How to handle your Idols

You may remember an incident in Australia where a smaller boy was picking on a much larger kid. That is until the larger kid came to realize that he had a much greater advantage in his size. Nothing physically changed, the kid only came to consider the truth and this changed how he dealt with this situation.

For Paul, what a believer understands is terribly important. Duty is founded on doctrine. Paul is convinced that what you know will impact how you live. Therefore, Paul here attempts to increase our knowledge that we would walk in newness of life, as oppose to serving inanimate idols. The key word in these verses is “know.” We see it in verse 3, 6, 9, and consider in verse 11. Paul wants us to understand our union in Christ, that we may be able to live in a manner worthy of the gospel. So, you’re not able to handle your idols in the matter in which you should, which is smashing them, until you let these truths saturate your mind.

A grace that reunites (1-5)

A grace that resurrects (6-10)

A grace that reckons (11)

English Standard Version Chapter 6

6 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

Paul begins this section by addressing how one may jump at the opportunity to distort the closing words of chapter 5. Paul anticipates this distortion and responds with verses 1-2. If one understands grace, they then will not view chapter 5 as a license to sin. This is known as antinomianism and is just a prevalent in our world today.

I remember when I bought my first car. It was a Saturn. I had to get insurance that basically stated that I was covered if I crashed. Now it would show a clear misunderstanding of insurance if I intentionally crashed as much as possible once I received my insurance.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

-1 John 2:1-2

So this is a grace that reunites, in that once we are reconciled back to God, we are united with Christ in a way that impacts our lives. This is necessary due to the fact that we are born dead in sin.

“Every soul, by reason of its birth, has its nature in Adam until it is born again in Christ; moreover, it is unclean as long as it remains without this regeneration, and because it us unclean it is actively sinful and infects even the flesh with its shame, because of their fusion.”-Tertullian

So us, who formerly were alive to sin are now dead to it. That’s what verse 2 is saying. Now does this mean we no longer sin? Romans 7 would refute this claim. So what does he mean? Let’s continue with verses 3-5.

Now there are a few different points concerning baptism that can be made here and I think you need to understand them all. We’ll look at

Spiritual Baptism

Identifying Baptism

Water Baptism

As a preface though, there are some who do not believe Paul here is pointing to water baptism but rather spiritual baptism only. I would disagree. Although I believe Paul is also alluding to spiritual and identifying baptism, this is why we’ll spend some time there, but a reference to water baptism is primary here. According to Pauline scholar Douglass Moo, by the date of this writing, “baptize” had become almost a technical expression for the rite of Christian institution by water, and this is surely the meaning that the Roman Christians would have in mind. So you should expect some overlap as we deal with these three pieces, as they all tie together. But they all point to our solidarity and unity with Christ. With that said, let’s dive into the allusions first.

Spiritual Baptism

Do you know, beloved that once you believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ something supernatural took place? Paul makes this point elsewhere. In Galatians 3:27 and 1 Corinthians 12: 13.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

English Standard Version Chapter 12

13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

This involves the imparting of the Spirit and the induction into the body of Christ. A good example would be the house of Cornelius in Acts 10. So spiritually we died and resurrected to new life just as Christ did. This is why Paul could say that we died with him.

Our spiritual history began at the cross. We were there in the sense that in God’s sight we were joined to Him who actually suffered on it. The time element should not disturb us, because if we sinned in Adam, it is equally possible to have died to sin with Christ. -Frank E. Gaebelein

2. Identifying Baptism

This means that we now identify with the Lord Jesus. Baptism bears with it the idea of identification, especially when it is linked to someone’s name. 1 Corinthians 10:1-3 is an excellent example of this.

English Standard Version Chapter 10

10 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food,

This text isn’t referring to water baptism, but rather to the fact that they became united with hm as never before as they recognized his leadership and their dependence on him. So it is with the Lord Jesus Christ. When spiritual baptism took place, we achieved a profound identification with the Lord Jesus Christ.

