No Longer Slaves to Sin

Transcript

GRM 1005
5/18/2008
No Longer Slaves to Sin
Romans 6:15-23
Gil Rugh


I want to direct your attention to Romans 6 again. As Paul has been unfolding the wonder of the gospel that brings God's salvation in the fullness of its power, in the gospel the power of God for salvation is revealed. Paul has been unfolding that gospel in the book of Romans, showing that sin has brought condemnation to us, but God has provided His righteousness as a replacement for our sin by having His Son come and die and pay the penalty for our sin so that through faith in Christ we might receive the gift of God's salvation, eternal life in Christ. Then he proceeds from talking about the righteousness He has provided for sinful human beings to talk about holiness of life. And as we talked about in our previous study in Romans 6, God's salvation comes as a package. In Christ we've received everything necessary for life and godliness, Peter tells us. And so God doesn't piece it out, parcel it out to us, but when you trust in Jesus Christ you receive the fullness of His salvation, the completeness of His forgiveness, His righteousness credited to your account. And now your life becomes His, to manifest the righteousness, the holiness, the beauty of His character. So we are in what is known as sanctification. We've moved from condemnation to justification to sanctification. The word sanctification simply means a life of separation from sin to God. That's what it is to be sanctified, to be a saint, to be holy. All comes from the same basic Greek word—to be set apart from sin, set apart to God.

The Apostle Paul has been talking about the impact of this salvation on the way we live our lives, showing that those who have been cleansed from their sin, forgiven by a holy God, been the recipients of God's gift of righteousness credited to our account through faith in His Son now are to live lives of righteousness. There is no disconnect. When you receive the righteousness of Christ by faith, when you become His child, now your life is lived for Him. So for the first 13 verses of Romans 6 Paul has stressed the fact of our death with Christ. And we noted repeatedly in every verse from Romans 6:2-13 Paul uses the word death, death, death. He is responding to the question, verse 1, what shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may increase? May it never be. Just because our sin magnifies the grace of God and shows how great His grace is in forgiving us each and every, all sin, doesn't mean that we are free to sin under the excuse that that simply shows how great God's grace is. Sin is not a possibility for us. I cannot continue to live the same life I lived before. Why? We have died with Christ. Verse 6 tells us, knowing this, that our old self, our old man was crucified with him, so that our body of sin, our body as controlled by sin, as used for sinful deeds and activities might be rendered powerless, inoperative, done away with. So that we would no longer be slaves to sin. Keep that statement in mind, so that we should no longer be slaves to sin. That's going to be the subject of the last half of this chapter.

For he who has died is freed from sin. There is God's wonderful solution to the issue of sin—its death. So the penalty for my sin is death, I died. When did I die? I died when Christ died, because when I trusted Jesus Christ as my Savior God identified me spiritually with Christ in His death and burial. That means the control of sin over me was broken, I have been set free from slavery to sin.

Verse 7, he who has died is freed from sin, is justified from sin, its control, its power, its consequences. I'm done with it all. We've been raised to Christ to newness of life, now we live in newness of life. Down in verse 14, sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. This is an encouraging verse. It means that we who have trusted Christ, who have been set free from the power and slavery of sin are truly set free from the power, the bondage to our sin. We are not under law, the Mosaic law, which gave commands which were good, which were holy, which were righteous, but which I could not keep because I was controlled by my sin. It could not bring me righteousness. But in Christ I have been set free. Christ did for me what the Mosaic law could not do—He paid the penalty for my sin, He set me free, and now enables me to live a life that is pleasing to God.

So the instructions were given in verse 12, therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal bodies that you should obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. Now you live for the Lord, you use your body to serve the Lord, you present the various parts of your body to Him to do things that are righteous. The members of our body become instruments, weapons of righteousness for carrying out the purposes of God.

