Dead to Sin, Alive to God

"Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace." Romans 6:12-14

It's awfully early in the morning to be considering such profound things but as I brewed my coffee & poured into the Scripture, many truths became exceedingly clear. For years I read Romans 6 & was somewhat discouraged. I was living under the law rather than under grace.

Paul begins with a question as to whether grace encourages sin? By no means!! "How can we who died to sin still live in it?" I would continually ask myself the same... why am I so drawn to "live" in sin. I remember similar conversations taking place in college as we worked out our theology. We were all desperately aware of our depravity.

John Stott brings clarity (referring to verse 2), "Paul is referring not to a death to the power of sin (or sensitivity toward), but a death to its guilt, that is our justification." In other words, we are still keenly sensitive toward sin, yet the "sting" is gone because of Christ's atoning work. This is only the case for the one who lives "under grace" (v.14). A regenerate person has been "declared to be in the right... declared to be or acquitted from sin." Scripture represents death in a differing manner than we sometimes look; it is much more legal than physical. Scripture views death as the due penalty for our sin rather than a state of lying motionless. Death is the "wage" or payment for our sin.

Therefore, consider yourselves dead to sin & alive to God in Christ Jesus. Continually consider yourself to be dead to sin. Paul implies that it is certainly possible to let sin reign in your life (v.12), but don't let it! "Do not present (Gk: hopla) your members to sin as instruments (Gk: paristanete) for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God... as instruments of righteousness." In other words, do not make yourself available (your eyes, ears, mind, heart, feet, hands, etc.) or put yourself at sin's disposal. Paul uses the words, "do not let sin therefore reign in your mortal body..." Sin can use our body as a way to govern us. If you don't believe me, consider the glutton who cannot control his appetite for food or consider the porn addict who has no self control or consider the one with an eating disorder who will do anything to achieve a certain look. Paul says, don't be a slave to sin. Lightfoot comments, "Sin is regarded as a sovereign (v.12) who demands the military service of its subjects, levies their quota of arms (v.13) & gives them their solder's pay of death (v.23)."

"Because Christ died to sin and lives to God, and because through union with Christ we are ourselves 'dead to sin but alive to God', and must 'count' or consider ourselves so, therefore our whole attitude to sin and to God must change. Do not offer yourselves to sin (13a), because you have died to it; but offer yourselves to God (13b), because you have risen to live for his glory." -Stott (180).

For years I lived under the influence of the law rather than the influence of grace; I just didn't understand. What I now realize is that I was trying to have personal merit before God. I was depending on myself & seeking to muster up enough enthusiasm to live righteous before God. But the ultimate secret of freedom from sin is to live under grace. "To be under grace is to acknowledge your dependence on the work of Christ for salvation, and so to be justified rather than condemned, & thus set free" (Stott, 181).

In summary, does grace encourage sin? By no means. Rather, by all means, grace discourages & outlaws sin. The law provokes & increases sin (5:20); grace opposes it.