Deliverance From Sinful Behaviour...

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I believe the sixth chapter of the Book of Romans may be either the most greatly misunderstood or the most largely ignored of all the passages of the Bible. If our Christian leaders had preached this passage as it stands, we would not be in the current disaster, in which Divine grace is portrayed as an alternative to godly personality and behavior on the part of the believers.

(11/7/2010). The very first verse of the sixth chapter shows that the current teaching of sovereign "grace" is a destructive error. What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? (Romans 6:1)

The Apostle Paul understood that his emphasis on righteousness apart from the works of the Law of Moses would be interpreted to mean righteousness apart from godly behavior. Actually, sin is the breaking of the eternal law of God, of which the Law of Moses is an abridged form. The power of sin is the Law!

Therefore, the Apostle issued a disclaimer: "I am not saying that as we turn from the Law of Moses and place our faith in Jesus Christ we now are free to sin. It is only as we put to death the deeds of our body through the wisdom and power of the Spirit of God that we lay hold on eternal life.

"You do not understand God at all if you think for one moment that He has issued a new covenant that permits sin. Rather, the new covenant is the writing of God's eternal moral law in our minds and hearts, not the abandoning of God's law. God's law is what He is, and He cannot have fellowship with those who reject His Person, way, and will." By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? (Romans 6:2)

The key to understanding this chapter is the expression: "who have died to sin." Exactly what does this mean? Are we saying we can't sin? Of course not. If we claim that we do not sin, the Apostle John would refer to us as a liar. "Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?," Paul asks.

Are we saying it does not matter if we sin? This position would go against many passages of the New Testament. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. (I John 3:6)

Does the expression mean, as so many are saying today, that when we sin God sees us through Christ so it is just as though we did not sin?

Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame. (I Corinthians 15:34)

If God does not see our sinning because of Christ, then what sense does the above verse make?

Well then, what does the expression "who have died to sin" mean? How have we died to sin? We have counted that we have been crucified with Christ. Because of this we are free from the Law of Moses. But we never are free from the way of righteousness. We are to take the position by faith that we have been crucified with Christ. Now we have died to sin. Now we are free to turn from Moses and place our faith in Christ.

Christ has given us the Spirit of God, whose task it is to lead us in putting to death the actions of our sinful nature. When we are cooperating with the Holy Spirit, it is as though we had kept the Law of Moses perfectly, even if we had never read the Law of Moses. The righteousness of the One who kept the Law perfectly and completely is imputed to us.

In order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:4)

If we are to receive the ascribed righteousness promised to those who turn from Moses to Christ, we must be cooperating with the Spirit of God as He leads us in putting to death the actions of our sinful nature.

Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ((Romans 6:3)

The above verse is the attitude we must take throughout our entire Christian discipleship. When we are baptized in water it is a dramatization of the fact that we are being baptized into Jesus' death on the cross.

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Romans 6:4)

After we have been baptized in water we are to hold firmly throughout our lifetime the fact that we have been baptized into the death of Christ so that we may live a new life, which actually is His life. We keep on being brought down to weakness and futility and keep on being raised by eternal resurrection life.

Since we are living in resurrection life along with Christ, it is expected that we do not keep sinning; and when we do sin, and confess that sin, there is authority to forgive the sin and power to give us victory over that compulsion in the future. Meanwhile, we continually count that we are dead and alive in Christ.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. (Romans 6:5)

Our hope (and I cannot emphasize this too strongly!) of being raised from the dead when Christ next appears depends on our living today in union with His death and resurrection. We are working out our resurrection today, although the manifestation of what we are maintaining by faith will not occur until the Lord appears.

(As I reflect on what I am writing at this point I realize it may be over the heads of the majority of the Christian people in America; not because they are stupid but because they have not been taught.. But perhaps there may be one or two in each assembly of Christians, a remnant, who will hear and obey what is declared in the sixth chapter of the Book of Romans.)

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— Romans 6:6)

Our "old self" refers to our original adamic personality. The "body ruled by sin" is speaking of our sinful nature. In order that sin may be removed from us, so that we no longer are slaves to it. our entire first personality, the adamic personality, the good and the bad of it, must be crucified. It is only as we are willing to participate in the sufferings of Christ that the Spirit of God can get at the sinful nature that dwells in our flesh, and destroy it.

This is how we are delivered from the sin that dwells in our body.

Because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. (Romans 6:7)

When we count that we have been crucified with Christ, we are asserting that we have died. God regards this as a genuine death, and that is why judgment follows our profession of faith. When we die in Christ in this manner, we legally are free to leave Moses and be married to Christ.

