GIVEN ETERNAL LIFE Background Passage: ROMANS 6:15-23 Lesson Passage:ROMANS 6:15-23 BIBLICAL TRUTH: GOD GIVES CHRISTIANS ETERNAL LIFE, WHICH ENCOURAGES US TO LIVE IN RIGHTEOUS WAYS SO WE CAN GROW TOWARD SPIRITUAL MATURITY. KEY BIBLE VERSE: ROMANS 6:22-23 Randy couldn't understand why Jeff made such a fuss about growing as a Christian. A seasoned believer, Jeff wanted to guide Randy, his younger brother in Christ, in the direction of spiritual growth. That's why he encouraged Randy to be involved in Bible reading and prayer each morning. He also challenged Randy to change some of his bad habits and to take the initiative to talk to people about Christ. In frustration one day Randy announced to Jeff, “From now on, I am going to do what I want.” Jeff replied, “No, you can't. You belong to Jesus now. You have to do what He wants. And He wants you to grow to be a mature Christian man.” Paul encouraged the Roman Christians to keep on growing in the Lord too. He knew the importance of the process of sanctification in their lives. In other words, he knew that if they devoted themselves to spiritual growth, they could become mature servants of Christ. That's why he wrote the passage to be studied in this session. As you study it, you will also learn how to grow spiritually by devoting yourself to the Lord. BACKGROUND PASSAGE OVERVIEW Now that we have received God's gift of salvation, our relationship with Him is characterized by grace instead of law. We no longer have to worry about keeping His law in order to be right with Him. Does our relationship with Him imply that we can continue to live in sin? No! That's totally absurd. Each of us has a nature that leads us to be enslaved to a master. And we are slaves to the master we actually obey, not the master we say we serve. Either we serve sin and die, or we will be slaves to God through obedience, growing in righteousness. When we were saved, God made a remarkable change in us. That's one reason we are grateful to Him. Understanding the change God made in us, however, requires us to use an analogy. The analogy of slavery is well suited to this purpose. Without it, we might have trouble grasping the important concept associated with spiritual growth. Once we were enslaved to sin, and we gave ourselves completely to that master. Everything in us was devoted to living in sinful ways. The more we served sin, the worse we became in the process. Now we must give ourselves to God with the same devotion. If we do, we will continue to grow toward spiritual maturity. At one time we served sin exclusively. God's ways had no control over us. When we look back on our lives then, we are ashamed of the path we were taking. The end of the line for us was death and nothing else. Our enslavement to God is completely different. When He set us free from our enslavement to sin, we became His slaves exclusively. Now we take the path of spiritual growth. When we served sin, we earned nothing more than death. But as God's slaves, we enjoy eternal life as His gift to us because of Christ. STUDY QUESTIONS 1.What did Paul have in mind when he asked if a Christian should sin? (6:15) 2.Why did Paul encourage Christians to thank God? (6:17) 3.How is a person who is not a Christian free from an allegiance to righteousness? (6:30) Paul still had more to say about the issue he introduced in the first verses of this chapter. He started there by raising a question about whether Christians should continue to live in sin (6:1). After he answered it resoundingly, he moved into the next section of his letter to bring up another question about sin in a believer's life. BEING OBEDIENT (ROM. 6:15-16) Romans 6 15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? VERSE 15 ~ Paul moved on to deal with another issue regarding sin in a Christian's life. He asked, What then?Like any wise and skilled teacher, he used the question to introduce and underscore the important issue he intended to address next. In the question he raised in this verse, Paul brought up the issue of whether Christians should sin. By expressing the issue in this way, Paul had in mind the practice of sin as a habit or as a way of life. (See study question 1.) he anticipated that some of the Roman Christians would be thinking that they were free to do anything they wanted since they were saved. That kind of freedom, they would say to themselves, should allow them to plunge into a lifestyle governed by sin if they wished. Christians today can make the mistake of coming to the same conclusion because of the reality of our standing with the Lord. Indeed, we no longer live under law. We know that our salvation doesn't depend on whether we keep the law, but on the fact that we placed our faith in Christ. When we received Christ, a new life under God's grace began for us. His grace may give some Christians the idea that we can live as we please. But Paul didn't see it that way. With his terse response, he indicated that such a conclusion was not only incorrect; it was absurd. VERSE 16 ~ Then he went on to explain his response. Some Christians thought they were free to do whatever they wanted. But, actually, they were not. One of the realities we have to face about ourselves is that our human nature causes us to seek to serve something or someone. And the master we choose is evident by our actions, not necessarily by our words. While we say that we offer ourselves to God, our actions show who or what we actually obey with our lives. If we are slaves to sin, our actions will show it. Likewise, our devotion to obedience as an expression of our faith in God becomes evident by what we do. And our choices have consequences. Serving sin leads to death. But serving God leads to growth in righteousness. LIVING RIGHTEOUSLY (ROMANS 6:17-19) 17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. 19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. . VERSE 17 ~ As Paul continued his explanation, he thanked God for what He had done among the Roman Christians. God had worked in their lives so they could be slaves to Him as their master. (See study question 2). Paul recalled a time in their lives when they had sold themselves out to sin. During the time in which they lived under sin's control, they faced the ultimate consequence of death. But then God's gracious message of salvation through Christ came their way. They heard the message, responded to it, and gave themselves to Christ. As His slaves, they obeyed Him. And their obedience wasn't superficial. Quite the opposite! They obeyed Him from the heart and not just from the lip or tongue. Their wholehearted obedience to Christ reflected their complete devotion to Him. They had been careful to pattern their lives after the teaching about Christ that had been entrusted to them.. VERSE 18 ~ Then Paul returned to the reality he had mentioned previously, one that governed the Roman Christians (5:16). In fact, it governs all people everywhere. All of us will give ourselves as slaves to a master. This verse helps us to apply the reality to Christian living. Before we received Christ, we were slaves to sin. When we were saved, however, we were liberated from sin's slavery. Set free from one master, we have chosen to be enslaved to another. We have become slaves to righteousness. Now the desire of our hearts is to obey our Lord. Though our obedience to Him, we grow in our relationship with Him. As we grow, we continue to bear witness to the wonderful truth that God has made us right with Him through Christ. That's why the priority of a growing Christian is always the same. We want to obey our Lord by living in righteous ways. VERSE 19 ~ Paul used the human analogy of slavery to teach the vital lesson about righteous living. By calling attention to the weakness of the flesh, Paul expressed his awareness of the difficulties related to understanding spiritual concepts. The analogy must have been extremely helpful to the Roman Christians. A large segment of the population of Rome was made up of slaves. A reasonable number of Roman believers, therefore, were probably slaves of one kind or another. Consequently, the congregation would have known about slavery quite well. Along with explaining slavery, Paul challenged the Roman Christians to keep on growing in righteous living. His challenge applies to us as well. If we continue to offer ourselves individually to God, sanctification will be the result for each of us. In other words, we will keep on growing toward spiritual maturity. One of the best ways to see the changes that have taken place in our lives is to study before-and-after pictures. That's why we see such pictures in advertisements about weight-loss products or home-decorating improvements. The pictures speak a thousand words about the contrast between our past and our present, providing a graphic way to motivate us to change in positive ways. In a way, Paul used before-and-after pictures as he drove home his point about every believer's need to grow spiritually. Of course, he didn't use photographs. Instead, he used word-pictures. He painted a crisp, sharp word-picture to show the Roman Christians what they looked like before they were saved. Then he contrasted that image with an equally impressive word-picture of how they looked after they received Christ. GROWING SPIRITUALLY (ROMANS 6:20-23 20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. VERSES 20-21 ~ Paul's first verbal snapshot is a portrayal of all of us as slaves to sin before we were saved. Because we