Epistle of Romans XVI

(Chapter 5:13-21; 6:1-13)
Co-Crucified with Christ

I want to read something that I think is quite important for us to realize what is happening and the kind of reasonings that people use to get around the laws and commandments of God. When we understand about grace, we must realize we cannot have grace unless there is law. You must have law and you must have grace.

In a study correspondence course published by the Worldwide Church of God, we now have a standard Protestant explanation for Rom. 5, which we have just been studying.

Question: Did sin exist before the law was given through Moses? (in ref. to Rom. 5:13)….

Romans 5:13: "For before the Law, sin was in the world. However, sin is not imputed when law does not exist."

…Since sin implies the existence of a law…

Sin does not imply the existence of a law; sin says definitely that there is a law. Otherwise, as it says here, there is no sin!

Romans 4:15: "For the Law works out wrath; because where no law is, there is no transgression." You tie that in with Rom. 5:13. There can be no question that there was law!

Since sin implies the existence of a law, does the existence of sin before Moses imply that there was a law before Moses?

Comment: Paul is discussing the time period between Adam and Moses. Sin entered the world through one man Adam.

And where there is no law there is no sin, so then there had to be laws in order for Adam to have sinned.

The penalty for sin is death. Paul tells us that death entered humanity through Adam. All humans except Jesus Christ have sinned, and death therefore, has power over everyone. Paul uses the word 'law' in two different senses: One law was given through Moses, but before that particular law was given, a more fundamental law existed.

There's no such thing as 'more fundamental law' than the Ten Commandments. There can be no more fundamental law! Notice how they are slipping into an explanation.

Between the time of Adam and Moses everyone sinned. They were doing things God did not want them to do. God's law existed even though it had not yet been written down, and everyone was transgressing that unwritten law.

Well, if you don't have it written down, you don't have a law. We're talking about a time period of approximately 3,000 years. Do you think that those people could not write during the 3,000 years and have things written down?

Let's look in the book of Genesis and see where there had to be a law written down. It's the same way today. Can you be arrested for not stopping at a stop sign where no stop sign exists? Even if someone gave you a ticket for not stopping at a stop sign where no stop sign existed, you would go to court and you could show the judge that there was no stop sign there and it would be thrown out.

We already covered Gen. 3 where they had sinned, and 'sin is the transgression of the Law.' Also, we're going to see that with every covenant relationship there are laws.

Genesis 4:3: "It came to pass that Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground."

• Why bring of the 'fruit of the ground'?
• Are there laws concerning things relating to the fruit of the ground? Yes!

The tithe of what you produce. The firstfruits of your trees.

Verse 4: "And Abel also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat of it…."—God had to define that the firstborn was His, just like He did later on.

"…And the LORD had regard unto Abel and his offering, but He did not have regard unto Cain and his offering. And Cain was extremely angry and his countenance fell. And the LORD said to Cain, 'Why are you so angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well…'" (vs 4-7)—correctly, showing that there had to be something to define right and wrong, and that Cain had to have known it.

"…shall you not be accepted? But if you do not do well, sin… [which is the transgression of the Law] …lies at the door…." (v 7). So, we have sin there.

Genesis 6:11 "Now the earth also was corrupt before God…" You can't have any definition of corruption unless you have a definition of what is good, right, true and Holy.

"…and the earth was filled with violence…. [sounds much like today] …And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt—for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth" (vs 11-12). Whenever God has His way it's written down, had to have been written down. So, God judged the world because of sin.

If you want an interesting study, go back and study all the Ten Commandments before Moses. They are all there. Let's finish this one section here with Abraham, because everything comes back to Abraham. This is one that we will cross paths considerably.

The reason that the blessings were coming (as stated in Gen. 26:4), Genesis 26:5: "Because Abraham obeyed My voice…" That is the first commandment! If you want a fundamental commandment that's before all, that is it: the voice of God; obey the voice of God! That's what Adam and Eve did not do. That's what the others did not do. Then when God gives something it's written down.

"…and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws" (v 5).

• Whose commandments were they?
• Whose laws were they?
• Whose charges were they?
• God's!

Does God ever change? No! Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever! Therefore, "…My commandments, My statutes, My laws" obey My voice to Abraham is exactly the same thing we have here:

Deuteronomy 6:1: "Now, these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments which the LORD our God commanded to teach you so that you might do them in the land where you go to possess it, that you might fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you, and your son, and your son's son, all the days of your life, and so that your days may be prolonged" (vs 1-2). Then he [Moses] shows that this is all based upon love.

