Romans Chapters 6-7
The Penalty and Power of Sin
Christ’s death frees us from the PENALTY of sin at the future judgment when God’s wrath is displayed.
Christ’s death frees us from the POWER of sin today.
Justification and Sanctification
Justification means to be declared righteous and acquitted from the guilt of sin.
Paul now begins to discuss sanctification.
Question: “Wherein do justification and sanctification differ?”
Answer: “Although sanctification be inseparably joined with justification, yet they differ, in that God in justification imputeth the righteousness of Christ; in sanctification his Spirit infuseth grace, and enableth to the exercise thereof; in the former, sin is pardoned; in the other, it is subdued.”
Sin in these verses is singular and not plural because Paul is talking about the power of the evil master sin. He is not talking about individual sins.
Christ has broken that master’s power.
Two noticeable shifts in this chapter:
1) at verse 12 where imperatives begin replacing the indicatives of verses 1-11
a. Indicative Mood in the Greek is a statement of fact or a question.
Asserts
or declares
The
action really did happen.
It
is the mood of reality.
“It will happen.” “It did happen.” “It is happening.”
b. Imperative
Mood in the Greek is the
mood of a command or a petition.
2) A more clear break comes between
verse 14 and 15.
a. Both sections are discussing the
transfer from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light (from power of
sin to the realm of righteousness)
b. 1-14 discuses the negative side of
having been released from sin
c. 15-23 discusses the positive
dedication to righteousness
The Questions in
Chapter 6 and 7
Notice the questions Paul inserts into his letter. These questions help us identify what Paul is
doing in chapters 6 and 7. Paul is
addressing objections and misunderstandings that arise from his teaching out of
chapter 5. It is not the Romans who have
asked these questions in the past. But
wherever Paul has taught his doctrine these questions and objections have come
up:
·
6:1
– “What shall we say, then? Shall we go
on sinning so that grace may increase?”
o
“Since we are secure in
our salvation having been justified and declared righteous in Christ we can
continue to sin and God will continue to pour out his grace and forgiveness”
·
6:15
– “What then? Shall we sin because we
are not under law but under grace?”
o
“Since we are no longer
evaluated on a law or by rules to become righteous but instead are in the
realm of undeserved, unbreakable favor with God we can continue to live in sin.”
·
7:7
– “What shall we say, then? Is the law
sin?”
o
“Since the law in a sense
helped reveal sin it was part of sin. We
have then been delivered from two evil things: sin and law.”
·
7:13
– “Did that which is good, then, become death to me?”
o
“The law that is good and
holy did not produce good and holy things like life but instead the law
produced death in me.”
We will also notice how chapter 8 picks up with the
same themes as chapter 5.
Chapters 6 and 7 are then a clarification of the
doctrine taught in chapter 5.
The Transfer
Chapter 6 and 7 continue to reveal that the justified
believer has been transfer permanently into a new kingdom.
This is a continuation of assuring the believer of
their salvation.
Chapter 5 shows the transfer of the believer from the
power of death to the power of life.
Chapter 6:1-14 shows the transfer of the believer
from the power of sin to the
power of righteousness.
Chapter 6:15-23 shows the transfer of the believer
from the power of the law to the power of grace.
These chapters describe two realms or two ages
(“aeon”)
1) The realm or age of Adam
2) The realm or age of Christ
All people fall into living their lives and their
eternal existence in one of these two realms.
We are living today either in the old age of Adam or
in the new age of Christ.
Your relationship to sin and to the law will depend
on which realm you live in.
If a person is still living in the old age of Adam
they are under the reign of sin and death.
They are under the power of the law.
If a person is living in the new age of Christ they
are living in the realm of righteousness and life. They are under the power of grace.
Compare:
|
Old Age |
New Age |
|
Reign
of sin and death |
Reign
of righteousness and life (5:21) |
|
Servitude
to lordship of sin |
Servitude
to lordship of righteousness and God (6:6, 14; 17-22) |
|
Under
the power of law |
Under
the power of grace (6:14, 15 |
|
Serving
in old letter of law |
Serving
in newness of Spirit (7:6) |
|
The law
and the compelling power of sin that leads to death |
The law
of the Spirit that brings life (8:2) |
Now, but not Yet
All of this is true.
Even though we are in the new age, the realm of the
power of life and righteousness, we in the church age are still in between.
We are in the age of “Now, but not yet”
We are living in between the two comings of the
Christ.
Paul does not believe we are separate from all the
influences of the Old Age or the Realm of the power of Sin and Death.
We belong to the New Age and the Realm of the Power of
Righteousness; we still have with us contact or a living existence with the Old
Age.
We still have the impulses, habits, knowledge, and desires
from the Old Realm that continually threatens the practice of our new life.
Indicative/Imperative
This is why we see the “indicative/imperative” combinations
in these chapters.
This is seen in the verses that state a truth of the
new age (indicative mood) but are combined with a command for the here and now
(imperative mood).
6:14 – “Sin shall not be your master”
6:13 – “Do not let sin reign in your mortal body”
8:9 – “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful
nature but by the Spirit”
8:12 – “We have an obligation – but it is to the
sinful nature.”