Romans 6:1-2

Introductory Thoughts

Paul now begins to deal with some questions that arise from the teaching of justification by faith.

The next two chapters of Romans are dominated by five major questions:

Rom 6:1-2 "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?”

Rom 6:15 "What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? "

Rom 7:7 "What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? “

Rom 7:13 "Did that which is good, then, become death to me?”

Rom 7:24 "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?"

You notice that the first four questions are questions with an emphatic “no!” for an answer: God Forbid. The fifth question is the real bottom line of what the apostle is saying in this whole passage.

Many people teach that this section is a whole section on the subject of sanctification, but that is an over-complication of the text.

We are still talking about justification here, about the fact that we cannot save ourselves, and therefore God must save us.

All of these questions arise from considering the awesome truth that we stand righteous before God based on faith alone in Christ alone, and all by God’s Grace alone.

1. I think Paul Anticipates these Questions from His Old Adversaries—the Legalists, the Judaizers

a. Peter had encountered them first—Acts 11:1-3
b. The events that led to the Council at Jerusalem—Acts 15:1-2
c. The problems in the churches in Galatia
(1) Circumcision
(2) Keeping the dietary law
(3) What Paul Said—Gal 1:6-9
d. Legalism (two types)
(1) Imposing upon Christians the obsolete portions of Old Testament Ceremonial and Dietary Laws.
(2) Imposing on Christians new laws which are in addition to scripture.

2. How to Know If You Are Really Preaching Grace
a. The Question— Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
(1) A whole lot like the statement we so often hear “If I believed I couldn’t fall, I’d sin all over the place,” or “If I Believed That, I’d Just Live Any Old Way I Wanted To”
(2) That question either reveals a total understanding of justification by Faith and Salvation by Grace, or it reveals someone who is just plain lost—a real believer would never feel that way.
b. Preaching Grace—The Doctrines of Grace Reviewed—The Basic proposition: God Saves Sinners.
(1) God Saves Sinners. You cannot save yourself, in whole or in part. Lost people are really lost!
(2) God Saves Sinners. We do not save ourselves—we pay no part of it.
(i) God conceived the plan
(ii) God accomplished redemption through the sinless life, substitutionary death, literal burial, literal bodily resurrection, ascension, and current intercession of His Son, The Lord Jesus Christ.
(b) God Saves Sinners.
(i) God Seeks, finds, awakens, calls, causes us to be born again, Justifies us, reconciles us through the imputation of the righteousness of Christ to our accounts
(ii) God sanctifies us, God keeps us saved
(iii) and God Will Glorify us in the end—Redemption Complete!
(iv) What do I do?—“…Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…”

(3) Preach Grace! Preach it completely and in every aspect—do as Paul did, and declare the whole counsel of God.
(4) Preach justification by faith alone and salvation by grace alone to the point where people make this accusation against you that they made against Paul.
(a) No one has ever accused the works religions of this.
(b) No one has ever accused Arminians of this.
(c) Only preachers of Grace are thus accused, and thus are in the same place as the inspired apostle!
c. This was the question either posed to Paul or which Paul anticipated, for Paul preached Grace in its fulness.
d. And the question… Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?--this refers to attitudes, lifestyle, patterns of behavior…
(1) Continue in sin—in other words, are we going to keep living like we did before God Saved Us?
(2) That Grace may abound—are we going to make grace look good by continuing to sin?

3. The First Answer is: NO! Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid.
a. The Phrase and its meaning—
(1) First of all, it is not a literal translation—The phrase is literally “may it never be,” but this is such an emphatic expression in the original language, that the KJV translators chose the most emphatic term in their day, and in the New Testament, “may it never be” is always translated as “God Forbid.”
(2) This is one of the Apostle Paul’s favorite phrases, and he uses it several times. Here are some examples: Rom 3:3-6, Rom 9:14, Rom 11:1, 1 Cor 6:15, Gal 2:17, Gal 3:21, Gal 6:14
b. Any version of “salvation,” or any doctrine of “eternal security,” which purports to teach that it is possible to be a Christian with no change whatsoever in the life, is heresy!
c. But then, again, you get the other version of the question, from those who don’t believe in Grace Salvation, which is the title for tonight’s sermon: “If I Believed That, I’d Just Live Any Old Way I Wanted To”è Not if you were really saved, you wouldn’t!

4. A Question In Return: How shall we, that are dead (have died) to sin, live any longer therein?
a. How in the world…. How shall we, that are dead (have died) to sin, live any longer therein? If you have died to sin, if you have been saved, if Christ is your Lord and Savior, how can you roll around in the mud and like it?

b. “…dead to sin—What this means.
(1) died to sin(aorist tense). This tense in the Greek speaks of something that happened once and only once, but like a snapshot, its effects continue.
(2) We died to sin! In what way have we died to sin?
(a) First—we have certainly died to the penalty of sin—Rom 4:8 "Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin."
(b) We have died also to the reign of sin.
(c) We are no longer in Sin’s kingdom.
(i) Rom 5:21
(ii) Col 1:12-13
(d) We are members of God’s Kingdom of Righteousness—Phil 3:20, Eph 2:19
(3) Not only have you died to sin, therefore you are no longer in sin’s domain, but you are alive to Christ, you are in Christ, you are in His Kingdom, you have at your disposal all the power and privileges that He grants His people, and you do not have to live like a spiritual beggar!

c. live any longer therein —what this means
(1) The Bible nowhere teaches perfectionism. In our bodies, in our flesh, the seed of sin remains, and our old man is dead, but not gone—we still have his rotting carcass until we die or are caught up.
(2) Some people call this the old nature, I prefer to call it the Old Man, because that is more Biblical. In a later lesson, we will find out what the Body of Sin really is, but for now, lets just say that we still have to deal with sin in our lives.
(3) Confusing verses from John: 1 John 1:8-2:1, 1 John 3:6, 1 John 3:9, 1 John 5:18
(4) The Greek words and verb tenses in these last three verses speak of habitual, continuous, action. The one who is truly born of God does not keep on sinning as a habit. A sheep might fall into the mud pit with the pigs, but he will climb out and want to be free of the mud. The pig wallows in the mud and loves it.

4. Self Examination—
a. The Whole Question examined— How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? If sin no longer reigns over us, how can we habitually live in it?
b. Ask yourself the question.
(1) A Question and a Verse seldom mentioned these days, but one which bears mentioning. 2 Cor 13:5
(2) Make it sure! 2 Pet 1:10-11