I was leading a
Bible study on
Romans chapter
6, when it
became clear to
me that the
secret of how to
overcome
temptation to
sin is hidden in
plain view.
Almost every
Christian fights
with some sin or
other. We fight,
and much too
often, we lose.
Why is that?
The answer is
surprisingly
simple: We try
overcoming it
the wrong way.
Happily, both
the wrong way
and the right
way are revealed
to us in Romans
6. Once it
becomes clear
how to fight sin
the right way,
many of our sin
battles will
find victory at
the end instead
of defeat.
Now, every
Christian knows
Jesus died for
our sin on the
cross, was
buried for three
days, and rose
from the dead in
a bodily
resurrection. We
also know that
when we trust in
Him by faith,
God saves us by
His grace. Grace
is defined as an
undeserved gift.
It’s also been
illustrated in
an acrostic:
G – God’s
R – Riches
A – At
C – Christ’s
E – Expense
As we grow in
our knowledge of
God’s word, we
learn that no
amount of good
works can save
us. The human
tendency to
‘work’ our way
into Heaven is
very common,
indeed,
universal. We
instinctively
try to do good
works by obeying
God’s Law, which
includes the Ten
Commandments,
but Scripture
tells us no one
can be saved by
the works of the
law. (Galatians
2:16) We are
saved by grace,
not law.
All to often,
though, what
happens once we
are already
saved is that we
try to overcome
the temptation
to sin by
switching back
to the works of
the law. That is
the wrong way
mentioned
earlier. Let’s
turn to Romans
chapter 6 to see
the wrong
way—and the
right
way—explained
and taught.
Now let me say
at the outset
that I believe
that once we are
saved, we are
always and
forever saved.
You know someone
understands the
implications of
God’s grace that
saves us—and
keeps us
saved—when they
ask something
like, ‘You mean,
I can go out and
do all sorts of
sins, and still
go to Heaven?’
While that
question shows a
grasp of the
implications of
grace, the
conclusion
reached is
really not the
correct
conclusion we
should draw, as
we shall see in
this study of
Romans 6.
Starting at
verse 1, we find
Paul
anticipating
someone’s
jumping to that
conclusion:
‘What shall we
say then? Are we
to continue in
sin so that
grace may
increase?’
(Romans 6:1)
This question
comes from
implications
derived from
Paul’s statement
two verses
previous:
‘...but where
sin increased,
grace abounded
all the more.’
(Romans 5:20b)
It is in this
verse that we
find why we are
once-saved-always-saved
(OSAS). No
matter how much
sin we have, God
has an even
greater amount
of grace to
cover it. Sadly,
at times, we as
believers fall
into a state of
such sin and
wretchedness
that we doubt
God could ever
love us. At such
times, we don’t
just have ‘some’
sin, nor do we
have just a
‘pile’ of sins.
Rather, we have
a MOUNTAIN of
sin! This is
where God’s
grace expressed
in Romans 5:20b
comes to our
rescue. If we
give God our
mountain of sin,
no matter how
great that
mountain, He
gives us His
even greater
mountain of
grace.
When that
realization
sinks in and we
understand that
we cannot
out-sin God’s
grace, that’s
when the
implications of
grace sink in as
well. Once
saved, ALWAYS
saved! God’s
grace covers it
ALL! So, when we
finally grasp
the truth ‘where
sin increased,
grace abounded
all the more,’
in true human
fashion we jump
to the wrong
conclusion,
‘Well, then I
can just go out
and sin all I
want because
grace will just
increase to
cover me.’ This
is what Paul is
expressing in
Romans 6:1,
‘What shall we
say then? Are we
to continue in
sin so that
grace may
increase?’
The answer,
divinely given
to us through
Paul, is sharp:
‘May it never
be! How shall we
who died to sin
still live in
it?’
Paul says we
‘died to sin.’
How is this
possible? What
does he mean?
When I trusted
Christ, I didn’t
die, did I? I’m
still breathing,
my heart is
still beating,
so I’m still
alive, right? It
should be
obvious that
Paul is not
talking about
physical
matters, but
spiritual ones.
He is using
physical terms
we can see to
explain
spiritual ones
we can’t see.
