Welcome to “Learning and Living the God-centered life”

Carmel Baptist Church

www.learningandlivingtheword.com
June 6, 2010
In the study of Romans 6 my goal is not for
us to just go through the chapter but rather
to have the chapter go through us!
Romans 6:15-23
When a person becomes a Christian it is
nothing less than moving from one slave owner
to the other slave owner.
There are 4 things to note regarding Romans 6:15-23

1. There are only 2 masters, either sin or righteousness

2. These two masters are diametrically opposite of one

another, the difference between light and darkness, life and
death, God and Satan, heaven and hell, everything that is
good and pure and all that is evil and destructive

3. Because they are opposites then you can't serve both of

them at once

4. Every single person is either a slave of one or the other,

there is no such thing as being totally free because you are
either free to sin or free to obey God
Romans 6:15
 A person who has passed from the realm of sin and death
into the realm of righteousness and life does not conclude in
their minds that they are going to sin because they aren't under
the law.

 The fact is that the law is no longer external to us and

pushing down on us telling us what not to do.

 The law now has been written internally on our hearts and
now we have been given a desire to do the things that God
commands.

 The law says "Do not covet" and now with the law written
on my heart I say I desire not to covet.
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?

Questions to ask
 Why doesn’t Paul say obedience resulting in life?
 Why does this result in righteousness I thought we were
already righteous?

We are going to look at the second question and try to

understand what Paul means about righteousness in this
verse.
The righteousness that Paul has already covered in
Romans 1-5 is a:
“declared” righteousness based on the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ.

So what kind of righteousness is Paul talking about that

comes from a Christians obedience to God’s word?

The term that Paul is going to use in Romans 6 is the

word SANCTIFICATION.
As we continue through Romans 6 observe the words and
phrases that need additional study.
Here is the list to date
 Died to sin
 Baptize
 Know
 Present
 Slave (7 times in Romans and 6 times in this chapter)
 Sanctification
Let’s take a quick look at the word sanctification
 Justification refers to my status (righteousness)
 Sanctification refers to my state (becoming what I already
am)

 Justification is external
 Sanctification is internal

 Justification is about how God looks on me

 Sanctification is about what God does in me

 Justification is about Christ dying for my sins on the cross

 Sanctification is about Christ at work in me by the Holy
Spirit transforming my life
Romans 6:16 brings our attention to the word slave.

The point that Paul is making here is that we are dealing

with two slave owners. Sin did not have you as a servant
but rather as a slave.
The word for slave in Romans 6 is the Greek word
“doulos”
Occurences in New Testament - 146 times
Occurences in Romans - 7 times and 6 being in
Romans Chapter 6:15-23
To be a slave (δοῦλος doulos) means
pertaining to a state of being completely controlled by
someone or something—‘subservient to, controlled by.’

for as you presented parts of your body to be subservient to

impurity and wickedness for wicked purposes’ Ro 6:19. In some
languages it may be useful to render δοῦλος in the context of Ro
6:19 as a simile, ‘like slaves,’ for example, ‘for as you surrendered
the parts of your body to be like slaves to obey impurity and
wickedness’ or ‘… to be ordered about by impurity and
wickedness.’

Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New

Testament : Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd
edition.). New York: United Bible societies.
Paul starts Romans 6:17 with the word "But"
because he knows that these he writing to those in
Rome have now become Christians and are no longer a
slave to sin.

Turn to John 8:34-35

John 8:34 ¶ Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to
you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.
John 8:35 “The slave does not remain in the house
forever; the son does remain forever.

And then Jesus goes on to say

John 8:36 “So if the Son makes you free, you will be
free indeed.
Martyn Lloyd Jones talks about the great change
of which Christians have under gone.

It is no less than passing from the realm of slavery

from one slave master, now to realm of slavery to
another master.
These masters are totally different and when a person
moves from one master to the other one you can tell a
difference in their life. This is a real change.

It is more than what a person says but manifests itself

in what a person does. (Matthew 7:21)

To become a Christian is nothing less that the old man

or the person that you were in Adam actually died and
was buried.