belonged to sin, we were controlled by it. Whether we knew it or not, sin dominated every aspect of our lives. Our loyalty to sin left no room for allegiance to righteousness. We could not be enslaved to God and sin at the same time. (See Study Question 3). Even though we may have thought we could serve both masters, the basic reality about our slavery always prevents us from doing so. We will always be slaves to only one master at a time. As Paul showed us, sin produced nothing in our lives that would make us proud. Take a close look at the word-picture Paul used in verse 21 and examine the fruit of our slavery to sin. What good has come from it? Nothing good at all resulted form it. In face, the only product of our slavery to sin was death. VERSE 22 ~ Paul's second snapshot shows us what we looked like after we received Christ. Immediately we notice the radical change. In the first picture we see what sin had done to us. But now, looking at Paul's second picture, we see what god has done in us since He liberated us from our former master, sin, and all it does to us. Paul's picture also captures well the changes that have been produced in us now that we are enslaved to God. Through the process of sanctification, God has continued to nurture us so we can grow spiritually. And best of all, He has given us eternal life. VERSE 23 ~ We do well not to overlook the fact that eternal life is a gift to us from God. We didn't deserve it, but He gave it to us anyway. It's the most remarkable expression of His grace toward us. We deserved death. As slaves to sin, we earned death. But now as God's slaves, we enjoy what we never could have earned—life in Jesus Christ! That's why eternal life is such a precious gift for us. WHAT ABOUT YOU? Now that you understand the importance of living for the Lord so you can grow spiritually the rest of your days, you can think about applying your understanding to your walk with God. What specific actions can you take so you can stay on the path of spiritual growth? * Set aside time each day to read a portion of God's Word. * Make sure to include some time to pray as well. * Memorize Bible verses that will help you grow in the Lord. * Ask God to help you to devote yourself to Him as His loyal slave. * Think about the habits that don't help you to grow spiritually and change them. * Take the initiative to bring up the name of Jesus in your conversations with people. * Express your gratitude to the Lord for setting you free from sin forever and allowing you to become His slave through Christ. Obviously, the actions in this list can be difficult and tedious at times. And Satan's lure of compromising our walk with God always has the potential of getting in our way. As we press on in living righteously, however, we will grow spiritually. In that way we will know the value of the process of sanctification. It will produce in us a sense of gratitude to God for allowing us to be His slaves rather than our living in bondage to sin. And we will live in the joy that God has given us eternal life through Jesus Christ.
GIVEN ETERNAL LIFE
Background Passage: ROMANS 6:15-23 Lesson Passage:ROMANS 6:15-23 BIBLICAL TRUTH: GOD GIVES CHRISTIANS ETERNAL LIFE, WHICH ENCOURAGES US TO LIVE IN RIGHTEOUS WAYS SO WE CAN GROW TOWARD SPIRITUAL MATURITY. KEY BIBLE VERSE: ROMANS 6:22-23
Randy couldn't understand why Jeff made such a fuss about growing as a Christian. A seasoned believer, Jeff wanted to guide Randy, his younger brother in Christ, in the direction of spiritual growth. That's why he encouraged Randy to be involved in Bible reading and prayer each morning. He also challenged Randy to change some of his bad habits and to take the initiative to talk to people about Christ. In frustration one day Randy announced to Jeff, “From now on, I am going to do what I want.” Jeff replied, “No, you can't. You belong to Jesus now. You have to do what He wants. And He wants you to grow to be a mature Christian man.” Paul encouraged the Roman Christians to keep on growing in the Lord too. He knew the importance of the process of sanctification in their lives. In other words, he knew that if they devoted themselves to spiritual growth, they could become mature servants of Christ. That's why he wrote the passage to be studied in this session. As you study it, you will also learn how to grow spiritually by devoting yourself to the Lord. BACKGROUND PASSAGE OVERVIEW Now that we have received God's gift of salvation, our relationship with Him is characterized by grace instead of law. We no longer have to worry about keeping His law in order to be right with Him. Does our relationship with Him imply that we can continue to live in sin? No! That's totally absurd. Each of us has a nature that leads us to be enslaved to a master. And we are slaves to the master we actually obey, not the master we say we serve. Either we serve sin and die, or we will be slaves to God through obedience, growing in righteousness. When we were saved, God made a remarkable change in us. That's one reason we are grateful to Him. Understanding the change God made in us, however, requires us to use an analogy. The analogy of slavery is well suited to this purpose. Without it, we might have trouble grasping the important concept associated with spiritual growth. Once we were enslaved to sin, and we gave ourselves completely to that master. Everything in us was devoted to living in sinful ways. The more we served sin, the worse we became in the process. Now we must give ourselves to God with the same devotion. If we do, we will continue to grow toward spiritual maturity. At one time we served sin exclusively. God's ways had no control over us. When we look back on our lives then, we are ashamed of the path we were taking. The end of the line for us was death and nothing else. Our enslavement to God is completely different. When He set us free from our enslavement to sin, we became His slaves exclusively. Now we take the path of spiritual growth. When we served sin, we earned nothing more than death. But as God's slaves, we enjoy eternal life as His gift to us because of Christ. STUDY QUESTIONS 1.What did Paul have in mind when he asked if a Christian should sin? (6:15) 2.Why did Paul encourage Christians to thank God? (6:17) 3.How is a person who is not a Christian free from an allegiance to righteousness? (6:30) Paul still had more to say about the issue he introduced in the first verses of this chapter. He started there by raising a question about whether Christians should continue to live in sin (6:1). After he answered it resoundingly, he moved into the next section of his letter to bring up another question about sin in a believer's life. BEING OBEDIENT (ROM. 6:15-16) Romans 6 15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? VERSE 15 ~ Paul moved on to deal with another issue regarding sin in a Christian's life. He asked, What then?Like any wise and skilled teacher, he used the question to introduce and underscore the important issue he intended to address next. In the question he raised in this verse, Paul brought up the issue of whether Christians should sin. By expressing the issue in this way, Paul had in mind the practice of sin as a habit or as a way of life. (See study question 1.) he anticipated that some of the Roman Christians would be thinking that they were free to do anything they wanted since they were saved. That kind of freedom, they would say to themselves, should allow them to plunge into a lifestyle governed by sin if they wished. Christians today can make the mistake of coming to the same conclusion because of the reality of our standing with the Lord. Indeed, we no longer live under law. We know that our salvation doesn't depend on whether we keep the law, but on the fact that we placed our faith in Christ. When we received Christ, a new life under God's grace began for us. His grace may give some Christians the idea that we can live as we please. But Paul didn't see it that way. With his terse response, he indicated that such a conclusion was not only incorrect; it was absurd. VERSE 16 ~ Then he went on to explain his response. Some Christians thought they were free to do whatever they wanted. But, actually, they were not. One of the realities we have to face about ourselves is that our human nature causes us to seek to serve something or someone. And the master we choose is evident by our actions, not necessarily by our words. While we say that we offer ourselves to God, our actions show who or what we actually obey with our lives. If we are slaves to sin, our actions will show it. Likewise, our devotion to obedience as an expression of our faith in God becomes evident by what we do. And our choices have consequences. Serving sin leads to death. But serving God leads to growth in righteousness. LIVING RIGHTEOUSLY (ROMANS 6:17-19) 17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. 