Romans 6 - Beware of Cheap Grace! Jesus Not Only Died for You, But Wants to Live Through You!
6 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 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.5 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. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
In chapter 6, Paul moves from teaching how we are justified by faith in Christ and have received his righteousness, which we could never achieve on our own. Put in another way in Romans 3:23, "We have all sinned and fall short old the glory of God." But Jesus did for us what we could not do for ourselves when he died on the cross for our sins, thus paying the debt we could never pay.
We call it grace, because we couldn't earn it and didn't deserve it. But the way we apprehend this gift is through faith. Faith, too is a gift, which we can't earn. But faith it is not passive. We believe in faith that Jesus is the Son of God and gave his life for us. By faith we trust Jesus not only as our Savior but also our Lord.
In chapter 6 Paul addresses this dynamic between faith as a gift and faith in action. Paul addresses a tendency in the church in Rome (and for all time too) to cheapen God's grace.
What do I mean by this? The tendence is use grace as a rationalization for sin. I.e. If God gives me grace when I sin, therefore the more I sin, the more grace I receive.
Many modern evangelical Christians can fall into this trap. Because God is gracious and merciful, we take advantage of this by repeating same sins over and over thinking that God will forgive us again and again. While it is true that God will forgive us when we are truly repentant, this is not the type of life Jesus called us to. When Jesus said, "Take up your cross and follow me", he was referring to an instrument of death. Death is the metaphor Paul uses throughout chapter 6 to describe what our new life in Christ is like.
Jesus called his disciples to die to sin and live for righteousness. So, Paul uses this logic in chapter 6, as he moves from how we are justified by faith alone, to how we live this out every day. Justification is the beginning our Christian life. It is followed by sanctification, where God is making us holy, as we offer every part of ourselves to him. While God is the one who makes us holy we play a big part in this process as we give ourselves fully to the Holy Spirit's work in our lives.
Using Paul's language today,
"Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"
We teach a lot about grace and being saved by it, but we don't preach as much about taking up our cross and being crucified with Christ. What does it mean? Paul explains it this way in a classic verse from Galatians 2:20
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
We are cruficied with Christ when we are no longer ruled by our sinful nature and desires. This doesn't happen by accident. We need to make a conscious decision to die to behaviors and attitudes which characterized our lives before we came to Christ! We don't do this on our own though. Paul says the key to this new life, which characterized by fruitfulness and freedom from sin is the fact that "Christ lives in me!"
Are you still trying to run your life? Are you in control? Or have you given Jesus the control of your life? This what it means to make him the "Lord of your life!" It comes down to you trusting in God and Jesus to give you the best life as you trust fully in him. It is only as we die to self that we live in the power and freedom of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ!
The world is always trying to get to conform to its norm. That will be a given our whole lives. But Paul will say later in chapter 12,
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind!" - Romans 12:2
Again we make a conscious choice to renew our minds by what we put into our minds. You all remember the phrase "GIGO". "Garbage in and garbage out". Someone said, "You become what you think about most!"
Are you reading God Word and putting His truth into your mind instead of the garbage the world gives you?
I want to recommend a book to you which I have recently read which has really convicted me about what I am writing about. It is called "The Pursuit of God", by AW Tozer. It is a must read for every serious Christian.
You can buy it on Amazon here.
Link for The Pursuit of God, by AW Tozer
Consider using the audio book if you have a long commute like me, or by the book digitally, or be old fashioned and read a hardcopy. Any way you read it or listen it, you will love it! It will inspire you to live the new life that every Christian is called and privileged to live!
Jesus, you called us lay down our lives so we could find it. Thank you that you not only died for us but you long to live through us! Amen.
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