Why Romans 6:18? (A post re-run)

(Since I've been at this since September 2005, and readers have come and gone, some may have missed the earlier posts if they haven't checked the archives--feel free to check them, I know some readers do. So, as I've seen other blogs do, from time to time I will rerun posts from the past. Here's my third ever post.)

Why did I name this blog after Romans 6:18?

The Bible is a book that bears repeat reading. On one such reading Romans 6:18 jumped right out at me. -"...and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness." (NASB)

Wow. I checked out the context.
Romans 6

Here we have Paul asking the Romans why they act as if they are still slaves to sin. They (and all Christians) have been freed from bondage to sin, why go back willingly?

Instead we are slaves of Righteousness-Christ's righteousness. So let's act that way.
It is not an oppressive slavery, but one of freedom in Christ. This theme reverberates throughout Romans 6 and elsewhere-such as Romans 7:6 and John 8:32. Martin Luther understood this and declared himself captive to God and His Word.

Yet, when we sin, we place ourselves back under sin's bondage. Yes, God forgives His people, and we rejoice in that. We are not to presume upon God though, we are to act in accordance with what we profess to believe. Before we believed we were slaves to sin, but we are freed.

Why do I repeat myself in this? It is very important for Christians to keep this in mind.
It was not our own power that freed us from sin, and it is not our own righteousness we are to be slaves to. It is the work of the Triune God-Father, Son & Holy Spirit. Why go back to what was?

Who or what is your Master? Whose slave are you?

Death And Life: Romans 5:8-11 Part Three

In the early 1800’s, Robert Haldane, a Scottish preacher, said, “It greatly enhances the love of God that He gave His Son for us while we were yet His enemies. Had we discovered any symptoms of willingness to obey Him, or any degree of love to Him, His love to us would not have been so astonishing.”

Unless God works in us-we don’t think we’re anywhere near as bad as we really are-no matter how bad we think we are. We don’t and can’t see the depth of our sin. Our regret or sorrow over our sin is mostly, if not completely self centered, because we don’t see the true seriousness of our sin. We often downplay the seriousness as well. Our sin is not just disobedience or breaking the rules—our sin is against God-and it is offensive to Him. King David realizes this in Psalm 51, although he had sinned against other people his sense of sin made him declare his sin was against God alone. Remember—sin is offensive to a Holy God.

For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.James 2:10 (all Bible quotes in this post are from the ESV.)

Yet despite this God saves people from what we deserve. He does it while we were sinners, and with no interest in salvation or desire to be saved, until He puts it there. Romans 5:10 tells us God makes the first move-He doesn’t wait for us to clean up our act. And even then He doesn’t just make one move and leave the rest up to us—He makes the 2nd , 3rd, 4th move, etc, etc—whatever is necessary to His plans. He may take years or do it in an instant—but He does it-start to finish.

This doesn’t release us from responsibility—The Bible tells us we are responsible, and it also tells us God is the one in Charge-and His plans are accomplished—sometimes we find both in the very same passage.
In Phil 2:12-13 Paul points this out-

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, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

This doesn’t mean we work for our salvation, but that we do have a responsibility to God. Are we His? Is there any proof?—And what is it that God does? Re-read verse 13.

In Peter’s first recorded sermon in Acts 2, he gives an example in the death of Christ-Acts 2:22-24-

Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

And so we see God is at work. He meant it for good, men meant it for evil. Peter refers to BOTH God’s predeternmined plan and foreknowledge as well as to men—"You crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men." Jesus has brought about reconciliation between God and His people in His death. Notice this is past tense-it is accomplished—not merely made possible-but accomplished.

To reconcile means to change or exchange, especially in order to make something right. Christ’s reconciliation removed God’s enmity and wrath from His people, and again I want to stress the love involved here. We were not lovable, we were not worthy, but He died for us anyway—while we were sinners.
And why did He have to die? Because, as we read in Hebrews 9:22-

Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

The death of Christ removed all obstacles to reconciliation & allowed us to be clothed in Christ’s righteousness, and we are more than merely His people-We are His children.


