The Reality of Freedom

If you’ve been with us lately then you know that we are studying the Book of Romans. The book of Romans is a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome in a time of transition. Hebrew and Gentile Christians were mixing together again into one church. And Paul wants to remind them of the centrality of the gospel in all things.

Last week Paul proposed a question with an obvious answer. Where sin is—for the believer—the grace of God is abounding. And so, Paul asked last week. Should we sin so that grace will abound? And the answer is…

This week Paul asks another question with an obvious answer. Last week we ended on verse 14. Which says,

Romans 6:14 “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”

And now in the first verse of our passage today Paul asks, Romans 6:15 “What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace?”

Since we are under grace does that then give us license to sin? And the answer—should be—obvious. The answer is...

And the argument Paul is answering is that the freedom obtained by the grace of God in Christ will undoubtedly lead to people sinning freely.

The logic goes: “If all sin is forgiven for those in Christ then they will freely sin because it is already forgiven. Therefore, people need the law so that they won’t sin. This was an argument of the Catholic Church during the reformation.

“We can’t tell people they are free in Christ! They’ll all become horrible sinners!”

Paul’s rebuttal is that “freedom ‘from sin’ is not a freedom ‘to sin’.” That actually being free in Christ with all sin forgiven is what breaks the power of sin in a persons life.

So Paul proposes this question in verse 15 and the rest of our passage is an explanation of this argument and it’s answer. We’ll see...

The two broad strokes of our passage are I. The Reality We Live In (15-19a) and II. The Gift of Freedom (19b-23).

Let’s read our text and then we’ll unpack these two statements.

Romans 6:15–23 ESV

What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I. The Reality We Live In (15-19a)

Anytime you are trying to understand a problem—you have to be able to see the problem for what It actually is.

There was a famous story in my family—when we were kids we were sleeping. Me and my younger brothers and my Dad all in one room. And my brother Stu, got up to go and get some water in the middle of the night. And he screamed at the top of his lungs and burst back into the room waking everyone up.

He was shaking—and his eyes were wide—and my dad asked him what he had seen and Stu stammered out, “There’s…there’s…there’s a giant wat!!” He was little and struggled with “R’s”.

My Dad thought there obviously wasn’t a giant rat in our house and that there was a person. That Stu’s young brain was trying to make up something he could understand. So my Dad grabbed his rifle—and proceeded to move through the house ready to scare off, fight some person who had broken into our house.

When he got to the kitchen—sitting on the sink—chewing on a chicken bone from the trash—was a huge possum. Basically a giant rat.

My Dad entered into the problem not really understanding what he was dealing with. He expected one thing and found another.

Friends, when it comes to the reality that we live in I believe it is the same thing.

The world considers itself free and considers those who are followers of Jesus to be hampered, shackled—not free.

But what Paul tells us in our passage this morning is that no one is really “free” as we like to use the word.

Look at verse 16.

Romans 6:16 “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?”

Paul says this idea of “human autonomy” is a lie. The idea that we are “free” from outside influence—that we forge our own path in this universe without any influence is a fiction.

Who you obey, Paul says, is your master. If you present yourself to anyone as obedient slaves then you are a slave to that which you are obedient to.

So there are two categories here. There are two options. Christians believe that the Bible, the Word of God is our final source of authority and what God is saying is there are two categories of people.

And it’s not those who are free and those who are enslaved. Surprisingly, those are not the categories.

The categories are that all people are either slaves to sin or slaves to obedience.

Now let me pause here—because I have been using the word slave a lot and I know that is an uncomfortable word.

When 21st century people hear the word slavery we typically think about the horrendous history of the slave trade. And in America we think about the American past where so many horrific things were perpetrated on people of color. And so any mention of “slave” or “slavery” conjures up disgust in us.

Paul is using an analogy for his readers—that would have been extremely applicable, from the world around them.

This is what he says in verse 19. Romans 6:19 “I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations.”

Paul is taking something everybody would have seen on a daily basis and used it to make a spiritual point. And slavery is something that everyone would have been familiar with.

And just like today—there would be this idea that there are “free people” and “enslaved people”. But what God, through Paul, is telling us, is...

The reality of humanity is that we are all slaves to something. When we habitually present ourselves to something we become a slave to that something.

And in our world there are two main “somethings.” Sin or obedience to God.

