Continuing in Sin
2018-01-07
Because we know of God’s gift of eternal life for us, there may be the temptation to think that we can get away with sin. Nothing can be further from the truth. The question is addressed throughout the Bible. We will have a brief look at two instances.
“For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner? And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.” (Romans 3:7-8)
God is glorified as the righteous judge. When we sin, it shows how much more righteous He is, because He is the standard of righteousness. But some people accused Paul and other apostles of having the philosophy of “Let us do evil, that good may come.” Paul follows up immediately with “whose damnation is just.” If we feel that we have a license to sin, we believe something very wrong about God. Let us read more about what God says about continuing in sin as a believer in Jesus Christ.
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 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. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 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. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 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. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” (Romans 6:1-14)
Paul asks the hypothetical question if we should “continue in sin, that grace may abound?” The answer is the strongly negative “God forbid.” Let us look at some of the reasons.
- We are dead to sin. We used to be “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). Now that we have been born again, we no longer belong to the lineage of Adam, but to that of Christ (which was discussed in Romans 5:12-21). We are dead to sin (Romans 6:2), and it is contrary to our new nature to sin; it belongs to our old nature in Adam.
- We are baptized into Christ’s death. This is not related to water baptism; we are identified with Christ’s death, and buried with Him (Romans 6:3-4).
- We are raised with Christ and should walk in the resurrection life. If raised with Christ, we have new life given to us, and we are to walk in it (Romans 6:4-5).
- We are crucified with Christ. Our identification with Christ’s crucifixion should tell us that the price of our salvation was the marring, butchering cross. The old man was destroyed, or rendered powerless, so that we should not serve sin any longer (Romans 6:6). God saved us from sin to a mission of preaching the gospel and living holy lives.
- We are freed from sin. We are dead with Christ, and therefore freed from sin (Romans 6:7-8). He came to save us from our sins (Matthew 1:21).
- We are alive unto God. We have died and were risen again with Christ. As Christ died to sin once for all, and rose again, we have a new life disparate from any life we had in the flesh. This new life is the power for Christian living. We are to “reckon” ourselves that we are dead to sin and alive to God; it is a fact to be believed and lived out (Romans 6:8-11).
- We are commanded to not sin in our mortal bodies. Because of the previously mentioned spiritual truths, we are not to succumb to sin, which still is very possible in the flesh (Romans 6:12).
- We are to yield to God. After believing the spiritual facts of our death and life in Christ, we then commit ourselves to God, being commissioned for Christian service (Romans 6:13).
- We are under grace. Since we are no longer under the law, which condemns us, we are now able to live for God (Romans 6:14).
Because Christ rose from the dead, we have the living hope of heaven, but we also have the hope of living the Christian life in service to Him here and now. However, we must intentionally remember our union with Christ daily, and live by faith in the risen Christ.