15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
Vs 15.) When we first understand being saved from hell by God’s grace, as a free gift without any strings attached (as we studied in Romans 3:21-5:21), the next question is “Then can we keep right on sinning?”
Romans 6:1 said, “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” Verses 3-13 explained that we are dead to sin now and don’t have to yield to sin. Now verse 15 asks, Is it okay to sin because we are not under the law? 1 Cor 6:12 says, “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.”
Vs 16.) Whatever we yield to becomes our boss. We are the servants of God, or of sin. (See John 8:32-34.) People say, “I don’t serve anybody. I serve myself.” But is serving self really serving sin? In verse 16, where does sin lead? Where does obeying God lead? Our actions and attitudes have consequences in our lives. (Gal 6:7,8).
But how can sin cause death in a person who is forgiven of sin? We know that he can never die spiritually because God the Spirit has sealed him. (Eph 1:13; 4:30) So neither can he ever die eternally in the lake of fire. (Rev 20:14,15) But when walking in sin, a saint chooses to temporarily separate himself from God, right here and now, while living on earth. (I Tim 5:6; Eph 5:14-16. Remember death is a condition of separation.)
Vs 17, 18.) The “heart” is the reasoning center of the soul, where our beliefs and convictions are. “That form of doctrine that was delivered” by Paul is in Romans 3:21-5:21, and says that Christ’s death is totally sufficient to pay for all the sins of those who trust Him. First we understood this with our spirit, and then, when we “obeyed from the heart”, we believed (trusted) it. At that point, we were baptized into Christ by God the Spirit, (review Rom 6:3-7; I Cor 12:13). This made us dead to sin, and free from sin’s power to control us. So now we are servants of righteousness, not of sin. Our identity has been changed. This should make a difference to us. “Ye are not your own, For ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” I Cor 6:19,20
19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Vs 19.) Before we were saved, we served sin all the time, without any consideration for God’s word. NOW that God has saved us, let’s be just as consistent in serving God as we used to be at serving sin. Notice how when we yield to uncleanness, we run into more and more iniquity (wicked sinfulness). On the other hand, yielding to righteousness (doing what’s right) leads to holiness of character. (II Cor 3:18)
Eph 4:20-24 & Col 3:9,10 tell us to put off the “old man’s” thinking and put on the new.
Vs 20.) Before we trusted Christ, we were slaves to sin and “free from righteousness”. True righteousness had no influence in our lives. We had only human viewpoint and were alienated from God’s wisdom. (I Cor 2:14; Eph 4:17-19; Rom 8:7-9)
Vs 21.) Where does serving sin (living by the world’s values) lead?
Paul assumes that we are “ashamed” of our previous life style. But we often aren’t, perhaps because we don’t realize what that cost Christ. The more we learn of His viewpoint, the more ashamed we are of our selfish human one.
Vs 22.) Christ has made us “free from sin”. We are free from sin’s power to rule us now, and we are free from sin’s eternal penalty. (Rom 6:6-11) Now, as “servants to God”, we can enjoy the “fruit” of our everlasting life right now, which is “love, joy, peace ..” (Gal 5:22,23; 6:7,8) and in eternity, when our labors for God will be rewarded at the judgment seat of Christ. (Rom 14:10-12; I Cor 3:8-15; Col 3:24) God is a much better boss than sin!
Vs 23.) “Wages” are what is earned. Sin earns eternal death (separation from God) in the lake of fire. But eternal life is the gift of God. A gift is given freely, nothing is expected from the receiver. But God only gives eternal life “through Jesus Christ our Lord”. There is no other way to God, because there is no other way to deal with our sin. (John 14:6; Acts 4:12 & 13:38,39;
Gal 3:21,22; Rom 3:20)
I Tim 2:4 says that God “will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” God not only wants us to have eternal life, He also wants us to have the knowledge necessary to live it now. Let’s “lay hold” on this eternal life. (I Tim 6:12) Let’s learn how to use this precious gift for which God paid so much in order to give it to us freely.
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