With a spiritual
focus, then,
let’s follow
Paul’s line of
reasoning. What
he means by it,
we shall see
become clearer
as Romans 6 goes
on. He teaches
us that we have
‘died to sin’ in
a spiritual
sense, and then
raises the
question, ‘(how
shall we) still
live in it?’
In human terms,
death is the
ultimate
separator.
There’s no going
back. It is
final to humans,
but not to God
‘who gives life
to the dead.’
(Romans 4:17b)
Paul illustrates
this point in
verse 3:
‘Or do you not
know that all of
us who have been
baptized into
Christ Jesus
have been
baptized into
His death?
Therefore we
have been buried
with Him through
baptism into
death, so that
as Christ was
raised from the
dead through the
glory of the
Father, so we
too might walk
in newness of
life.’ (Romans
6:3-4)
Baptism is
celebrated
throughout the
world by
Christians.
Inwardly, we
have been
baptized by the
Holy Spirit
(Luke 3:16; Acts
2:3-4; Ephesians
1:13-14).
Outwardly, we
practice water
baptism. Water
baptism does not
save us, nor add
anything to our
salvation (1
Corinthians
1:14-17). What
water baptism
does is to
illustrate
outwardly a
spiritual
reality that
happened
inwardly in a
believer’s life.
When someone is
water baptized,
they are lowered
fully under the
water, then
after a moment
are lifted back
up to the air
and sunshine
again. When the
believer is
lowered beneath
the water,
symbolically it
paints a picture
of a believer’s
death and burial
to our old
sinful life.
When lifted back
up out of the
water, it
symbolizes
resurrection to
new life.
So when verse 3
says ‘we have
been baptized
into Christ
Jesus,’ it is
saying that we
are identified
with Jesus
Christ and
joined to Him (1
Corinthians
6:17). When He
goes, we go.
Where we go, He
goes (1
Corinthians
6:15-16). By
virtue of being
baptized into
Christ Jesus by
our faith, we
are counted as
having died to
sin and buried
when Jesus died
and was buried,
and we are
counted as
having arisen to
new spiritual
life when He
rose from the
dead.
Christianity
isn’t about
rules and
regulations. It
isn’t even about
just knowing
things about
Jesus. It’s
rather about
being joined to
Him spiritually
for the long
haul, meaning
forever. Where
He goes, we go.
We are
inseparably
joined to Him as
members of His
body (1
Corinthians
12:27).
Now that Jesus
has risen from
the dead in a
newness of
eternal life, so
Scripture is
teaching us that
we, too, now are
alive from the
dead and walk in
newness of life:
‘For if we have
become united
with Him in the
likeness of His
death, certainly
we shall also be
in the likeness
of His
resurrection,
knowing this,
that our old
self was
crucified with
Him, in order
that our body of
sin might be
done away with,
so that we would
no longer be
slaves to sin;
for he who has
died is freed
from sin.’
(Romans 6:5-7)
We Christians
live in a dual
existence. In
the spiritual
realm, we are
children of God
(John 1:12;
Romans 8:4;
Ephesians 5:1-2;
1 Peter 1:23; 1
John 3:1-3).
Yet, in the
physical realm,
we each yet live
in a physical
body of flesh
and blood which
carries in it
sinful impulses
to ‘do its own
thing,’ which
means, to rebel
against God and
His law, indeed,
against ANY law,
whether God’s or
Man’s. (Hint:
When you see a
lawn of lush
green grass with
a sign that says
STAY OFF THE
GRASS, what’s
your first
impulse?)
This begins to
get to the heart
of why we sin
still, even
after believing
in Jesus Christ
and being saved
forever. There
are two dynamics
working in us,
one tugging at
us to do good,
and the other
tugging at us to
do evil
(Galatians
5:17). Now we’ve
seen WHY we sin.
In Romans 6,
Paul teaches us
the foundation
for WHAT we can
do about it,
meaning, how to
overcome sin the
right way. In
verse 7, he
writes, ‘for he
who has died is
freed from sin.’
The word ‘freed’
carries with it
the idea of
liberation and
escape from
slavery and
tyranny. We must
understand that
before we
believed in
Christ, we were
slaves of sin.