Our past sins, then, are no longer remembered against us. So our remaining problem is to follow the Holy Spirit as He sets us free from the compulsions of sin. This He does, one at a time, as we follow Him diligently.

This is the program of redemption. It proceeds until finally, at the Lord's return, physical death itself is overcome and we are removed from its authority and power. Such is a primary goal of the Christian warfare–immortality in the body.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. (Romans 6:8)

Remember, Paul in this chapter is telling us that by saying we attain to righteousness apart from the works of the Law of Moses, he does not mean we are free to sin. What Paul is teaching in Chapter Six of Romans is how we can be set free from sin. Not from the guilt of sin, because that was accomplished on the cross. But from the power of sin to keep us in slavery to it.

The solution to the problem of slavery to sin is to live with Christ. This means we continually, night and day, invite Christ into every aspect of our thinking, speaking, and acting. For us to live is to be Christ. We have died with Him that we might live with Him. This is what it means to abide in Christ. The fruit of our abiding is freedom from the power of sin, and transformation into Christ's moral image.

For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. (Romans 6:9)

Physical death has no power over Christ. The program of redemption works in us until it will be true of us that physical death no longer has mastery over us. "The sting of death is sin." As through Christ we gain victory over indwelling sin, we are gaining victory over the authority and power of physical death.

Mankind lost access to immortality, in the Garden of Eden, by being denied access to the Tree of Life. As we, through Christ, are able to gain victory over the compulsions of sin. we are permitted to eat from the Tree of Life, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is how we attain to the resurrection unto eternal life and glory, the resurrection that was the goal of the Apostle Paul.

Through our Lord Jesus we thus are able to regain our lost inheritance—that of immortality. Such is the promise of John 3:16)

The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. (Romans 6:10)

Our present sufferings will one day come to an end. Let us therefore live our life unto God, as did the patriarch, Enoch. We are not of this present world. We have been called out of the world that we may become a member of the Royal Priesthood. We must always keep this in mind, so it will be revealed in our personality and behavior. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:11)

Let us consider that we have died to sin once. We have been freed for eternity from the guilt of sin, provided we follow the Holy Spirit until He completely destroys our sin nature. The Bible teaches that God intends to "put and end to sin" once and for all, and to "bring in everlasting righteousness":

Seventy "sevens" are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place. (Daniel 9:24)

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. (Romans 6:12)

For so long the Christian churches have taught that we cannot gain victory over sin. We must rely on "grace" as a substitute for growth in Christ. But this is a lie, and an exceedingly destructive one at that. The Spirit of God in the Apostle Paul commands us to not let sin govern our actions; to "not obey its evil desires."

When we teach that it is no use trying to keep from sinning we are doing the devil's business. (Such darkness reigns in the Christian churches!) Of course, we cannot overcome sin by our own strength and wisdom. But through our Lord Jesus Christ we indeed can overcome any and all sinful actions, provided we carefully follow and obey the mighty Spirit of God.

Jesus Christ is stronger than Satan! Let all the saints of God say, "Amen!"

Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. (Romans 6:13)

Here is a choice each one of us can make. We can offer ourselves to sin, or we can offer ourselves to God. If we are to gain victory over sin, we must live a consecrated Christian life. This means setting aside time to pray each day; to read our Bible; to attend the assembling of fervent believers; to give of our means as the Lord directs; to seek the gifts of the Spirit so we can serve the Body of Christ; to look to Christ continually throughout the day and night.

We absolutely must present our body a living sacrifice so we may prove the will of God for our life. We must keep away from the activities of the world as much as possible, praying carefully about all we are doing. The Bible commands us to "redeem the time." This means we have no time to spend on that which is worthless, such as on the ever growing array of electronic gadgets.

In all that we do, we must look to Jesus to see if we are spending our time wisely, using our talents and resources to help with the building of the Kingdom of God. Nothing less than what I have just written is an acceptable Christian life.

If we do not do these things, we will not lay hold on eternal life. We will not grow in the ability to resist sin. We will not be able to stand, or to help our loved ones to stand, during the moral chaos that America is entering, as God removes His Presence from us because of our sinning. Every part of our personality is to be an instrument of righteousness.

For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. (Romans 6:14)

When we are seeking to live righteously by obeying the Law of Moses, sin masters us. The Law tells us what is sinful, but it does not provide us with the grace of God. The grace of God is the Lord Jesus Christ. He gives us victory over sin if we walk with Him at all times.

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! (Romans 6:15)

Apparently there were people in Paul's day, just as there are in our day, who taught that because we no longer are under the Law of Mose but under Divine grace, we now are free to sin. Thus we have wrested Paul's teaching to our own destruction, just as they did so many centuries ago.

