September 30, 2021 - Romans 6:15-23 | External Website
When I first started teaching young people in Vacation Bible school and other gatherings where children could sing and learn the Scriptures, we taught a little song that has always stayed with me through the years. It was O-B-E-D-I-E-N-C-E and it taught that obedience is the very best way to show that we believe. I think Paul would have enjoyed and probably have sung that song in some of his teaching times.
Paul asks a second question that readers perhaps were asking as he discusses this principle of being a new man and not allowing sin to rule a believer's life any longer. Paul asked, "Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?" (v.15). Paul's emphatic answer is "NO"!
Paul's argument here is that everyone is a slave but to whom are you a slave to? Whoever you submit yourself to will be your master! Whether that master is sin or righteousness, it leads to different conclusions.
As Christians, Paul's argument is that we were once enslaved to sin but now we have been delivered from that ruler. Being set free, we are liberated and are not to go back under the old master's dominion which would produce fruit such as lawlessness and death.
Being yielded to a new master creates a new standard we are to follow and obey. This yielding of our life to Christ makes us slaves of God which provides freedom to live as Christ commands us. We are set free from sin, uncleanness, and lawlessness! This new freedom produces fruit that consists of holiness and eternal life.
After living a constrained life under an oppressive authority, it is often difficult to change and begin to conform to new standards and rules. Habits and routines are well established and it will take concerted effort to adjust. Christ has given us the greatest gift of eternal life to propel our desire and to stop willfully sinning. May we make our Master pleased as we serve Him each day in thought, word, and deed.
With an Expectant Hope,