Now that statement in verse 14, for sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace raises the second questions. Romans 6 is built around two questions. The first question in verse 1, are we to continue in sin that grace may increase? May it never be. The second question is in verse 15, what then, shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Same answer, may it never be, such a thought is inconceivable, not a possibility. Now when we say we are not under law but under grace, does that mean we are free to do as we please? Now in verse 1, are we to continue in sin was a present tense—do we continue to live in that realm, serving sin. No. Well the second question is in the aorist tense, probably referring to the fact, am I free to occasionally sin. I realize I can't live in sin any longer, but we do live under grace and not under law. Does that mean I am free to do what I might enjoy doing? I'm not bound or obligated to law. We're not under the Mosaic law, and we won't be into chapter 7 but chapter 7 says when we died with Christ we also died to the Mosaic law. So we are freed from those obligations and responsibilities, we are not under the Mosaic law. But we are not lawless, we are not anti-nomian. We live under the law of Christ and the clear commands of the new covenant or the New Testament.

Don't misunderstand grace. We sometimes think since we're not under the Mosaic law with all of its obligations that therefore we are free and sin, even though I wouldn't live there, if I practice it occasionally it's nobody's business but mine, and nobody can judge me. And we use all these kinds of phrases. And we turn the grace of God into something it is not—a freedom to sin.

You'll note that answer—may it never be. Then he continues his response the way he did to the first question. Do you not know? Look up in verse 3, do you not know? And remember when Paul uses that kind of question it implies they are not following through on what they ought to know, like we would tell our children, you know better. Only we'd put it as a question—don't you know better? In other words we're driving home the point, you shouldn't be doing that because you know better. So he's saying, you already know this, how can you even have such a question in your mind? Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death or of obedience resulting in righteousness. Death was the key word through the first 14 verses, slavery is the key word in verses 15-23. It will be used eight times, and the word obedience which goes along with slavery will be used three times. So the concept of slavery and obedience eleven times in verses 15-23, continuing to emphasize why our lives now must be lived differently. Now we must grasp this. We live in a day where sin has been redefined as an addiction. It's like a disease and you get a physical disease or illness and it's something you're not responsible for usually, it just happened to you. And so we have moved sin to the realm of addictions and so you are no longer responsible or accountable for your sin. It's something you have no control over. There's an element of truth in this. What the world calls addictions, the Bible calls sin. But we as believers must be careful not to get confused and begin to think our sins are not so bad because I don't have sin, I'm not morally accountable and guilty before God, I have an addiction, I'm a victim. So I need help.

A number of years an article appeared in a news magazine, America's Addiction to Addictions. It's talking about the fact, I'm not going to read a lot of it to you. It was not long ago that these excesses like drug addiction and sex and drunkenness, it was not long ago that even these excesses were seen as evidence of moral degradation, rather than medical conditions. What has worried some addiction experts is society's willingness to expand the definition of addictive disease beyond substance abuse and all this. It includes everything. The disease model sends a harmful message to abusers—it not only excuses irresponsibility but indoctrinates them with the idea they are helpless and sick. Creating a world of addictive diseases may mean creating a world in which anything is excusable. It is in vogue now to call any excessive behavior an addiction. There are all kinds of treatments for these and they note, none of the often expensive treatments offered for the alleged behavioral addictions has proved effective. Is every problem a disease? It seems sometimes that way. And on it goes.

And the problem is the infiltration to the church from the world. How does the world deal with this? Well you need to see a psychologist, you need to see a psychiatrist, you need counseling. I mean, they list some of the addictions and we could add to this list many times over. Overeaters Anonymous, Gay Men's Overeaters Anonymous, Sexaholics Anonymous, Co-Dependents Anonymous, Co-Dependents of Sex Addicts, Batterers Anonymous. In other words if you beat up your spouse, you have an addiction. Gamblers Anonymous, Debtors Anonymous, Neurotics Anonymous, Women Who Love Too Much, Women Who Love Too Much—Lesbian Chapter, Emotions Anonymous, and it goes on. You know, understand this rejection of sin is not new. No one ever wants to say, I do sinful things. We excuse it, redefine it, do all we can to make it acceptable behavior. We as believers need to be clear. What the world calls addictions, the Bible calls sin. And the cure for sin is the gospel of Jesus Christ. And that is the cure for every sin. That is a great blessing, think about it. I don't have to think, what is my sin. Well, drunkenness. I need, then, Alcoholics Anonymous because I have an addiction to alcohol. Well somebody else's sin is immorality so they're a sexaholic and they need to go to someone with expertise in how to get free from that kind of addiction. Then someone else's addiction ................... And we go on and develop these ideas.

