Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

In the passage from Romans cited in the question, Paul is saying just the opposite of the point of view mentioned in the question. 

In the previous chapter of Romans (Romans 5), Paul had been contrasting Law with grace. He said that the Law had been given by God in the Old Testament for the purpose of making us realize how sinful we were; how far short we fell of the perfect holiness that God required; and how lost our universal condition was in the eyes of a righteous God.

He then contrasted that with the salvation that had been made possible by the sinless life, sacrificial death, and resurrection of Jesus, out of pure love and grace (undeserved favor) toward lost humanity on the part of God.

However, because salvation was a free gift on the part of God, and God had forgiven and saved us through no merit, effort, or worthiness of our own, some might then be tempted to think, "If God has forgiven me by grace, then the more that I sin now that I am saved, the more God will continue to forgive me, and the more grace will abound," with the implication that that would be a good thing.

Paul then rebuts this argument in Romans 6. He emphasizes that what happens in the eyes of God when we are saved is that our old sin nature has been crucified, has died, and has been buried with Christ. We are then spiritually raised by God in the newness of eternal life, in the same way that Christ has been bodily raised. (This is the symbolism portrayed by baptism, where we "die" by going under the water, causing our old sin nature to drown, and are then "resurrected" by being raised from it.)

Therefore, by these actions, once we are saved, we become "dead" to sin, and are no longer a slave to it, as we were under the Law. We are now spiritually free.

Paul then says that, since that is the case, we must not turn our freedom into license by continuing to live a life of persistent, deliberate, willful sin (although as long as we are in this body and world, we will never achieve the complete holiness that we will obtain in God's presence in eternity). As Paul indicates, Christians have died to sin, so how can they then want to continue living in it?

November 07 2016 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Croach

Once we receive our new life in Christ, the goal is to keep from sin, not to keep on sinning. We may have times of trouble, however, we now have the tools to keep us on the straight and narrow. Temptations will come our way just as the tides come and go. We should look to Christ for the answers rather than rely on the past for our answers. We should know the face of our enemy. We should take a look at the big picture and think outside of the box that that has hid the truth from us. 

Stay focused for the long haul, study to show that our new life is more important than our past life. 

Grace will abound, God has more in store for us than we can ever think or imagine.

The walls that have built over the years will come down we just have to be ready to let go of the things that have been holding us back.

When we are going through hell, don't stop! Run to get through the rough issues!

November 07 2016 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Marvin Reynolds Retired Chaplain U.S. Army Hospital

The best subject pointed out by Romans 6:1-6 is Chapter 7:14-25. The discussion points out that you are saved spiritually but the old sin nature is still a rage in your life. As you grow up in grace you do not move out that old sin nature in your flesh but you can overcome it and suppress it to serve God via Jesus his son. That is one of the key works of the Holy Spirit in your life.

To understand this look up the chapter seven in the original Greek language and you find three words being used in Greek under the phrase I DO or TO DO pointing out how you react to temptation we call sin. That is Paul who is author of Romans noted in Chapter one and fifteen..

November 15 2016 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report