Verse 3: "Hear therefore, O Israel, and be diligent to observe it, so that it may be well with you…" To do it means to observe to do everything that God has said! That's a blanket statement.

"…and that you may greatly multiply, as the LORD God of our fathers…" (v 3). Why go back to the fathers—Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—because that's where it started.

"…has promised you, in the land that flows with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel. Our one God is the LORD, the LORD. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words, which I command you this day, shall be in your heart. And you shall diligently teach them to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes" (vs 3-8). In the New Testament we're to have them written upon the tablets of our heart.

Let's put all of this together to show that everything that God does is based upon His love. His Law is based upon His love.

Matthew 22:37: "And Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment; and the second one is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets'" (vs 37-40).

Everything that God does is based upon the love of God: our love to God, God's love to us! Therefore, it must be defined. In order for God to hold them accountable for sin before what is called 'the giving of the Law to Israel' there had to be law, and it had to be defined, and it had to be written down, otherwise there would not be a law.

I'll just mention here that when you go through and you analyze—and different ones have done this—the Ten Commandments and all the rest of the statutes and judgments are also based on ten—five and five:

• five for slaves, five for male, five for female. five for taking life, murder and accidental (bodily injury)
• five for stealing

It breaks it all down in what is called ' pentad'—five.
Why then did God define it so clearly for Israel? The way that God designed the Bible was so it would not be totally full of repetition. One set of His laws would be perfectly fine, and especially defined to Israel because Israel's job then was to take it to the whole world. In Egypt they lost the Sabbath, but God still held them to it. Exo. 16—when they came out, He said, 'How long refuse you to keep My Sabbath and My commandments?'

Here, before the Sabbath commandment was given, and remember what the Sabbath commandment says: It starts out, the first word, 'Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it Holy.' So therefore, how can you remember it if it hasn't been defined and if it hasn't been written down? After He gave them the manna and the quail and everything:

Exodus 16:25: "And Moses said, 'Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD. Today you shall not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, in it there shall be none.' And it came to pass that some of the people went out on the seventh day in order to gather, but they did not find any. And the LORD said to Moses, 'How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws?'" (vs 25-28).

Of course, all of that is based upon the voice of God. So, here He is holding them to it!

Verse 29: "See, because the LORD has given you the Sabbath, therefore, He gives you the bread of two days on the sixth day. Let each one stay in his place. Do not let any one go out of his place on the seventh day." That's why when we come to the Ten Commandments, He says, 'Remember the Sabbath…'

Moses' father-in-law saw Moses out there sitting from sunup to sundown. Moses explains to his father-in-law that when the people come:

Exodus 18:16: "When they have a matter, they come to me. And I judge between one and another, and I make known the statutes of God and His laws."

• How is he going to make them know the statutes and the laws if they weren't given for a considerable time later in Exo. 20?
• How would Moses know them if he didn't have some of it written down someplace?
• How could he know?
• Did he just have it all in his head?
• Is that what it was?
• No! It had to be written down someplace!

We see that there had to be a written law. God made us as intelligent beings: to write, to read, to study, to speak. So therefore, there can be no doubt that He had it written down. Let's just review a few things here. We are to:

• walk by faith
• live by hope
• dwell in love

Romans 5:12: "Therefore, as by one man…" We're going to see the comparison between the one man Adam and Christ.

"…sin entered into the world, and by means of sin came death; and in this way death passed into all mankind; and it is for this reason that all have sinned" (v 12). He's going to begin making the comparison here:

Verse 13: "(For before the Law, sin was in the world. However, sin is not imputed when law does not exist; nevertheless, death reigned from Adam until Moses, even upon those who had not sinned in the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the One Who was to come. But should not the free gift be even as the offense was? For if by the transgression of the one man many died, how much more did the grace of God, and the gift of grace, which is by the One Man, Jesus Christ, abound unto many? And should not the free gift be like that which came by the one who had sinned? For on the one hand, judgment was by one unto condemnation… [that is to all people] …but on the other hand, the free gift is by one to the justification of many offenses. For if by the offense of the one man death reigned by the one, how much more shall those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life by the One, Jesus Christ.)" (vs 13-17).