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? (Romans 6:16)

If we want to we can choose to be the slave of sin. This will lead us to spiritual death, even though at one time we received Christ and were baptized in water.

Or we can choose to be the slave of Christ and obey Him. This choice will lead us to righteousness in God's sight, and eternal life.

But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. (Romans 6:17)

"You used to be slaves to sin." Does that sound to you like we are compelled to keep on sinning while we are in this world? If we are willing to obey from our heart Christ and His Apostles, we will free ourselves from slavery to sin. We will save ourselves. We will lay hold on eternal life.

Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. (I Timothy 4:16)

You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. (Romans 6:16)

One of the great areas of misunderstanding of our day has to do with the difference between the guilt of sin and the power of sin. When the above verse speaks of being set free from sin. the preceding verses show us beyond all doubt that Paul is not speaking here of the guilt of sin but of the power of sin to control our behaviour.

I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. (Romans 6:19)

I do not see what could be more clear. Think of the preaching about "grace" today, and then see how different it is from the idea that we must offer ourselves as "slaves to righteousness leading to holiness.

When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. (Romans 6:20)

This is an interesting thought, isn't it? It appears we Christians are controlled either by sin or by righteousness. This does not leave anyone in the middle, I guess.

What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! (Romans 6:21)

Remember, this chapter is addressed to Christians who have been baptized in water. If we choose to be the slave of sin, we will die spiritually. This means when the Lord appears, we will not be raised from the dead and ascend to meet Him in the air.

I have never heard a minister preach this. It appears that the majority of Christian pastor and evangelists tell us we ought to try to do good, but if we fail it does not matter because we are going to go to Heaven by "grace."

The prevailing error in Christian thinking is that Christ came to bring us to Heaven. There is no basis in the New Testament for this idea. The issue is life, especially immortality in the body. Christ is our Redeemer. He came to enable us to regain what we lost through Satan's trickery.

What we lost was not residence in Heaven, it was access to the Tree of Life so we would not die physically. Isn't that what John 3:16 says? The term "perish" is used in the Gospels to mean the loss of physical life.

The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (I Corinthians 15:26)

For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. ((I Corinthians 15:53)

Sometimes I wonder how all of this is going to work out. It seems as though most Christian people of today are not presenting their body a living sacrifice. Rather they are waiting to go to a mansion in Heaven, being carried there in a "rapture." This is so unscriptural it is ludicrous.

I do not believe they all are going to Hell or the Lake of Fire, unless they are wicked. I think if the sixth chapter of Romans were carefully explained to them, numerous believers would come to Christ that they might gain victory over sin.

There is no way that anyone is going to be raised from the dead and ascend to Christ until first that individual has appeared before the Judgment Seat of Christ and has confessed and renounced his or her sins and stubborn disobedience.

There is doctrinal chaos today, no two ways about it.

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. (Romans 6:22)

Please remember that "set free from sin" is not speaking of being set free from the guilt of sin but set free from the power of sin to control us.

The Divine gift of eternal life, including immortality in the body, results from holiness of personality and behavior. Holiness of personality and behavior results from our choosing to be slaves of God and of righteousness, rather than slaves of sin.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

Perhaps you will think I am exaggerating, but Romans 6:23 actually is preached to the unsaved rather than to Christians, to whom it is written. The current idea was presented on a sign outside a church. The sign said, "Come inside and find out about a free trip to Heaven."A free trip to Heaven!" How unscriptural can you get?

I have heard it said that If someone handed you a fifty-dollar bill you would take it. Why won't you accept the gift of eternal life?

I suspect that many true Christians have come to Christ and eternal life in this manner. But if they did, they had to turn away from slavery to sin and embrace slavery to God and righteousness.

The gift is that of the opportunity to gain bodily immortality, that which was lost in the beginning. Our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, enables us to escape the clutches of Satan and embrace God and His righteousness. Christ has redeemed us, that is, He has paid for us with His blood on the cross.

As we day by day turn away from sin and seek to live righteously, we grow in holiness. The result of growing in holiness is growth in resurrection life, in bodily immortality. Immortality will be given to us when the final trumpet blows and Christ appears.

I think it is time for God's people to take a careful look at the sixth chapter of Romans. It appears that at some point we have gotten off the Gospel track.

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? (Romans 6:1) (Taken from "Deliverance From Sinful Behavior," an excerpt from The Theology of Robert B. Thompson. Copyright © 2010, by Robert B. Thompson.)

You can hear the morning sermon at morning. http://www.wor.org/audio/audio.htm

You can hear the evening sermon at evening. http://www.wor.org/audio/audio.htm

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