Monday 27 October 2008

6. Romans 6:1-23

In the previous chapter of his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul argued that the law made sin increase, and therefore grace as well. No wonder some people ask, whether we should not continue to sin, as that also makes God’s grace increase.

Maybe there were actually some believers in Rime proclaiming ideas of this sort, but I have the impression that these words are the cynical argument of some Jewish Christians (or non-Christians!) who think that their words are the logical consequence of the statement of Paul that man is saved by faith, without the law.

Paul rejects the idea categorically. Have we not died to sin? Then we want nothing to do with sin any longer. Paul refers to the baptism of the believers. That is like a burial in which the believers were united with the death of Christ, after which they rose from baptism/death to live differently. The believers are united with the death of Christ, and also with his resurrection.(Rom. 6:4-5)

Paul asks the believer to not sin, but to serve God. It is for this study here not important to go deeply into the arguments of Paul in Rom. 6:6-14, so we leave those out now. It is useful, however, to point to the fact that Paul addresses all believers in Christ, including those from Jewish background, as people who were once spiritually dead, but who now live through Christ. In the past, sin ruled as king in their lives, but that is different now.

There is no difference between the people from the nations and Jews in regard to their pre-Christian life.

Rom. 6:13-14 then tells the believers to serve God. They are able to do so, because they are not under the law, but under grace.
For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
Paul had sai before that the law makes people sin; because believers have died for the law with Christ, that law has no power over them any longer. They live under grace and they are, says Paul, able to not let sin rule over their life any longer.

Paul repeats the question that the Jewish critics maybe posed: so can we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? (Rom. 6:15) No, Paul said in Rom. 6:1, and he repeats this in Rom. 6:15. By no means!

In Rom. 6:16-23 Paul speaks once again to Jews and people from the nations in the Church, and he does not differentiate between these two groups as regards their pre-Christian life. It is of interest to see what Paul says about this pre-Christian life of Jews and people from the nations.

Here some things that are true for both Jews and all the others before their conversion to Christ:
Slaves of sin (Rom. 6:16-18,20)
Slaves to impurity (Rom. 6:19)
Slaves to ever increasing wickedness (Rom. 6:19)
Free from righteousness (Rom. 6:20)
Shame (Rom. 6:21)
Wages is death (Rom. 6:16,21,23)
Paul speaks to the whole congregation in chapter 6, and the above statement that are true for Jews and others if they are not believers in Christ. After their conversion to Christ the following is true for all:

Slaved to obedience which leads to righteousness (Rom. 6:17)
Obey the teaching (Rom. 6:17)
Free from sin (Rom. 6:18,21)
Slaves to righteousness (Rom. 6:18-19)
Slaves to God (Rom. 6:22)
Reaping holiness (Rom. 6:22)
Result is eternal life (Rom 6:22,23)
All these terms are related to the concept of salvation, even though that term is not used in this chapter.

As regards their Christian status, there is no difference between Jews with Christ and people from other nations with Christ. Jews in the Church could maybe think that Paul mostly addresses the nations in this chapter because they were dead and lost before their conversion to Christ?

Paul however underlines that he speaks just as much to the Jews. In Rom. 7:1 he says explicietly that he speaks to people who know the law – followers of Jesus from who were born Jews.

In this chapter the Greek word for all (pas) in its different forms is not used. We do come across the Greek word houtoos (thus) in Rom. 6:4,11 and 19. It is translated as ‘we too’, ‘in the same way’, and ‘so now’

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