Notice the comparison between death and life. That's what he's showing here.

Verse 18: "So then, even as by the one transgression condemnation came unto all men, in the same way also, by the one act of righteousness shall justification of life come unto all men. For even as by the disobedience of the one man many were made sinners, in the same way also, by the obedience of the one Man shall many be made righteous. Moreover, the law entered, so that transgression might abound; but where sin abounded, the grace of God did super abound; so that even as sin has reigned unto death, so also might the grace of God reign through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (vs 18-21).

What we have here in this section of Scripture is some of the most profound and deep knowledge we can have of what God is doing. So, if you understand this you are going to understand a very profound thing that even theologians miss the mark! That's something that I want to impress upon you. It will be a little difficult, but if we can get through this I think it will really help you in your relationship with God.

What he's doing in Rom. 5:12 is showing the effect on all mankind. Adam's actions, through transgressions, determined the character of this present age. We have Adam on the one hand, on the other hand we have Christ. So, we're comparing Adam and Christ, one man and one man. Christ's actions, or righteousness, determines the character of the Church and the coming age.

Adam—death: Adam and his way equals death. 'As in Adam we all die.'
Christ's death: Life

We're comparing death with life. Let's look at the difference between the first Adam and the second Adam. There are several occasions where Paul uses the difference between Adam and Christ. 1-Cor. is called 'the resurrection chapter.'

1-Corinthians 15:45: "Accordingly, it is written, 'The first man, Adam, became a living soul; the last Adam… [referring to Christ] … became an ever-living Spirit.'" How? By the resurrection from the dead! But also because He [Christ] never sinned! We're talking about sinfulness vs sinlessness.

Verse 46: "However, the spiritual was not first, but the natural… [physical] …—then the spiritual." Remember, there's always a profound parallel in the Bible:

• you have the physical, then you have the spiritual
• you have the natural, then you have the supernatural, being Christ

The physical is always first!

Verse 47: "The first man is of the earth—made of dust. The second Man is the Lord from heaven. As is the one made of dust, so also are all those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly One, so also are all those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the one made of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly One" (vs 47-49). Then Paul finishes off there with the resurrection.

First Adam:

• he disobeyed and displeased God
• he sinned
• he disbelieved God and believed his wife and Satan

Second Adam—Christ:

• He obeyed and pleased God—'I always do those things which please My Father'
• He was sinless—without sin
• He believed
• He loved God—and humankind and His creation because He died for them
• He gave His life

—the first Adam was not willing to do any of those things. As we go through here, we're going to see this comparison between Christ and Adam.

Rom. 5:13-17 is a parenthetical statement, all one thought. In translating this, it became very evident to me that when Paul was getting this in the finalized form, that vs 13-17 was an explanation that he added at a later time to clarify the problem. Let's take the last sentence in v 12 and then read the first sentence in v 18 and see how those connect. Then you can see how the parenthetical statement is there to fit in.

Romans 5:12: "…and it is for this reason that all have sinned…. [v 18]: …So then, even as by the one transgression condemnation came unto all men…" You can see how those two statements connect directly. But then what he did, he put in the basis of the comparison between Christ and Adam in a more defined way

Verse 13: "(For before the Law, sin was in the world. However, sin is not imputed when law does not exist; nevertheless, death reigned… [the 'wages of sin is death' (Rom. 6:23)] …from Adam until Moses, even upon those who had not sinned in the likeness of the transgression of Adam…" (vs 13-14). Why was Adam's sin so particularly egregious or difficult? Because:

• he was created by God directly
• he had direct access to God all the time
• he was living right there where God was living in the Garden of Eden
• he believed Satan instead of God

and he had every opportunity to believe God. His sin resulted in death being passed unto all human beings. No human has ever sinned in that same similitude. All of the rest of us are at a lower level with it.

Verse 14: "…Adam, who was a type of the One Who was to come…. [the second Adam: Christ] (then he begins to define it a little bit more): …But should not the free gift be even as the offense was?.… [since it came by one] …For if by the transgression of the one man many died, how much more did the grace of God, and the gift of grace… [Why do we have 'gift of God' and 'gift of grace'? What is the difference?] …which is by the One Man, Jesus Christ, abound unto many?" (vs 14-15)—which then he's leading up to eternal life: death vs life; sin vs righteousness!

