Romans Notes

Romans 1

Romans 3

Romans 4

Romans 5

Romans 6

Dead To Sin!

Romans 6:2

One of the most encouraging passages in the Bible about having victory over sin is found in Romans 6:2. The Apostle Paul asks the rhetorical question, “How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” (NASB). If we’re a blood-bought believer in Christ, having confessed and forsaken our sins, and surrendered to the lordship of Jesus Christ, then we DIED to sin. To continue in it would be unthinkable!

The phrase “died to sin” refers an act or event that happened once in the past and is now completed. We died to sin the moment we placed our faith in Jesus Christ. Because of His finished work on the cross, the reign of sin has been crushed in our lives and replaced by the reign of grace. The cords of the enemy that held us in bondage were broken and we were set free. This is fantastic news!

Dying to sin does not mean that we are perfectly sinless now. Even despite our heightened vigilance against sin and temptation, we will still continue to succumb to our human nature and commit sin. But what this passage is saying is that sin does not have a death grip on us anymore. This means that we are no longer slaves of sin. We are no longer under sin’s dominion. Sin no longer controls us. The sin that once terrorized us and defeated us has been rendered powerless in our lives. When sin controlled us, we had no option but to sin. Sin was our master, and slaves must obey their masters. But things are different now! We have a different Master!

Yes, we’re going to sin. We are going to blow it. We’re going to stumble and fall sometimes. But when this happens, we confess, repent and get back up. Why?! Because we died to sin. Sin doesn’t reign over us anymore, God’s grace does.

Baptized into Christ

Romans 6:2

Being ‘dead to sin’ is a great doctrinal truth brought to us from the Apostle Paul in Romans 6:2. And while this is an encouraging fact for the genuine Christian, we may ask, ‘how does that happen?’. How exactly did we ‘die to sin’?

Reading further in the chapter, we see that by virtue of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection, sin no longer has power over us. In fact, verse 3 says that all of us who are believers are ‘baptized’ into Christ, meaning that we are immersed into Him, joined to Him in an insoluble union. His death defeated sin. Jesus died and rose again to new life. Because we are united to him, we also have victory over sin and are raised to new life as well since we are linked together with Him through faith.

This passage is NOT teaching about baptism, as in being dunked in water. Nothing in the Bible teaches that we are saved by ‘baptism’. We are not saved by the ordinance of baptism, but rather by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. However, believer’s baptism by immersion is a great word picture of what happens here. Going down into the water depicts being fully immersed in Christ. There’s no half going under or getting just a little wet; we’re either fully in Christ or we are not. That is why the proper mode of baptism is so vitally important. Sprinkling does not convey the reality that is intended in Romans 6:3.

Being dead to sin and joined to Christ has staggering implications. Something that is dead does not respond to stimuli. Being dead to sin means that it has no allure to us anymore. Being joined with Christ, fully immersed in Him, means that we no longer are held by the grip of habitual sins. We cannot continue in our old habits of sinfulness, and indeed find it impossible to stay in that lifestyle without heavy conviction from the Holy Spirit and discipline from the Lord. Being united with Christ means that we have been empowered to resist temptation and avoid the sin that besets us. Being united with Christ also means that when we fail, we have an Advocate.

Romans 7

Romans 8

Romans 9

Romans 10

Romans 11

Romans 12

Romans 13

Romans 14

Romans 15

Romans 16