ROMANS 6:1–23 “Dead to Sin, Alive to God”

WHEN GRACE IS HEARD CORRECTLY

If you have your Bible, open with me to Romans chapter 6. Romans 6 begins with a question that sounds almost scandalous: “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” That question doesn’t come from people who hate grace. It comes from people who have tasted it—and are confused about what it means to change. Romans 6 is Paul addressing the strange tension many Christians feel: I hate my sin… but I keep returning to it. I confess it. I grieve it. And then I run back to it. Two stories from modern storytelling capture this tension with painful clarity. Kichijiro — The Man Who Keeps Coming Back In Silence, Kichijiro is a man who repeatedly betrays his faith under pressure. Again and again, he apostatizes to save himself. And again and again, he comes back—ashamed, broken, desperate—begging for confession. He knows what he’s doing is wrong. He hates it. But he cannot seem to stop. At one point, his posture toward sin is not defiant—it’s defeated. He doesn’t boast in grace. He leans on it while remaining trapped. Kichijiro doesn’t love sin—but sin still owns him. That’s a deeply human picture. And Paul is not writing Romans 6 to mock Kichijiro-type people. He’s writing to say: grace is not meant to leave you stuck in that cycle.

Gollum — Loving What Is Destroying You

Then there’s Gollum from The Lord of the Rings. Gollum hates the Ring. He knows it’s ruining him. He even speaks of it as a burden. And yet he cannot let it go. He calls it “precious.” His entire identity becomes wrapped around the very thing that is killing him. Gollum’s tragedy is not ignorance. It’s bondage. He doesn’t need better information. He needs deliverance. He doesn’t need behavior correction. He needs a new master. And that’s exactly what Paul is addressing in Romans 6. The Question Beneath the Question When Paul asks, “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” he is not imagining a cartoon villain rubbing his hands and saying, “Great—free grace, let’s sin!” He’s addressing something far more subtle and far more common: people who are forgiven but not yet free, justified but still confused about their relationship to sin. So Paul’s answer is immediate and forceful: “By no means!” In Greek (mē genoito), this is the strongest rejection Paul can give. It’s moral shock. That way of thinking does not belong to the gospel. Why? Because grace does not merely forgive sin—it breaks sin’s authority. Grace does not just pardon rebels—it changes who they are. Romans 6 is Paul saying: you are not Kichijiro forever, and you are not Gollum trapped with your precious. Something decisive has happened. Grace doesn’t just silence guilt. Grace changes allegiance. Grace changes identity. And that’s what Romans 6 is about

Romans 6 marks a major turn in Paul’s letter. For five chapters, Paul has been relentless: righteousness is not earned, not achieved, not negotiated. It is given. Justification is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.

And Paul knows exactly what happens when grace is preached clearly.

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” (6:1)

This question doesn’t come from bad people—it comes from honest people. If grace is free, if righteousness is secure, if justification is settled… then does holiness actually matter?

Paul’s answer is immediate and forceful:

“By no means!”

In Greek (mē genoito), this is the strongest rejection Paul can give. It’s not mild disagreement. It’s moral shock. That way of thinking doesn’t belong to the gospel at all.

Romans 6 is Paul saying: grace does not merely forgive you; it fundamentally changes who you are.

HISTORICAL & REDEMPTIVE CONTEXT

Paul is explaining what happens when people move from Adam to Christ, from old creation to new creation. This is Exodus-shaped theology. Israel was not freed from Egypt so they could do whatever they wanted; they were freed to belong to God. Grace always precedes obedience—and obedience always follows grace.

Romans 6 answers the question: What does a justified life actually look like?

BIG IDEA

Those who are united to Christ have died to sin, been raised to new life, and now live under a new master—so grace does not excuse sin; it empowers holiness.

POINT 1 — UNITED WITH CHRIST: A NEW IDENTITY

(Romans 6:1–11)

Paul asks:

“How can we who died to sin still live in it?”

