Reflections on Romans 6:8-14 - Victory in Christ

The passage today says, “Let not sin reign in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions” (Romans 6:12). Paul encourages us to make ourselves “instruments for righteousness” (verse 13). What does this mean in the context of living of our lives here and now? In the previous study, we discovered that although we are now freed from the dominion and penalty of sin, we still have sinful thoughts and actions in our daily lives. How do we resolve this issue of sin in our everyday lives? In Romans 6:1-7, we dealt with the concept of freedom from the consequences of sin, but in this passage we look for the solution to the problems of living out this idea of being dead to sin and alive unto righteousness.
The focus of this passage is not our hopeless continual bondage to sinfulness. It is a passage of hope and faith that we can overcome our passion to sin. We are to have a positive perspective, for we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). We do not have to let sin control our lives! The Apostle Paul encourages us: “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (verse 11). This is not a command to follow, but a condition of empowerment. We are to judge the situation accurately, for the power of sin on our lives has been broken. The victory in Christ is complete, and we are alive to do what is right in the sight of God. This is a statement of praise to God. It is a reality that exists; not a hoped for situation, but an actual fulfillment of God’s provision for us in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Jesus does not partially or conditionally save us. He gives us full victory and the promise of his word to sustain us. We have the means and power to accomplish the task given us. God has given us his word on this. The promise: “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace” (verse 14). Sin does not have the power to rule over us any longer.
You may say, “Wishful thinking buddy. It sounds good, but I do not see this victory in my life.” The first thing is to change your mindset. The Bible is a book of faith and hope in the promises of God. It is not hopeful thinking, or “someday” it will be true conception. It is a matter of positive faith and trust in our heavenly Father to accomplish his promises in our lives today. The Scripture says that I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13). This is not wishful thinking, but something the power of God can accomplish in our lives. Secondly, our thinking needs to be freed from the hopelessness and despairing attitude of worldly thinking. We are talking about reality here; not what we pessimistically think is reality. In short, God gives us victory in Christ. We need to believe this and fix our minds on this truth. God is able to do what he promises to do, and he will do it today. The days of miracles are not over, but are here today. We need to claim and steadfastly adhere to the power of God in our lives. We need to guard our hearts and minds with the power of faith in God.
The Devil hates it when we turn away from sin, and start to focus on righteousness (doing the right thing). He keeps us focused on defeat and hopelessness. He tells us that God is angry with us and will not help us. Well, he is a liar and does not speak the truth. God has forgiven us and fully accepts us into his presence. No matter what happens; we can turn to God and trust his faithful love toward us. Christ is the provision for our sin and he is able to bear whatever sin creeps into our lives. As the Bible states, “If we agree with God about our sinfulness, he is faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
The main idea here is not on us, but on the character and power of God to protect us from sin. He continually cleanses us, and as the accusations come out of Satan’s mouth, Jesus brings us forgiveness and access to God for help. So, do not get caught up in the tricks and deceptions of Satan, but trust the sufficiency of Christ to overcome sin in our lives. This is a sure and trustworthy truth: “Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us – eternal life” (1 John 2:23-25).
We do not hope to have eternal life. We have eternal life now! This eternal life is the abiding in him. “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:11-12). The truth here is plain and known by people who have faith in Jesus Christ. We currently have eternal life, and this is the confidence we have in him that he is able to protect us from sin and its destructive power. In short, he is able to deliver us from the tyranny of sin. God has enabled a way of victory and power – Jesus Christ.
“Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price” (Revelation 22:17). Drink deeply and the life giving power in Christ will flow into your life, and victory will come with each drink of faith. God the Father simple says to us, “Come.” The step of faith is our victory, and the secret power of the overcomer. We walk one step at a time, and God looks after the details of how it works. We just “taste and see that the Lord is good.” God alone gives us the way of deliverance and escape from sin (1 Corinthians 10:13). It is our participation in his life that enables us to be victorious, for nothing can separate us from the protective love of God (Romans 8:37-39), “for our sakes he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Reflections on Romans 6:1-7 - Freedom from Sin

Does sin enhance God’s grace? It may be strange but bad theology can lead to corrupt living. For instance, does our sin achieve the purposes of God? Does our sinfulness magnify the grace of God, or does our sin make God look more gracious? Or, as the Apostle Paul put it: “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” In short, no way! Sin is the way of death and Satan. God’s grace and power changes our hearts so that we can serve him in righteousness with a pure heart. God’s grace is to destroy death and sin in our lives, and to break our bondage to its consequences – eternal condemnation and destruction.