This is what Ephesians 2 says explicitly. The first 3 verses of Ephesians 2 says the all people are dead in their sins and that they, day after day, follow the passions of their flesh and sin. They are slaves to their sinful natures.

The reality that we live in—is that all people are slaves to something. We are all born into death—thanks to the work of Adam on our behalf—and the result is that we are slaves to sin.

Why do people lie? Why do they steal? Why do hey hide things? Do what they know is wrong? Because they are slaves to their sin. Sin is their master and they do what their master tells them to do. But this is not the only option. Look with me at verse 17

Romans 6:17 “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,”

Paul says, thank God, that you were once slaves of sin...

You were, but are no longer. For every follower of Jesus who has been saved—a transformation has taken place. They were dead in their sins and slaves to their sin—but then God did a work in them.

Ephesians 2:4-5 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—”

For all those who are in Christ—they have been delivered from their slavery to sin. A person can’t stay dead and be a follower of Jesus.

When you think about your own life in Jesus: How has your salvation changed you? What difference has it made in your life?

Some folks in the church are really comfortable saying that they are saved—while they look like the world, act like the world, and love what the world loves.

Know that when a person is saved God’s Word gives us pictures that are drastically different. They go from death to life. They go from being a dead tree to a fruitful tree. The idea is that there is a difference.

And not everyone’s fruit grows at the same rate—but what doesn’t exist is a saved person who has no fruit on their tree. If your life has a veneer of Christianity painted over it—but it still consists of the same things it did before—you have reason to question who your master is. You need to work out your salvation—whether you have it or not.

Philippians 2:12 “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,”

Let me linger here just a little longer. I don’t want the faithful questioning their salvation and being afraid that they aren’t saved. In Jesus your salvation is secure. The saints will persevere. Jesus will lose none of them.

I want those who are unsaved in the church to stop having a false confidence and fear their judgment. I want this because I love you. I can’t think of a more tragic scenario than someone being surrounded by Christians—thinking they are saved—only to find themselves dead in sin at the day of judgment.

Matthew 7:13 ““Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.”

As I’m calling you to work out your salvation by fear and trembling I want to draw your attention to a major clue. And I hope that it brings comfort to those who need comfort and conviction to those who need conviction.

Saved people are convicted of their sin—unsaved people are fearful of sins consequences.

The enemy always tries to accuse God’s elect of being lost. Every saved follower of Jesus has asked the question, “Am I saved?” Why? Because they are convicted by their sin—they think how can I do this and be saved. Child of God—take heart—conviction of sin is a work of the Holy Spirit in you. And the Holy Spirit only dwells in those who are His.

The unsaved are not convicted of their sin—it looks like it sometimes—but they are fearful of being caught. If they had not been caught in their sin they would have remained comfortable in it.

They are fearful of sins consequences. But if they could find a church that gave excuse to their sin—that justified their sin—they would be comfortable. They don’t have a problem with sin—they have a problem with the consequences that can come because of it.

Know that this morning if you find that you are a slave to sin, you don’t have to stay there. There is a better master who desires for you to come and belong to Him.

Romans 6:17 “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,”

Verse 17 shows us another truth about those who are saved. They have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed.

Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

When we are saved we are given a standard of teaching. We aren’t just given new life and then sent off to figure it out. The Bible teaches us to observe, obey all that Jesus commands. The standard of teaching we have been given is the Word of God. And as we walk in this way verse 18 shows us the benefit of leaving sin as our master and coming to obedience as our master.

Romans 6:18 “and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.”

Romans 6:19 “I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.”

We used to present ourselves to sin as instruments of unrighteousness. And this lead to more sin—more lawlessness.

But now, in Jesus, with new hearts, with the Holy Spirit within us we present ourselves to God as instruments of righteousness and the result is that we are being sanctified.

Sanctification is the lifelong process by which we are made more and more into the image of Christ our savior. Sanctification is when the beleiver is convicted of their sin—it’s when the fruits of the Spirit grow—when we are slaves of sin we are guaranteed to be further and further depraved by sin leading to spiritual death—but when we are slaves to righteousness we are raised up closer and closer to the image of Jesus.

And Philippians 1:6 says that God will finish this work He started in us. Sanctification will become glorification where we are made perfect.

Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

So broad stroke number one is that we all live in the same reality. We are either slaves to sin. Or we are slaves to obedience, to righteousness. And depending on who our master is—we have drastically different outcomes coming to us. Every person alive exists in one of these two states—either dead in sin or alive in Christ. Broad stroke number two...

