Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.  (13)  Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.  (14)  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Romans 6:12-14 

Explain:

One of the most important interpretive words in Paul’s epistles is the word translated “therefore”.  He is tying what He is saying or about to say to what has been said.  So, what has been said?  Because we have been justified by faith we are no longer slaves to sin.  We are dead to sin and alive to Christ. 

It is on this basis then that Paul says, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obe it in the lust thereof.”   When we reckon, or consider, or estimate that we are dead to sin, then naturally sin no longer dominates in our bodies.  We know longer have to be obedient to sin.  We don’t offer our bodies up to sin to be used to do sinful things.  Rather, since we are alive to God, we offer our bodies up to him to do righteously. 

So the grace that is given, by faith, through justification leads us to righteousness, since it breaks the power of sin.  Sin doesn’t dominate our lives any longer.  Now we are dominated by the grace of God.

Apply:

By saying “let not” Paul implies that a believer can still allow sin to dominate him at times, even though as a believer we are dead to sin.  Have you ever been there?  I’m sure you have.  As believers, we must choose by faith to reckon ourselves dead to sin.  We must consider ourselves alive to God, and rely on His power to help us fight temptation.

Respond:

Today, let these words be on the tip of your tounge:

• No.
• I’m dead to that.
• Lord, please help me to reckon myself dead to sin, and alive to you!

For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:  (6)  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.  (7)  For he that is dead is freed from sin.

Romans 6:5-7

Explanation:

What incredible joy this passage is bringing to those who read it and believe. This text should absolutely astound us.

Paul is saying that justification is not just some legal matter between us and God. Yes, God declares us righteous based on Christ’s imputed righteousness to us through His obedience in life and death, and through the power of His resurrection. But this declaration has real world implications in our life right now. For those of us who have been justified, we have a new reality. We have a new life. We have a new relationship both with God and with sin. Our relationship to sin is characterized with the death and burial of Jesus Christ. Sin’s power doesn’t automatically overpower us anymore. Our relationship to God is characterized by Christ’s resurrection. If the old man of sin has been crucified with Christ on the cross, then the new man of righteousness has now been made alive in the likeness of His resurrection. Now we don’t have to serve sin. We can serve the Lord. Why? “For he that is dead is freed from sin.”

Application:

One of the tough things about applying this passage is that often this reality isn’t felt by many professing Christians. We still sin. Sin doesn’t always feel dead in us. Why?

One reason it could be this way is that someone hasn’t been justified. Maybe they don’t feel free from sin because they have never placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

As a believer, you may not feel free from sin because you are continuing to serve sin instead of Christ. Even though you are free from sin as a master, you’re not considering yourself dead to sin. We’ll talk more about this in the next few verses. Just as justification is by faith, so sanctification happens by faith as well.

Response:

– If you don’t know Christ as Savior, repent and believe the Gospel today!

– As a believer, if you are struggling with sin today, consider yourself free from sin and alive to Christ.   Confess your sin and repent. Walk in newness of life!

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?  (4)  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Romans 6:3-4 

Explanation:

In this text Paul uses baptism as an illustration of what happens to our relationship with sin when we are saved.  When we come to know Christ as Savior we are “in Christ.”  Our identity with Christ means that we identify with his person, death, burial, and resurrection.  This means that as those who identify with Christ, we are dead to sin.  Our old selves are identified with sin, but our new life is in Christ.  We are no longer slaves to sin.  We are no longer under sins power.  Now we walk in newness of life.

This doesn’t mean that we no longer sin.  Until heaven we will not be sinless.  What it does mean is that sin is no longer our master.  It is no longer our identity.  Christ is our identity.

Application:

If you don’t know Christ as Savior, sin is still your master.  God wants to free you from sin, and make you alive in Christ. 

If you do know Christ as your Savior, we are going to see in the coming verses that we must consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to Christ.  Since Christ died for our sins, and we are identified with him, we must forsake sin, and by faith ask God to help us walk in newness of life.

Response:

We need to be controlled by the Spirit today to fight or flee from temptation in our lives.  If we have unconfessed sin, we must confess and repent today.