Grace that Sets Us Free

A little boy once got in trouble at school for talking back to the teacher. When he got home, he expected the wrath of his parents. Instead, his dad sat him down and said, “You know what you did was wrong, right?” The boy nodded, ready for punishment. But then his dad said, “Well, tonight, we’re going out for ice cream.”

The boy was stunned. “Wait… I do something bad, and I get ice cream?” His dad smiled and said, “That’s called grace. You didn’t earn it. You didn’t deserve it. But I’m giving it to you anyway—because I love you.”

The boy blinked, paused, and said, “Well, in that case… I’ve got a lot more grace coming tomorrow.”

Everyone of us here and even those that aren’t here would agree with me that Grace is amazing. However, there’s a subtle but dangerous lie that many Christians wrestle with—whether they admit it or not. It’s the idea that grace means sin doesn’t matter anymore. That since God will forgive us anyway, we might as well keep doing what we’ve always done. After all, isn’t that what grace is for?

But Romans 6 confronts that thinking head-on. Paul doesn’t just reject the idea that grace is a license to sin—he dismantles it. Because grace isn’t permission to live in chains. It’s the power that breaks them. It’s not an excuse to stay where we were—it’s the invitation to walk in the freedom Christ secured for us.

Today, we’re diving into the truth that if you are in Christ, you are no longer a slave to sin—you are alive and free. That’s not just a theological idea—it’s your new identity. And with that new identity comes a new way of living, not in our own strength, but by the power of grace.

Let’s open our hearts to what God has to say through Romans 6:1–14, and allow His Word to confront the lies we’ve believed, comfort the wounds we carry, and call us into the freedom that’s already ours in Christ.

Go with me to Romans 6 and lets begin reading at verse 1.

Romans 6:1–14 NIV

1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

1. Grace is NOT a License to Sin

Paul begins this chapter with a direct question to his readers. He says in verse one…

Romans 6:1 NIV

1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?

I love the paraphrase that the Message gives us.

Romans 6:1 MSG

1 So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving?

Paul anticipated a common misunderstanding of Grace. Although I believe that the Pentecostal denominations did not speak and receive grace enough, I believe that some denominations used grace as an excuse to continue to sin.

Grace doesn’t encourage us to sin, it liberates us from sin. We see the example of what Christ did for us on the cross. This alone should make us want to stop sinning altogether.

Yes, if you make a mistake and do something that you know you shouldn’t do, you are forgiven by God and protected by His Grace, but that doesn’t give you a license to sin.

As believers we don’t need to cheapen Grace. God’s Grace is not permission to stay in sin, but it is power to walk in freedom.

Romans 6:2 NIV

2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

Grace brings a transformation. You don’t want to be who you once were. Grace has set you free. Don’t tolerate sin by using Grace as an excuse, it only cheapens grace.

2. United with Christ in His Death and Resurrection

Here in a little bit, those that have received Jesus as their Savior, will have an opportunity to be baptized in water. Baptism is a symbol of the death and resurrection of Jesus. When a person is baptised they are submerged in water, leaving the old life behind and coming up a new person. When Jesus rose from the dead, new life began. As a believer, when we come out of the water, it is as if new life begins. Baptism is how we are united with Christ. We are making a public confession of our faith.

Our old life is dead. We now walk in a newness of life.

Why do we live for God?

He died for me, I’ll live for Him. It is that simple.

When Christ died on the cross and then resurrected to a new life, he conquered death. He received a victory over death. No one accomplished this before him and no one has accomplished this since him. When we accepted Jesus as our savior, we have victory through Him.

Romans 6:4 NIV

4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

We have a new identity. A new identity produces a new behavior.

3. The Power of Sin has been Broken

Our old self was crucified so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless.

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, legally declaring that all slaves in Confederate states were free. This was an historic moment—freedom had been spoken into law. But despite the proclamation, many slaves continued to live in bondage for months, even years. Why? Because the news hadn’t reached them… or when it did, they couldn’t quite believe it. Their legal status had changed, but their daily reality hadn’t—because they were still living as if nothing had happened. Freedom was theirs, but they were still walking in chains.

This is a striking picture of how many believers live today. Jesus, through His death and resurrection, has made a declaration even more powerful than Lincoln’s: You are free from the power of sin. The chains have been broken. The prison doors are wide open. But some of us still sit in the cell, living under the old patterns, the old habits, the old lies. Not because Christ hasn’t freed us—but because we haven’t heard, believed, or embraced the full reality of that freedom. Don’t live like a slave when Christ has made you free. Step out of the prison. Walk in the new life that grace makes possible.

You don’t fight to gain freedom—you walk in the freedom that’s already yours.

We have to stop living as if sin still owns you. Christ has broken the chains.

Romans 6:10 NIV

10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

4. Live as Those Alive to God

You are alive to God in Christ. When we continue to live in sin, we are letting sin win. When we continue to do the things that we know we shouldn’t do, we are letting sin win. If you have asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior then act like it.

Live like you are alive. Be fully alive.

It is important that we present ourselves to God as an instrument of righteousness. Look at verse 13 again.

Romans 6:13 NIV

13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.

What is an Instrument of Righteousness?

“Instruments of righteousness” refers to the parts of your body, your actions, and your life being used by God to carry out what is right, holy, and good according to His will. The word instrument can also be translated as tool or weapon, suggesting that our lives are meant to be active agents in the hands of God.

Before Christ, we often used our bodies—our minds, mouths, hands, and choices—for sin. But now, Paul says, we are to intentionally yield those same parts to God for righteous purposes. Your tongue becomes an instrument of encouragement, not gossip. Your hands serve, not harm. Your thoughts build up, not tear down. Your whole life becomes a tool God uses for good in the world.

To be an instrument of righteousness means to let every part of you be used by God to reflect His character, do His will, and advance His kingdom.

We are Connect Church. We are to use our bodies to make connections with people and help them in turn connect with God. Everything that we do is to help people connect with God. I want to help you connect with God. God wants to use you as an instrument of righteousness.

Church, grace is not a free pass to stay stuck—it’s the power that gets you out. You’ve been set free from the chains of sin, not just in theory, but in reality. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is alive in you. You are not who you used to be. You’re not defined by your past, your habits, or your failures. You are alive in Christ and free by grace.

So today, don’t just hear the truth—live it. Don’t offer your life to sin any longer. Offer every part of yourself to God. Be His instrument. Let your hands heal. Let your words bless. Let your heart love. You’ve been brought from death to life—so live like it.

It’s time to stop living like a prisoner in a cell that Jesus already opened. Grace didn’t just save you—it empowers you. Now go live alive. Go live free. And go be an instrument of righteousness for the glory of God.

This morning, if you are here, and you don’t feel like you have been set free. Maybe there are some old habits that you need to be set free from, I want to pray for you. You still feel enslaved by things that you feel like you gave to God along time ago. You feel like they have a grip on you that you can’t shake. What habit or struggle is asking for you attention, when God is asking for your obedience? You can walk out of here free this morning. You can be set free from any addictions. You can be set free from any fears or worry. You can be set free from any anxieties. Let the Grace of God set you free. You don’t have to leave here in those chains any more.

This morning if you are struggling with something and you want us to pray for you, would you just lift your hands. As a church, we want to help you connect with God this morning and pray that you walk out of here free from what is keeping you enslaved.