Chapter 4
Free from Sin’s Penalty and Power - Part 2

1. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

2. “God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

3. “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

4. “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

5. “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

6. “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” - Romans 6:1-6

Romans 6:1-4

The entire sixth chapter of Romans is against the false gospel of carnal Christianity. Having previously considered the question in verse 1: “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?”-verse 2 tells us no, that we who are saved have died to sin and live no longer in it, because in His salvation the Son has made us free from sin and its reigning power. In verse 3 we read that in salvation we were baptized by the Holy Spirit into Jesus Christ-that is, we were put into Christ, and therefore were baptized (or put) into His death. You see, all that Christ our Lord as our Substitute did in His death, has become ours, for we were in Him at the cross. When we were saved by His grace, all of the benefits that came out of His obedience unto death became ours. This is what God does for every soul whom He saves.

In verse 4 we read that since this has happened, we were buried by baptism into His death (or put into His death) that as Christ was raised up from the dead by the power of the Father, even so we have been raised up with Him to walk in newness of life. Therefore sin no longer has dominion over us because we died to sin, even as Christ died to our sin which He bore in His own body on the tree (vv. 9,10).

These truths from Romans can only be understood by the revealing power of God’s Spirit; but oh my beloved, if God be pleased to reveal them unto our hearts by His Spirit, what a wealth of spiritual truth we have here! What gold of His grace has been poured out upon us! You see, what the Holy Spirit is telling us is this: we have been made one in Christ. As Christ died under our sins, so we have died to these same sins; and they no longer have dominion over us, the reigning power of sin having been broken.

Romans 6:5

In verse 5 we have again the plain statement of the believer’s union with Christ in the words, “planted together.” What the Holy Spirit is telling us here (which to me drives another nail in the coffin of the false gospel of carnal Christianity) is this: Since we have been planted together in Christ’s death, we are planted together in His resurrection. Oh, that we would take our Bibles and read what God has done for and given to us in Christ in salvation! There we will find that all the benefits which we have received from being identified with Him in death are made sure to us by the power of His resurrection; and this leaves us no loop holes in the positive salvation which is given to us in Christ Jesus the Lord!

But there is yet another great truth brought out in this 5th verse: Being planted together, then we shall bring forth our fruit unto holiness (v 22), for we are united to Christ in that vital union of oneness. If you would compare this with John 15:5 where our Lord said, “I am the vine, ye are the branches,” you can see this same truth of identification with Christ in that vital union of oneness; and if we are united to Him in oneness, then as He is now in heaven, so are we upon this earth as we walk as pilgrims and strangers on the road toward glory. Therefore as a good tree, we shall bring forth good fruit, according to Matthew 7:18. Read this verse carefully, and we find that “a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit.” Why? Because it is identified with Christ, the smitten One, in death to sin and resurrection to (or newness of) life that brings forth fruit unto holiness.

My friend, have you ever noticed that word “cannot” in Matthew 7:18? The good tree, which represents the born-again child of God (one who is accepted in Christ and joined to Him in the oneness of faith in salvation), cannot bring forth evil fruit! Why? Because the good fruit of the Holy Spirit is brought forth by the life of Christ in us! Oh, my fellow believer, this speaks of our position in Christ. Yes, these Scriptures are blessed to me, for they tell me that since I have been identified with Christ in His death and resurrection, then I will also, by virtue of His life in me, now be enabled to walk in newness of life with the power of sin broken, bringing forth fruit unto holiness, as God by His Spirit changes me from glory to glory into the likeness of Christ!

Romans 6:6

We come now to verse 6 of this 6th chapter of Romans which reads: “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” We will look first at the expression, “Knowing this”; and this to me drives another nail into the coffin of the false gospel of carnal Christianity. How?-By the teaching of the Holy Spirit when one is under conviction. You see, He is saying here that this is something which we should all know, that is, all of us who claim to be saved. This is something with which we should be familiar, something concerning which we should have an absolute certainty; therefore the Holy Spirit says, “knowing this.”

I hear you asking the question, “What should we know?” This: that we died to sin in the death of Christ, and have been raised in His resurrection power to walk in newness of life; therefore we have become new creatures in Christ. Do you know this? Do you always live in the light of this knowledge? Is this something of which you are absolutely certain? You should be, if you are saved, because this is an essential, vital part of our salvation. Now we have the power to put off the former behavior of the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and to put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness (Eph 4:22-24). Yes, because the power of sin is broken, we can obey these commands to no longer serve sin. Perfectly? Oh, I wish it were so! This is what the child of God longs for, because he despises sin. But in salvation we learn from God’s Word and accept by faith that this is our position in Christ-He’s freed us from the reign and power of sin!

The Holy Spirit Teaches Us

Why then does the majority of Christendom not know this deliverance from the power and penalty of sin? Why are they walking in the flesh and not in the Spirit? Why is every excuse given for the old flesh and the false gospel of carnal Christianity? My friend, the answer is because they have missed Holy Spirit conviction; for if they had ever been under Holy Spirit conviction, they would have known the bondage of sin and, therefore, deliverance from it. They would have been taught by the Holy Spirit in conviction the things that are so humbling to the flesh.

