R*o
发帖数: 3781 | 1 Study By: Greg Herrick
http://bible.org/seriespage/study-and-exposition-romans-615-23
A. Introduction
Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) “fought” for the freedom of enslaved and oppres
sed peoples for over thirty years and is rightly recognized as one of the wo
rld’s great leaders in this regard. He protested racial legislation in Sout
h Africa and led civil disobedience campaigns in his native India in order t
o secure home rule. He was especially noted for his commitment to non-violen
t ways, his self-discipline and denial, as well as his championing of the un
derclass within the caste system. It has been said that the theme of his lif
e revolved around the question: “How can people know freedom from slavery—
politically, socially, or internally within themselves?”50
Christian, this too should be your theme. Not freedom from political institu
tions per se, but freedom from sin, on the one hand, and enslavement to God,
righteousness, sanctification, and eternal life, on the other. Again, we sh
ould ask how can I, as a believer in Jesus Christ, be freed from the reignin
g power of sin in my daily life? Gandhi was quoted as saying, “the moment t
he slave resolves that he will no longer be a slave, his fetters fall.”51 T
he gospel has made every provision for this reality in your life. Have you r
esolved that sin will no longer have dominion over you? Paul says in Romans
6:15-23 that a proper understanding of grace (and the fact that the Christia
n is not under law) should lead to freedom from sin and enslavement to obedi
ence.
Near the end of Gandhi’s life he made the following comment:
What I want to achieve—what I have been striving and pining to achieve thes
e thirty years—is self realization, to see God face to face, to attain Moks
ha (spiritual deliverance)…I have not yet found Him, but I am seeking after
Him…For it is an unbroken fortune to me that I am still so far from Him…I
have not seen Him, neither have I known Him.52
But according to Jesus Christ, the Christian knows God and has been spiritua
lly delivered from sin. Therefore, Christian, live like it is so, for the pa
yoff of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus ou
r Lord. | R*o
发帖数: 3781 | 2 B. Translation of Passage in NET
6:15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? A
bsolutely not!
6:16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves as obedient slaves, you
are slaves to the one you obey, either to sin resulting in death, or obedien
ce resulting in righteousness?
6:17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed fro
m the heart that pattern of teaching you were entrusted to,
6:18 and having been freed from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness.
6:19 (I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.) F
or just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawless
ness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to r
ighteousness leading to sanctification.
6:20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteous
ness.
6:21 So what benefit did you then reap from those things that you are now as
hamed of? For the end of those things is death.
6:22 But now, freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit lead
ing to sanctification, and the end is eternal life.
6:23 For the payoff of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord. | R*o
发帖数: 3781 | 3 C. Full Exegetical Outline
Idea: The reason Christians who are no longer the law, but under grace shoul
d not sin is because it leads to slavery to sin and death, whereas slavery t
o righteousness leads to eternal life.
I. Should Christians who are no longer under law, but under grace, conti
nue in sin? Absolutely not! (6:15)
II. A person is a slave to the one whom he obeys, whether sin resulting
in death or obedience resulting in righteousness (6:16)
A. A person is a slave to the one whom he obeys (6:16a-b)
B. Sin results in death (6:16c)
C. Obedience (to God) results in righteousness (6:16d)
III. Paul gives thanks for the Roman Christians because they had become
obedient to righteousness which leads to sanctification and he encourages th
em to continue to offer themselves as slaves to righteousness (6:17-20)
A. The Romans were salves to sin, but they obeyed from the heart the
teaching to which they were entrusted with the result that they have become
freed from sin and enslaved to righteousness (6:17)
1. Paul gives thanks for the Roman Christians (6:17a)
2. The Roman Christians were slaves to sin (6:17a)
3. The Roman Christians obeyed from the heart the pattern of tea
ching to which they were entrusted (6:17c)
4. The Roman Christians have been freed from sin and enslaved to
righteousness (6:18)
B. Paul, through the illustration from slavery, encourages the Roman
Christians to present their members, not to sin leading to greater and grea
ter lawlessness, but to righteousness, leading to sanctification, because th
ey are now slaves to righteousness (6:19-20)
1. Paul is using the illustration of slavery in order to help th
e Romans better comprehend what he’s saying since people have limited abili
ties to understand (6:19a)
2. The Roman Christians, at one time, presented their members to
impurity and lawlessness, leading to more lawlessness (6:19b)
3. The Roman Christians are now to present their members as slav
es to righteousness leading to sanctification (6:19c)
4. When the Roman Christians were slaves to sin they were free w
ith regard to righteousness (6:20)
IV. Paul reminds the Roman Christians that their previous way of life re
aped shame and death whereas now, having been freed from sin, they are reapi
ng sanctification, the end of which is eternal life (6:21-22)
A. The Romans Christians did not reap any good thing from those thin
gs which they are now ashamed of (6:21a)
B. The end of those things is death (6:21b)
C. The Roman Christians have been freed from sin and enslaved to God
(6:22a)
D. The Roman Christians have their benefit from enslavement to God,
namely, sanctification and eternal life (6:22b)
V. The payoff of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life (6:23
)
A. The payoff of sin is death (6:23a)
B. The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (6:23b)
D. Simple Point Outline
Idea: Sin leads to death, but obedience leads to righteousness and eternal l
ife.