19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. . VERSE 17 ~ As Paul continued his explanation, he thanked God for what He had done among the Roman Christians. God had worked in their lives so they could be slaves to Him as their master. (See study question 2). Paul recalled a time in their lives when they had sold themselves out to sin. During the time in which they lived under sin's control, they faced the ultimate consequence of death. But then God's gracious message of salvation through Christ came their way. They heard the message, responded to it, and gave themselves to Christ. As His slaves, they obeyed Him. And their obedience wasn't superficial. Quite the opposite! They obeyed Him from the heart and not just from the lip or tongue. Their wholehearted obedience to Christ reflected their complete devotion to Him. They had been careful to pattern their lives after the teaching about Christ that had been entrusted to them.. VERSE 18 ~ Then Paul returned to the reality he had mentioned previously, one that governed the Roman Christians (5:16). In fact, it governs all people everywhere. All of us will give ourselves as slaves to a master. This verse helps us to apply the reality to Christian living. Before we received Christ, we were slaves to sin. When we were saved, however, we were liberated from sin's slavery. Set free from one master, we have chosen to be enslaved to another. We have become slaves to righteousness. Now the desire of our hearts is to obey our Lord. Though our obedience to Him, we grow in our relationship with Him. As we grow, we continue to bear witness to the wonderful truth that God has made us right with Him through Christ. That's why the priority of a growing Christian is always the same. We want to obey our Lord by living in righteous ways. VERSE 19 ~ Paul used the human analogy of slavery to teach the vital lesson about righteous living. By calling attention to the weakness of the flesh, Paul expressed his awareness of the difficulties related to understanding spiritual concepts. The analogy must have been extremely helpful to the Roman Christians. A large segment of the population of Rome was made up of slaves. A reasonable number of Roman believers, therefore, were probably slaves of one kind or another. Consequently, the congregation would have known about slavery quite well. Along with explaining slavery, Paul challenged the Roman Christians to keep on growing in righteous living. His challenge applies to us as well. If we continue to offer ourselves individually to God, sanctification will be the result for each of us. In other words, we will keep on growing toward spiritual maturity. One of the best ways to see the changes that have taken place in our lives is to study before-and-after pictures. That's why we see such pictures in advertisements about weight-loss products or home-decorating improvements. The pictures speak a thousand words about the contrast between our past and our present, providing a graphic way to motivate us to change in positive ways. In a way, Paul used before-and-after pictures as he drove home his point about every believer's need to grow spiritually. Of course, he didn't use photographs. Instead, he used word-pictures. He painted a crisp, sharp word-picture to show the Roman Christians what they looked like before they were saved. Then he contrasted that image with an equally impressive word-picture of how they looked after they received Christ. GROWING SPIRITUALLY (ROMANS 6:20-23 20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. VERSES 20-21 ~ Paul's first verbal snapshot is a portrayal of all of us as slaves to sin before we were saved. Because we belonged to sin, we were controlled by it. Whether we knew it or not, sin dominated every aspect of our lives. Our loyalty to sin left no room for allegiance to righteousness. We could not be enslaved to God and sin at the same time. (See Study Question 3). Even though we may have thought we could serve both masters, the basic reality about our slavery always prevents us from doing so. We will always be slaves to only one master at a time. As Paul showed us, sin produced nothing in our lives that would make us proud. Take a close look at the word-picture Paul used in verse 21 and examine the fruit of our slavery to sin. What good has come from it? Nothing good at all resulted form it. In face, the only product of our slavery to sin was death. VERSE 22 ~ Paul's second snapshot shows us what we looked like after we received Christ. Immediately we notice the radical change. In the first picture we see what sin had done to us. But now, looking at Paul's second picture, we see what god has done in us since He liberated us from our former master, sin, and all it does to us. Paul's picture also captures well the changes that have been produced in us now that we are enslaved to God. Through the process of sanctification, God has continued to nurture us so we can grow spiritually. And best of all, He has given us eternal life. VERSE 23 ~ We do well not to overlook the fact that eternal life is a gift to us from God. We didn't deserve it, but He gave it to us anyway. It's the most remarkable expression of His grace toward us. We deserved death. As slaves to sin, we earned death. But now as God's slaves, we enjoy what we never could have earned—life in Jesus Christ! That's why eternal life is such a precious gift for us. WHAT ABOUT YOU? Now that you understand the importance of living for the Lord so you can grow spiritually the rest of your days, you can think about applying your understanding to your walk with God. What specific actions can you take so you can stay on the path of spiritual growth? * Set aside time each day to read a portion of God's Word. * Make sure to include some time to pray as well. * Memorize Bible verses that will help you grow in the Lord. * Ask God to help you to devote yourself to Him as His loyal slave. * Think about the habits that don't help you to grow spiritually and change them. * Take the initiative to bring up the name of Jesus in your conversations with people. * Express your gratitude to the Lord for setting you free from sin forever and allowing you to become His slave through Christ. Obviously, the actions in this list can be difficult and tedious at times. And Satan's lure of compromising our walk with God always has the potential of getting in our way. As we press on in living righteously, however, we will grow spiritually. In that way we will know the value of the process of sanctification. It will produce in us a sense of gratitude to God for allowing us to be His slaves rather than our living in bondage to sin. And we will live in the joy that God has given us eternal life through Jesus Christ.
Randy couldn't understand why Jeff made such a fuss about growing as a Christian. A seasoned believer, Jeff wanted to guide Randy, his younger brother in Christ, in the direction of spiritual growth. That's why he encouraged Randy to be involved in Bible reading and prayer each morning. He also challenged Randy to change some of his bad habits and to take the initiative to talk to people about Christ. In frustration one day Randy announced to Jeff, “From now on, I am going to do what I want.” Jeff replied, “No, you can't. You belong to Jesus now. You have to do what He wants. And He wants you to grow to be a mature Christian man.” Paul encouraged the Roman Christians to keep on growing in the Lord too. He knew the importance of the process of sanctification in their lives. In other words, he knew that if they devoted themselves to spiritual growth, they could become mature servants of Christ. That's why he wrote the passage to be studied in this session. As you study it, you will also learn how to grow spiritually by devoting yourself to the Lord.
BACKGROUND PASSAGE OVERVIEW
Now that we have received God's gift of salvation, our relationship with Him is characterized by grace instead of law. We no longer have to worry about keeping His law in order to be right with Him. Does our relationship with Him imply that we can continue to live in sin? No! That's totally absurd. Each of us has a nature that leads us to be enslaved to a master. And we are slaves to the master we actually obey, not the master we say we serve. Either we serve sin and die, or we will be slaves to God through obedience, growing in righteousness. When we were saved, God made a remarkable change in us. That's one reason we are grateful to Him. Understanding the change God made in us, however, requires us to use an analogy. The analogy of slavery is well suited to this purpose. Without it, we might have trouble grasping the important concept associated with spiritual growth. Once we were enslaved to sin, and we gave ourselves completely to that master. Everything in us was devoted to living in sinful ways. The more we served sin, the worse we became in the process. Now we must give ourselves to God with the same devotion. If we do, we will continue to grow toward spiritual maturity. At one time we served sin exclusively. God's ways had no control over us. When we look back on our lives then, we are ashamed of the path we were taking. The end of the line for us was death and nothing else. Our enslavement to God is completely different. When He set us free from our enslavement to sin, we became His slaves exclusively. Now we take the path of spiritual growth. When we served sin, we earned nothing more than death. But as God's slaves, we enjoy eternal life as His gift to us because of Christ. STUDY QUESTIONS 1.What did Paul have in mind when he asked if a Christian should sin? (6:15) 2.Why did Paul encourage Christians to thank God? (6:17) 3.How is a person who is not a Christian free from an allegiance to righteousness? (6:30) Paul still had more to say about the issue he introduced in the first verses of this chapter. He started there by raising a question about whether Christians should continue to live in sin (6:1). After he answered it resoundingly, he moved into the next section of his letter to bring up another question about sin in a believer's life.
