From Old Master to the New Master

Bible Passage: Romans 6:1-14

1. Verse 1 is an answer to what he said in 5:20 “…where sin increased, grace increased all the more”
2. Most likely, some of his readers would misunderstand it to be a teaching on libertinism or licentiousness
3. In fact, Paul was accused by a group of conservative Jewish Christians called “Ebionites” (cf. Acts 21:20-22) that he promoted a lawless lifestyle
4. Paul’s answer to this question is an affirmative “no”—“by no means”
5. His answer continues with a rhetorical question: How can we, who died to “Sin,” still live in it? (verse 2)—how can Christians be able to be “libertines” or “licenscious”?
6. The answer is “no” “we cannot live in it”!

To further affirm the answer “no, we cannot live in Sin,” Paul reminds his readers the early Christian dogma/belief regarding “baptism”

Though the subject of this passage is not baptism, Paul gives a theological, spiritual, and mystical significance to baptism

7. Though the baptism is administered by a human being, in a real sense, the baptism is ultimately administered by God Himself
8. Rom 6:3 Do you not know that as many as were baptized by the church into Christ Jesus were baptized by God into his [Jesus’] death?

a.“Do you not know?”—it is a known Christian belief among Early Christians
b. “As many as were baptized by the church into Christ Jesus”—please note that Paul is not saying that they were baptized into water but “into Christ Jesus”
c. “Were baptized into Christ Jesus” refers to initiation this is done by God
d. Baptism signifies end of something and beginning of something else—end of Sin and Death, and beginning of life, resurrection, and righteousness

i. There is a change of master—Rom 6:2 Died to Sin [the operating factor; Sin is different from “sin”] and is not possible to continue to live in it— We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
ii. Initiated for new life—Rom 6:4 we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life
iii. It signifies “attachment to Christ” and “to new life”
iv. Identification/association
v. Association with the death and resurrection of Jesus—Verse 5 if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection

e. It signifies divine liberation from the power of Sin
f. It signifies involvement in the church where no distinction of Jews, Greeks, slave, or free—a new social order
g. It signifies being operated by the Holy Spirit

9. What do we mean by “died to Sin”?

a. It is the end of the believers’ relationship with their old master “Sin” that was passed on through Adam

i. The old master: Sin, the old operating system, has been crucified by God to those who have put their faith in Jesus
ii. Consequently, Sin cannot dominate the believers
iii. Verses 6-7 we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin

b. The New Master

i. We live with him [Jesus] (verse 8-10)
ii. We cannot die again—death no longer has mastery over him [Jesus]

Lessons:

1. Christians (those who have invited Jesus in their lives) CANNOT lead a prolonged consistent licenscious libertine lifestyle
2. Those who claim to be Christians but continue to lead an intentional libertine lifestyle probably are not born again
3. Sin who brought death into the world through Adam is a defeated enemy of God
4. Though Sin knows that he cannot retrieve what he lost to God, he will make Christians believe that he is still active by provoking them to do sinful acts
5. Christians can fall to Sin’s provocation
6. Sin is no more the operating system of Christians but grace through Jesus is the new operating system (verse 14)
7. Those who were truly baptized into Christ by God cannot be reclaimed by Sin

Takeaway:

The results of the change of masters (verses 11-14)

1. Count yourselves dead to Sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (verse 11)

a. Do not let the old master “Sin” take control to instigate to do evil (verse 12)
b. Do not offer yourselves to Sin as an instrument of wickedness (verse 13)
c. Offer yourselves to God (verse 13)