I love getting your comments and questions on the Romans classes. Please keep studying and sending responses. Let me know if it is OK to share your comments, OK?
Next is an email I got back concerning Romans 6:15-23. I think she has some good points here.
I believe Romans 6:16 talks about the state of man, and not yet about our walk as you wrote in your study.
because:
- vs. 18 states that if we are saved, we ARE the servants of righteousness.
- vs. 16 points out the natural state of man, we were all
servants of sin unto death, none of us could through obedience serve righteousness, without Christ, we are lost in death.
vs. 17 points out the conversion of the believer, we have obeyed that form of doctrine which was delivered unto us by responding with faith in Jesus Christ's cross work.
vs. 18 points out the new state of the new saint, through Christ's obedience we became the servants of righteousness. This is our new "state", we ARE the servants of righteousness, our walk does not influence this permanent condition as believers. These verses are the logical progression of a servant of sin unto death becoming a sevant of righteousness.
Vs 19 progresses to point out our walk now as believers. Even though we ARE the servants of righteousness, we can walk in iniquity unto iniquity. Only walking in righteousness results in holiness. Our
response to God's marvellous grace should be walking in righteousness out of love and gratitude. We are sometimes so fleshly, this is why Paul even has to explain this to us, (beg. of vs. 19) it is the logical way to react to grace, why else would we have believed in the first place?
Verses 16 - 23 is to answer the question in vs. 15: What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. The Word of God answers this question amazingly in verses 16 -23.
I see verse 16 as a big wake-up call to all believers: Hello, wake up, open your eyes, quit being ignorant and foolish! See all the servants of sin in the world, living like you are living today? What makes you differ from them?You were one of them, now you are saved, even though you still
live like one of them. You deserved death just as much as all the lost people do - but you were placed into Christ because you believed Christ died for your sins, was buried and rose again. Isn't that a big wake-up-call to stir in us the natural response to Grace, which is love and gratefulness of being saved from eternal death?
Parallel verse:
1.Corinthians 6,9-12
Again, verse 9-10 points out all the charactersitics of sinful people (we find ourselves guilty of some of those characteristics too!), remember, those people go to hell - we would deserve hell too! But now we are sanctified and justified (vs.11) Wow, what grace!! What mercy that God saved us and doesn't make his salvation dependable on our walk. That's exactly how we are freed from sin and the law (vs.12).
Isn't it obvious that we would respond with thankfulness and love? Sadly it's not so obvious because of the infirmity of our flesh, as Paul writes in Romans 6:19. Maybe that's why we occasionally need this wake-up-call?!
What do you think Marla? You really made me study! I am just so amazed at God's wise plan.