We had no choice
but to follow
its directives,
impulses and
urges. Now, in
Christ, we are
set free. (More
on this later.)
‘Now if we have
died with
Christ, we
believe that we
shall also live
with Him,
knowing that
Christ, having
been raised from
the dead, is
never to die
again; death no
longer is master
over Him. For
the death that
He died, He died
to sin once for
all; but the
life He lives,
He lives to
God.’ (Romans
6:8-10).
The above
passage says,
‘if we have died
with Christ.’ If
we are
believers, then
this is
spiritually true
of us. Moreover,
we have the
knowledge that
we, too, will
live with Him.
This isn’t only
a statement that
our bodies will
one day be
resurrected as
Christ’s was on
that
Resurrection
Sunday (aka
Easter.) It is
also a statement
of the spiritual
reality that we
Christians,
being born-again
children of God,
have a new
spiritual life
living in us
today that we
did not possess
before believing
in Jesus.
Just as Jesus
died to our sin
(and through our
being joined to
Him, we have,
too), now He
lives to God,
and we do, too.
With this
foundation laid,
Paul now
instructs us how
to rightly
overcome
temptations to
sin:
‘Even so
consider
yourselves to be
dead to sin, but
alive to God in
Christ Jesus.’
(Romans 6:11)
Let’s review why
this is truly
the way to
rightly overcome
sin. In verse 6,
we find,
‘knowing this,
that our old
self was
crucified with
Him...’
Crucifixion is
fatal. It is
vitally
important that
we know this,
and on the basis
of it, consider
ourselves ‘dead
to sin.’
Let me
illustrate.
Suppose we are
at a wake
mourning over a
friend who died.
This friend was,
to be honest,
very overweight.
He loved hot
fudge sundaes,
and could not
resist the
impulse to eat
that ice cream
creation at
every possible
opportunity.
Suppose we bring
an extra large
hot fudge sundae
to the open
coffin, wave it
suggestively
before his face,
and say, ‘Mmmm,
look at what I
have here, my
friend, a
double-sized hot
fudge sundae.’
Believers, let’s
lock that image
in our minds.
Our friend is
dead to hot
fudge sundaes.
They can no
longer entice
him. They have
no more power
over him.
So it is, as a
spiritual
reality, that we
are to consider
ourselves as
being dead to
sins. When a
temptation to
any sin comes
along, we are to
reckon in our
hearts, ‘I am
dead to this.’
But, this is
only half the
picture. The
verse doesn’t
stop at being
‘dead to sin,’
but tells us we
are also to
consider
ourselves,
‘alive to God in
Christ Jesus.’
So, when
temptation to
sin comes along,
we need to
reckon within
ourselves, ‘I am
dead to this,
but I am alive
to God in Christ
Jesus.’
As a result of
this
understanding,
Paul then
writes:
‘Therefore, do
not let sin
reign in your
mortal body so
that you obey
its lusts, and
do not go on
presenting the
members of your
body to sin as
instruments of
unrighteousness;
but present
yourselves to
God as those
alive from the
dead, and your
members as
instruments of
righteousness to
God.’ (Romans
6:12-13)
For anyone who
has felt trapped
and helpless in
a sin habit or
addiction, the
above verses may
seem shocking or
incredulous.
Verse 12 says,
‘do not let sin
reign.’ The word
‘let’ speaks of
permission, as
in allowing it
to happen. Yes,
that’s right. If
you are feeling
trapped in a sin
habit or
addiction, you
are that way
because you
‘let’ it happen.
The GOOD NEWS is
that it doesn’t
have to hold you
any longer. Look
at verse 13: ‘do
not go on.’ It’s
saying, don’t
allow it any
more. If you’re
caught in a
habit or
addiction, stay
with this just a
bit longer.
Trust Jesus! You
can get free!
We are
instructed, ‘do
not let sin
reign in your
mortal body so
that you obey
its lust.’ This
means we aren’t
helpless—we have
a choice, and
knowing we have
a choice should
reignite a flame
of hope instead
of despair. Then
we’re told, ‘do
not go on
presenting the
members of your
body to sin as
instruments of
unrighteousness.’
