Romans 6:8-10: "If we are dead with Christ, we will live with Him." Verse 8: "Now, if we are dead with Christ, we believe we will also live with Him." In Romans 6:5, Paul had said, "If we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we will also be in the likeness of His resurrection." Here he repeats the same point in slightly different language, saying, "If we are dead with Christ, we believe we will also live with Him." Years later, shortly before his death, Paul reiterated this same truth in his
second letter to Timothy.
This saying is trustworthy: "If we died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He also will deny us." We should note that in all the verses cited above, Paul prefaces the promise of eternal life with the word "if"—if we have been planted, if we are dead, if we died with Him, and if we endure. So, eternal life is a conditional promise, conditioned on our remaining dead to sin and living to Christ until the end of our lives.
Origen writes, "He died so that once He had died to sin, we who were dead might no longer live to sin in vices." And again, "He who has not denied Himself but has instead denied Christ, he will receive the judgment that Christ has pronounced. I also will deny him." Matthew 10:33. Romans 6:9-10: "Knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dies no more; death has no more dominion over him; for in that He died, He died to sin once; but in that He lives, He lives to God.
Christ will never again return to earth as a man to die for our sins. He did that once, not to be repeated." Paul says concerning Christ, "In that He lives, He lives to God." Chris Austum comments, "Christ lives unchangeably so that death no more has dominion over Him. For it was not through any liability to death that He died the former death; it was only for the sin of others.
Therefore, much less will He ever die again, now that He has done away with that sin." The immortality of Christ is comforting, knowing that we will be made alive in a similar manner, never to die again. Chris Austum continues, "Paul says this again in the letter to the Hebrews, but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, and as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.
To those who eagerly wait for Him, He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation." Hebrews 9:26-28. However, the fact that Christ will never die again serves as a warning to us. The auditor writes, "By these words, Paul has amply proved his yearning to make believers abstain from sin. He says that Christ died once; it is impossible for Him to die a second time, for He now possesses an immortal body.
It is on this account that all of us receive only one baptism; therefore, do not expect any second forgiveness by another baptism." Hebrews warns us, "If we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more a sacrifice for sins but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which will devour the adversaries." A man who disregards Moses' law dies without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses.
How much worse punishment do you think he will be judged worthy of who has trodden underfoot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant with which he was sanctified an unholy thing, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? Romans 6:11-15: "We must not let sin rule us." In the next few verses, Paul issues a series of commands as to how we are to live once we have been saved. Today's Christians often want to turn these imperatives into mere suggestions.
However, the early Christians properly recognize that these directives are not optional. Romans 6:11-12: "Likewise think of yourselves as dead to sin, but alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its desires." Think of yourselves as dead to sin. Why does Paul use the expression "think of yourselves"?
Chris Austum comments, "Paul appropriately says, 'Think of yourselves,' because as of yet there is nothing concrete before our eyes as to the thing of which Paul speaks." In other words, we cannot literally see our body being dead to sin. Origen adds that even though our conduct is visible to everyone, the actual status of our being dead to sin is not something that is visible or tangible. In short, Paul encourages us to picture ourselves as a corpse lying senseless to sin.
It is an image we need to deeply impress on our minds. A corpse does not rob, murder, envy, gossip, lust, or commit sexual immorality. Paul also tells us to think of ourselves as alive to God. He's not talking about the ordinary life that all humans live. Rather, he is referring to the spiritual life we have in Christ.
Origen writes, "Without righteousness, without peace, and without sanctification, and all the other virtues, no one is alive to God." By saying "do not let sin reign," Paul demonstrates that it lies within our power as Christians to let sin reign or not. Otherwise, there would be no purpose in his giving us such a command. This in no way minimizes our absolute dependence on Christ's power. Rather, it highlights our responsibility to cooperate with Christ to allow Him to work in our lives.
The auditor explains, "The motions and tumult of our desires are generated in us by nature. However, whether we actually do what is forbidden turns on our own choice." Chris Austum comments, "Paul shows that it is not through any force or necessity that we are held down by sin.
Rather, we are held down willingly." For Paul does not say, "Do not let sin tyrannize you," a word that would imply a necessity, but "do not let it reign." Origen adds, "The kingdom of sin is incompatible with the kingdom of God." Accordingly, if we want to be ruled over by God, we must not let sin rule in our mortal body. We must not obey its commands when it calls on our soul to perform the works of the flesh that are alien to God. In your mortal body.
Paul adds the word "mortal" to remind us that the struggle against sin does not go on eternally. Rather, it will end when we die. The auditor writes, "Paul shows the short duration of this warfare by calling the body mortal. For when the body has undergone the dissolution of death, the attack of our desires likewise ceases." Romans 6:13: "Furthermore, do not yield your members as weapons of unrighteousness to sin.
Rather, yield yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, and your members as weapons of righteousness to God." Do not yield. Like the preceding verse, by giving the command "do not yield," Paul shows that we have free will. Unless we have the ability to refuse to yield our bodies to sin, Paul would be exhorting us in vain. We can choose which kingdom will rule over us: the kingdom of God or the kingdom of sin.
Origen writes, "Unless it were in our power to prevent sin from reigning in us, he certainly would not have given this commandment: your members as weapons of unrighteousness." When Paul uses the word "members," he refers to the various parts of our body, such as the arms, legs, and tongue. Many English Bibles use the term "instruments" instead of "weapons." However, the early Christians understood the Greek word "hoplon" to mean weapons.
The auditor comments, "Paul had just spoken of sin reigning, so in strict keeping with his analogy, Paul now mentions its weapons. Furthermore, he shows us the way to victory. For the weapons which sin uses against us are the very members of our own body." Chris Austum adds, "A robber who arms himself against the citizens uses weapons for his attacks. Yet the fault does not lie with the weapons but with the robber who uses them for a wrong purpose. Likewise, we can say the same thing about the flesh.
