Living the Christian Life, Lesson 5

Living the Christian Life is a Bible study series that explores Paul’s teaching aboutChristian growth and sanctification in Romans 6:1–8:17.

Introductory Thoughts

After a lengthy discussion of theneed for and basis of justification by grace through faith in Christ (i.e.,salvation or conversion), Paul now explains how this same truth shouldtransform our mindset and lifestyle as Christians (i.e., sanctification orChristian growth). The believer’s close identification with Christ’s death,burial, and resurrection places him or her in a new position. He is no longer aslave to sin but serves Jesus Christ instead.

Passage: Romans 6:15-19

In English (NKJV)

v.15     What then? Shall wesin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!

v.16     Do you not knowthat to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, youare that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leadingto death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

v.17     But God be thankedthat though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heartthat form of doctrine to which you were delivered.

v.18    And having been set free from sin, you became slaves ofrighteousness.

v.19     I speak in humanterms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presentedyour members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessnessleading to more lawlessness, so now present your membersas slaves of righteousness for holiness.

Key Words and Insights

Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old &New Testament Words (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006)together with an interlinear Bible, like The NKJV Greek English InterlinearNew Testament (Thomas Nelson, 1994) is an excellent way to get accuratedefinitions for your Bible study based upon Greek and Hebrew meanings.

• (οἶδα):“to know, to know how, to regard with favor.” This word implies insightful, perceptive understanding about what you know. It is “how to” knowledge.
• (παρίστημι): “to place beside; to have in readiness, provide; to place at the disposal of; to dedicate, devote.” Sometimes this is translated as “yield” or “surrender.”
• (δοῦλος): “a slave, servant; one pledged or bound to serve.”
• (ὑπακούω): “to give ear, listen; to obey; to render submissive acceptance; to be submissive.” This is the same word Paul uses to describe a wife’s proper response to her husband (Eph 5:22, 24).
• (ἁμαρτία): “error, offence, sin.” Refers to wrongdoing, violations of God’s character and will which had characterized our lives before conversion; breaking God’s law.
• (εἰς): “to, as far as, to the extent of, until.” In its most generic sense, it means “toward” and speaks of direction, whether physically and spatially (as in moving from one side of the room to the other) or logically (like, “as he spoke, he moved quickly from one point to the next”). Here in Romans 6, it refers to the logical, end result or outcome of a certain mindset and behavior.
• (χάρις): this is the word for grace in 6:1 and 6:15. Only here it refers to a thankful, gracious, grateful response to the one who provided the grace. In this sense, it is giving back to God what he deserves from us for having been so gracious to us.
• (τύπος): “an impression, print, mark; a statue; a formula; a pattern.”
• (διδαχή): “instruction, teaching, doctrine.” Here it refers to the content of some teaching which they had received.
• (παραδίδωμι): “give over, hand over, deliver up.” In this case, it was not the doctrine that was given over to the believers; it was the believers that were given over to the doctrine.
• (νόμος): “a law, esp. the Mosaic Law.”
• (χάρις): “God’s free (unearned) favor, free gift, gracious provision, gracious dealing.”
• (ἐλευθερόω): “to free, set free.” To liberate.
• (ἀσθένεια): “weakness, feebleness, frailty” (physical, intellectual, or moral).
• (μέλος): “a member, limb, any part of the body.” Refers to body parts.
• (ἀκαθαρσία): “uncleanness, lewdness, impurity” (in act or motive).
• (ἀνομία): “lawlessness, violation of law, iniquity, sin.”
• (ἁγιασμός): “sanctification, moral purity, sanctity.” This word describes being dedicated or committed to (focused on) doing what pleases God.

Questions for Meditation and Reflection

In your own words, explain Paul’s reason in v.16 to not keep onsinning .

You should not continue to make sinful choices because doing so placesus in slavery to sin.

What are the two choices you have and what are the results of eachchoice?