I. The Question: Shall Christians who are not under the law, therefore,
have freedom to sin? (6:15)
II. The Fruit of Sin
A. It Leads to Enslavement (6:16, 17)
B. It Leads to Death (6:16, 21)
C. It Involves Enslavement to Impurity and Lawlessness (6:19)
D. It Leads to Further Enslavement and Lawlessness (6:19)
E. It Is A Condition in Which A Person Is Free with Regard to Righte
ousness (6:20)
F. It Leads to Shame (6:21)
G. It Deceives: It’s Wages Is Death (6:23)
III. The Fruit of Obedience
A. Obedience is Not An Option (6:15)
B. It Leads to Righteousness (6:16, 18)
C. It Comes from the Heart and Realizes an External Standard (6:17)
D. It Leads to Freedom from Sin (6:18)
E. It Leads to Sanctification (6:19)
F. It Involves No Shame (6:21)
G. It Leads to the Enjoyment of Eternal Life (6:22)
IV. The Conclusion of the Matter (6:23)
A. Sin Leads to Death
B. The Gift of God Is Eternal Life | R*o
发帖数: 3781 | 4 E. Exposition Proper
6:15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? A
bsolutely not!
In 6:14 Paul summarizes 6:1-13 saying that Christians are under grace and ar
e no longer under law. This statement, however, could be misunderstood to me
an that Christians are free to be lawless. Paul anticipates such a ludicrous
misreading of his gospel, that he surfaces the question and deals with it i
n 6:15-23. There is always the danger that the doctrine of grace might be mi
sunderstood to mean license (Rom 3:8), but Paul’s gospel will have none of
it. If a person gives themselves to sin, under the pretense of grace, they w
ill soon find themselves a slave to sin and all that goes with that, i.e., d
eath in all its aspects. In 6:1-14 Christians are to refrain from sin and li
ve a righteous life because they have been united with Christ in his death t
o sin and resurrection to new life. In 6:15-23 the Pauline gospel teaches th
at Christians are to refrain from sinning and live a righteous life because
those who sin will become slaves to sin leading to death whereas those who l
ive for righteousness will increase in holiness and enjoy the gift of eterna
l life, even now.
6:15 Paul begins in 6:15 with a question: He says, “What then” (ti ou , ti
oun)? Shall we sin (aJmarthvswmen, hamartesomen) because (o{ti, hoti) we ar
e not under law (uJpoV novmon, hupo nomon) but (ajllaV, alla) under grace (u
JpoV cavrin, hupo charin)? The question is similar to that in 6:1, but with
a different twist. In 6:1 the question anticipates the false inference that
if grace increases where sin increases, then why not continue in sin? In 6:1
5 Paul’s question anticipates another false inference, namely, that if Chri
stians are no longer under the law, but under grace (Rom 5:20), then why not
sin freely? After all, it was Paul who just finished saying that where ther
e is no law, sin is not taken into account, i.e., there is no punishment (Ro
m 5:13). So then, if the demands of the law have been set aside and no longe
r have any real application to the Christian, then why not sin to our heart’
s content? Again Paul’s response is an emphatic denial of such nonsense: Ab
solutely not (mhv gevnoito, me genoito)! Contrary to the opinion of some exp
ositors, Paul is deeply concerned in Romans 6:15ff that Christians not becom
e enslaved to sin through a misunderstanding of the role of the law in their
present experience of salvation. The fact that Christians are not under law
, does not mean that it no longer has any validity in the life of the Christ
ian. See Romans 13:8-10.
This is the last occurrence of the verb “to sin” (aJmarthvswmen, hamarteso
men) in this chapter and indeed the entire book. It means, as it has done in
every previous occurrence in Romans, responsible acts of disobedience to Go
d whether there is a law in place to point it out or not (Rom 2:14-15; 3:23)
.53 The idea of being under law is not to be equated strictly with simply be
ing Jewish, but rather being under the situation of law in comparison to thi
ngs under grace in Christ. That is, “under law” refers to a situation in w
hich there is limited resources available for the performance of the demands
of the law. Being “under grace” is to be united to Christ in his death an
d resurrection and to possess the Spirit (to be discussed in chapter 8) as k
ey resources for the overthrow of the reign of sin in one's experience (see
esp. Galatians 5:18).54 While believing Israelites certainly experienced the
salvific and sanctifying grace of God (cf. Rom 2:28-29), the new age inaugu
rated with the death and resurrection of Christ and the coming of the Spirit
is vastly superior in its new covenant resources (cf. John 14:17; 2 Cor 3:1
-18). The righteous demands of the law remain for the Christian (Rom 13:8-10
), especially as it is fulfilled, properly interpreted and applied by Christ
and the apostles, and lived out according to the leading of the indwelling
Spirit—that great, eschatological sign of being a true Christian (Rom 8:4,
9). | R*o
发帖数: 3781 | 5 Romans 6:16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obe
dient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to
sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
http://bible.org/seriespage/study-and-exposition-romans-615-23
6:16 Having emphatically denied that being “under grace” and not “under l
aw” leads to license, Paul begins to set up a stark contrast between slaver
y, sin, and death, and obedience, righteousness, and eternal life. For Paul
there is no middle ground. Everyone is a slave. The question is not, “Are y
ou a slave?” but “to whom are you enslaved?” If it's to sin, the result w
ill be death. If it's to obedience (to God), the result will be righteousnes
s and eternal life.