Its members become good or bad depending upon the decision of our own hearts. The fault does not lie with the nature of the members. For example, the eye becomes a weapon of sin if it gazes at the beauty of another. Yet this is not because of the nature of the eye. The only function of the eye is to see. If it looks on that which it should not, the fault lies with the mind that commands it. But if you control the eye, it becomes a weapon of righteousness.
The same thing can be said about the tongue, the hands, and all the other members of the body. Rather, yield your members as weapons of righteousness." Tertullian writes, "Throughout this series of passages, Paul works to remove our members from unrighteousness and sin, and he applies them to righteousness and holiness." Irenaeus adds, "With these members, we formerly used to serve sin. We brought forth fruit leading to death. But God now wishes us to use these same members to be obedient to righteousness.
In this manner, we can bring forth fruit that leads to life." The auditor illustrates how the same members of the body can be used for either good or bad. A person who sings can use his tongue to offer up fitting melodies to the God of the universe if he has the proper mind to do so. Yet if he is drunk and disorderly, his tongue will madly send forth the horrid sounds of irreverence. Words of truth adorn the tongue; falsehoods disgrace it.
Similarly, the eye can look around either modestly or lustfully, either hatefully or lovingly. The hand can either render aid or it can kill. In short, all the members of the body become the weapons of holiness when a person's mind is so inclined. Likewise, they can all become weapons of sin when one's mind is governed by evil. Thankfully, in fighting against sin and Satan, we have more than just the members of our body as weapons. As Chris Austum points out, God has also furnished us with Christ as our commander.
In addition, he has given us a complete arsenal of spiritual weapons and armor. Romans 6:14-15: "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? God forbid, sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law but under grace." The law gave commandments, but it imparted no power to fulfill those commandments.
That is why under the law it could not be said, "Sin shall not have dominion over you." In fact, as we have seen, the law made the Israelites that much more guilty of sin. Thankfully, Christ has freed us from the numerous dietary, hygienic, and ceremonial regulations of the law. This enables us to focus on the essential commandments of Christ. By the phrase "under grace," Paul is referring to all the provisions for salvation we have under Christ, not under any law or not under the law.
Beginning with the first English Bible and extending through the King James Version, all English translations rendered the subject verse as it is rendered above: "You are not under the law but under grace." This is one of the key points in Paul's great argument. As Christians, we are no longer under the law of Moses. We are free of its burdensome requirements. However, we are not free from law itself, that is, from God's commandments.
No one in the early church disputed this fact, except the Gnostics, whereas Paul contrasted the Mosaic law with the Gospel of Christ. In Luther's reinterpretation of Romans, Luther has Paul contrasting law to the Gospel of Christ. Under Luther's system, there is a conflict of law versus Gospel. In his preface to the New Testament, Luther writes, "See to it, therefore, that you do not make of Christ a second Moses or of the Gospel a book of laws and doctrines.
For the Gospel does not really demand works of ours by which we become righteous and are saved. Nay, it condemns such works.
Hence it comes that to a believer no law is given by which he becomes righteous before God." Also, in his preface to Romans, Luther says, "The little word of law you must not take here in human fashion, as a teaching about what works are to be done or not done." Following Luther's line of thinking, the translators of the revised version of 1881 broke with the precedent set by all the previous English versions, and they translated Romans 6:14 as, "Ye are not under law but under grace." They thereby established a new
precedent in translating this verse that has been followed by nearly all English translations ever since.
It is only one example of the many ways that translators promote Luther's reinterpretation of Romans through the way they translate Paul's Greek. Instead of looking at the way the ancient native speakers of Koine Greek understood a given passage, they let their theology guide their translations. No conflict between law and grace. The notion that there is a conflict between law and grace is not the historic faith. As has been said, no Christians taught such a conflict before the fifth century.
For example, the auditor refers to the legislative constitution of grace, saying, "Paul shows that before the coming of grace, the law merely taught what was to be done. Yet it provided no help for those under it." On the other hand, in addition to imposing responsibilities, grace also extends assistance. For that reason, the legislative constitution of grace is more complete than that of the law. So living under Christ's grace does not mean that we have no laws.
Rather, it means we have power to keep the laws of the kingdom. Ambrosiaster writes, "If we walk in accordance with the commands he gives, the apostle says that sin cannot have dominion over us. It has dominion over those who sin. When we do not walk as he commands, we are under the law." On the other hand, if we do not sin, we are not under the law but under grace. But if we sin, we place ourselves under the law, and sin begins to have dominion over us because every sinner is a slave to sin. John 8:34.
Chris Austum comments, "Before the coming of Christ, our body was an easy prey to the assaults of sin. For when death entered mankind, a great swarm of desires accompanied it. Because of this, it was difficult for humans to run the race of virtue. For there was no Holy Spirit available to assist us, nor was there any baptism with power to put sin to death. Our body was like a horse uncontrolled by reins. Although our bodies ran the race of virtue, they stumbled frequently.
Meanwhile, the law declared what was to be done and what was forbidden. Yet the law contributed nothing to the race other than its exhortation through words. However, after Christ came, the effort became easier. Therefore, God set a higher goal for us since we receive much greater assistance. For that reason, Christ could say, 'Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no way enter the kingdom of heaven.'" Matthew 5:20.
So being under the grace of Jesus demands greater righteousness from us than the law required. Christ's laws set a higher standard than did the law of Moses. Thankfully, Christ also provides us with the power to live by his laws if we avail ourselves of that power. That is why Paul could confidently say that sin shall no longer have dominion over those who are under the grace of Christ.