In the conclusion we will look at how we are saved by His life.
(Part one is here.
Part two is here.)

Death And Life: Romans 5:8-11 Part Two

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (All Scripture quotes-ESV)

What does it mean that we were enemies?

Being someone’s enemy doesn’t mean not being a friend, or having some disagreement. Being an enemy indicates being in the other camp, or on the other side when the line is drawn. It may be active enmity with hatred or hostility in word or in deed-or it may be passive. It still puts us on the other side.

So who are God’s enemies? The Bible tells us -Sinners. God has hostility towards evil and sin because of His holiness. Romans 3:23 says we are all sinners.

The World appeals to our focus on pleasure without regard to others or to the things of God. Romans 8:6-8 says

To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

In James 4:4 we see the danger in caring more for the things of this world, than for the things of God-

You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

There is no middle ground.

But it doesn’t stop there-as enemies of God we face His wrath & judgment. This is not out of some pettiness on God’s part. It is because of His holiness, and ultimately to the good of His people. God’s love and His wrath are not mutually exclusive. Many people emphasize one at the expense of the other.

In Romans 5:10 we see God loving those under wrath—and taking steps to save them, through reconciliation. In part 3 we'll look at that reconciliation.

(Part one is here.)

Death And Life: Romans 5:8-11 Part One

(I wrote this in March 2003--shortly before Easter. I have made some updates, clarifications and other minor changes--but writing shortly before Easter influenced some of it, and I left that in.)

I like Easter-in fact it’s my favourite holiday—mostly because of what we celebrate-The death and Resurrection Of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Although I must also confess I have a sweet tooth, and the abundance of candy at that time is test of my self control. Still this ranks way behind the resurrection.)

I have no problem with setting aside a special time to celebrate and acknowledge His resurrection, but we need to celebrate His death & resurrection every day, and not put it in a box we take out once a year—and I’ve met professing believers who feel that way—they have a problem, for example, with singing what they see as “Easter songs” at other times of the year. I say why can’t we celebrate that He is risen! In fact without the death & resurrection of Jesus Christ, the gospel would be meaningless. In I Cor 15:14-18 Paul says as much—If Christ is not risen our faith is vain, and we are still in our sins. That’s a good reason to celebrate every day that He is indeed risen.

And it’s His death and resurrection that give sharing of the gospel, and of who Christ is, meaning as well. If a sermon or essay or book would be meaningless or worthless without the death & resurrection—It’s an Easter sermon or essay or book in a sense. May all the sermons we hear be in that sense—Easter sermons, their meaning is connected to the death and resurrection Of Jesus Christ.

I’ve titled this “Death and Life”. But saying “Death and Life” sounds a bit awkward to me, and perhaps it sounds awkward to you as well. My tendency would be to put them in the other order -life and death-which we’re more used to hearing. It’s the order we experience them chronologically. But the focus here is on Jesus Christ, not on us, and Romans 5:8-11, especially v.10-speaks of Christ’s death and life in that order-chronologically. In Romans 5:8-11, Paul is addressing believers who are in Rome, and in contrast to his other letters this is a church he did not plant, with leaders he had not ordained or even met. He had very little direct contact with the people there at the time he wrote these words-

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (ESV)

( Listen to it here. )

In the context here, the “we” Paul addresses are believers. He is not excluding the possibility of unbelievers coming to a saving faith in Christ. He does refer to how it is possible for that to happen, but the beneficiaries of this verse are believers-and the benefactor is Christ.

In verses 9 and 10 there is a parallel. Christ saves us from the wrath of God by His blood in verse 9 and in verse 10 we are reconciled to God through His death. There is also a contrast between them. Vesre 9 is a legal statement about believers’ standing with God because of what Jesus has done-we are justified and saved form wrath. Verse 10 which I’ll be focus on, is the personal side of things, We are reconciled with God.

I want to consider 3 questions –which have some overlap
1. What does it mean that we were enemies?
2. What does it mean that we (believers) were reconciled to God by the death of His Son?
& 3. What does it mean we (believers) shall be saved by His life?

(Next- Part 2: What does it mean that we were enemies?)