And what are these things that He teaches which are so humbling to the flesh? (1) That you and I are destitute of any righteousness or good works that the Lord will accept (Isa 64:6). (2) That in our flesh there dwelleth no good thing (Rom 7:18). (3) That you and I are by nature vile, wretched sinners before God (Job 40:4; Rev 3:17). (4) That you and I are destitute of any spiritual wisdom (Rom 3:11), therefore full of vanity and pride (Psalm 39:5). (5) That we are destitute of any spiritual strength (Rom 5:6), therefore unable to do anything good of or from ourselves (John 15:5). (6) That you and I are destitute of freedom (Isa 61:1), therefore sold under sin (Rom 7:14).

Further we are taught that we are the bondslaves of our lusts (Titus 3:3), walking after the counsel of the devil who takes us captive at his will (II Tim 2:26) because we are by nature of our father, the devil (John 8:44). This is what God shows us under conviction, and with this knowledge we are humbled before God in repentance.

You see, my friend, under the convicting power of His Word, the Holy Spirit lets the light of the glorious gospel of God shine into our hearts, giving the glory of Christ Jesus to us, and thereby turning us from darkness to light-taking us completely out of the kingdom of darkness and putting us into Christ and His kingdom. This is our position in Christ by virtue of His cross work in us, and this we experience by faith as the Holy Spirit teaches us from His Word. It is then that we understand by faith those blessed words spoken by our Lord in John 8:36: “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” Yes, having been in bondage to sin (yes, its bondslave!), now in salvation in Christ we are shown by the Holy Spirit through His Word and accept by faith that we have been delivered (freed) by the gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation.

How is this effected in us and how do we understand this? It is by the operation of the Holy Spirit in our hearts to work repentance in us, so we stand guilty before God with a hatred for the sins which we have committed against God, and for the sinner we see ourselves to be before Him. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Gospel that we believe unto life and know that God, in His mercy and grace, has pardoned our sins, putting them away under His precious blood; and has given us a new heart and nature, thereby enabling us to now walk in a way of righteousness and true holiness.

What Is the Gospel?

Now, what is the Gospel? The Gospel is the good news that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures and that He was buried and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures (I Cor 15:3,4). Therefore, based upon this Gospel, which is Christ Himself and all His work, God can be just in delivering a poor sinner who comes to Him in repentance and faith, and God counts all that Christ did as if he, the sinner, had performed it-it is because of Christ’s work and by the power of the Holy Spirit that this deliverance takes place.

Out of free, sovereign grace the sinner is delivered, first, from the condemnation of sin, the penalty of the law, and the wrath of God, in justification. In Isaiah 42:7: Christ was sent “to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.” Again, Christ speaking in Luke 4:18,19 says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Again in Romans 8:1 we read, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.”

Then second, by the power of the true Gospel of the grace of God in Christ Jesus, in salvation there is deliverance from the power of Satan. This gracious truth is brought out in Colossians 1:13 in these words: God “hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” In Hebrews 2:14 we read that Satan, who had the power of death, has been destroyed for the believer; and that the child of God will never again come under Satan’s power (I John 5:18).

 Third, in salvation by the power of the Gospel the sinner is delivered from the power of sin. Listen again to Romans 6:14,18: “Sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace...Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” Yes, our living God has once for all delivered us from the slave market of sin by the shedding of His own precious blood, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Yes, redemption is by blood and by power. Christ paid the price by His shed blood, and the Holy Spirit makes deliverance actual to our experience by His power. This is what the Gospel does for us! Therefore we are never again exposed for sale, because we have become children of God, heirs of the Father, joint-heirs with Christ, and our bodies have become the temple of the Holy Spirit. This is shouting grounds for praise unto our God!

And fourth, the Gospel by its power gives us a new heart and a new nature so we can now serve God and walk in a way we never walked before-in a way of righteousness! He causes us to keep His Word! Oh, glorious thought! All of God’s people have been saved and are safe forever, because of the keeping power of the Holy Spirit who indwells us!

Do you know anything of this gracious Gospel in Christ that sets us free from the power and reign of sin? Or are you deceived by this false gospel of carnal Christianity that comes by free believism and does not deliver from the power nor the reign of sin, and is therefore damning to your soul? Away with such a false gospel! Bring in the true Gospel of the grace of God that comes with its power to break sin in our hearts and lives and causes us to walk in newness of life in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Study Questions:  Lesson 4

First please read chapter 4 in the text.

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?

“Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” - Rom. 6:1-6

Romans 6:1-6; pages 21 - 22

1.   The author explains the meaning of Romans 6:1-6. It teaches us that as Christ died and rose again from the dead, so also true believers died to sin and have received Christ’s resurrection power to control sin in their lives. If a person is truly united to Christ in His death and resurrection, he will bear fruit consistent with his deliverance from sin’s control and dominion.

            “I am the Vine, ye are the branches” - John 15:5

            “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit” - Matthew 7:18

      a.   In your own words, summarize what the text says that Romans 6:1-6, John 15:5, and Matt. 7:18 teach us?

      b.   Making It Personal:  How do you respond to these passages personally?

Romans 6:6; pages 22 - 23

2.   The opening expression of Romans 6:6 says, “knowing this.” What should we ‘know;’ that is, what does this ‘knowing’ refer to?

The Holy Spirit Teaches Us; pages 23 - 24

3.   Why does the majority of Christendom not know this deliverance from the power and penalty of sin (and thus continue in a sinful lifestyle of selfishness)?

4.   What are the six numbered points taught by the Holy Spirit which are “so humbling to our flesh?” After each point write the verse reference used for it.

What Is the Gospel; pages 24 - 26

5.   In your own words, what is the message of the true Gospel (as explained in this section)?

6.   What are the four things from which Christ has delivered His people?