Chapter 6:15-23

COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

By Dr. John R. Stone

Romans 6:15-23

15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! 16Do 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? 17But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, 18and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19I 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. 20For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. 22But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 6:15-23 NASB)

Overview:

In chapter 6 of Romans Paul begins to apply the truths about the doctrine of salvation that he explained in chapters 1-5. In this section he explains how believers can be delivered from their patterns of sinful behavior and actually become more like Christ in their daily lives. Paul addresses two questions in this chapter:

The first is in 6:1: “Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase?” The second is in 6:15: “Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?” Both questions challenge the notion that salvation is by grace apart from works. This lesson focuses on the second question and explains that just because the new believer is free from the law, it does not mean he will live a life characterized by sin. It is true that he will not be condemned because of his sin—salvation really is free. But he will not live a life of bondage to sin—the believer has a new Master.

Vss.15-19: The Reality of Our Lives

You’ve got to serve somebody. The fact of life is that nobody is absolutely free; everybody serves somebody. Either we are slaves of sin, resulting in death, or we are slaves of obedience, resulting in righteousness. The new believer has the choice of serving sin or serving righteousness. Salvation brings freedom from the bondage to sin and allows the believer to choose another master. Serving sin brings broken fellowship, shattered dreams, ruined health, painful relationships, and legal problems. Having sin as a master means death; it means heartache, guilt, and spiritual destruction. Serving obedience brings purity, freedom, and fulfillment. Having obedience as a master means sanctification; it means peace, joy, and spiritual growth. The new believer is free to serve the One who makes his life worth living.

Vss. 20-23: Consequences of Our Choices

You get to make new choices. Because the believer is a new creation, he does not have to sin. Because he sees the consequences (results) of his choices, he does not want to sin. Paul asks a simple question of the new believer about his former way of life: “What benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed?” Was your life of sin worth the price you had to pay to get it? The obvious answer is, “No.” Shame and death are the rewards of a life of sin. The new choice to follow Christ will bring sanctification (godliness) and life. The reward is worth the sacrifice. God established the minimum wage for sin in the Garden of Eden. “The wages of sin is death,” death to everything precious in life, death to peace with God. When we sin, we earn the reward of death and destruction. When we put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we receive the gift of eternal life. Jesus died to pay for our sin so that we would be free to receive His gift of eternal life when we receive him as our Savior. This is the good news. Salvation is free, and it provides a life filled with joy and peace.

The new believer must make a choice between shame and death or righteousness and sanctification. The consequences of that choice are either the wages of sin or the gift of God. A focus on keeping rules and obeying the Law of Moses will not help a person toward sanctification. That focus will produce failure and discouragement. Even though he is not under the law, the life of a new believer will change because he is identified with the death and resurrection of Christ and because he has a new Master who offers eternal life to anyone who will believe in the death of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of his sins. It is the work of the new birth, not the law, that produces sanctification in the lives of believers.

—to be continued

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