Changed Lives

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Freedom From Sin
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This section of the Book of Romans is called "Changed Lives". It deals with two directly opposite conditions, freedom and bondage, freedom from sin and bondage to righteousness. Lets look at the first of these.
"Where sin abounds, Grace much more abounds." Sin is a disease. These are two approaches to disease. One, tries to keep from getting it and the other, tries for a cure. People have tried many ways to explain what they thought Paul was saying about where sin abounds, Grace much more abounds. Some have suggested that if that is the case, lets sin all the more. Are we to continue in sin even increase in sin that Grace might more abound? Is that what Paul was saying?
Paul says, "No". "By no means." Why? How can we, we are now new creatures, certainly not sinless creatures, but creatures that no longer find it natural to sin. Sin is no longer a way of life for us. Therefore, we have started a change in our lives. This change or process is called "sanctification". Sanctification has two characteristics. One, it produces in us a desire to decrease in sin, and two, it produces in us a desire to increase in righteousness.
This decreasing in sin is called "putting off the old man", putting off the old nature. We no longer live "in" sin, even though we do not live without it. We have started down the path of sanctification and it is a battle all the way. We must never let up for one second. We must eliminate everything that is tempting us to do evil in our lives, habits, associations, anything that hits us when and where we are weakest. There is a promise of victory over sin when we accept Christ but we must want it.
This victory can give us "newness of life". A changed life, old things have passed away. We therefore, should be increasing in righteousness. Now, there is a danger here. Less we forget, our righteousness, at best, is as "filthy rags". Righteousness will not purchase for us, salvation, but it is something we should strive for. It is called "growing in Grace", becoming a better Christian, seeking and claiming the Grace of God as He sees fit to give it to us.
Then Paul makes a series of comparisons between Christ and us, using events in the life of Christ in which we share symbolically.

Christ died, was buried and then raised from the dead by the Father. We die to sin and are raised to walk in newness of life and this is symbolized by baptism.
Christ was raised from the dead and will never die again. Likewise, we who have died to sin shall live eternally.
Christ died and was resurrected, we shall likewise die and be like resurrected.
Christ died to establish for us victory over sin. We who have died to sin are now alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Therefore do not let sin have reign over your bodies, rather, make your bodies instruments in the hands of God. Sin cannot, if we do not want it to, have dominion over us. Paul calls this, "Freedom from sin", not, "Freedom to sin".

Bondage to Righteousness

This means that we are "bound" to be as right with God as we can possibly be. This too, answers the question about sinning in order that Grace might abound, we, who are under Grace, are to make every effort to stop sinning because Paul says that we are slaves of the one we obey. We are either slaves of God or slaves to sin. Before you accepted Christ, you were a servant to sin. Now, being born again, you are a servant of God. Matthew Henry says, "It is a blow against sin that so many have left its service." "Let us be careful that we do not return to it." "Let us not be boastful if we achieve any degree of sinless ness for it is by the Grace of God that we are what we are." So having been set free from sin we become slaves of righteousness. But note that Paul, like Matthew Henry, reminds us that we have human limitations. So let us not forget that all of God's gifts, are gifts of His Grace. The more we yield our energies and talents to God the more we grow in sanctification.

Then Paul asks us to think back, back when we were slaves to sin. "What did you get from the things of which you are now ashamed?" Headaches, ulcers, disease, separation form God, the end of which was death. But now you have been set free from sin and are bound to righteousness. This, by the Grace of God, has given you eternal life and the ability to grow in sanctification as God sees fit. The wages of sin is death, the free gift is eternal life in Christ Jesus.

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