You can obey sin or you can obey God. When you obey sin, you experiencedeath as a result. When you obey God, you experience righteousness instead. Itis important to know that prior to conversion you were unable to obey God – youwere enslaved to sin by nature. Now that you are God’s child, you are able toobey God. Even so, though you are now free to obey God, you must choose to doso daily. When you choose old habits, you experience the same kind of bad,negative, painful results as before (cf. Gal 6:8). When you choose to obey God,you experience the right kind of life that God intended, which is increasedChristlikeness and spiritual maturity, reflecting the image of God more clearlyand consistently.

In 6:17-18, Paul explains positional (soteriological,salvation) truth about what happens to believers at conversion. How does hedescribe what you did? Also, how does he describe what God did (or whathappened to you)?

At conversion, believers “obey from the heart” the Christianteaching that we call the gospel. By using the word “obey” rather than “believe,”Paul emphasizes that saving faith does more than accept or rely upon certainfacts as true. It does this in such a way that it recognizes Christ as a newmaster.

The phrase “to which you were delivered” is unusual at firstbecause we expect to read “which was delivered to you.” Yet Paul is not emphasizingthe way that the gospel message was delivered to the believers. He is emphasizingthe way that the believers were delivered (or “handed over”) to the gospel.

How does slavery describe your position both before conversion andafterwards?

You were a slave to sin, but now you are a slave to God (or “righteousness”).Grace does not place believers into a vacuum of freedom with no master orguide. It moves us from one master (sin) to the next (God). While we arecapable of making sinful choices and treating sin as our master, we are morallyobligated (and spiritual enabled) to obey God instead. Christ is not only mySavior from sin, but he is the Lord of my life.

What does the “form of doctrine” (or “pattern of teaching”) referto?

It refers to the gospel message taught by Christ and the apostlesin the New Testament.

Why does Paul use the illustration of slavery (6:19)?

Most obviously, Paul used this illustration because of “theweakness of our flesh.” He is acknowledging that this is not the most endearingor tasteful analogy – we would prefer a parent/child analogy instead, forinstance. However, no analogy is perfect and this one served his purpose bestin this case. He wanted believers to understand the seriousness of theirobligation to God.

Slavery was common in the first century Roman empire. Someestimates suggest that as many as one out of every two people was a slave. Thoughsome slaves endured horrible treatment, others were treated very well. In fact,some slaves were treated so well that they chose to remain slaves for lifesince living as a free man would be more difficult.

Ultimately, the key to understanding this analogy is concept of “obligation.”Prior to conversion, you were obligated to sin because sin was your master. Itowned you. Now that you have believed the gospel, you are freed from sin but transferredto the ownership of God instead. He is a perfectly benevolent master who providesyou with all that you need to succeed spiritually, unlike sin – which onlyhands out death. Most importantly, though, you are obligated to do the will ofGod because you belong to him now.

In 6:19, Paul explains practical (sanctification, spiritualgrowth) truth about how you should now live as a Christian. Once again, whatare the two choices you have and what are the outcomes of each choice?

You can choose uncleanness, which only leads to more lawlessbehavior contrary to God’s will. Uncleanness especially emphasizes wrong sexualbehavior, though it doesn’t exclude other sins. Repeated failure in this waywill eventually lead to breaking other laws you hadn’t intended to break – likestealing, dishonesty, adultery, etc. You may be familiar with this oft-repeatedphrase: “Sin takes you further than you wanted to go, costs you more than youwanted to pay, and keeps you longer than you wanted to stay.” This echoes what Paulteaches here.

On the other hand, you can place your body at the disposal of yournew master, God, to do what is right and according to his will. Holiness(or “sanctification”) here refers to a personal dedication to God’s own interestsin the world. Paul later revisits this concept as the centerpiece of his entireletter to the Romans (Rom 12:1-2), followed by a strong emphasis on personal involvementin church ministry while also being submissive to the human government that isover us.

Questions for Personal Application

1. How does the positional (salvation) truth relate to the practical (sanctification) truth in this passage?
2. How should the fact that you’ve been “handed over to the gospel” affect your view of the gospel?
3. How does the illustration of slavery impact the way you should view your Christian life and the grace of God?
4. What are some ways that you should hand yourself (and your “body parts”) over to God to focus on what pleases him?