BEING OBEDIENT (ROM. 6:15-16)
Romans 6 15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? VERSE 15 ~ Paul moved on to deal with another issue regarding sin in a Christian's life. He asked, What then?Like any wise and skilled teacher, he used the question to introduce and underscore the important issue he intended to address next. In the question he raised in this verse, Paul brought up the issue of whether Christians should sin. By expressing the issue in this way, Paul had in mind the practice of sin as a habit or as a way of life. (See study question 1.) he anticipated that some of the Roman Christians would be thinking that they were free to do anything they wanted since they were saved. That kind of freedom, they would say to themselves, should allow them to plunge into a lifestyle governed by sin if they wished. Christians today can make the mistake of coming to the same conclusion because of the reality of our standing with the Lord. Indeed, we no longer live under law. We know that our salvation doesn't depend on whether we keep the law, but on the fact that we placed our faith in Christ. When we received Christ, a new life under God's grace began for us. His grace may give some Christians the idea that we can live as we please. But Paul didn't see it that way. With his terse response, he indicated that such a conclusion was not only incorrect; it was absurd. VERSE 16 ~ Then he went on to explain his response. Some Christians thought they were free to do whatever they wanted. But, actually, they were not. One of the realities we have to face about ourselves is that our human nature causes us to seek to serve something or someone. And the master we choose is evident by our actions, not necessarily by our words. While we say that we offer ourselves to God, our actions show who or what we actually obey with our lives. If we are slaves to sin, our actions will show it. Likewise, our devotion to obedience as an expression of our faith in God becomes evident by what we do. And our choices have consequences. Serving sin leads to death. But serving God leads to growth in righteousness. LIVING RIGHTEOUSLY (ROMANS 6:17-19) 17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. 19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. . VERSE 17 ~ As Paul continued his explanation, he thanked God for what He had done among the Roman Christians. God had worked in their lives so they could be slaves to Him as their master. (See study question 2). Paul recalled a time in their lives when they had sold themselves out to sin. During the time in which they lived under sin's control, they faced the ultimate consequence of death. But then God's gracious message of salvation through Christ came their way. They heard the message, responded to it, and gave themselves to Christ. As His slaves, they obeyed Him. And their obedience wasn't superficial. Quite the opposite! They obeyed Him from the heart and not just from the lip or tongue. Their wholehearted obedience to Christ reflected their complete devotion to Him. They had been careful to pattern their lives after the teaching about Christ that had been entrusted to them.. VERSE 18 ~ Then Paul returned to the reality he had mentioned previously, one that governed the Roman Christians (5:16). In fact, it governs all people everywhere. All of us will give ourselves as slaves to a master. This verse helps us to apply the reality to Christian living. Before we received Christ, we were slaves to sin. When we were saved, however, we were liberated from sin's slavery. Set free from one master, we have chosen to be enslaved to another. We have become slaves to righteousness. Now the desire of our hearts is to obey our Lord. Though our obedience to Him, we grow in our relationship with Him. As we grow, we continue to bear witness to the wonderful truth that God has made us right with Him through Christ. That's why the priority of a growing Christian is always the same. We want to obey our Lord by living in righteous ways. VERSE 19 ~ Paul used the human analogy of slavery to teach the vital lesson about righteous living. By calling attention to the weakness of the flesh, Paul expressed his awareness of the difficulties related to understanding spiritual concepts. The analogy must have been extremely helpful to the Roman Christians. A large segment of the population of Rome was made up of slaves. A reasonable number of Roman believers, therefore, were probably slaves of one kind or another. Consequently, the congregation would have known about slavery quite well. Along with explaining slavery, Paul challenged the Roman Christians to keep on growing in righteous living. His challenge applies to us as well. If we continue to offer ourselves individually to God, sanctification will be the result for each of us. In other words, we will keep on growing toward spiritual maturity. One of the best ways to see the changes that have taken place in our lives is to study before-and-after pictures. That's why we see such pictures in advertisements about weight-loss products or home-decorating improvements. The pictures speak a thousand words about the contrast between our past and our present, providing a graphic way to motivate us to change in positive ways. In a way, Paul used before-and-after pictures as he drove home his point about every believer's need to grow spiritually. Of course, he didn't use photographs. Instead, he used word-pictures. He painted a crisp, sharp word-picture to show the Roman Christians what they looked like before they were saved. Then he contrasted that image with an equally impressive word-picture of how they looked after they received Christ. GROWING SPIRITUALLY (ROMANS 6:20-23 20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. VERSES 20-21 ~ Paul's first verbal snapshot is a portrayal of all of us as slaves to sin before we were saved. Because we belonged to sin, we were controlled by it. Whether we knew it or not, sin dominated every aspect of our lives. Our loyalty to sin left no room for allegiance to righteousness. We could not be enslaved to God and sin at the same time. (See Study Question 3). Even though we may have thought we could serve both masters, the basic reality about our slavery always prevents us from doing so. We will always be slaves to only one master at a time. As Paul showed us, sin produced nothing in our lives that would make us proud. Take a close look at the word-picture Paul used in verse 21 and examine the fruit of our slavery to sin. What good has come from it? Nothing good at all resulted form it. In face, the only product of our slavery to sin was death. VERSE 22 ~ Paul's second snapshot shows us what we looked like after we received Christ. Immediately we notice the radical change. In the first picture we see what sin had done to us. But now, looking at Paul's second picture, we see what god has done in us since He liberated us from our former master, sin, and all it does to us. Paul's picture also captures well the changes that have been produced in us now that we are enslaved to God. Through the process of sanctification, God has continued to nurture us so we can grow spiritually. And best of all, He has given us eternal life. VERSE 23 ~ We do well not to overlook the fact that eternal life is a gift to us from God. We didn't deserve it, but He gave it to us anyway. It's the most remarkable expression of His grace toward us. We deserved death. As slaves to sin, we earned death. But now as God's slaves, we enjoy what we never could have earned—life in Jesus Christ! That's why eternal life is such a precious gift for us. WHAT ABOUT YOU? Now that you understand the importance of living for the Lord so you can grow spiritually the rest of your days, you can think about applying your understanding to your walk with God. What specific actions can you take so you can stay on the path of spiritual growth? * Set aside time each day to read a portion of God's Word. * Make sure to include some time to pray as well. * Memorize Bible verses that will help you grow in the Lord. * Ask God to help you to devote yourself to Him as His loyal slave. * Think about the habits that don't help you to grow spiritually and change them. * Take the initiative to bring up the name of Jesus in your conversations with people. * Express your gratitude to the Lord for setting you free from sin forever and allowing you to become His slave through Christ. Obviously, the actions in this list can be difficult and tedious at times. And Satan's lure of compromising our walk with God always has the potential of getting in our way. As we press on in living righteously, however, we will grow spiritually. In that way we will know the value of the process of sanctification. It will produce in us a sense of gratitude to God for allowing us to be His slaves rather than our living in bondage to sin. And we will live in the joy that God has given us eternal life through Jesus Christ.