The expression Do you not know (oujk oi[date o{ti, ouk oidate hoti) doesn’t
indicate that these Roman Christians did not yet understand apostolic teach
ing about sin and righteousness. In fact, Paul’s statement in 6:17 clearly
indicates that they did understand “how to live so as to please God” (cf.
1 Thess 4:1-2). The expression is simply rhetorical and sets up what follows
as a reminder of that which they already knew and were committed to (cf. 1
Cor 3:16; 6:19-20).
Paul says that if you present (paristavnete, paristanete) yourselves as obed
ient slaves (douvlou" eij" uJpakohvn, doulous eis hupakoen), you are slaves
to the one you obey, either to sin (aJmartiva", hamartias) resulting in deat
h (eij" qavnaton, eis thanaton), or obedience (uJpakoh'", hupakoes) resultin
g in righteousness (eij" dikaiosuvnhn, eis dikaiosunen). The idea of slavery
to sin echoes the words of Jesus in John 8:34: “I tell you the solemn trut
h, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” The illustration from sla
very would have been readily understood by all who lived in Rome, since a la
rge number of people in the city and also in the church, were either slaves
or freedmen.
Thus Paul casts life into an “either-or” category. There is no half-way ho
use. A person is either serving God or serving the flesh with its lusts. Jes
us said, “You cannot serve both God and money” (Matt 6:24).55 We are remin
ded of the saying popular in some Christian circles, claiming that the most
miserable person in the world is the Christian who tries to live in both wor
lds, in two kingdoms simultaneously. Undoubtedly this has some truth in it.
In Christ we have made a decisive break with our old ways in Adam and have b
een called to both renounce sin as Master and daily foster allegiance to the
risen Son.
We have been called to “obedience”, that is, adherence to the gospel in fa
ith and life. As we sow to please the Spirit (Gal 5:16; 6:8-10), the result
is a transformation; we are changed into the likeness of Christ. The result
of heartfelt obedience to Christ is righteousness in our character and condu
ct. On the other hand, service to sin leads to “death.” The meaning of the
term “death” here probably includes, as several commentators point out, t
he ideas of physical death, as well as spiritual and eternal death. Sin lead
s to death in every sense, though the grace of Christ is strong enough to ke
ep the Christian who sins (Rom 8:38-39), though loss of fellowship with the
Lord is a consequence. | R*o
发帖数: 3781 | 6 Romans 6:17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin,
you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now c
laimed your allegiance.
6:17 The Roman Christians knew that sin led to death and obedience to righte
ousness and eternal life. Indeed, Paul gives thanks to God that though these
people were once, as he was, enslaved to sin (Eph 2:1-3), they had through
the gospel obeyed Christian teaching. But they obeyed from the heart (ejk ka
rdiva", ek kardias), or wholeheartedly that pattern of teaching (tuvpon dida
ch'", tupon didaches) to which they were entrusted (paredovqhte, paredothete
). The “pattern of teaching” probably refers to teaching regarding salvati
on through Christ and a lifestyle commensurate with the claim to have become
a follower of Jesus. Though it undoubtedly has an ethical focus, we may rea
sonably assume that Christ is at the center and therefore it rests on an exp
licit theological foundation. Thus new Christians came to understand what th
ey believed and why they were to live a certain way. Three things can be not
ed from Paul's statement: (1) there was by this time a fixed “form” of tea
ching which was approved by apostolic witness. Thus there is such a thing as
objective truth to which all Christians must respond; (2) these Christians
were handed over to it, it was not handed over to them! This fact enhances t
he idea of their obedience “from the heart”; they were totally given over
to the teaching they had received. They were not trying to change, alter, or
amend it in any way, they were trying to obey it through Christ. We could g
o a long way following their example (James 1:22); (3) the notion that they
were “entrusted” to it suggests both the intrinsic value of the teaching a
nd therefore its importance in the process of sanctification. By comparison
today, how many evangelicals read and study their Bibles daily, weekly, mont
hly? |
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