Verse 16: "And should not the free gift be like that which came by the one who had sinned?.… [in other words, the free gift is not by inheritance—it is a gift] …For on the one hand, judgment was by one unto condemnation… [that is to all people] …but on the other hand, the free gift is by one to the justification of many offenses."

What is the 'free gift'? That has got to be different from the gift of grace. What is the 'free gift'? Christ and His sacrifice! That is the free gift that you cannot earn! As we go through this, always remember, nothing can substitute for the life and death and resurrection of Christ! That's a very profound thing we must understand. That's why law-keeping cannot forgive sin; it was never designed to. Law-keeping is to keep you from sinning, not to forgive sin. All of your law-keeping after sin cannot forgive the sin that was sinned. Just like if you break the Sabbath today, can all your law-keeping and keeping the Sabbath perfectly from then on cover for the breaking of the Sabbath today? No! So it a 'free gift.' It's very close to the 'gift of grace.'

I believe this defines the free gift and part o f the gift of grace, 1-John 4:9 "In this way the love of God was manifested toward us: that God sent… [Gave! 'For God so loved the world that He gave…' (John 3:16)—that is the free gift!] … His only begotten Son into the world, so that we might live through Him." Notice the contrast between death and life.

Verse 10: "In this act is the love—not that we loved God; rather, that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins?" Not only did He send His Son as the free gift, but the gift of grace is the ongoing propitiation.

Verse 11: "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also are duty-bound to love one another."

• the free gift is Christ
• the gift of grace goes beyond just the forgiveness of sins. Christ as the propitiation is the start of it
  • forgiveness of sins
  • imputing of righteousness, because you believe by faith
  • eternal life
  • receiving the Holy Spirit
  • direct access to God

That's the gift of grace! It is more than just one thing. It is a bundle of things together. That's something that the whole book of Hebrews really emphasizes. That what we have, brethren, is a superior relationship to God than any other people through all history, because we have direct access to God the Father. That is all part of the gift of grace.
Romans 5:15: "But should not the free gift be even as the offense was? For if by the transgression of the one man many died, how much more did the grace of God…" The grace of God is what we stand in; that is our whole relationship with God. Everything that we have from God comes from His love through His grace, everything!

Verse 1: "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Whom we also have access…" (vs 1-2)—directly to God the Father; that's why it is the access. It is not just an access, but the access.

"…by faith into this grace in which we stand…" (v 2). It's your whole standing; your whole relationship before God.

The reason that I'm emphasizing this is because when we come to the first part of Rom. 6, it is going to present us with a question that most just seem to totally miss.

Verse 15: "…did the grace of God, and the gift of grace, which is by the One Man, Jesus Christ, abound unto many? And should not the free gift be like that which came by the one who had sinned?.…" (vs 15-16).

It's not imparted now by inheritance. The law of sin and death we all have is given by inheritance. We inherit human nature, but you do not inherit the nature of God. That must be given as a gift. And only then at the resurrection will it be fulfilled.

"…For on the one hand, judgment was by one unto condemnation… [all have sinned and come short of the glory of God] …but on the other hand, the free gift is by one to the justification of many offenses" (v 16). In other words, since Christ died and rose from the dead for justification, what sins cannot be covered by His sacrifice? Only the sins that are not repented of!

I've said before and I'll say again: If God can forgive King Manasseh for his sins…and I don't know of any of us that I have ever met in the Church who have sinned like King Manasseh. Let's see what he did, and he did this for 55 years. He started out young.

2-Chronicles 33:1: "Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. But he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD… [gave himself over to it] …like the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel, for he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served them. And he built altars in the house of the LORD… [extra altars for those gods] …of which the LORD had said, 'In Jerusalem shall My name be forever.'" (vs 1-4).

In other words, right where God put His name, he went in and raised up these idols.

Verse 5: "And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. And he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom. He also observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke Him to anger. And he set a carved image, the idol, which he had made…" (vs 5-7).

He went into the idol business himself and made it himself.

"…in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, 'In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever. Nor will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land, which I have set apart for your fathers—if only they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.' But Manasseh led astray Judah and the people of Jerusalem, and caused them to do worse than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel" (vs 7-9).

Now you see why Paul is emphasizing where by the sin of one man many were made sinners and condemned unto death. With Christ, even this kind of behavior, upon repentance, can be forgiven.