Romans 6 15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
VERSE 15 ~ Paul moved on to deal with another issue regarding sin in a Christian's life. He asked, What then?Like any wise and skilled teacher, he used the question to introduce and underscore the important issue he intended to address next. In the question he raised in this verse, Paul brought up the issue of whether Christians should sin. By expressing the issue in this way, Paul had in mind the practice of sin as a habit or as a way of life. (See study question 1.) he anticipated that some of the Roman Christians would be thinking that they were free to do anything they wanted since they were saved. That kind of freedom, they would say to themselves, should allow them to plunge into a lifestyle governed by sin if they wished. Christians today can make the mistake of coming to the same conclusion because of the reality of our standing with the Lord. Indeed, we no longer live under law. We know that our salvation doesn't depend on whether we keep the law, but on the fact that we placed our faith in Christ. When we received Christ, a new life under God's grace began for us. His grace may give some Christians the idea that we can live as we please. But Paul didn't see it that way. With his terse response, he indicated that such a conclusion was not only incorrect; it was absurd. VERSE 16 ~ Then he went on to explain his response. Some Christians thought they were free to do whatever they wanted. But, actually, they were not. One of the realities we have to face about ourselves is that our human nature causes us to seek to serve something or someone. And the master we choose is evident by our actions, not necessarily by our words. While we say that we offer ourselves to God, our actions show who or what we actually obey with our lives. If we are slaves to sin, our actions will show it. Likewise, our devotion to obedience as an expression of our faith in God becomes evident by what we do. And our choices have consequences. Serving sin leads to death. But serving God leads to growth in righteousness. LIVING RIGHTEOUSLY (ROMANS 6:17-19) 17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. 19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. . VERSE 17 ~ As Paul continued his explanation, he thanked God for what He had done among the Roman Christians. God had worked in their lives so they could be slaves to Him as their master. (See study question 2). Paul recalled a time in their lives when they had sold themselves out to sin. During the time in which they lived under sin's control, they faced the ultimate consequence of death. But then God's gracious message of salvation through Christ came their way. They heard the message, responded to it, and gave themselves to Christ. As His slaves, they obeyed Him. And their obedience wasn't superficial. Quite the opposite! They obeyed Him from the heart and not just from the lip or tongue. Their wholehearted obedience to Christ reflected their complete devotion to Him. They had been careful to pattern their lives after the teaching about Christ that had been entrusted to them.. VERSE 18 ~ Then Paul returned to the reality he had mentioned previously, one that governed the Roman Christians (5:16). In fact, it governs all people everywhere. All of us will give ourselves as slaves to a master. This verse helps us to apply the reality to Christian living. Before we received Christ, we were slaves to sin. When we were saved, however, we were liberated from sin's slavery. Set free from one master, we have chosen to be enslaved to another. We have become slaves to righteousness. Now the desire of our hearts is to obey our Lord. Though our obedience to Him, we grow in our relationship with Him. As we grow, we continue to bear witness to the wonderful truth that God has made us right with Him through Christ. That's why the priority of a growing Christian is always the same. We want to obey our Lord by living in righteous ways. VERSE 19 ~ Paul used the human analogy of slavery to teach the vital lesson about righteous living. By calling attention to the weakness of the flesh, Paul expressed his awareness of the difficulties related to understanding spiritual concepts. The analogy must have been extremely helpful to the Roman Christians. A large segment of the population of Rome was made up of slaves. A reasonable number of Roman believers, therefore, were probably slaves of one kind or another. Consequently, the congregation would have known about slavery quite well. Along with explaining slavery, Paul challenged the Roman Christians to keep on growing in righteous living. His challenge applies to us as well. If we continue to offer ourselves individually to God, sanctification will be the result for each of us. In other words, we will keep on growing toward spiritual maturity. One of the best ways to see the changes that have taken place in our lives is to study before-and-after pictures. That's why we see such pictures in advertisements about weight-loss products or home-decorating improvements. The pictures speak a thousand words about the contrast between our past and our present, providing a graphic way to motivate us to change in positive ways. In a way, Paul used before-and-after pictures as he drove home his point about every believer's need to grow spiritually. Of course, he didn't use photographs. Instead, he used word-pictures. He painted a crisp, sharp word-picture to show the Roman Christians what they looked like before they were saved. Then he contrasted that image with an equally impressive word-picture of how they looked after they received Christ. GROWING SPIRITUALLY (ROMANS 6:20-23 20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. VERSES 20-21 ~ Paul's first verbal snapshot is a portrayal of all of us as slaves to sin before we were saved. Because we belonged to sin, we were controlled by it. Whether we knew it or not, sin dominated every aspect of our lives. Our loyalty to sin left no room for allegiance to righteousness. We could not be enslaved to God and sin at the same time. (See Study Question 3). Even though we may have thought we could serve both masters, the basic reality about our slavery always prevents us from doing so. We will always be slaves to only one master at a time. As Paul showed us, sin produced nothing in our lives that would make us proud. Take a close look at the word-picture Paul used in verse 21 and examine the fruit of our slavery to sin. What good has come from it? Nothing good at all resulted form it. In face, the only product of our slavery to sin was death. VERSE 22 ~ Paul's second snapshot shows us what we looked like after we received Christ. Immediately we notice the radical change. In the first picture we see what sin had done to us. But now, looking at Paul's second picture, we see what god has done in us since He liberated us from our former master, sin, and all it does to us. Paul's picture also captures well the changes that have been produced in us now that we are enslaved to God. Through the process of sanctification, God has continued to nurture us so we can grow spiritually. And best of all, He has given us eternal life. VERSE 23 ~ We do well not to overlook the fact that eternal life is a gift to us from God. We didn't deserve it, but He gave it to us anyway. It's the most remarkable expression of His grace toward us. We deserved death. As slaves to sin, we earned death. But now as God's slaves, we enjoy what we never could have earned—life in Jesus Christ! That's why eternal life is such a precious gift for us. WHAT ABOUT YOU? Now that you understand the importance of living for the Lord so you can grow spiritually the rest of your days, you can think about applying your understanding to your walk with God. What specific actions can you take so you can stay on the path of spiritual growth? * Set aside time each day to read a portion of God's Word. * Make sure to include some time to pray as well. * Memorize Bible verses that will help you grow in the Lord. * Ask God to help you to devote yourself to Him as His loyal slave. * Think about the habits that don't help you to grow spiritually and change them. * Take the initiative to bring up the name of Jesus in your conversations with people. * Express your gratitude to the Lord for setting you free from sin forever and allowing you to become His slave through Christ. Obviously, the actions in this list can be difficult and tedious at times. And Satan's lure of compromising our walk with God always has the potential of getting in our way. As we press on in living righteously, however, we will grow spiritually. In that way we will know the value of the process of sanctification. It will produce in us a sense of gratitude to God for allowing us to be His slaves rather than our living in bondage to sin. And we will live in the joy that God has given us eternal life through Jesus Christ.
