August 14, 2020
Under Grace
Romans 6:15-23
Jessica Small
Central Truth
The fact that we are under grace allows us to obey God from the heart because we are saved, not to earn salvation. The freedom we have from the penalty of sin gives us the ability to have a full, intimate relationship with God and to live a better life.
Key Verse | Romans 6:17
But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed.
Romans 6:15-23
Slaves to Righteousness
15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, 1 6:16 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; twice in this verse; also verses 17, 19 (twice), 20 you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Dive Deeper | Romans 6:15-23
Something that I started to more fully grasp recently is that, as believers, we will not be punished for our sins. We are guilty, and there is a punishment that we deserve, but we will never receive that punishment. That's the gospel: we are in need of forgiveness for the life of disobedience we have lived; and when Jesus died on the cross, He took all the punishment that we have accrued and paid it for us. We don't have to run and hide to avoid God after we've sinned. This gives us freedom to have intimacy with Him. But Paul says we should not abuse that freedom by continuing to sin. We do not have freedom to sin (Romans 6:15); we have freedom to live with God.
We don't obey Jesus to make sure we are saved. Salvation is a free gift that Jesus gave us by His work on the cross (Romans 6:23). We obey God because we see that life God's way is better. As believers, we all have a "before" story of a time when we lived in a way that did not honor God. But, as Paul says, "what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed?" (Romans 6:21) What we thought was good tasting fruit—sex, money, pride, status, security—was actually slavery, and "the end of those things is death." For those of us who believe, we have experienced the emptiness and hopelessness and guilt these things bring. They don't satisfy; they only leave us wanting more. That's how we become slaves to that which never fulfills its promise to satisfy.
"But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life." (Romans 6:22) We are free from the life we lived before and free to pursue God instead. Romans 6:17 says that we do this from the heart. Because of God's great love for us and Jesus' sacrifice, we live as people who have been set free, not as people who are afraid.
Discussion Questions
1. If you are a believer, why do you obey God? Out of fear of punishment, image-protection, or tradition? Or from the heart because you have realized that you have been forgiven much and are free to live a new life?
2. Is there something other than God that you have become a slave of, that you need to confess and get free from? Pray through that today and tell someone about it. James 5:16 tells us to confess our sins to one another and pray for each other so that we can be healed. Jesus died for whatever you are stuck in, and He can free you from it if you are willing.
3. In yesterday's devotional, Kirsten talked about the lie that we are free to sin because grace abounds, and today we talked about the lie that we have to live perfectly to escape punishment. Which one do you tend to lean toward—the "over grace" lie, or the "under grace" lie? What is the truth from Romans 6 to combat those lies?