The idea here is
voluntarily
surrendering our
bodies to their
sinful impulses.
Picture two
enemy soldiers.
One has a rifle
with a bayonet.
That soldier
voluntarily
hands his weapon
to the enemy,
who promptly
takes it and
stabs the first
with his own
bayonet.
This picture is
what is meant by
‘presenting the
members of your
body to sin as
instruments of
unrighteousness.’
When we
surrender our
bodies to sinful
impulses, we’re
equipping sin
with the tools
to do us harm.
So, Paul tells
us to instead do
is, ‘present
yourselves to
God as those
alive from the
dead, and your
members as
instruments of
righteousness to
God.’
We died to sin,
and (in our
illustration) to
hot fudge
sundaes. We are
now rather alive
to God. Since we
are dead to sin,
no sin habit or
addiction can
truly hold us in
its power,
unless we allow
it by
surrendering
ourselves to it.
We only have two
choices:
surrender to
sin, or
surrender to
God. Ask
yourself this,
‘Which choice is
better?’
Paul sums up his
argument:
‘For sin shall
not be master
over you...’
(Romans 6:14a)
Then he
introduces
another piece of
overcoming sin
the right way:
‘...for you are
not under law
but under
grace.’ (Romans
6:14b)
If you have been
following this
message so far,
the question
ought to arise
in your mind,
‘Why is Paul
bringing up
being ‘under
law?’’ Indeed,
since Paul has
been teaching us
that we are dead
to sin, then why
does he bring up
the law?
Instead of
inquiring into
the law, should
we not be asking
the question,
‘How is it that
a Christian, who
has died to sin
and is alive to
God, can be
seemingly
trapped in a
particular sin
habit or
addiction?’ Why
has Paul’s line
of reasoning
gone to the law?
The answer to
both questions
is the same.
Paul wrote to
the Corinthians:
‘The sting of
death is sin,
and the power of
sin is the law.’
(1 Corinthians
15:56)
The power of sin
is the law.
Think about that
for a moment.
The power ... of
sin ... is the
law. I said
earlier that
there are two
dynamics working
in us. One of
them is called
‘the flesh,’
which wants to
rebel against
any law, whether
God’s (like the
Ten
Commandments) or
Man’s. A sober
truth about our
natures and the
law, is that law
not only stirs
up rebellion in
our hearts
(Romans 7:5),
but actually
strengthens our
temptations to
entice us to
give into sin.
‘The power of
sin is the law.’
Returning to
Romans 6, where
Paul is teaching
us how to
overcome sin, we
now know the
reason Paul is
telling us in
Romans 6:14b,
‘...for you are
not under law,
but under
grace.’ This
message’s title
is ‘Overcoming
Sin the Wrong
Way.’ The ‘wrong
way’ is try to
fight temptation
with
law-keeping.
Let me
illustrate.
Suppose I sin. I
am grieved
(under the Holy
Spirit’s
conviction) that
I did it. So I
repent, and
promise I won’t
do it again.
Sounds normal
and natural,
right? But it’s
the wrong way to
overcome sin.
The moment I
make a promise
‘I won’t do it
again,’ I’ve put
myself under a
law, namely, ‘I
shalt not do it
again.’
The power of sin
is the law. Now,
having put
myself under a
law not to do it
again, the next
time temptation
comes along,
it’s actually
harder to resist
than it was
before, because
putting myself
under a law has
given power to
the sin. So, I
give in the next
time, and not
only do I feel
guilty for
having done it,
but also I feel
bad that I broke
my promise. So,
I promise ever
harder, ‘I
really won’t do
it again.’
However, this
just puts me
under law even
further. The
power of sin is
the law. When
that temptation
comes along
again, I fall
for it even
easier than the
last time. So, I
put myself under
an even harsher
law than before,
‘I absolutely
won’t do it
again.’
On and on the
cycle goes,
repenting and
putting myself
more and more
under law by my
ever-stronger
promises. The
outcome is that
eventually I run
out of willpower
and hope. I
despair and cry
out, ‘I am a
such loser! I
keep doing the
same sin! I’m
hopeless! I keep
breaking my word
and
disappointing
God!’ Then I go
on to despair of
how God could
ever love
someone so
deplorable and
despicable as
me.