Verse 10: "And the LORD spoke to Manasseh and to His people, but they would not listen. Wherefore, the LORD brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks and bound him with chains and carried him to Babylon. And when he was in affliction, he sought the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers" (vs 10-12).

When is it that a person is going to make the choice to repent? Look, he had 55 years of abominable, just detestable behavior, and causing other people to sin. So, now the circumstances changed and this is where choice becomes so important in our lives. He chose to repent!

Verse 13: "And he prayed to Him, and He was entreated of him and heard his prayer, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God" (vs 12-13). That is a miracle!

(go to the next track)

That's like being brought into a dungeon, never to be brought out again, but coming back from that. Sometimes it takes those circumstances for you to repent. That's why God wants us to be tenderhearted so that we don't have to be crushed with correction to repent. That's what's so important!

Romans 5:16: "…to the justification of many offenses…. [look how much God forgave Manasseh] …For if by the offense of the one man death reigned by the one, how much more shall those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness, reign in life by the One, Jesus Christ" (vs 16-17).

I want you to look at "…who receive…"; in the Greek it is a present tense participle, meaning that you are continuously receiving, not that it's just given once and that's it. It must continuously be received! "…who receive the abundance of grace…" That's why it says we stand in grace; by grace are you saved. Everything you do is by grace.

"…and the gift of righteousness…" {note sermons: The Two Righteousnesses #s 1-2; this series} What God does it is when you have this attitude of repentance, coming to God, He gives to you the gift of righteousness, which is: I count you and all those that He calls with the same righteousness that Christ had.

Here is where the Protestants go off the track: They say that since you have this 'gift of righteousness' then there's nothing more that you need to do, which is not correct! But that's how God views you. When you get down and discouraged, you go to God in prayer and you claim this promise of the gift of righteousness—believing—and it will be imputed to you the same righteousness of Christ. Can you earn it? No! That's why it's a gift. Notice the gift:

• the free gift
• the gift of grace
• the gift of righteousness

Three gifts!

"…that they shall reign in life by the One Jesus Christ" So, this is a complete reversal of the whole human behavior.

Verse 18: "So then, even as by the one transgression condemnation came unto all men, in the same way also, by the one act of righteousness…" Included the whole process of Christ's coming, being born, living a perfect life, being crucified, dying, being resurrected.

"…shall justification of life… [eternal life] …come unto all men" (v 18). So, what we're looking at is:

• a comparison between condemnation and forgiveness
• a comparison between death and life
• a comparison between judgment and grace
• a comparison between the wages of sin—which you earn and the gift—which is given to you

Verse 19: "For even as by the disobedience of the one man many were made sinners, in the same way also, by the obedience of the one Man shall many be made righteous." Notice what this is doing, the total change and condition.

Romans 3:10: "Exactly as it is written: 'For there is not a righteous one—not even one!'" Coming from being unrighteous to being righteous. So there's a complete changing that takes place here. That is an explanation of the whole process of conversion.

God wants to inspire you to want to do good. God wants to inspire you to keep His commandments and His laws, by saying that—through Christ—'I impute My righteousness to you,' which does not mean that now we go out and sin! Now we have this we can do anything we want to. NO! NO!

Romans 5:20: "Moreover, the law entered, so that transgression might abound…"—to be clearly defined. Every time you make a law you create a transgression when someone breaks it.

"…but where sin abounded, the grace of God did super abound… [in other words, the effect of grace has got to be greater than the effect of sin] … so that even as sin has reigned unto death …" (vs 20-21).

Just look at all human society. I've got a book The Encyclopedia of World History by Langer, and all it is it just lists every year, taking the Chinese Empire, the Japanese Empire, the Indian Empire, the Russians, Israel, Jews, Babylonian and Egyptian, Roman, Greek Empires—all the countries of the world—one chronicle of murder, intrigue, invasion, war, slavery, capitulation, revolt.

Verse 21: "So that even as sin has reigned unto death… [from Adam unto the end of this present age] …so also might the grace of God… [the whole operation of God] …reign through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

The comparison is this: Death from Adam to the end of this age; eternal life and righteousness beginning with Jesus Christ and the Church down through eternity. There is the comparison.