VERSE 15 ~ Paul moved on to deal with another issue regarding sin in a Christian's life. He asked, What then?Like any wise and skilled teacher, he used the question to introduce and underscore the important issue he intended to address next. In the question he raised in this verse, Paul brought up the issue of whether Christians should sin. By expressing the issue in this way, Paul had in mind the practice of sin as a habit or as a way of life. (See study question 1.) he anticipated that some of the Roman Christians would be thinking that they were free to do anything they wanted since they were saved. That kind of freedom, they would say to themselves, should allow them to plunge into a lifestyle governed by sin if they wished. Christians today can make the mistake of coming to the same conclusion because of the reality of our standing with the Lord. Indeed, we no longer live under law. We know that our salvation doesn't depend on whether we keep the law, but on the fact that we placed our faith in Christ. When we received Christ, a new life under God's grace began for us. His grace may give some Christians the idea that we can live as we please. But Paul didn't see it that way. With his terse response, he indicated that such a conclusion was not only incorrect; it was absurd. VERSE 16 ~ Then he went on to explain his response. Some Christians thought they were free to do whatever they wanted. But, actually, they were not. One of the realities we have to face about ourselves is that our human nature causes us to seek to serve something or someone. And the master we choose is evident by our actions, not necessarily by our words. While we say that we offer ourselves to God, our actions show who or what we actually obey with our lives. If we are slaves to sin, our actions will show it. Likewise, our devotion to obedience as an expression of our faith in God becomes evident by what we do. And our choices have consequences. Serving sin leads to death. But serving God leads to growth in righteousness. LIVING RIGHTEOUSLY (ROMANS 6:17-19)
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. 19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. . VERSE 17 ~ As Paul continued his explanation, he thanked God for what He had done among the Roman Christians. God had worked in their lives so they could be slaves to Him as their master. (See study question 2). Paul recalled a time in their lives when they had sold themselves out to sin. During the time in which they lived under sin's control, they faced the ultimate consequence of death. But then God's gracious message of salvation through Christ came their way. They heard the message, responded to it, and gave themselves to Christ. As His slaves, they obeyed Him. And their obedience wasn't superficial. Quite the opposite! They obeyed Him from the heart and not just from the lip or tongue. Their wholehearted obedience to Christ reflected their complete devotion to Him. They had been careful to pattern their lives after the teaching about Christ that had been entrusted to them.. VERSE 18 ~ Then Paul returned to the reality he had mentioned previously, one that governed the Roman Christians (5:16). In fact, it governs all people everywhere. All of us will give ourselves as slaves to a master. This verse helps us to apply the reality to Christian living. Before we received Christ, we were slaves to sin. When we were saved, however, we were liberated from sin's slavery. Set free from one master, we have chosen to be enslaved to another. We have become slaves to righteousness. Now the desire of our hearts is to obey our Lord. Though our obedience to Him, we grow in our relationship with Him. As we grow, we continue to bear witness to the wonderful truth that God has made us right with Him through Christ. That's why the priority of a growing Christian is always the same. We want to obey our Lord by living in righteous ways. VERSE 19 ~ Paul used the human analogy of slavery to teach the vital lesson about righteous living. By calling attention to the weakness of the flesh, Paul expressed his awareness of the difficulties related to understanding spiritual concepts. The analogy must have been extremely helpful to the Roman Christians. A large segment of the population of Rome was made up of slaves. A reasonable number of Roman believers, therefore, were probably slaves of one kind or another. Consequently, the congregation would have known about slavery quite well. Along with explaining slavery, Paul challenged the Roman Christians to keep on growing in righteous living. His challenge applies to us as well. If we continue to offer ourselves individually to God, sanctification will be the result for each of us. In other words, we will keep on growing toward spiritual maturity. One of the best ways to see the changes that have taken place in our lives is to study before-and-after pictures. That's why we see such pictures in advertisements about weight-loss products or home-decorating improvements. The pictures speak a thousand words about the contrast between our past and our present, providing a graphic way to motivate us to change in positive ways. In a way, Paul used before-and-after pictures as he drove home his point about every believer's need to grow spiritually. Of course, he didn't use photographs. Instead, he used word-pictures. He painted a crisp, sharp word-picture to show the Roman Christians what they looked like before they were saved. Then he contrasted that image with an equally impressive word-picture of how they looked after they received Christ. GROWING SPIRITUALLY (ROMANS 6:20-23 20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. VERSES 20-21 ~ Paul's first verbal snapshot is a portrayal of all of us as slaves to sin before we were saved. Because we belonged to sin, we were controlled by it. Whether we knew it or not, sin dominated every aspect of our lives. Our loyalty to sin left no room for allegiance to righteousness. We could not be enslaved to God and sin at the same time. (See Study Question 3). Even though we may have thought we could serve both masters, the basic reality about our slavery always prevents us from doing so. We will always be slaves to only one master at a time. As Paul showed us, sin produced nothing in our lives that would make us proud. Take a close look at the word-picture Paul used in verse 21 and examine the fruit of our slavery to sin. What good has come from it? Nothing good at all resulted form it. In face, the only product of our slavery to sin was death. VERSE 22 ~ Paul's second snapshot shows us what we looked like after we received Christ. Immediately we notice the radical change. In the first picture we see what sin had done to us. But now, looking at Paul's second picture, we see what god has done in us since He liberated us from our former master, sin, and all it does to us. Paul's picture also captures well the changes that have been produced in us now that we are enslaved to God. Through the process of sanctification, God has continued to nurture us so we can grow spiritually. And best of all, He has given us eternal life. VERSE 23 ~ We do well not to overlook the fact that eternal life is a gift to us from God. We didn't deserve it, but He gave it to us anyway. It's the most remarkable expression of His grace toward us. We deserved death. As slaves to sin, we earned death. But now as God's slaves, we enjoy what we never could have earned—life in Jesus Christ! That's why eternal life is such a precious gift for us. WHAT ABOUT YOU? Now that you understand the importance of living for the Lord so you can grow spiritually the rest of your days, you can think about applying your understanding to your walk with God. What specific actions can you take so you can stay on the path of spiritual growth? * Set aside time each day to read a portion of God's Word. * Make sure to include some time to pray as well. * Memorize Bible verses that will help you grow in the Lord. * Ask God to help you to devote yourself to Him as His loyal slave. * Think about the habits that don't help you to grow spiritually and change them. * Take the initiative to bring up the name of Jesus in your conversations with people. * Express your gratitude to the Lord for setting you free from sin forever and allowing you to become His slave through Christ. Obviously, the actions in this list can be difficult and tedious at times. And Satan's lure of compromising our walk with God always has the potential of getting in our way. As we press on in living righteously, however, we will grow spiritually. In that way we will know the value of the process of sanctification. It will produce in us a sense of gratitude to God for allowing us to be His slaves rather than our living in bondage to sin. And we will live in the joy that God has given us eternal life through Jesus Christ.
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. 19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. .