II. The Free Gift (20-23)

Earlier I talked about how the world looks at followers of Jesus and says, “We are free and you are not.”

I have had family members say, “You live your life based off a book! I do what I want to do.”

And actually in one respect the world is free in a way that Christians are not. Look at verse 20 with me.

Romans 6:20 “For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.”

Paul informs non-Christians of their present freedom and reminds Christians of their past “freedom”.

A slave to sin is free from righteousness.

And righteousness is not a word that we want to lose the meaning of. A person who is without Christ is free from the righteousness of God, they are free from being “made right” with God. They are free from the perfect record of Jesus Christ being placed over their own record that will lead them to Hell.

What kind of freedom is that? You can keep that freedom. That’s about as useful as being free from good health. I’m going to free you from having a body that stays healthy. No thanks!

The only freedom that the world actually has is a freedom from that which will save them. Paul punches the point home in verse 21.

Romans 6:21 “But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.”

Paul says remember the fruit of the life that you had before Jesus. Those things brought shame. Every believer has moments of their former life that they look back on and are ashamed of them. Because we now see clearly how messed up our hearts were to have done such things with pride, joy, and hunger.

We see now that those things lead to death. Our lawlessness led to more lawlessness. We were free from righteousness. And it wasn’t good.

Listen, when you are reminded of your former ways. Of things that you’ve done that you are now ashamed of. There are two things to do with that.

Number 1. Where applicable go and apologize for what you have done. If you hurt someone, wronged someone, go and tell them you are sorry and what Jesus has done for you. Communicate to them that Jesus has changed your life.

Number 2. Know that Jesus has forgiven you already for that sin. On the cross the former things that you are ashamed of have already been nailed to the cross and have been forgiven. The enemy will try to get you to hold onto things that have already been dealt with. And we get this false sense of “holiness” when we try to hold against ourselves sins that have God has let go of.

You are not a better judge than God. When you say, “God I still need to feel guilty where you’ve declared my guilt to be gone.” You are saying, “God you made a mistake—you were too lenient here.”

Friends, God wasn’t too lenient. The forgivenness of your past, present, and future sins came at a great cost. An innocent man died on your behalf so that you cold be reconciled to God. The blood of Jesus is not too lenient.

Stop pretending that you know better than God. Amen?

If you are a follower of Jesus you used to be free from righteousness. You were a slave to sin. And your former life was leading to a final death. Look at verse 22.

Romans 6:22 “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.”

Part of our mission statement here at Covenant Life is “we exist to see people radically transformed in Christ...”

When a person is set free from sin—when they take on God as their master—they no longer get shame and death—they are sanctified—they are made to be like the God they love and the end of that path is eternal life.

The last verse of our passage today sums it up for us.

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Bottom Line

Here’s the bottom line.

You can be obedient to sin and receive what you earned. Or you can be obedient to God and receive what Jesus earned.

You in your sin, with sin as your master, are earnng for yourself eternal death. You are earning for yourself the punishment of a life lived in death.

But God offers you instead an escape from you are earning. He offers you a free gift. It’s not free because it didn’t cost anything. It’s free because there is nothing you can do to pay for it.

Jesus died on the cross as a sacrifice for your sins. He was perfect in your place so that you would no longer be under the bondage of sin. He died in your place and he calls you to come and be forgiven by all that He has done for you.

This morning, if you haven’t put your faith in Jesus as your savior. If you are still hoping to be “good enough” to enter heaven someday. If you are tired of living in sin—and you are tired of the death that it brings. Will you come this morning and receive God as your master? Will you come this morning and be free by obedience to God?

How can you be obedient to God right now? God calls you to come to his Son Jesus today.

And brothers and sisters who belong to Jesus will you commit today to live in the truth of your forgiveness. Will you commit today to identify yourself—not with those former things of which you are now ashamed, but instead to clothe yourselves with the righteousness of Christ?

If the Holy Spirit is moving in your heart this morning and stirring you in response to this word will you repent—will you celebrate—will you make a stand today to live in the reality that He has placed you in?

Dave is going to begin playing. Go ahead and stand and sing the glorious truths of this gospel, but during this time if you need to pray. Pray. If you need to talk with me. Talk with me. If you want to accept Jesus you come and I’ll help you do that. If you are online and want to know the peace of Christ you reach out. Pray with me church.

Pray