Rom. 6 is really very important. What this is, it gives us the definition of the individual application of this grace to each person, in the covenant relationship with God. We have to be in a covenant relationship with God. Just a little overview before we get into it. Rom. 6-8—Paul mentions/writes about:

• sin—36 times
• death—15 times
• law—30 times
• flesh—15 times
• body—8 times

What we are going to see is how God applies what we just covered in Rom. 5. How does He apply it to you, to me and to all of those that He calls? How we move from this life of sin and flesh into a life, which then will result in righteousness and eternal life. What we're really doing in this is defining how we move from self—all the sin and all that stands for—into Christ, and all of what that means. Here is the problem and the solution:

• problem: sin                solution: grace
• problem: death            solution: life
• problem: flesh             solution: spirit

Romans 6:1: "What then shall we say?…. [In the light of everything we've read down through Rom. 5] …Shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound?…."—because he said, 'where sin abounded grace did super-abound'

Verse 2: "MAY IT NEVER BE!…." In any relationship with God, you cannot live in sin! Because we have a sinful nature, He's provided a way out of it, but we can't live in it. There's an extreme difference.

Manasseh was living in sin. His only way out was repentance, and God accepted that. Once forgiven, once having been brought under the grace of God, and you stand in that grace—do we have license to sin? NO! Let's define it a little bit further. Do we have license to do away with the laws of God by saying:

• God didn't mean this/God didn't mean that
• God didn't mean for you to keep the Sabbath and one day in seven is good enough
• God didn't mean that this image—that you created—is an idol, you just use for a reminder

All the way down through all the commandments of God and the whole relationship that God wants us to have.

Verse 2: "MAY IT NEVER BE!…. [in the most emphatic form] …We who died to sin… [we're going to see how we died to sin] …how shall we live any longer therein?"

We're going to see there's a difference between living in sin and living a righteous life though you sin and repent. A vast difference! When you're living in sin, you have no consciousness of sin, you're just on your way. You may feel bad when you do something bad, but that's only because of your own personal feelings. You have no repentance toward God in that.

Verse 3: "Or are you ignorant that we, as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus, were baptized into His death? Therefore, we were buried with Him…" (vs 3-4).

I'm going to do a special word study in the Greek on these words that Paul used, because there are many things that we are 'conjoined' with.

"…through the baptism into the death… [the death of Christ] … so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, in the same way, we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been conjoined together in the likeness of His death, so also shall we be in the likeness of His resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man was co-crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be destroyed, so that we might no longer be enslaved to sin" (vs 4-6).

He's beginning to answer the individual sin problem. Now that we have grace we are not to live in sin.

Verse 3: "Or are you ignorant that we, as many as were baptized… [complete immersion; you're baptized]: …into Christ Jesus… [and]: … were baptized into His death?" Think of everything that the death of Christ signifies:

• His beating
• His crucifixion
• His death on the cross
• His burial

You are now joined to that! You are made a part of that, because if Christ died for you, you then die for Christ. So, you're joined together!

Verse 4: "Therefore, we were buried with Him…"—just like He was in that grave three days and three nights, so you in the watery grave were conjoined in that burial. You are burying the old, sinful self.

"…through the baptism into the death…" (v 4). That's the whole meaning of baptism. That's why baptism must be by immersion. It cannot be by sprinkling. This is where the Protestants go so far off base. They say that once we have the grace of God we don't even need to be baptized. If you are not baptized and the old self buried, you are not buried and conjoined in the death of Christ. Therefore, you cannot walk in newness of life.

For example: If you fell in deep sleep and never died, you get up and walk, it's still the same old life. But if you really fell asleep and you died and then you were resurrected out of that death, are you not walking anew? Yes, you would be! It's the same way with baptism. That's why it is "…buried with Him through the baptism into the death …" (v 4).

The comparison continues; notice how that Paul, all the way through shows one then the other. He's showing sin and then righteousness; death and then life. He's showing how we die.

"…so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, in the same way, we also should walk in newness of life" (v 4).

How should we walk? In exactly the same way! Exactly! Did Christ sin? No! If we are to walk in exactly the same way, should we walk in sin? No!

1-Peter 2:19: "Because this is acceptable: if, for the sake of conscience toward God, anyone endures sorrows [grief]…" If you're going to 'walk in newness of life' in this wicked world, you're going to endure grief! You're going to have tribulation! The world is living in sin and you're not.