VERSE 17 ~ As Paul continued his explanation, he thanked God for what He had done among the Roman Christians. God had worked in their lives so they could be slaves to Him as their master. (See study question 2). Paul recalled a time in their lives when they had sold themselves out to sin. During the time in which they lived under sin's control, they faced the ultimate consequence of death. But then God's gracious message of salvation through Christ came their way. They heard the message, responded to it, and gave themselves to Christ. As His slaves, they obeyed Him. And their obedience wasn't superficial. Quite the opposite! They obeyed Him from the heart and not just from the lip or tongue. Their wholehearted obedience to Christ reflected their complete devotion to Him. They had been careful to pattern their lives after the teaching about Christ that had been entrusted to them.. VERSE 18 ~ Then Paul returned to the reality he had mentioned previously, one that governed the Roman Christians (5:16). In fact, it governs all people everywhere. All of us will give ourselves as slaves to a master. This verse helps us to apply the reality to Christian living. Before we received Christ, we were slaves to sin. When we were saved, however, we were liberated from sin's slavery. Set free from one master, we have chosen to be enslaved to another. We have become slaves to righteousness. Now the desire of our hearts is to obey our Lord. Though our obedience to Him, we grow in our relationship with Him. As we grow, we continue to bear witness to the wonderful truth that God has made us right with Him through Christ. That's why the priority of a growing Christian is always the same. We want to obey our Lord by living in righteous ways. VERSE 19 ~ Paul used the human analogy of slavery to teach the vital lesson about righteous living. By calling attention to the weakness of the flesh, Paul expressed his awareness of the difficulties related to understanding spiritual concepts. The analogy must have been extremely helpful to the Roman Christians. A large segment of the population of Rome was made up of slaves. A reasonable number of Roman believers, therefore, were probably slaves of one kind or another. Consequently, the congregation would have known about slavery quite well. Along with explaining slavery, Paul challenged the Roman Christians to keep on growing in righteous living. His challenge applies to us as well. If we continue to offer ourselves individually to God, sanctification will be the result for each of us. In other words, we will keep on growing toward spiritual maturity. One of the best ways to see the changes that have taken place in our lives is to study before-and-after pictures. That's why we see such pictures in advertisements about weight-loss products or home-decorating improvements. The pictures speak a thousand words about the contrast between our past and our present, providing a graphic way to motivate us to change in positive ways. In a way, Paul used before-and-after pictures as he drove home his point about every believer's need to grow spiritually. Of course, he didn't use photographs. Instead, he used word-pictures. He painted a crisp, sharp word-picture to show the Roman Christians what they looked like before they were saved. Then he contrasted that image with an equally impressive word-picture of how they looked after they received Christ. GROWING SPIRITUALLY (ROMANS 6:20-23 20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. VERSES 20-21 ~ Paul's first verbal snapshot is a portrayal of all of us as slaves to sin before we were saved. Because we belonged to sin, we were controlled by it. Whether we knew it or not, sin dominated every aspect of our lives. Our loyalty to sin left no room for allegiance to righteousness. We could not be enslaved to God and sin at the same time. (See Study Question 3). Even though we may have thought we could serve both masters, the basic reality about our slavery always prevents us from doing so. We will always be slaves to only one master at a time. As Paul showed us, sin produced nothing in our lives that would make us proud. Take a close look at the word-picture Paul used in verse 21 and examine the fruit of our slavery to sin. What good has come from it? Nothing good at all resulted form it. In face, the only product of our slavery to sin was death. VERSE 22 ~ Paul's second snapshot shows us what we looked like after we received Christ. Immediately we notice the radical change. In the first picture we see what sin had done to us. But now, looking at Paul's second picture, we see what god has done in us since He liberated us from our former master, sin, and all it does to us. Paul's picture also captures well the changes that have been produced in us now that we are enslaved to God. Through the process of sanctification, God has continued to nurture us so we can grow spiritually. And best of all, He has given us eternal life. VERSE 23 ~ We do well not to overlook the fact that eternal life is a gift to us from God. We didn't deserve it, but He gave it to us anyway. It's the most remarkable expression of His grace toward us. We deserved death. As slaves to sin, we earned death. But now as God's slaves, we enjoy what we never could have earned—life in Jesus Christ! That's why eternal life is such a precious gift for us. WHAT ABOUT YOU? Now that you understand the importance of living for the Lord so you can grow spiritually the rest of your days, you can think about applying your understanding to your walk with God. What specific actions can you take so you can stay on the path of spiritual growth? * Set aside time each day to read a portion of God's Word. * Make sure to include some time to pray as well. * Memorize Bible verses that will help you grow in the Lord. * Ask God to help you to devote yourself to Him as His loyal slave. * Think about the habits that don't help you to grow spiritually and change them. * Take the initiative to bring up the name of Jesus in your conversations with people. * Express your gratitude to the Lord for setting you free from sin forever and allowing you to become His slave through Christ. Obviously, the actions in this list can be difficult and tedious at times. And Satan's lure of compromising our walk with God always has the potential of getting in our way. As we press on in living righteously, however, we will grow spiritually. In that way we will know the value of the process of sanctification. It will produce in us a sense of gratitude to God for allowing us to be His slaves rather than our living in bondage to sin. And we will live in the joy that God has given us eternal life through Jesus Christ.
VERSE 17 ~ As Paul continued his explanation, he thanked God for what He had done among the Roman Christians. God had worked in their lives so they could be slaves to Him as their master. (See study question 2). Paul recalled a time in their lives when they had sold themselves out to sin. During the time in which they lived under sin's control, they faced the ultimate consequence of death. But then God's gracious message of salvation through Christ came their way. They heard the message, responded to it, and gave themselves to Christ. As His slaves, they obeyed Him. And their obedience wasn't superficial. Quite the opposite! They obeyed Him from the heart and not just from the lip or tongue. Their wholehearted obedience to Christ reflected their complete devotion to Him. They had been careful to pattern their lives after the teaching about Christ that had been entrusted to them.. VERSE 18 ~ Then Paul returned to the reality he had mentioned previously, one that governed the Roman Christians (5:16). In fact, it governs all people everywhere. All of us will give ourselves as slaves to a master. This verse helps us to apply the reality to Christian living. Before we received Christ, we were slaves to sin. When we were saved, however, we were liberated from sin's slavery. Set free from one master, we have chosen to be enslaved to another. We have become slaves to righteousness. Now the desire of our hearts is to obey our Lord. Though our obedience to Him, we grow in our relationship with Him. As we grow, we continue to bear witness to the wonderful truth that God has made us right with Him through Christ. That's why the priority of a growing Christian is always the same. We want to obey our Lord by living in righteous ways. VERSE 19 ~ Paul used the human analogy of slavery to teach the vital lesson about righteous living. By calling attention to the weakness of the flesh, Paul expressed his awareness of the difficulties related to understanding spiritual concepts. The analogy must have been extremely helpful to the Roman Christians. A large segment of the population of Rome was made up of slaves. A reasonable number of Roman believers, therefore, were probably slaves of one kind or another. Consequently, the congregation would have known about slavery quite well. Along with explaining slavery, Paul challenged the Roman Christians to keep on growing in righteous living. His challenge applies to us as well. If we continue to offer ourselves individually to God, sanctification will be the result for each of us. In other words, we will keep on growing toward spiritual maturity. One of the best ways to see the changes that have taken place in our lives is to study before-and-after pictures. That's why we see such pictures in advertisements about weight-loss products or home-decorating improvements. The pictures speak a thousand words about the contrast between our past and our present, providing a graphic way to motivate us to change in positive ways. In a way, Paul used before-and-after pictures as he drove home his point about every believer's need to grow spiritually. Of course, he didn't use photographs. Instead, he used word-pictures. He painted a crisp, sharp word-picture to show the Roman Christians what they looked like before they were saved. Then he contrasted that image with an equally impressive word-picture of how they looked after they received Christ.
