Viewpoints on ROMANS 6

By Michael Griego on April 26, 2024 • ( 0 )

Do you still sin as a Christian? Aren’t we supposed to have a “new life” and not sin anymore? Why do we keep struggling? How do we really change? ◊

If ROMANS Chapter 6 is about the Christian believer’s new life in Christ; that is, united in death to the old self and raised (symbolically) to newness of life, then how come this isn’t the case for many Christians?

Why do Christians still struggle with sin?

When I was younger, I had a church Bible study teacher once emphasize that if someone is a Christian, then they can NEVER sin again. Not that they shouldn’t, or that they wouldn’t, but that they literally CAN’T ever sin again.

Then they said something about “grieving the Holy Spirit” and how you didn’t want to do that.

My mind was spinning after that. I thought then and there that I was guilty as charged. I decided that I must be a dead man walking.

So much for the joy of being a Christian!

I looked around the room to see if anyone else in that Bible Study class reacted to this teacher’s statement. I saw a few nodding of heads in agreement but no one else reacted overtly. Being relatively quiet and shy, I said nothing. I just figured that I was a weak Christian and that God must be pretty disappointed in me.

Oh well.

Oh No!
What a shame that there is such gross misunderstanding of our plight before our loving God who created us and knows our hearts and minds, and sin.

Yes, when we come to a belief and recognition of Jesus’ death on the cross as our substitute and acceptable sacrifice before Holy God, dying for our sins past, present, and future, then we are once and for all forgiven and now identified with Christ before God.

We are made whole, like a new creation; we are essentially a new person, dead to our old self (Romans 6:6) and as if raised (like Christ) to a new life.

This is a figurative, spiritual, and very real Truth.

We are not literally “born again“ but symbolically a new life is born. We are not literally “resurrected” in this life but symbolically (demonstrated through the obedient act of baptism), resurrected from death to new life. (Romans 6:11)

We have not been literally “set free“ from our former life, where we were [not literal] slaves to sin; but we symbolically have been released from bondage. We are now symbolically obedient from the heart and symbolically have become slaves of righteousness. (Romans 6:18)

Yes, it is symbolic and spiritual, and all very real.

That is, while we are now set free to a new life of righteousness, we are still living and operating in this present dark and broken world which will someday be restored to wholeness as God originally created (see Genesis 1). Therefore in the meantime, we are susceptible to forces of darkness, temptations, addictions, and reminders of our past lives of sin and brokenness.

We live in the same sinful world in which Christ and His disciples lived. While Jesus lived and modeled the perfect human life as the God-Man, the disciples lived and modeled the way that we too as broken and transformed people can live, stumble and develop.

It’s not always smooth, steady, and pretty. Certainly not perfect. Certainly not always fast or immediate. The transformed Christian life can sometimes take years with lots of ebbs and flows and ups and downs.

Why Is That?
Some of us come from darker backgrounds and deeper bondage of sin. Some of us still reside in and around people and places that keep us wallowing in temptation and destructive behavior. Some of us are exposed unaware to spiritual forces that would oppress, bind, and even destroy the development of a transformed life.

Think about it. Whether young or old, the world is harsh, dangerous, and corrupted. We do the best we can to survive and even thrive. Somewhere along the way, we encounter Jesus and must make a conscious decision to listen/read and learn. And respond.

We either surrender to Him, or we don’t. Many dabble on the fringe and never commit.

For those that do submit, believe and accept, by faith, the gift of God’s love and reconciliation offer, a new life is exchanged for the old life. With that new life comes freedom from the past and a fresh beginning of a life connected to our loving God/Creator at a spiritual level untapped.

It’s a new day.

But it’s still a broken world. A new Christian can be like an infant child who may die if left alone to fend for itself unprotected in a wild and harsh environment. Or like an innocent teen who could be corrupted and succumb to mean and deviant behavior if not guided and coached through the landmines of a dangerous world. Or like an adult who is weighed down by a destructive past they can’t forget or from which they can’t move away.

Even Christians can find themselves still wallowing as if in chains.

Jesus – the Better Master
But Jesus came to set the captives free. He came to be our Master who can reign over our broken lives burdened with past and present sins. He loves and forgives and develops and grooms us in righteousness. He is like a wise and patient parent who coaches and reprimands in love and with a long-term vision in mind for each of His children.

We simply need to submit ourselves under His authority, to offer ourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life. (Romans 6:13)

It’s all grace. Not of our doing. And we can’t work our way through it. The Christians who struggle are ones who still are master of their own lives. They are not fully under the authority of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. That’s their choice.

But it’s not a good long-term plan.

Better to be like obedient slaves, slaves to righteousness. (Romans 6:19) In that way, even in this broken and temporal world, one lives free, but not without guidance; one lives growing, but not without pain; one lives blessed, but not without challenge; one lives forgiven, but not without sin.

It’s a better life.

Are you still struggling in your new life?
_______________________________
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. – Romans 6:22