"…suffering unjustly. For what commendation is there if, disobeying and being beaten, you endure it? But if while doing good you endure suffering, this is acceptable with God…" (vs 19-20)—because Christ did the same thing!

"…for to this you were called… [this is what you were called to] …because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow in His footsteps" (vs 20-21). Walking right in the steps of Christ; walking in newness of life.

Verse 22: "Who committed no sin; neither was guile found in His mouth; Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when suffering, He threatened not, but committed Himself to Him Who judges righteously; Who Himself bore our sins within His own body on the tree, so that we, being dead to sins… [the same terminology as Paul; we are dead to sin] …may live unto righteousness; by Whose stripes you were healed.… [for physical healing] …For you were as sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls" (vs 22-25).

Walk in newness of life. God wants you to be inspired, brethren. God wants you to be uplifted. You go along and maybe you have a sour, rotten day. What do you do? You live in misery that day! It's miserable and you don't want to pray, you don't want to study; you do want to go to God, and you get more miserable and more guilty. God wants to inspire you with this kind of operation for you to know that you can come to Him anytime instantly. He doesn't want you to continue in your misery, which results in death. Walk in newness of life! Be inspired for the great things that God has done for you, and done for you personally, because you're co-buried with Him.

Romans 6:5: "For if we have been conjoined together in the likeness of His death…" That's what you've done with the old self through baptism. The Greek there means knitted. When you knit, it's all together; you can't separate one from the other.Or if you weave, you have the same thing. Weaving is just another form of knitting. "…have been conjoined together in the likeness of His death…" That's how to consider the old self, buried in that watery grave of baptism.

"…so also… [a guarantee] …shall we be in the likeness of His resurrection" (v 5). We just read that (1-Cor. 15); that if we have born the image of the earthy, we shall bear the image of the heavenly. The actual Greek there is if we have born the image made of dust so shall we bear the image of the heavenly.

Verse 6: "Knowing this… [this is something we have to constantly, on-goingly know] …that our old man was co-crucified…" The same as Christ being crucified on the cross. Since He represented all mankind, you were there with Him by the operation of baptism.

This is why these statements are made, and Jesus made these ahead of time. When we have peace with God, sometimes this puts us in hostility even with our family.

Matthew 10:34: "Do not think that I have come to bring peace on the earth…" That is as the world thinks of peace, of people getting along with people. No, it's not the time, yet.

"…I did not come to bring peace, but a sword" (v 34). This is a spiritual sword (Heb. 4:12)—the Word of God is living and power and sharper than any two-edged sword. That's the sword He brought, because He carried no physical sword.

Verse 35: "For I have come to set a man at variance against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's enemies shall be those of his own household. The one who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and the one who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me" (vs 35-37). Here's where the co-crucified comes in:

Verse 38: "And the one who does not take up his cross and follow Me… [we are to walk in the footsteps of Christ; in newness of life] …is not worthy of Me." In other words, how are you ever going to be worthy of Christ:

• if you're never baptized?
• if you never bury the old self?
• if you never crucify the old self?

Notice what we have to do in this world, v 39: "The one who has found his life shall lose it; and the one who has lost his life for My sake shall find it." Just the opposite of self. Get self out and Christ in! This is the opposite of self. There's a parallel in Luke 14:26, about picking up your cross and following after Him. Another place says that you 'take up your cross daily,' which then implies concerning the suffering that we would go through.

Romans 6:5: "For if we have been conjoined together in the likeness of His death, so also shall we be in the likeness of His resurrection." What does that tell us? We're also going to be knit together, raised together "…in the likeness of His resurrection." There are many Scriptures that bring that out. Most notably:

1-John 3:1: "Behold! What glorious love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God! For this very reason, the world does not know us because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are the children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be; but we know that when He is manifested, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him exactly as He is" (vs 1-2). There it is, in the likeness of His resurrection.

Notice the progress here, Romans 6:6: "Knowing this, that our old man was… [past tense, at baptism] …co-crucified with Him in order… [present tense] …that the body of sin might be destroyed… [from present to future tense] …so that we might no longer be enslaved to sin."

In other words, sin and the lust of the flesh is not going to enslave us. It will be there. There will be the pulls of the flesh! There will be the pulls of sin! But it's not going to enslave us, that you become a bond-slave to sin.