Sounds like just
a personal
problem for me
only? Not
really. That
cycle is
described in
Scripture in
Romans 7:15-23,
as is the
despairing cry
at the cycle’s
conclusion:
‘Wretched man
that I am! Who
will set me free
from the body of
this death?’
(Romans 7:24)
The answer,
happily, is
given
immediately:
‘Thanks to be to
God through
Jesus Christ our
Lord!’ (Romans
7: 25a)
God sets us free
by His grace
through our
faith in Jesus
Christ.
Paul also
described this
idea of trying
to please God by
the efforts of
our flesh and
law-keeping in
his writing to
the Galatians:
‘You foolish
Galatians , who
has bewitched
you, before
whose eyes Jesus
Christ was
publicly
portrayed as
crucified? This
is the only
thing I want to
find out from
you: did you
receive the Holy
Spirit by the
works of the
law, or by
hearing with
faith? Are you
so foolish?
Having begun by
the Spirit, are
you now being
perfected by the
flesh?’
(Galatians
3:1-3)
We are NOT
‘being perfected
by the flesh’ by
‘the works of
the law.’ We are
being perfected
by God’s grace
through faith in
Jesus Christ!
So, coming back
to Romans 6:14b,
we again read,
‘for you are not
under law but
under grace.’
Paul is teaching
in Romans 6 the
right way to
overcome sin.
When faced with
temptation,
there is a wrong
way to respond,
and a right way
to respond. The
wrong way is to
respond with
law: ‘I won’t do
that. I must not
do that. It’s
wrong.’ This is
a ‘law’
response.
Remember, ‘the
power of sin is
the law.’ Paul
has already
taught us, ‘you
are not under
law, but under
grace.’
Now, contrast
this with the
right way to
respond to
temptation: ‘I
am dead to this
sin, but alive
to God through
Jesus Christ.’
This is a
‘grace’
response. We
don’t have to
submit to and
obey laws to
please God!
Rather, we
submit to God’s
grace, and THAT
pleases God!
Now, still
anticipating the
implications of
grace and how
someone could
still jump to
the wrong
conclusion, Paul
writes:
‘What then?
Shall we sin
because we are
not under law
but under grace?
May it never
be!’ (Romans
6:15)
It seems we
humans are
tenaciously and
almost incurably
‘religious,’ in
that we want to
please God with
our works in
order to be
acceptable to
Him. When our
religious nature
gets confronted
and shattered by
grace, we jump
from one extreme
to the other,
FROM stern
repression of
sinful impulses
through religion
TO rampant
indulgence in
those sinful
impulses when we
realize the
penalty has
already been
paid for us by
God’s grace. How
foolish we are!
Having revealed
our freedom
through grace by
faith in Jesus,
Paul again shows
why turning to
rampant sin is a
bad idea:
‘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?’
(Romans 6:16)
We humans were
created to
serve. Sin is a
terrible
taskmaster,
driving us to do
despicable and
hateful things,
and herds us
along toward
death.
In contrast,
Jesus said,
‘Come to me, all
who are weary
and heavy laden,
and I will give
you rest. Take
My yoke upon you
and learn from
Me, for I am
gentle and
humble in heart,
and you will
find rest for
your souls. For
My yoke is easy
and My burden is
light.’ (Matthew
11:28-30)
Singer Bob
Dylan, after his
conversion to
Jesus Christ,
did a song in
which he sang,
‘You got to
serve somebody.
It may be the
devil or it may
be the Lord, but
you go to serve
somebody.’
We were created
to serve, so
which will we
choose: sin,
that we may die;
or Jesus, that
we may live?
Paul resumes:
‘But thanks be
to God that
though you were
slaves to sin,
you became
obedient from
the heart to
that form of
teaching to
which you were
committed, and
having been
freed from sin,
you became
slaves of
righteousness. 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.
For when you
were slaves, you
were free in
regard to
righteousness.’
(Romans 6:17-20)
The wrong way to
live is in verse
19a. As we have
presented
ourselves to
impurity and
lawlessness by
giving ourselves
over to those
things, it
resulted ‘in
further
lawlessness.’