I was talking to a Christian who had completed a course in Christian counseling, said I have become an expert in bulimia. And it just goes on. Every single area, every area of addiction now needs an expert. The Bible puts all sin together and says there is one cure for sin, plural and singular—sins as they are individually considered and sin as it infects our nature. It is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. There is no cure for sin but death, and you have to die with Christ. And those who have died with Christ no longer live the way they used to live. That's the point of Romans 6. We have moved on now to talk about the life of one who has been the recipient of God's righteousness in Christ. That was the subject of Romans 3:21-5:21. Now Romans 6-8 talk about how you live your new life in Christ.

Verse 16, in response to the question, should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Do you not know? When you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey. The point here is you submit yourself to someone, you become their slave. The concept of slavery was well known in the Roman Empire. This time in Paul's life and ministry Rome was enjoying great luxury, great wealth, great decadence. And a large portion of the population, some would say the majority of the population in Rome were slaves. I was going to bring you some comments about what it meant to be a slave in Rome, but I didn't want to take the time today. But that was a dreadful position. You were the total, complete property of your owner, your master. And to read what some of the current writers, Paul's contemporaries in the Roman world, wrote about how slaves were treated, it's hard to believe. I mean people treat their animals better. So the concept of slavery was well known. The point Paul wants to pick up on when he talks about slavery is absolute, complete allegiance and obedience is required. So when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death or of obedience resulting in righteousness.

Jesus prepared the way for what Paul is saying here in Matthew 6:24. He said, no man can serve two masters. He will either hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and riches. Period. So the point there is the same. Being a slave requires your absolute, total allegiance and obedience to your master. So you can't have two masters, because you can't have total 100% allegiance to two different masters. It's an impossibility. That same point is being made by Paul.

So if you present yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one you obey. So you are asking, verse 15, shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace. But when you sin, you submit yourself to sin as your master. Now can you do that? No. You know one thing I note here in this whole picture, we've been set free from sin, but sin does not lose its character. You know what sin does, it acts as a master. And when you choose the sin, it takes hold of you. That's the characteristic of sin. Now sometimes when we initially indulge in sin, its embrace doesn't seem so bad. In fact we want to be embraced by it, that's why we have chosen to indulge in it. But we know what happens with sin—it tightens its grip. And soon now we find we are in the vice grip of sin and I didn't intend this. But you see I made that decision to become a slave. But how can I do that? So I must understand the characteristic of sin and the relationship I'm establishing when I choose to sin. Now that I've been set free in Christ and I live under grace, I'm not bound by the Mosaic law, doesn't mean I can go, maybe enjoy sin for a little bit, and leave it. Sin is a master, and when I choose to obey sin I'm enslaving myself to that master.

Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death or of obedience resulting in righteousness. The contrast here between the two masters. There are only two masters—sin resulting in death and obedience resulting in righteousness. Those will be developed through this section. You either submit yourself to sin, the result of that is death, or obedience resulting in righteousness. The obedience to God, the obedience that leads to righteousness. Obedience is the central issue in slavery. How can I submit myself to sin and submit myself to righteousness? They are two different masters, they are two totally opposed masters, they are contrary to one another. Now how could I say I have become a slave of the living God, I've become a slave of righteousness. Is it all right for me to sin occasionally? Can I submit myself to the slavery that leads to death, ruin and destruction? You know even as believers we sometimes fail to appreciate the issue of sin. And how many times does the allurement of sin draw us to something and we find ourselves entangled in it. And we're frustrated and say, I thought Christians wouldn't be controlled but I just can't stop. Well you chose to enslave yourself. No, I just was going.......... Doesn't matter. We're talking about masters that dominate you, that control you, the one to whom you are obligated.