GROWING SPIRITUALLY (ROMANS 6:20-23
20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. VERSES 20-21 ~ Paul's first verbal snapshot is a portrayal of all of us as slaves to sin before we were saved. Because we belonged to sin, we were controlled by it. Whether we knew it or not, sin dominated every aspect of our lives. Our loyalty to sin left no room for allegiance to righteousness. We could not be enslaved to God and sin at the same time. (See Study Question 3). Even though we may have thought we could serve both masters, the basic reality about our slavery always prevents us from doing so. We will always be slaves to only one master at a time. As Paul showed us, sin produced nothing in our lives that would make us proud. Take a close look at the word-picture Paul used in verse 21 and examine the fruit of our slavery to sin. What good has come from it? Nothing good at all resulted form it. In face, the only product of our slavery to sin was death. VERSE 22 ~ Paul's second snapshot shows us what we looked like after we received Christ. Immediately we notice the radical change. In the first picture we see what sin had done to us. But now, looking at Paul's second picture, we see what god has done in us since He liberated us from our former master, sin, and all it does to us. Paul's picture also captures well the changes that have been produced in us now that we are enslaved to God. Through the process of sanctification, God has continued to nurture us so we can grow spiritually. And best of all, He has given us eternal life. VERSE 23 ~ We do well not to overlook the fact that eternal life is a gift to us from God. We didn't deserve it, but He gave it to us anyway. It's the most remarkable expression of His grace toward us. We deserved death. As slaves to sin, we earned death. But now as God's slaves, we enjoy what we never could have earned—life in Jesus Christ! That's why eternal life is such a precious gift for us. WHAT ABOUT YOU? Now that you understand the importance of living for the Lord so you can grow spiritually the rest of your days, you can think about applying your understanding to your walk with God. What specific actions can you take so you can stay on the path of spiritual growth? * Set aside time each day to read a portion of God's Word. * Make sure to include some time to pray as well. * Memorize Bible verses that will help you grow in the Lord. * Ask God to help you to devote yourself to Him as His loyal slave. * Think about the habits that don't help you to grow spiritually and change them. * Take the initiative to bring up the name of Jesus in your conversations with people. * Express your gratitude to the Lord for setting you free from sin forever and allowing you to become His slave through Christ. Obviously, the actions in this list can be difficult and tedious at times. And Satan's lure of compromising our walk with God always has the potential of getting in our way. As we press on in living righteously, however, we will grow spiritually. In that way we will know the value of the process of sanctification. It will produce in us a sense of gratitude to God for allowing us to be His slaves rather than our living in bondage to sin. And we will live in the joy that God has given us eternal life through Jesus Christ.
20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
VERSES 20-21 ~ Paul's first verbal snapshot is a portrayal of all of us as slaves to sin before we were saved. Because we belonged to sin, we were controlled by it. Whether we knew it or not, sin dominated every aspect of our lives. Our loyalty to sin left no room for allegiance to righteousness. We could not be enslaved to God and sin at the same time. (See Study Question 3). Even though we may have thought we could serve both masters, the basic reality about our slavery always prevents us from doing so. We will always be slaves to only one master at a time. As Paul showed us, sin produced nothing in our lives that would make us proud. Take a close look at the word-picture Paul used in verse 21 and examine the fruit of our slavery to sin. What good has come from it? Nothing good at all resulted form it. In face, the only product of our slavery to sin was death. VERSE 22 ~ Paul's second snapshot shows us what we looked like after we received Christ. Immediately we notice the radical change. In the first picture we see what sin had done to us. But now, looking at Paul's second picture, we see what god has done in us since He liberated us from our former master, sin, and all it does to us. Paul's picture also captures well the changes that have been produced in us now that we are enslaved to God. Through the process of sanctification, God has continued to nurture us so we can grow spiritually. And best of all, He has given us eternal life. VERSE 23 ~ We do well not to overlook the fact that eternal life is a gift to us from God. We didn't deserve it, but He gave it to us anyway. It's the most remarkable expression of His grace toward us. We deserved death. As slaves to sin, we earned death. But now as God's slaves, we enjoy what we never could have earned—life in Jesus Christ! That's why eternal life is such a precious gift for us. WHAT ABOUT YOU? Now that you understand the importance of living for the Lord so you can grow spiritually the rest of your days, you can think about applying your understanding to your walk with God. What specific actions can you take so you can stay on the path of spiritual growth? * Set aside time each day to read a portion of God's Word. * Make sure to include some time to pray as well. * Memorize Bible verses that will help you grow in the Lord. * Ask God to help you to devote yourself to Him as His loyal slave. * Think about the habits that don't help you to grow spiritually and change them. * Take the initiative to bring up the name of Jesus in your conversations with people. * Express your gratitude to the Lord for setting you free from sin forever and allowing you to become His slave through Christ. Obviously, the actions in this list can be difficult and tedious at times. And Satan's lure of compromising our walk with God always has the potential of getting in our way. As we press on in living righteously, however, we will grow spiritually. In that way we will know the value of the process of sanctification. It will produce in us a sense of gratitude to God for allowing us to be His slaves rather than our living in bondage to sin. And we will live in the joy that God has given us eternal life through Jesus Christ.
VERSES 20-21 ~ Paul's first verbal snapshot is a portrayal of all of us as slaves to sin before we were saved. Because we belonged to sin, we were controlled by it. Whether we knew it or not, sin dominated every aspect of our lives. Our loyalty to sin left no room for allegiance to righteousness. We could not be enslaved to God and sin at the same time. (See Study Question 3). Even though we may have thought we could serve both masters, the basic reality about our slavery always prevents us from doing so. We will always be slaves to only one master at a time. As Paul showed us, sin produced nothing in our lives that would make us proud. Take a close look at the word-picture Paul used in verse 21 and examine the fruit of our slavery to sin. What good has come from it? Nothing good at all resulted form it. In face, the only product of our slavery to sin was death. VERSE 22 ~ Paul's second snapshot shows us what we looked like after we received Christ. Immediately we notice the radical change. In the first picture we see what sin had done to us. But now, looking at Paul's second picture, we see what god has done in us since He liberated us from our former master, sin, and all it does to us. Paul's picture also captures well the changes that have been produced in us now that we are enslaved to God. Through the process of sanctification, God has continued to nurture us so we can grow spiritually. And best of all, He has given us eternal life. VERSE 23 ~ We do well not to overlook the fact that eternal life is a gift to us from God. We didn't deserve it, but He gave it to us anyway. It's the most remarkable expression of His grace toward us. We deserved death. As slaves to sin, we earned death. But now as God's slaves, we enjoy what we never could have earned—life in Jesus Christ! That's why eternal life is such a precious gift for us.
WHAT ABOUT YOU? Now that you understand the importance of living for the Lord so you can grow spiritually the rest of your days, you can think about applying your understanding to your walk with God. What specific actions can you take so you can stay on the path of spiritual growth? * Set aside time each day to read a portion of God's Word. * Make sure to include some time to pray as well. * Memorize Bible verses that will help you grow in the Lord. * Ask God to help you to devote yourself to Him as His loyal slave. * Think about the habits that don't help you to grow spiritually and change them. * Take the initiative to bring up the name of Jesus in your conversations with people. * Express your gratitude to the Lord for setting you free from sin forever and allowing you to become His slave through Christ. Obviously, the actions in this list can be difficult and tedious at times. And Satan's lure of compromising our walk with God always has the potential of getting in our way. As we press on in living righteously, however, we will grow spiritually. In that way we will know the value of the process of sanctification. It will produce in us a sense of gratitude to God for allowing us to be His slaves rather than our living in bondage to sin. And we will live in the joy that God has given us eternal life through Jesus Christ.
Now that you understand the importance of living for the Lord so you can grow spiritually the rest of your days, you can think about applying your understanding to your walk with God. What specific actions can you take so you can stay on the path of spiritual growth? * Set aside time each day to read a portion of God's Word. * Make sure to include some time to pray as well. * Memorize Bible verses that will help you grow in the Lord. * Ask God to help you to devote yourself to Him as His loyal slave. * Think about the habits that don't help you to grow spiritually and change them. * Take the initiative to bring up the name of Jesus in your conversations with people. * Express your gratitude to the Lord for setting you free from sin forever and allowing you to become His slave through Christ. Obviously, the actions in this list can be difficult and tedious at times. And Satan's lure of compromising our walk with God always has the potential of getting in our way. As we press on in living righteously, however, we will grow spiritually. In that way we will know the value of the process of sanctification. It will produce in us a sense of gratitude to God for allowing us to be His slaves rather than our living in bondage to sin. And we will live in the joy that God has given us eternal life through Jesus Christ.
