What Shall We Say Then?

Becky and the Grand Kids

The kingdom of God is about agreement. We either agree with the truth of God or the lies of the enemy. There really is no in between.

Paul tells us something very important in his letter to the Roman church. When he penned this letter, he didn’t break it into verses—it was one continuous thought. Verses have been added to make biblical addresses more coherent. Therefore, we can read Romans 5:18-6:18 as one thought. Let’s take a look at part of that passage.

For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. The Law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? (Romans 5:19-6:2).

Paul says “God has brought eternal life through the righteousness of Jesus.” Because of what Jesus has done (Rom. 5:19), should we continue to sin that grace might abound (Rom. 6:1)? No way. How can we who have been saved from sin still live like sinners? We have been brought from an old country into a brand-new country. How can we go back to the old country? We are now and forevermore saints. We are no longer sinners!

I heard Kris Vallotton from Bethel Church in Redding California once say, “If we believe we are sinners, then we will sin by faith!” We function and move based upon what we believe. We have to remember who we are. Proverbs 23:7a let’s us know, “What ever a man thinks within himself, so he is” (NASB). If we choose to agree with the lie that says we are nothing but sinners saved by grace, then we will continue to live in sin. We will not experience the freedom from sin that being a slave to righteousness has brought us. Try arguing with the truth of I John 3:9:

No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God (NIV).

It is no longer our nature to sin because our old self is dead and gone. We do not have a sin nature. We need to remember that our old self is dead. Our very nature has been changed. The truth of the matter is that we are good because God is good, and He has given us a new spirit and a new mind (see Ezek. 36:26; I Cor. 2:16). We actually think like Jesus because we have His mind!

We have been baptized into the same death that Christ endured. And we have been raised from the dead just like Christ. Our old self was co-crucified with Christ so that sin would become powerless. Sin has no more clout with us. We live with Christ.

We no longer need to keep dying to flesh, but we do need to keep living in Christ. Death is no longer master over Jesus because He died once and for all; therefore, we count ourselves dead to sin and alive to Christ. We no longer allow the travesty of sin to reign in our bodies. Sin is no longer master over us. We are holy, righteous, and a new creation full of the Spirit of God. We are not under the Law any more, for we are now under His powerful grace. We do not choose to sin because we are under His grace. On the contrary, we choose righteousness because we have God’s grace that empowers us to live out a life full of power.

Let’s break down these verses in the book of Romans to see the truth they communicate:

Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life (Romans 6:2-4 NIV).

In these verses, Paul reflects on the fact that Christians have a different understanding of the Law because of their faith in Christ. The law binds the living, not the dead. This concept is exemplified in marriage, which binds two people together in life but is dissolved through death. Similarly, Christians who have died with Christ to sin through baptism are freed from the Law that produced sin, which in turn brought about death. Now that Christians are joined to Christ, the power of Christ’s resurrection makes it possible for them to bear the fruit of newness of life in God.

 If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin (Romans 6:5-7 NIV).

The word united means we have become just like him in His death, burial, and resurrection. I do not often use the King James translation, but it is helpful to look at these verses in that version. It is a must read!

For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection (Romans 6:5-7 KJV).

This “planted together” would represent one plant being rooted in another plant, so that the first plant derives its strength and life from the second plant. A good example of this reality is the Spanish Moss that grows on trees in the southern part of the United States. The moss is a distinct species, but it only grows as part of another tree; it cannot exist alone. It derives its life from the life of another. We are planted in Christ’s death and resurrection. Since we have death through Jesus, our life is also found in Him alone. I have a life, but I would cease to exist spiritually if I was cut off from His life. Jesus reminds us of this great truth and promise in John’s gospel:

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples (John 15:7-8 NIV).

Let’s go back to the book of Romans:

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with (Romans 6:6).

The words “done away with” remind us that our old self has died and has been made permanently impotent. It is utterly powerless. Spiritual fruit can only be produced with and through resurrection power, not self-power. I cannot decide to bear fruit; I must bear it through Him, because we are walking in resurrection life. This is the same power and the same life that Christ had when He was raised from the dead. Being born again is no less miraculous!

Since you have been raised with Christ, set your heart on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. In other words, set your mind on things above, not on earthly things. Since your old self has died, your life is now hidden in Christ. Since you walk in resurrection power, you can also set your mind on resurrection things. Since you have also partaken in Christ’s ascension, your home is now nothing less than heaven itself.

Let’s continue:

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God (Romans 6:8-10 NIV).

These verses tell us that we have been freed from sin. The power of sin is broken in my life and in yours. But again, you may ask, “Why do I still sin?” The reason you choose to sin is simple. You forgot who you are. Remember, your “soul realm” is still in the process of redemption. Your mind, will, and emotions thought you could get life out of dead things. You thought you could get life out of something or someone other than God.

Remember, the brand-new you (the place where God now dwells) no longer sins. Christ made you holy, righteous, and a brand-new creation. Because of what Christ did for you, you are now free to not sin. You now have the amazing privilege to choose life, which is something you did not previously have.

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