Romans 6:15-23 - Whose Slaves are We?

Romans 6:15-23

From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God

15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Since we who are now in Christ’s grace have been freed from sin’s dominion which ruled over us and the Law which held us captive to the condemnation of disobedience and the judgment of the wrath of God we sat under, what shall we do, keep on sinning?  No way!  May it never be so!  If we go on presenting ourselves with our bodies and minds to follow the ungodly and unrighteous ways which the Law proved we were guilty of and accountable for, we become enslaved in a different kind of bondage to those sins.  We would then be free yet choose to live in the dark, damp cells of the dungeons of disgrace instead of reveling in the light of freedom in righteousness.  Why would we choose a riotous response of continuing rebellion instead of a righteous rewarding in how we live?  We who have been truly saved and created anew do not pursue slavery to sin and death but willing and joyful pursuit of of heartfelt righteous over riotous living.  Because we have been set free and released from the dungeons of death in our sins, we are now slaves in a sense to righteousness, but willing bondservants instead of indentured slaves.  Our flesh is weak and we need to be reminded as we slip back into the quagmire of sin on occasion, choosing to repent for forgiveness and forgetting the failures left behind as we continue pursuing Christ into eternity as He conforms us to Himself in our ongoing sanctification.  We therefore must make the effort to obedience in giving our hearts, minds, and bodies over to Him in submission (James 4:7) to the sovereign grace working mightily in us to conform us into His image (Colossians 1:29) instead of running back and camping out in the badlands of disobedience to His word and becoming entangled (2 Peter 2:19-20) in the world we have been saved out of.  Yes, we first of all need to make our calling and election certain (2 Peter 1:10) before we can understand why we might only pursue sin instead of Him, and after making that sure we should then pursue what is right (Philippians 4:8-9) while we conform ourselves as obedient children (1 Peter 1:14-15) into holy and righteous living in thankful response to our deliverance from the conse of sin and the spiritual death we are due apart from Jesus Christ.  The fruit of our lives of sin always was rotten and shameful, so why repeat instead of repent from those harmful acts and thoughts?  We must pursue low and not death now if we are His as that is our calling of holiness to be more like Him in all ways of living.  Our good fruit is holiness under God’s authority of grace and goodness and this leads to eternal life with Him in place of eternal punishment out of view of His face forever.  The wages we earn by sin are this form of never ending death but the gift of God’s grace is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord who rules in love over us and moves us to obedience in return for all the goodness given in setting us free at last!  Whose slaves are we?