Romans 6 Study

Quick Recap

Adam is sin, and the law increased that sin, and so death was reigning in us.

Jesus came, and where sin was increasing under Adam, grace increased even more under Jesus so that all could be forgiven.

That means that your sin, the sins you’ve committed a long time ago and the sins you’ve committed today, are all met with even more grace, so that we could never outsin the grace of God.

Dead to Sin

Should we continue to sin then, since more sin means more grace?

No! Why not?

Rom 6:5 “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”

We are dead to sin. What does that mean?

Romans 6:6–7 ESV

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.

To be dead to something means to be set free from it.

Have you ever heard someone who has way too much debt or problems faking their death? Entering WPP?

This death to sin is like that, except its a real death. We don’t just fake it, our old selves that owe all that debt actually died, and that debt can’t be transferred to our new selves.

How or why are we dead to sin? How did that happen?

Colossians 2:13–15 ESV

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

On the cross, because of our unity with Jesus. When he died, we died with him.

What comes next? Is it just death?

No, but its resurrection life too.

Romans 6:8–11 ESV

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Now that we are considered dead to sin and there is not debt to exact from us, we can experience real and true life to God.

So let me ask you this, when Paul is talking about the resurrection life that we share with Jesus, what is he talking about? When do we get to experience that?

So the resurrection life we gain in Christ isn’t just to be looked forward to, it’s to be lived in now too.

When or how are we united to Christ in Death? In other words, when do we experience this “death to sin”?

At our baptism! Baptism is the place where we are removed from Adam and united to Christ.

That’s why we can raise kids up in the church to listen and obey the voice of Jesus; not out of legalism, but because their sin has been put to death and even they can experience new life with Jesus as their King.

And it isn’t that the water itself saves you or anyone, but it is a sign of the promise that God has crucified the old self and raised up the new self in resurrection life.

So what?

Romans 6:12–14 ESV

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Once death was your king and reigned over you weather it was welcomed or not. That was when we were in Adam.

When we are transferred into Christ’s Kingdom at baptism, death is no longer a necessary king but an unwelcome guest. We have the ability to kick sin out now.