Chapter 6:19-23

COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

By Dr. John R. Stone

Romans 6:19-23

6 19Just 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. 21Therefore 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. 6:19-23)

Overview:

In the book of Romans the apostle Paul presents a systematic treatment of the doctrine of salvation so that this foundational truth can be firmly established in the fledgling (young) church that was taking root in Roman soil. Rome was the hub of the world, and the church at Rome would define the doctrines of Christianity for the rest of the known world at that time. Because of this fact, it was critically (supremely) important that the truth about salvation and sanctification be clearly understood and accurately communicated. Paul wanted to distinguish (recognize the difference of) Christianity from every other religious system, by showing that these doctrines of grace were radically different from any other religion of the world.

It has already been clearly established in chapters 1-5 that salvation is by grace through faith in the atoning work of Christ on the cross. Now in chapter 6 verses 19 and 22, he introduces the idea of sanctification (becoming godly). The new believer in Christ is saved from sin by grace through faith, but how is he sanctified? How is he made like Jesus Christ? What is the means by which he actually becomes a better person? Is the believer saved by grace and sanctified by works? What is the believer’s role in this process of transformation (change)?

Vss. 19-23: What Is Sanctification?

“Present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification” (vs19).

Sanctification is the process by which the believer is made increasingly like Jesus Christ in heart and in practice. Literally, sanctification refers to the process of being set apart from the worldly ways of unbelievers and set apart to the worship and service of God. Sanctification has to do with becoming more righteous in daily conduct.

The careful student will be sure to distinguish between two different aspects of the believer’s sanctification.

1) When the believer is born again by the Spirit of God, he or she immediately receives the perfect, righteous righteousness of Christ that makes the new convert absolutely acceptable in God’s sight. This sanctification is instantaneous (immediate), perfect, and irreversible (cannot be undone). This is the righteousness of Jesus Christ that has been given to even the worst of sinners. This is called positional sanctification, and it is true of all believers, without exception.

2) A second aspect of sanctification refers to the experience of the new believer whereby he or she becomes increasingly like Jesus in thought and in deed (action). This sanctification is progressive, imperfect, and variable, even in the most godly of saints. This work of the Spirit called progressive (ongoing) sanctification, never reaches perfection this side of Glory, and it varies from person to person. When the Lord Jesus comes back, and believers receive their glorified bodies, then positional and progressive sanctification will be exactly the same, and the believer will be sealed forever in perfect conformity (agreement) to the righteousness of Christ.

Is the Believer a Sinner or a Saint?

The believer is both a sinner and a saint. He is a sinner by birth and by the nature he inherited from Adam, but he is a saint because of the righteousness he received from Christ at the time of salvation. In 1 Cor. 1:2 Paul refers to the carnal believers in Corinth as “saints” and as “sanctified.” They were saints because of the reality of justification. Paul referred to himself, even near the end of his life as an apostle, as the “chief of sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). He was a sinner because of the reality of indwelling sin (Rom. 7:17, 22). Every Christian will always be a sinner and a saint until Jesus comes or death brings freedom from the struggle with indwelling sin.

Is Sanctification by Grace or by Works?

Salvation comes by grace through faith, and sanctification comes by grace through faith. Christians are not saved by grace and sanctified by works; both are the result of grace through faith. Because of the sin nature inherited from Adam, the believer cannot make himself good by trying harder to be like Jesus. Because of the work of the Holy Spirit, the believer can be transformed through the obedience of faith. Each step of obedience is taken in total dependence upon God to make it possible.

What Does Sanctification Look Like?

Sanctification means the believer is less characterized (defined) by indwelling sin and more characterized by the indwelling Spirit; less characterized by the sinner he is in the flesh and more characterized by the saint he is in Christ; more aware of his utter unworthiness in the flesh before a holy God and more confident of his absolute acceptance in Christ through the Holy Spirit. Dealing with progressive sanctification is the greatest struggle in the believer’s life, and understanding positional sanctification is the greatest blessing in the believer’s experience.

—to be continue

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