Verse 7: "Because the one who has died to sin…" How do you die to sin? Through baptism! And through the renewing of the covenant with Passover, every year.

"…has been justified from sin…. [those sins have been removed; you are acquitted] …Now, if we died together with Christ… [jointly died with Christ] …we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ…" (vs 7-9). We're to know; be convinced of this; understand it as a fact.

"…having been raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has any dominion over Him. For when He died, He died unto sin… [not His own, but of His creation] …once for all… [death/life; sin/grace] … but in that He lives, He lives unto God" (vs 9-10)—which tells us what we should be doing; living to God.

Verse 11: "In exactly the same way also…"—see the comparison. He gives us the thing very concrete to look to.

"…you reckon… [calculate] …yourselves to be dead to sin… [you've died through baptism; you have died by being co-crucified with Christ] …but alive to God through Christ Jesus our Lord" (v 11). That's the very reason we live, right there!

Notice what this does, v 12: "Therefore, do not let sin rule in your mortal body by obeying it in the lusts thereof." Tie this in with: v 6: "…that we might no longer be enslaved to sin"

How are we going to recognize this? There is a process to sin, and there is a process with the thoughts and the choices as it comes along. Before you were baptized, you just went along with the whole regime of sin, regardless of what it was—even the sin, which seemed like a good things to do.

Like Christmas: If you listed all the lies that Christmas stands for. It's just astounding! Yet, people think it's a wonderful thing. We're going to see there is a process. What we need to learn to do, brethren, is by exercising the Spirit of God and by choice you exercise the Spirit of God by choice. The Spirit of God will lead you, but you must use it. You must choose. Let's see how this process works:

James 1:12: "Blessed is the man who endures trials… [this can mean any affliction] …because after he has been proved he shall receive a crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him." Again, we're coming back to the love of God. Verse 12 is the kind of trial, which is building character.

Here's the other kind of trial, v 13: "Do not let anyone who is tempted say, 'I am being tempted by God,' because God is not tempted by evil, and He Himself tempts no one with evil."

What does God do? He sets before you choices! He doesn't come along with something evil. He sets before you choices. Who's the one that comes along with something evil? Satan does! Not God! God gives you choices. He says, 'Behold, I set before you life and blessing/evil and death, therefore, choose life.' But He doesn't tempt you with evil.

Here's the process, v 14: "But each one is tempted when he is drawn away and is enticed by his own lust." So, human lust gets involved. 'Well, now that's a pretty good idea.' "…and is enticed…"—which means he mulls it over. He thinks about it. Then he decides 'this is good' or good for him. He wants to do it.

The next step, v 15: "And after lust has conceived… [meaning it's locked in together; the evil and the lust are joined in conception] …it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is completely finished, brings forth death." At any point along here you can make the choice to stop and you can go to God for forgiveness and ask Him to help you with His grace to lift you out of it.

Romans 6:12—this is how: "Therefore, do not let sin rule in your mortal body by obeying it in the lusts thereof…. [put away the lust] …Likewise, do not yield… [present tense] …your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin; rather, yield yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not rule over you because you are not under law, but under grace" (vs 12-14).

Scriptures from The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version

Scriptural References:

• Romans 5:13
• Romans 4:15
• Genesis 4:3-7
• Genesis 6:11-12
• Genesis 26:5
• Deuteronomy 6:1-8
• Matthew 22:37
• Exodus 16:25-29
• Exodus 18:16
• Romans 5:12-21
• 1 Corinthians 15:45-49
• Romans 5:12, 18, 13-16
• 1 John 4:9-11
• Romans 5:15, 1-2, 15-16
• 2 Chronicles 33:1-13
• Romans 5:16-19
• Romans 3:10
• Romans 5:20-21
• Romans 6:1-6, 3-4
• 1 Peter 2:19-25
• Romans 6:5-6
• Matthew 10:34-39
• Romans 6:5
• 1 John 3:1-2
• Romans 6:6-12, 6, 12
• James 1:12-15
• Romans 6:12-14

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Genesis 26:4; 3
• Exodus 20
• Romans 6:23
• John 3:16
• Hebrews 4:12
• Luke 14:26

Also referenced:

Book Encyclopedia of World History by William L. Langer
Sermons: The Two Righteousnesses I & II (see this series)

FRC:bo   
Transcribed: 12-21-10
Reformatted/Corrected: November/2016