ROMANS 6
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
– Romans 6:1-10
ROMANS 6 GRACE MAKES US NEW
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
When Jesus died for us, we have been given new life
We can no longer continue in sin because of grace
His death gave us access to be united with God
It gave us freedom to choose His word and not the world
We no longer are slaves to our old life which chooses sin
Our sins are now crucified with Christ and no longer slaves to it
Death has no power over all those who received God’s grace
We are now slaves of righteousness and alive through Christ.
In this letter to the Romans, Paul emphasizes the aftermath of grace in the life of a Christian. He clarifies to them that grace isn’t a license to keep on sinning. Instead, he explains the process of salvation as it happened when Jesus Christ died for us on the cross. Even though we now have access to God, there is an expectation on our part to be cleansed from all sins. It was Jesus’ death that did the cleaning, but the maintenance of this cleansed spirit is also our responsibility as per our covenant agreement with God. He is our God and we are his people. Because we serve a holy and righteous God, doesn’t he expect the same holiness on our part since he provided the one who made us right with him? I was wondering why Paul explained this in this manner. Could there be some believers who thought that now they are saved, they have the license to continue with sin. They could have thought that grace will constantly clean them automatically from what they did. That would be dishonoring the gift of grace of redemption. If Jesus paid for our debts, would he expect us to save ourselves from repeated sins and ransom us again? It is foolish to even think that we can abuse the grace that was granted to us. Instead, we need to approach grace with much gratitude and awe for God who saved us from ourselves.
REFLECTION
- What are some ways some Christians can take for granted the grace of salvation from Christ?
