Romans 6:15-23

Free at last

Are you aware of the stains of sin in your life? Deep down there is always the doubt that our inevitable sin will leave a mark in our life and, more worryingly, our relationship with God.

But at the end of chapter 5 Paul makes it clear that grace will remove the stains of sin. It is enough to clean even the most damaged soul.

Does it matter if I keep sinning?

A common question amongst Christians of all ages. If we have grace does that mean we have permission to sin, since we know it will be cleared by Jesus' sacrifice?

Paul answers this question twice, with the same answer:

"By no means!"

It's never okay to sin. Firstly because of our allegiance to the one you obey.

Paul likens obedience to being a slave. In Roman times one could offer oneself as a slave in order to have a better life. So who you obey shows who you are bound to. It's who you are in allegiance with[^1].

What Paul means by this, is if we obey our sinful desire then you are enslaved to it. That is where your allegiance lies. You cannot have two masters so to obey sin is to no longer be allied with God and the life He gives. The only way to say no to sin and free yourself is to live in obedience to God. That is our choice and so to sin simply because 'grace will cover it' is not as simple as it seems. It is like we are chaining ourselves up again and marching to death despite the fact that God has already freed us.

We don't have to sin

Living in Christ is what gives us that choice. That is what grace offers us. Not a free pass but a choice. A choice to say no to sin and to follow God.

We are not alone

This decision is not something we go through without help. God has given us the Gospel to care for us and nurture us as we make those decisions. That relationship gives us the power to say no to sin.

We serve only righteousness

Through the Gospel, our gifts and abilities are not in service of others or even ourselves. They are used for the purpose of God's righteous kingdom. And that service produces fruit.

The fruit of our freedom

We only ever sin because we believe the lie that there is something to be gained from it.

But our freedom has a true benefit. The fruit of freedom is eternal life. Ultimately the choice is between life and death. Sin's benefits may be tempting but they are temporary and lead to death and destruction. Obeying God brings nothing but fulfillment and eternal life. And when drops of sin do fall into our life, they are cleaned away as soon as they land.

[^1]: The slavery metaphor is not perfect. Obviously being a slave is not a positive thing so slavery to righteousness is definitely not like slavery in reality. We have a choice, and that relationship is completely positive. Like Paul says, it's a metaphor used to enhance our understanding of this concept.