To become a Christian is nothing less that to be raised

from the dead as a totally new creature because it is a
new birth.
In Romans 6:17 when Paul talks about obedienence
from the heart, he is talking about mind, will and
emotions.

 the will conforms itself in obedience to the very

word of God

 the emotions are constantly being affected for the

things of God

 the mind is constantly being taught the truth of

God's word
Examples where it can become spiritually unhealthy

 There is an intellectual interest in the doctrines of Christianity but

it can be void of the emotion and passion for the things of Christ and
no obedience via the will to the word of Christ Parable stated in
Matthew 7:24-27

 On the other hand you can have whole churches built around the
emotions and having a spiritual rush every time the people get
together. And the people say we don't want any of that doctrine
stuff. Paul writes in Romans 10:1-2

 Then you can have churches that are involved in feeding the poor,
going to take care of the homeless, ministering to the shut ins,
helping all those who are widows by painting the houses and mowing
the lawns. In this example there is an obedience but no truth or
emotion.
Romans 6:17

How is it that a person gets free from sin and becomes a

slave to righteousness?
Well the fact is that you get handed over to the gospel or
this form of teaching to which you were committed.

When a person becomes a Christian, God takes you in His

hands and He hands you over to the gospel and places you
in a mold and what comes out of the mold is a new
creature that is now a slave to righteousness instead of sin.

And you like it and you reason about these things with
your mind, you are feeling with emotion toward Christ and
it brings about obedience in your life.
Many people can and will have the gospel delivered to them
but here is the key when God takes the gospel and delivers
a person over to it.

Only God can bring a man to life

Ezek. 37:3 He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones
live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, You know.”
Ezek. 37:4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these
bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the
LORD.’
Ezek. 37:5 “Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones,
‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come
to life.
If you ask the question "how do I know if I am really a
Christian?"
The one answer is has the gospel been handed over to you or
have you been handed over to it.

Do you still have a take it or leave it attitude toward the word

of God?
Or does it hound you, pursue you until things get taken care of
His way?

Does the word of God come after you in such a way that it
conforms you to the very likeness of Christ and you enjoy the
process?

As we move into verse 18 the question is not whether you have

a master or not the question is which master are you serving?
Romans 6:18
If a person isn’t free from sin then they have another
master than God

2Cor. 4:3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to

those who are perishing,
2Cor. 4:4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded
the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the
light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image
of God.
2Tim. 2:24 The Lord’s bond-servant must not be
quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when
wronged,
2Tim. 2:25 with gentleness correcting those who are in
opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance
leading to the knowledge of the truth,
2Tim. 2:26 and they may come to their senses and escape
from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by
him to do his will.

Doesn't that sound like slavery?

Jesus tells the story of a strong man
Mark 3:27 “But no one can enter the strong man’s house
and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong
man, and then he will plunder his house.

Context of this verse is that the strong man is Satan

If you are not a Christian then the enemy has you locked
down tight
And you are not going anywhere unless someone stronger
than the strong man comes into your house and releases
you
What does it mean to be a slave of righteousness?
This means that righteousness rules you and tells you what to do.
It tells you what to do and it secures your obedience

Example of Jeremiah
Jer. 20:8 For each time I speak, I cry aloud;
I proclaim violence and destruction,
Because for me the word of the LORD has resulted
In reproach and derision all day long.
Jer. 20:9 But if I say, “I will not remember Him
Or speak anymore in His name,”
Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire
Shut up in my bones;
And I am weary of holding it in,
And I cannot endure it.
Here is a man who is a slave to righteousness
Paul is not just talking about the minimization of sin in
your life but also are you a slave to being righteous. In
other words can you go weeks on end without pursuing
God in His word?

 What controls you?

 What rules you?
 What are you talking about when you have down time?
 What are you thinking about when you have down
time?
 The passive voice of verbs in Romans 6

You didn’t grab a hold of the gospel instead the gospel

grabbed a hold of you!
Why does Paul write like this?
Because Paul doesn’t grab a hold of Jesus on the road to
Damascus instead Jesus grabs a hold of Paul
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift
of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”
JESUS CHRIST
Wages Gift

Sin God
THE GAP
THAT
NO MAN CAN

Death OVERCOME
Eternal Life
UNLESS