Last night my small group had a really good bible study. We're working (slowly) thought Romans and started Chapter 6. I'll share a verse from the end of Chapter 5 to set the stage.
Romans 5:20 - 6:2
"The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"
Paul is addressing here the inclination for the believer to continue sinning and relying on God's grace to forgive those sins. It reminds me of what I used to hear against Catholics, that they could do what ever they wanted all week then just be forgiven in the confessional. However, being one once myself, I always thought that Biblical Christianity was even better. We don't even have to go to the confessional, we're already forgiven!
Paul says "Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!". While it is true that if I do sin God forgives me because I have already confessed my sin and asked His forgiveness, it does not mean that either my sin is inconsequential or that God is brought more glory due to His forgiving me more. God is brought glory through the transformed lives of His children through His Word. To continue to live in sin after becoming a believer is to cheapen Christ's redemptive work on the cross.
Look at the phrase 'dead to sin'. Have you ever heard someone say 'they are dead to me'? What does that mean? It means that, for whatever (and likely unforgiving) reason, they are cutting that person completely out of their life to the point that they might as well be in the grave for as much as they will relate to them. How do we relate to the dead? We don't. We can't talk to them, or play cards, or go to movies. If you are 'dead to me', then I don't continue to relate with you at all.
So what does it mean to be 'dead to sin'? Do you remember when you first prayed to become a Christian? Hopefully you were convicted in your heart of your guilt before God. You recognized the truth of your sin and made a declaration to God to turn from that life of sin. You repented of your sin and asked Christ's forgiveness. So is sin dead to you in the way that our 'friend' above is dead to us? If you're like me, it's not. Sin is dead to us, yet we still talk to it, invite it over for dinner and take it on vacation. We've told God we're done sinning, yet we haven't cut it out of our life.
You may be familiar with the illustration of repentance, where we're walking away from God and He calls us, then we repent (literally 'turn away from') and start walking towards God. Well if we're not 'dead to sin', it's like we're walking with sin when God calls us, we turn around to face God, but are then walking backwards. Sure we're facing God, but still walking and talking with sin.
Think back to that moment when you first repented. Did you mean it? We're you giving up on your sin? Can you make that commitment again now? Remind yourself daily that sin is dead to you and it has no part in your life.
"We died to sin, how can we live in it any longer?" Good question.