And you'll note the responsibility here, you are the slaves of the one whom you obey. The one whom you serve is the one that you indicate is your master. So he backs it up here. Instead of saying, the one that controls you, that's the one you serve, he says the one you choose to obey. You manifest your master by what you do.

Now note the contrast here, to pull it back to the basic issue. Verse 17, but thanks be to God, though you were slaves of sin you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed. Having been freed from sin you became slaves of righteousness. He closely develops this in responding to his questions here. You were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed. And having been freed from sin you became slaves of righteousness. So the contrast here, verse 17, you were slaves of sin; the end of verse 18, you became slaves of righteousness. You see two realms of slavery, two masters—sin and righteousness. When you were set free from slavery to sin you were enslaved to righteousness. That's why we sometimes mention there is no concept of freedom as we often use it found in the Bible. You are a slave of sin or you are a slave of righteousness. Now when you are a slave of righteousness you are truly free, because you are free when you are able to function as the creating God created you to function—in a relationship with Him, bringing glory to Him by your obedience. But that's not freedom in the sense that now I am free from all obligation, I have no master. There is no such person. Every person is a slave of sin until they are set free from sin. And anybody who has truly been set free from sin has become a slave of righteousness. So we're talking about two groups of slaves—those who are slaves of sin and those who are slaves of righteousness.

Verse 17 talks about the transition, thanks be to God. All the glory, all the honor, all the praise, all the thanks goes to God. That though you were slaves of sin. Ephesians 2, we were dead in our trespasses and sins, we were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. Though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed. You became obedient from the heart, a true inner commitment of faith, obedience. God commands all everywhere to repent. I obeyed Him by believing the gospel, repenting of my sin and placing my faith in Christ. You became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching, that pattern of teaching, the gospel of Jesus Christ that he's been talking about, which sets you free. If the Son shall set you free, you will be free indeed. I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. So you became obedient to that form of teaching, pattern of teaching, the truth that I taught you.

To which you were committed, to which you were given over. Note the first part of this—thanks be to God. Why thanks to God? He has given us over to the gospel. And here you have that mixture that causes us such difficulty in trying to resolve in our hearts and minds the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man in our salvation. We were committed, given over to this teaching by God. So He gets all the glory, all the honor and all the thanks for our salvation. But we had to be obedient from the heart to the teaching which He gave us over to, with His act of grace in operating in our heart so that we obeyed by believing the gospel. That word, you were committed, passive verb in the passive voice, it means we were acted upon, it was done to us. We were turned over, committed.

Back up to Romans 1:24, in the context of sin. Therefore God gave them over, there is our verb, in the lust of their hearts and impurity. They are sinners who wanted to pursue their sin. God gave them over, go ahead and do it. It was His judgment in effect, turning them over to their sinful passions that they so desired to do. Repeated again in verse 26, repeated again in verse 28. But God has intervened in mercy and grace to spare from judgment certain ones, and He gave them over to the gospel that they might obey from the heart and experience salvation, the wonder of saving grace.

Back in Romans 6:17. So the result of that work of grace in our faith and our heart. And I am responsible and accountable to become obedient from the heart. But I recognize God's sovereign work in enabling me to become obedient from the heart.

Results in, verse 18, my having been freed from sin because that's what we talked about in the opening part of this chapter. When you placed your faith in Christ you were identified with Christ in His death, in His burial and in His resurrection to new life. So you were freed from sin. Why? The wages of sin is death. But I died. When did I die? I died when Christ died. So the authority of sin as my master is broken. Just like a slave, when he died his old master had no more authority over him. Some of you will get up and go to a slave master tomorrow in our society. You work for someone. Not quite the slavery of the Bible. But you know what? If you die tonight you won't be going to work tomorrow, will you. Your boss calls and says where is so-and-so, didn't show up for work today. He died. I don't care, tell him to get in here. Nobody says that. They say, I'm sorry. They know all your obligations to that former employer, or in the biblical context that former master, is over, done. The relationship has ended.

