Romans 6: 15-19 "Slaves of Righteousness"

Introduction:

A. The Apostle Paul didn’t mind referring to himself as a slave. He begins Romans 1:1 by identifying himself as, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.

The Greek term is identical to the Greek term in our text this morning. Modern Bible translations at times translate it “servant” due to negative connotations to the horrific practice of ethnic slavery that took place in the history of America.

But Paul is using the term to denote theological and spiritual truths.

Understand that in ancient Rome slavery was common. Some scholars estimate that 85-90% of Rome’s population were slaves (Dictionary of Paul and His Letters pg. 881).

So Paul is using a common cultural example to teach those early Christians at Rome about gospel transformation and the sanctification that takes place in the life of the Christian because of the gospel.

Notice how he taps into the cultural aspects of slavery in his day to establish the principle of slavery in a spiritual context. Look back to verses 15-16:

I. The Principle of Slavery (15-16).

A. The principle of slavery that Paul raises is reflected in the obedience someone exercises to a particular master.

And notice that in his example he only gives two possibilities. You are either a slave to obedience to sin leading to death or you are a slave to obedience leading to righteousness.

In Paul’s mind there doesn’t seem to be a third category. Like a category of neutrality.

That’s because there isn’t another category. This is why when we think of freedom as being a state of being autonomy we are mistaken from a biblical perspective.

We are bound to the confines of our nature. Our nature is either bound to sin and its effects or our nature is set free to act in accordance with righteousness.

We like to think of freedom as the ability to act and choose without outside interference. Yet we are blind to the sin nature and the impulses that direct those so called free choices. This is slavery to sin.

We get that skewed view of freedom from enlightenment humanism, not the Bible. Once sin came our corrupt nature began to manipulate influence our motives and the choices we make.

And we continue on in that state until God, by His sovereign grace influences and empowers our us to choose the good.

This is why you must be born again in order to see the Kingdom of God or to enter the Kingdom of God. Regeneration is what makes someone alive and enables them to choose the good of the gospel.

Without the presence of the Holy Spirit we would all remain bound in our slavery to sin. We would not even be able to obey God in our sanctification apart from the work of the Holy Spirit.

Paul knows this because he says in Romans 7:6 “But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.”

The Spirit has instigated a heart transformation which prompts us to obedience. Look at verses 17-18:

II. The Practice of Obedience (17-18).

A. Notice he says “thanks be to God.” Now why is he declaring thanksgiving to God?

Because God is the One who brought about the transformation and made obedience to come forth from the heart in accordance with the apostolic gospel truth.

The result of this is that Christian you have a new Master now. You are no longer slaves of sin.

You see a transaction has been made. Your spiritual redemption has taken place.

Paul understood transactions dealing with slaves and he knows the theological implications of his metaphorical use of slavery in the ancient world.

As Christians we have been bought with a price. Christ blood has paid our ransom and purchased us for God.

The Spiritual implications are rich all the way down to the transformation of our existence under the old task master into the grace, kindness, mercy and love of our current Lord and Master.

We are no longer slaves to sin but now we are slaves of righteousness.

This heart transformation sets us free to be obedient from the heart. Not out of a sense of legality to the law which in the end emphasizes external change.

Obedience from the heart emphasizes the internal transformation that is motivated out of love and honor for God.

A transformed heart influences choices and decisions and challenges us by our affections to pursue obedience.

True justification by faith alone worked in us by the Holy Spirit will produce this dynamic in our lives. True believers will pursue sanctification. Look at verse 19:

III. The Pursuit of Sanctification (19).

A. He tells them that he is using human terms associated with slavery because of their limits of understanding.

But the bottom line is their presentation of their members to sin versus the presentation of their members to righteousness.

Slavery to sin leads to lawlessness and slavery to righteousness leads to sanctification.

The obvious implication is simply that love will drive you in either direction. Love for sin will drive you to lawlessness and love for Christ will drive you to obedience.

Which in the end will produce sanctification in our lives. And God by His grace undergirds it all on our behalf.

Sanctification here literally refers to the “personal dedication to the interests of the deity, holiness, consecration, sanctification” (BAGD).

Conclusion: Is that the kind of transformation that has taken place in you?

A. Why would you ask that Pastor? Because one day at a previous church that I served a man in his 30’s walked into my office.

He had listened to me preach for years and on that day he came in and actually told me that he was afraid for his eternal soul.

He was raised in a pastor’s home and he faithfully attended church functions all his life but he had no assurance that he was truly born again.

He had the pedigree and the form of religion but there was no power of transformation in his life and he knew it. He knew he needed the real gospel and the real Jesus.

What about you? Have you truly been transformed? It will show to some degree in your sanctification. No one is saved because they believe themselves to be. That makes your perception of yourself the object of your faith.

Christ is the object of our faith for our being justified before God. We all need a Savior.

Unbeliever.

Believer: Lets pray!