However, we all know that even once we have been delivered from spiritual death unto salvation, that we continue to be attracted to sinful thoughts and behaviors. Our sin nature calls out and demands that we do what is wrong, and encourages us to curse God and to cause harm to others. The big question is why do we continue to sin, after we have become believers in Christ? The Bible text asks, “How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:2). The Scriptures continually tell us that God has killed our old sinful natures and now we live in newness of life by the Holy Spirit of God. Yet, many believers harbor bitterness and resentment towards God and anger with others. The gospel message tells us that we are “crucified with Christ.” When Christ died on the cross for our sins, we died with him. He died in our place to pay the penalty for our sins. He took the death sentence for us all. His burial confirms and validates our execution with him. However, just as we died with him, we were also resurrected with him to eternal life by the Holy Spirit. Our daily lives are different because of our connection to God through faith in Christ Jesus. We now have a new perspective and understanding of what life is all about. We now look through the knowledgeable eyes of faith. Our vision has been corrected and is focused on God’s purpose that we become like him and love others. We see God in all his magnificence. His glorious presence changes who we are, for to see God is to have our minds transformed and our life purpose permanently changed. Our vision broadens to see not only God, but to see the needy and to love the imperfect people of the world. It is a vision that overpowers and radically alters our minds. We become a new person with a new identity and thought process. Sin no longer has the power to condemn us to spiritual death. The power of sin’s eternal punishment of separation from God is revoked. God’s presence now renews our minds and we are free from sin and death (Romans 6:7). We have received a reprieve from God, for the sentence of death has been carried out on us in Christ, and we are now free from the bondage and enslavement of sin.
You may ask, “If I have been ‘set free from sin,’ why do I still have sin in my life?” The Bible states that if we say we are sinless, we call God a liar. This appears to be a confusing assertion, for we are free from sin but still sin. So, in what sense are we free from sin? Our punishment for sin has been acquitted, and we have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. This freedom from the consequences of sin is the expression of God’s love for us. Our death certificate has been certified and executed in Christ. Death no longer has any call on our lives; its dominion has been broken once for all. Christ has resuscitated our lifeless souls and breathed new life into us, but the sense is prophetic here in that sin is not totally done away with in our souls until our bodies are resurrected at a coming appointed time in the future. In this, our victory over sin is still in transition until that day, for our bodies still carry the curse of death and the inclination to sin (Ephesians 4:22-24; 1 Corinthians 15:50-57). Our physical death is the ultimate victory over sin.
When we come to Christ in faith, the death blow has been delivered. However, the process of death is not immediate. For example, cut a flower from the garden and it looks good for awhile, but soon decay sets in and nothing can restore it to life again. It slowly wilts away. Likewise, cut down an evergreen tree and it looks fine for quite some time, but slowly death appears and the needles dry out and turn brown. When the plants were cut off from the source of life, they looked okay for a season, but they were dead at the moment they were cut off from the roots and the nourishment of the ground. Death has occurred in our lives, and as time passes its power and appeal diminishes. Sin has been killed, but the process of its passing takes time. However, by the grace of God, we have been grafted back into the source of live, and death is loosing ground to the life giving presence of the Holy Spirit of God. Sin has been killed, and righteousness has been given life. The death symptoms are passing away, and the life giving flow of the sap of life is restoring our spiritual life to a vibrant and restored state of growth into eternal life, for “those baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ” (Galatians 3:27). The righteousness of Christ protects us from God’s wrath on sin, for by faith we partake of Christ’s perfection (Colossians 1:12-14).
Furthermore, although we are positionally set free from sin, we still live in a sinful world. The world, the flesh, and the Devil are continually trying to stir up the remnants of sin in us. Our new garments of shining white clothes glow with the glory of God’s provision for us in Christ. We have been clothed with the righteousness of Christ. He has provided us with everlasting forgiveness and eternal reconciliation by cleansing our souls from sin. The agents of sin in the world are always throwing the dirt of sin at us to try and tarnish the purity of our souls in Christ, but the grace of God continually cleanses our spoiled garments and keeps them pure white. The glory of God in us delivers us from the effects of sin on our souls, for we no longer fall short of his glory. The presence of the Holy Spirit guarantees our total acceptance before God. He has made a way of escape for us (1 Corinthians 10:13). As the prophets of old wrote, “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin” (Psalm 32:1-2); and, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18). May all praise be “to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of [God’s] glory with great joy” (Jude 1:24). God has graciously made it possible for us to feel comfortable in his holy presence, and to confidently converse with him with full assurance of our acceptance before him (Hebrews 10:19-23).