We have been freed from sin and you became slaves of righteousness. We were now because we died, we were raised to a new life, in our new life we have a new master. The new master is righteousness. We're talking about the practical righteousness lived out in our lives day by day. Becomes clear as he flows along here, as you'll see. In other words, now I do righteous things. So how can you say, now I can sin because I'm not under the law. What kind of stupid, idiotic question is that, anyway? I mean, you died to the old master. Now can I go back and serve him at least sometimes? No, you are not your own. You have been bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your bodies, Paul wrote to the Corinthians. This point is simple, it is clear, but it is of utmost importance. We have people professing to be believers paddling around, I can't help it. It's like they are a victim, they are practicing sin, they are committing acts of sin but that's okay, that's not so bad. I'm not under law, you're not my judge. And all of this is wiped out. Praise the Lord, we're free. But you don't know what my sin is, you don't know what my family life was like, you don't know what has happened to me. The only thing I need to know that has happened to you, have you died with Christ. That takes care of every sin. There are no special exceptions, right? So you are freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. Are there any sins I am free to commit? Not even one.

I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. In other words, Paul is aware that the analogy of slavery can be a weak one, because we can think of all the negative aspects of slavery—the harsh unfair slave master and so on. Paul's point of comparison is on the obligation and responsibility. Jesus has become my master and He says His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Come unto Me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. He is a great master, but He is a great Lord to rule my life. I am speaking in human terms so this is so you can understand it, the clarity of it, the obligations here.

Just as you presented the members of your body as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness resulting in sanctification. That's what I'm saying, that's what I'm saying with this slavery analogy. And many of those reading this letter in the church at Rome would be slaves and some of them would be masters. They all understand the analogy here. Just as; verse 19, just as; move down a line or two, so now. That's the comparison. Just as previously you presented your members, the parts of your body as slaves to impurity and lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness. That's always the pattern—sin leads to more sin, to more sin, to more sin. Isn't that the way it always goes? You sin, now you have to lie to cover up the sin, then you have to deceive to cover up the lie. And then you have to ......... One thing leads to another, leads to another, leads to another. And sin always is deteriorating, culminating in death.

You presented your members as slaves to impurity, a kind of moral defilement, lawlessness. I John 3:4 says sin is lawlessness. The basic characteristic of sin in its root is rebellion against God, asserting ourselves against God. That's sin. So now. How was our allegiance and obedience to sin? It was absolute, it was complete. The first three chapters of Romans, basically, from 1:18 to 3:21, Paul established clearly that there is none righteous, no not one. All have turned aside, everyone. That's it, complete. I gave complete allegiance to my sin. You understand I never did anything for the honor and glory of God, I never did anything acceptable to Him before He redeemed my sinful soul. We need to be careful, we look around and say, I see some good people. But even the good things they are doing, they're not doing to honor the living God, they're not doing it in obedience to Him. If they did, they'd start out by believing in His Son because that's the only way they can have a relationship with Him. So even when people seem to be doing these things out of a devotion to God and a desire to please God, they don't. Because if they did they would begin by obeying Him through faith in His Son. Isn't that what Jesus had to tell the Jews of His day who were so meticulous in their religious activity and were so convinced they were pleasing God? So He had to tell them, if you loved God you would love Me. But they didn't, so all their religious activity was for themselves, not for God.