This means that
giving in to sin
just makes it
easier to give
in the next
time, and the
next, and the
next, and so on.
This is where
sin habits and
addictions find
their beginning.
The right way to
live is in verse
19b, ‘So now
present your
members as
slaves to
righteousness.’
Our slavery to
sin and its
power has been
broken by Jesus
Christ! Now, as
believers, we
are able to give
in to righteous
deeds,
‘resulting in
sanctification.’
Now, I’m going
to back up a bit
to recap the
wrong way and
the right way to
overcome sin.
Verse 11: ‘Even
so consider
yourselves to be
dead to sin, but
alive to God in
Christ Jesus.’
Verse 12: ‘Do
not let sin
reign in your
mortal body so
that you obey
its lusts.’
Verse 14: ‘For
sin shall not be
master over you,
for you are mot
under law, but
under grace.’
If we respond to
temptation in a
‘grace’ way,
then sin will
NOT reign, nor
be master over
us. However, if
we respond in a
‘law’ way, then
the reverse will
be true: Sin
WILL reign in
our mortal
bodies, and it
WILL be master
over us.
In light of
this, fellow
believers, if
you or I have a
sin habit or
addiction the
power of which
we can’t break,
what does that
say about which
way we have been
responding to
temptation: the
‘grace’ way or
the ‘law’ way?
Scripture
testifies, ‘The
power of sin is
the law.’ (1
Corinthians
15:56b)
If sin has power
in our lives,
then it becomes
clear that we
have been
responding in a
‘law’ way, does
it not? If we
want to be free,
we need to go
back to grace.
For the
believer,
there’s no time
like now to be
set free, for
there is no
amount or excess
of sin that God
hasn’t already
covered in
overflowing
grace through
our faith in
Jesus shedding
His blood and
dying for us on
the cross to pay
the penalty for
our sins!
‘...but where
sin increased,
grace abounded
all the more.’
(Romans 5:20b)
Paul concludes
Romans 6:
‘Therefore what
benefit were you
then deriving
from the things
of which you are
now ashamed? For
the outcome of
those things is
death. But now
having been
freed from sin
and enslaved to
God, you derive
your benefit,
resulting in
sanctification,
and the outcome,
eternal life.
For the wages of
sin is death,
but the free
gift of God is
eternal life in
Christ Jesus our
lord.’ (Romans
6:21-23)
If we have a sin
habit or
addiction, are
we not ashamed
of it?
Realistically,
there’s no
benefit to such,
only death. Yet,
we can now take
heart! We have
been ‘freed from
sin’ and
‘enslaved to
God.’ For many
people, slavery
invokes a
picture of shame
and
unpleasantness,
but serving God
is shockingly
different, for
it is
life-giving and
joyful. In
Christ Jesus, we
... are ...FREE!
That sin habit
or addiction is
NO match for the
awesome power
and grace of
God. To be free,
take to heart
verse 13, ‘and
do not go on
presenting the
members of your
body as
instruments of
unrighteousness;
but present
yourselves to
God as those
alive from the
dead, and your
members as
instruments of
righteousness to
God.’
For someone with
an addiction,
whether to
pornography,
drugs or
alcohol, there
is a physical
component
involved as well
as a spiritual
one. Yet, even
these are no
match for God’s
grace and our
freedom in
Christ Jesus.
For someone
addicted, there
is going to have
to be some
gut-honest
humbling of
self, confessing
it and
acknowledging
that we gave
ourselves over
to it; yet, this
is exactly what
God wants us to
do. As the above
Scripture says,
do not go on
presenting the
members of your
body (to sin)...
but present
yourselves to
God (by grace,
not law) as
those dead to
sin and alive to
God through
Jesus Christ.
We have each of
us been freed
from sin. Now
it’s time to
live free in
that truth.
Learn to respond
to each day’s
temptations in a
‘grace’ way, and
present the
members of your
body to God for
righteousness,
and you will
exult in an
astonishing
freedom you’d
otherwise given
up all hope of
ever
experiencing.
Consider
yourself dead to
sin but alive to
God through
Christ Jesus! Be
free!