Notice what Paul does not say. He does not say, “How can we who are trying harder to stop sinning…” He says, “How can we who died to sin…”

This is not first about behavior. It is about identity.

Paul grounds everything in union with Christ:

“All of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death.”

Baptism here is not just ritual; it is a visible declaration of a deeper spiritual reality. To be “in Christ” means His death counts as your death, and His resurrection counts as your resurrection.

“We were buried therefore with him…”

Burial confirms death. Paul is saying your old self wasn’t improved or rehabilitated—it was buried.

Illustration: Software Update vs. Cosmetic Change

Most of us treat sin like a cosmetic problem. We think we need better habits, better routines, better accountability—like putting a new phone case on a device that keeps crashing.

But when a phone’s operating system is corrupted, a new case won’t fix it. You need a new OS.

Romans 6 says salvation is not cosmetic. It’s not a spiritual makeover. It’s a system replacement. Union with Christ means a new operating system now runs your life. The old system no longer governs—even if glitches still appear.

Paul says:

“So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

The word consider (logizesthe) means “reckon as true.” You fight sin not by pretending you’re stronger than you are, but by believing what God says is already true.

John Murray writes:

“Death to sin is a definitive breach with the realm of sin.”

Application: You don’t obey to become someone new—you obey because you are someone new.

POINT 2 — NO LONGER UNDER SIN’S RULE: A NEW AUTHORITY

(Romans 6:12–14)

Paul now moves from identity to action:

“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body…”

Sin is still present, but it is no longer king. Paul uses royal language—reign. Sin wants authority it no longer has.

“Do not present your members to sin… but present yourselves to God.”

Your body matters. Your habits matter. Grace doesn’t make obedience optional; it makes it possible.

Then Paul grounds this command in a promise:

“For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”

This is not a threat. This is a declaration.

Illustration: Algorithmic Control

Most of us know that social media algorithms quietly shape what we see, want, and desire. Over time, they form habits and values without asking permission. Sin works the same way. It doesn’t usually shout—it slowly trains.

Paul is saying grace interrupts the algorithm. Grace retrains desire. Grace reshapes patterns. Sin may still appear in the feed, but it no longer controls the system.

Douglas Moo writes:

“Being under grace establishes the only context in which obedience is possible.”

Application: Grace doesn’t remove responsibility—it supplies power.

POINT 3 — EVERYONE SERVES SOMEONE: A NEW ALLEGIANCE

(Romans 6:15–23)

Paul anticipates the objection again:

“Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace?”

Again:

“By no means!”

Paul now introduces the slavery metaphor:

“You are slaves of the one whom you obey…”

This is Paul’s blunt realism. There is no neutral ground. Everyone serves something.

Illustration: Career as Savior

Many people serve their career like a god. It promises identity, security, worth, and future. But careers demand everything and give no grace. Miss one step, fall behind, fail publicly—and the master turns cruel.

Paul says sin works the same way. It promises freedom and pays wages that kill.

“The wages of sin is death…”

But then comes the contrast:

“But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Wages are earned. Gifts are given.

Tom Schreiner writes:

“Paul does not envision a neutral human will; obedience always flows from allegiance.”

Application: What you obey shapes who you become. Only Christ gives life instead of exhaustion.

CONCLUSION — LIVE LIKE THE SYSTEM HAS CHANGED

Romans 6 is not calling you to white-knuckle morality. It’s calling you to live out a new reality.

You are dead to sin. You are alive to God. You are under grace. You serve a new Master.

So stop living like the old operating system still runs your life. Stop obeying voices that no longer own you. Stop negotiating with sin like it still has authority.

Grace didn’t just open the door. Grace changed who you are.

And if you are not in Christ today, the invitation is not to self-improvement—it’s to new life.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Where are you tempted to treat grace as permission rather than power?

What habits or desires most reveal who or what you are serving right now?