So our devotion to sin, our obedience to sin was complete. So now present your members, the end of verse 19, as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. In other words, just as I used the parts of my body, all of its parts, to serve sin in one way or another, so now use every part of your body to serve righteousness. And that results in sanctification. The comparison is you presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness. You know what presenting the members of your body to righteousness does? It results in holiness, sanctification, same basic word. Results in holiness. Now just where in this, now that I'm a slave of righteousness and I use my body completely, all of my body all of the time to serve my master, righteousness, that produces further holiness in my life. Just where does the question come up, am I free to sin? Is it any wonder Paul says, do you not know? What's the problem here? Just like your kids, it's so clear to them and they ask if they can do something. What is wrong with you? Why would you even ask such a question. There are Christians walking around, well, it was sin but it wasn't that bad. I know it's sin but I couldn't help myself. I know it was sin but nobody is perfect. We were perfect in our obedience to sin before, why should we accept anything less than perfect obedience to His righteousness? Am I preaching sinless perfection? No. Am I preaching that we ought to be satisfied with nothing less than that passionate pursuit of complete, absolute obedience to righteousness? Yes. We're back to what we talked about in our previous study. I never have to sin, I never have to lose my temper, I never have to say that unkind word, I never have to (fill in the blank, whatever the sin). I do it when I want to, it gives me some pleasure, at least for the moment. I got it off my chest. Sometimes I regret I lost my temper, but it felt good when I did because I was really letting them have it. Afterwards I may have remorse and grief and I realize that wasn't the right thing to do. You know why I did it? It gave me pleasure at the time. People commit immorality. Why? It gave them pleasure at the time. They may afterwards sense their guilt, regret it. But why did you do it? I'm talking about believers, unbelievers just pursue their life, they serve sin, they get victory so to speak over one sin but they only function in that realm. Understand, a person gives up drunkenness, their life may be better than it was when they were a drunk. We helped them get rid of alcohol, but they are still enslaved to their sin. We have done nothing of true value. That's why as a church we do not devote our time to trying to reform sinners, trying to clean up the exterior appearance of their life so the outside is a whitewashed tomb, filled on the inside with vile things. Because it's the heart that has to be cleansed. When that heart is cleansed, now, you serve righteousness. When you were slaves of sin you were free in regard to righteousness.

That's just what we've been talking about, verse 20. You didn't do anything righteous, ultimately pleasing to God. So now that you are a slave to righteousness, why would you consider sinning? Your service to righteousness, your slavery to righteousness should be absolute. Therefore, what benefit, what fruit are you deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed, for the outcome of those things is death. I mean, you think about your old life. It's drunkenness, it's vileness, it's immorality, whatever, the lies, the deceit, the self centeredness. Those are the kinds of things we're ashamed of. That produces nothing pleasing to God, no fruit of the Spirit, no fruit of righteousness. That's the word benefit, it's the word fruit. Therefore what fruit are you deriving from those things of which you are now ashamed? There was nothing pleasing to God in my life. Those are the kinds of things we're ashamed, aren't they? If we do bring them up it's just to say how wonderful the grace of God that freed me. When Paul brings up what he was before his salvation, what does he compare it to? Dung. Philippians 3, read his testimony. Even those things that are so admired by the world and his progress in Judaism. Had to go on the dung heap as refuse. That's what it is. We're ashamed of those things. What did he say? I persecuted the church of Christ, I'm not worthy to be saved. But He saved me. He doesn't bring up those things because he glories in them, he brings them up just to remind himself and make clear to others I was the worst of sinners, the chief of sinners. We're ashamed of those things. Was Paul proud that he persecuted the church? Not in any way, he was ashamed of it. Those are shameful things.

You know in Jeremiah 8:12 God speaks through Jeremiah and tells the terrible condition of Israel. They had become so involved in their sin, they no longer knew how to blush, they weren't ashamed. We can see that in the world around us. Turn on your TV, watch a neutral program, people buying a house. And here you have a guy and a girl, they've decided to move in together so they're looking for a house they can buy together. Nobody thinks anything. And they're just smiling and the person doing the program is just .............. Nobody is ashamed that I am sinning against the living God, that I am living in the uncleanness of immorality and degradation of sin. No, don't even know how to blush. And we can smile and laugh through it all, and on it goes. And the world is not to conform us, we are not to be conformed to the world, pressed into its mold, shaped by it, that somehow sin becomes anything less than something totally ugly and repulsive that I should even wonder if it will be all right, I wonder if this sin will be that bad.

