Pray Thru the Bible

God Speaks

Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? ² Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? ³ Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? ⁴ For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.

⁵ Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. ⁶ We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. ⁷ For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. ⁸ And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. ⁹ We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. ¹⁰ When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. ¹¹ So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.

¹² Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. ¹³ Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. ¹⁴ Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

¹⁵ Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! ¹⁶ Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. ¹⁷ Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. ¹⁸ Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.

¹⁹ Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.

²⁰ When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. ²¹ And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. ²² But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. ²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com

We Respond

Reflection: The Apostle Paul’s purpose in Romans 6 is to convey how the believer in Christ has moved from being an involuntary slave to one’s own human desires, sin, and bondage to being a voluntary servant to God’s good purposes, right living, and freedom in Christ. We are to consider ourselves dead (unresponsive) to the pull to act independently of God. We are to use every part of our being to respond to our new, loving master, God. By the power of God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) dwelling in us, we are now able to do whatever He asks. We will live whole new lives filled with joy and peace. This is all possible because we are united with Christ in His death and resurrection. We don’t have to let sin bully us into submission anymore. We are now free to do what is right and good and those things that bring us pure and lasting joy without regrets. We can rely on the power of the Father’s love and grace to help us whenever we ask. We must remember that the natural result of sin (acting independently of God) is some form of death (separation from God); whereas receiving and acting on the gifts God has given us is eternal life.

Consider the following questions regarding Romans 6: 

1. What does this chapter tell me about God?

2. What does this chapter tell me about the human beings He created?

Here is one possible answer to each of these questions. Ask the Holy Spirit if there are any others for you personally to ponder.  

1. God has made every provision through Jesus Christ for people to turn from being slaves to sin to being willing slaves to Him in righteousness.

2. People who follow their sin nature earn the reward of death, but when they turn to God in humble repentance, He gives them the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayer:

3. How might I pray regarding Romans 6? 

Dear Father God, thank You for Your wonderful grace. Thank You that because of Jesus’s great sacrifice for my sin, I no longer have to be a slave to sin. Thank You that the same glorious power that raised Jesus from the dead makes it possible for me to live a whole new life. Thank you that by faith I died with Christ. I am set free to live for Him now and with Him for eternity.  By faith, I offer my whole being–spirit, soul, and body– to do what is right for the glory of God. I am set free from self-centeredness, impurity, and lawlessness to become a slave of righteous living for the benefit of others and the glory of God. I am ashamed of the things I used to do as a slave of sin. They only led to misery, death, and eternal doom. But now, through the freedom I have by faith in Jesus, the things I do in cooperation with You, LORD, lead to holy living here on earth and eternal life with my beloved Jesus forever in Heaven. Thank You, Lord. AMEN

Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)

4. What action does the LORD want me to take in response to Romans 6? With the help of God’s Holy Spirit:

• I will ask the Lord to help me to consider myself dead to ___________ (something bad or evil that has caused me to sin in the past). I will remember that because I am united with Christ in His death, I am dead to whatever it is.
• I will reread this chapter aloud, [use the New Living Translation provided above] personalizing it by substituting my name or I for you and my for your, changing the verbs as needed.  
• I will make a list of the invisible things God has given me that bring me pure and lasting joy without regrets. Then I will thank Him for them.
• I will ask the Lord to help me ____________ (to do something for someone else that is right and good but difficult for me). I will record how it turned out.

Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with _______