16; 1Cor 6:9-11; 2Cor 5:17; Col 1:21-22; 3:8-10).
In Ro 6:19-20 Paul exhorts us to continue yielding our bodily members to righteousness and holiness even as we previously yielded them to sin and uncleanness. The same parts of our body once used for impurity are now to be used for holiness. Now that we have been baptized into Christ we must follow after holiness or forfeit our place in His future eternal kingdom (CP 2Cor 7:1; Col 3:1-7; He 12:12-16).
Paul impresses upon us in Ro 6:19 the weakness in our natural self, but if it was not possible to overcome that weakness in the power of the resurrected Christ then his exhortation to do so would be meaningless. In V20 Paul restates the fact that one cannot be a sinner and a saint at the same time.
(See comments on all Ro 6 questions, also Ro 3:9, 5:12-14, 7:4, 7:7-23, 8:1-2, 8:3-4; Ga 5:17; Jas 4:5 and 1 Jn 3:6-9 and author's studies Romans 6 - a Study on God's Empowering of Believers through Jesus Christ to Overcome Sin in his book Advanced Studies in the Christian Faith (Volume 1),
The Power of God in Christians to Overcome the Devil,
The Doctrine of Grace and Regeneration and Sanctification Defined in his book Advanced Studies in the Christian Faith (Volume 2), and What being Born Again Means in his book Foundational Truths of the Christian Faith).