What fruit were you deriving from those things which you are now ashamed. The outcome of those things is death, and he's talking about death here in the ultimate end. Read Revelation 20, the end of the chapter. Those who are cast into the lake of fire experience the second death, ultimate separation from God for eternity in the suffering of the flames of hell. Because it's compared to eternal life at the end of verse 22. Verse 22, now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God. You ought to have that underlined. Freed from sin and enslaved to God. You ought never to try to separate the two, that's a destruction of the gospel of Jesus Christ. You are freed from sin and enslaved to God, you died with Christ and were raised to newness of life. That's the gospel, it is a package. Those who split it no longer have a biblical gospel, it is just as much a rejection of the gospel as those who would add works as necessary for salvation and so they have destroyed grace.

Having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your fruit, resulting in sanctification, the outcome eternal life. The outcome of my sin, the end of verse 21, death; the outcome of the fruit that produces holiness, eternal life. This contrast is now summarized in verse 23, a verse we all memorize, but we ought to put it in the context. It is not at the end of the first section of Romans, right after Romans 3:20, the conclusion of the section on sin and condemnation. It is not at the end of the second section of Romans on the gospel, God's righteousness provided in Christ from 3:21 to 5:21. We have it at the end of Romans 6 when he is talking about sanctification and the righteousness of life for a believer, the holiness of life for a believer. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is reminding us of the culmination of life. Those who live in sin, those who practice sin are enslaved to sin. The wages paid for sin is death, that's what you've earned. People say I only want what I deserve. You will get it. I don't want what I deserve. The wages for my sin is death and this is the second death and they are cast into the lake of fire which burns with fire and brimstone into the ages of the ages. That's the wages of sin.

But the free gift of God, that free gift comes from the word charis, the word grace. The gift of God's grace is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. That's the contrast. God's salvation cleanses us from all sin, frees us from the penalty of sin, frees us from the power of sin, gives us new life. And now we must live that new life in complete obedience to Him. That means this physical body is to serve Him, it has been enslaved to Him, righteousness is to characterize everything I say with my tongue, everything I do with my hands, everywhere I go with my feet, everything I look at with my eyes. I am enslaved to God. Now anytime I have those issues, is this going to be all right. Well you are a slave of God, is this what He would be directing you to do? Cheat on your wife? Cheat on your husband? Think of yourself as better than others? Minimize the work of His grace in their life to exalt yourself? And on it goes. You see those things are totally contrary to the beauty of His character. They deny the wonder of His work. Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? May it never be. Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be. Understand the seriousness of this. We sometimes start out with a faulty gospel, we don't present the issue of sin. We tell people that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. You'll have much more joy and happiness if you trust Christ. Your life doesn't have to change, but you don't want to go to hell, do you? Trust Christ. They are all distortions of the gospel, so people make decisions. You understand there is more to this. The Holy Spirit has to convict of sin, of righteousness and judgment, as Jesus said in John 16, a work of God in a life. As we present the truth of God we want to be clear this is an issue of sin. You are a rebel against God, you are the enemy of God, God hates you as you hate God. But He is a merciful God, a kind God. And He has provided for His enemies the wonder of His salvation. And when you become obedient from the heart to the gospel of Jesus Christ, believing in Him. And he uses the word obedient there because your initial act of obedience by the grace of God in believing in Christ is the beginning of a life of obedience. It's not the end of it all, it's the beginning of it all. And it will culminate in eternal life in the glory of His presence. The alternative—continue enslaved to sin and culminate in the fires of hell.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for a great salvation. Lord, it is good for us as your people to be reminded of the doctrine of sanctification, holiness, righteousness of life, righteous living, holy living, godly living. Lord, how sad that the people that you have redeemed would think that sin that required the death of your Son on the cross is not a major sin, that the sins that we enjoy can be tolerated, that certain sins that may give us pleasure we can excuse as acceptable in some perverted way of our thinking. Lord, may we see the lines that you have drawn very clearly and again bask in the beauty, the brilliance and the wonder of your salvation. We have been forgiven, we have been cleansed, we have been made new, we have been set free. Now we belong to the living God. We are proud to declare ourselves slaves of righteousness, slaves of God, those committed now to obedience to righteousness, manifesting holiness because you are holy, looking forward to the culmination, not in death but in the wonder of life in your presence. We praise you in Christ's name, amen.