Romans 6:1-10: "A new life"

In this section Paul approaches the subject of the new life of a Christian. As Paul so often does, he anticipates questions or arguments from his Jewish readers, and he begins by asking, "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase?" This question would have most likely been asked because of all Paul has previously said about God's grace. Paul must feel like he is in a pendulum. He is constantly trying to break down religious walls with the Jews, but after he gets them to see the error of their ways, he must run to the other extreme and defend his arguments from the other perspective. Paul had to do this with the Law. He was trying to show his people about the error of looking to the Law for salvation. He knew the Jews had been dependent on the Law for justification for so long, and Paul was here to pull out the rug from under them. He presented his case and then had to run to the defense for the Law. He was not there to abolish the Law or speak badly of it, in fact he told them that the Law is good, it is sin that is evil. Another example, Paul has in the last few chapters explained to his Jewish readers that salvation only comes through faith in Christ through His grace. He has exalted and lifted up high the gift of grace and how much it abounds over the curse of death. After trying to get this point through to them, he now must defend the absurd thought that: 'well then I can just live however I want to since God's grace will cover my sin. In fact, I should sin all the more because then it gives God the opportunity to pour out more grace.' This evil and absurd thinking is quickly dismissed by Paul as he exclaims once again, "May it never be!" MacArthur writes, "The very suggestion that sin could in any conceivable way please and glorify God was abhorrent to Paul. The falsehood is almost too self-evident to be given the dignity of detailed refutation. Instead it deserves only condemnation."

Paul's defense for his strong disagreement with this reasoning is in the new life Christian's have once they are saved. He writes, "How shall we who died to sin still live in it?" Paul is affirming that those who put their faith and trust in Christ have died with Christ in their old lifestyle and are made anew in Him. If that is the case, why would we still live in our old sinful lifestyle? MacArthur commentates, "The person who is alive in Christ has died to sin, and it is inconceivable and self-contradictory to propose that a believer can henceforth live in the sin from which he was delivered by death." He is trying to get those who would argue this way to understand that they do not have a proper understanding of what it means to be a Christian. He confronts their shallow perception that the mindset of the believer is the same as the unbeliever. In fact, he confronts the person that would ask such a question to their relationship with Christ. He confronts them with this question, "Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?" He wants his readers to understand that when we put our faith in Christ we have vicariously partaking in the actual death he went through when we are baptized. MacArthur helps us understand with an example, "In his first letter to Corinth, Paul spoke of Israel's being baptized into Moses (I Cor. 10:2), symbolizing the people's identity or solidarity with Moses as God's spokesman and leader and the placing of themselves under his authority. By that identity and submission they participated in the leadership and consequent blessings and honor of Moses. The faithful Israelite was, as it were, fused with Moses, who was fused with God. In a similar but infinitely more profound and permanent way, all of us, that is, all Christians, have been baptized into Christ Jesus, thus permanently being immersed into Him, so as to be made one with Him." Without getting too deep into the discussion Paul clearly teaches that salvation comes from faith alone and baptism is an issue of obedience not salvation. All believers will have a heart desire to be baptized in a symbolic gesture of forsaking the old life and rising in the newness of Christ.

Paul continues the believers new identity in Christ as he writes, "Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life." Commenting on this verse MacArthur writes, "That truth is far too wondrous for us to understand fully, but the basic and obvious reality of it is that we died with Christ in order that we might have life through Him and live like Him." Paul's focus is that as dramatic and drastic as the agony and pain Christ had to go through, so too, must our conversion be from old life to new life. And that our motivation in living should be to "walk in the newness of life". Reflecting back on the question he asked, "are we to continue in sin that grace might increase?" Paul wants to show his readers the new life, the new way of living. As a Christian our hearts should hate sin as Christ hated sin, and the gratitude we have for His death and resurrection that we partook of in Christ when we believe causes us to want righteousness, not lawlessness. Paul continues, "For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection." As our old life passed away at His death, a new one is born when he enters our heart. Ezekiel 36:26, "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."

Continuing the idea that a believer's new life will be markedly different from his previous life, Paul shows us how our old body of sin has been destroyed. "Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died freed from sin." Another reason we would never desire to sin more that grace might increase is that our old self is dead and we are no longer a slave to sin." Later on in v.18 we will see that we are now, "slaves to righteousness." When Christ was crucified on the cross, the moment we accept him into our heart is the moment we recognize our sin and old unredeemed self up there on the cross with Him. God cannot be in the presence of sin, and in order for us to be accepted by God and the Holy Spirit enter us, that old self had to be destroyed, and a new heart covered by the blood of Christ given to us. MacArthur writes, "New birth in Christ brings death to the sinful self, but it does not bring death to the temporal flesh and its corrupted inclinations until the future glorification. Obviously, a Christian's body is potentially good and is intended to do only good things, else Paul would not have commanded believers to present their bodies to God as "a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God" (Rom. 12:1).

Paul continues to reiterate this point in verses 8-10 as he writes, "Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again;" The believer's ultimate destination is heaven in which we will "live with Him". This also refers to our daily living with Him in us as well. As Christians we should constantly be aware and live our lives like we know in our hearts that Christ was raised from the dead never to die again. Christ conquered death on the cross and it is because of this that we can now live in eternity with Him as well. He fervently points out that, "death no longer is master over Him." Unlike Christ we were dead in our sins. We had no ability to save ourselves as death had domain over us. However, by the power of God, Christ was able to conquer death and never be mastered by it again. We can partake in this truth if we accept Christ into our hearts. We will spend eternity with Him in heaven. MacArthur writes, "The point is that, because we have died and been raised with Christ, we, too, shall never die again. The sin that made us subject to death is no longer master over us, just as it no longer is master over Him."

To concluded this wonderful passage and show his readers why we would never continue in sin so that grace might increase, he writes, "For the death that He died, He died to sin, once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God." Christ died for the penalty of sin as he obediently took on all the sins of the world to Himself on the cross. That single act as described in the last section can never be reversed. "Once for all" sin has been paid for and we are to live with that in mind. Just as when Christ walked this earth and obediently gave his will to God, we are to do the same. Just as Christ lived His life for His Father, we, too, should live for God while here on earth. The whole defense that Paul brings to this argument is that as Christ died to sin and lived for God, we ought to, as Christians who identify with Christ, do the same.