3. Water Baptism

And this is how we tie them all together. If spiritual baptism is when identifying baptism, or identification with Christ, takes place, then water baptism is the full external display of these internal spiritual truths. This is why we immerse in the water, as this is what happens to the person who is united with Christ in the gospel.

So what Paul is seeking to get across in these verses utilizing the image of baptism is our identity in Christ. So despite the idols you may struggle with smashing in your life, you are not an idol worshipper as your identity, rather you share in newness of life with the giver of life. As Paul would say in Galatians 2:20 and Colossians 3:1.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

But this also means that the believer has a new relationship to sin. Paul makes clear that this was done with the end in mind that “we too might walk in newness of life.” Let’s examine verses 6-10.

A grace that resurrects

Let’s focus in on verse 6 first. Paul uses a phrase that is difficult for interpreters to agree on, namely “body of sin.” There is one interesting theory

that scholars have suggested concerns punishments that were used occasionally in the ancient world for those who were guilty of murder. A somewhat barbaric form of this punishment was for the convicted murderer to be sentenced to have the rotting corpse of his victim tied to his own back, so wherever he went he was reminded of the loathsome act that he had committed. He walked around with a dead human body attached to his own back reminding him of his criminal transgression. Some have said that this is what Paul had in mind by the phrase ‘body of sin’. We carry the foul-smelling, corrupt old man that is still clinging to us, but in our sanctification we are to be set free from the power of that corpse.

To what end? Verse 7. For one who has died has been set free from sin. This is so important to understand. There was a time when we were all slaves to sin, unable to please God. This is total depravity. Not that we are as bad as we can be, but nothing is acceptable unto God due to our sinful state.

The Exodus account should come to mind when we read passages such as this. The Egyptians were cruel, but they can’t hold a stick up to sin. The Egyptians at least will feed you something, sin seeks to keep you spiritually malnourished, the Egyptians wanted their slaves to see so they could work for them, sin wants to gauge your eyes out to keep you from seeing the glory of the gospel. The Egyptians allowed their slaves to sleep at some point, sin’s plan is to send you directly to a place of eternal torment and flames. The Egyptians had to face the wrath of the pharoah which is scary, but sin wants to place you right in the path of the wrath of God. But Jesus being the greater Moses released us from this captivity.

Now don’t use that freedom to go back into slavery.

But we now no longer HAVE to sin. Jesus came as our liberator and emancipated us from sins chains. Notice the “know” in verse 6 is connected to the practical walking out of verse 7.

Let’s look at verses 8-10.

Paul here does what the writer of Hebrews will make a repetitive habit in his book, he reminds his audience that Jesus will never die again. Death has no power over him. This is why Protestants repudiated the idea of a re-creation of the death of Christ in the Mass. This is why our crosses are empty, there is no crucified Jesus on them because Christ is alive!

Which means we will live with him also. Here he’s not as much concerned with our eternal destination, as he is with the present reality. So there’s a future resurrection that is evidenced by our current resurrection.

Lastly, let’s look at verse 11.

A grace that reckons (11)

Here Paul says we must “consider ourselves” or “reckon.” This is actually one of the most important words in Romans, as it is used 19 times. It means to “impute to one’s account.” Paul is using here to emphasize the need to reflect on our position in Christ.

My daughter is not crazy about the light turning off at night when she has to go to sleep. I constantly have to remind her that I would never let anything happen to her and that she is safe. I usually don’t ask her to do anything or make a change, but to reflect on this truth, which provides her with a new found confidence.

Notice how Paul caps off this section. Not ultimately by calling them to a particular action, but rather for them to consider what is already true. And he uses a present imperative urging us to constantly and continually view ourselves this way. Have you ever considered that you participated in the events of the cross. You both died and resurrected with the Lord Jesus? This is the difference between prevention theology and corrective theology. We are to constantly consider these truths in our walk with Jesus. This is what leads us to smashing our idols!

So as a way to wrap up this series, consider these three things.

Repent

Flee

Replace

And what ultimately leads us to this behavior, is our considering what has already taken place and the present reality of the cross.