Freedom

Galatians 5:1

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”

Romans is an incredible book, full of truths that mark the Christian life and lead us towards Christ. It is a section of scripture that is chalk full of freedom. And today, of all days, is the day to think about and dwell on freedom. Romans 6 is our topic. Only 23 verses long, this section is powerful in its delineation of freedom and slavery. The primary question is found in verse 1,

“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!”

I have heard the argument from some that if we are forgiven, then what does it matter if we keep sinning? That mindset is a scary one to possess, because it automatically makes one wonder if there was a true heart change in the person asking the question. Bruce states, “To treat being under grace as an excuse for sinning is a sign that one is not really under grace at all.”

Romans 6:1 and 6:15 give us mirroring ideas that are similar, but denote very different things when breaking down the original Greek and verb tenses. Verse 15 reads,

“What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!”

In verse one, the verb for sinning is present subjunctive. That means that it is speaking of a habitual, continuous action. In verse 15 the verb for sin is aorist active, speaking of occasional action, dabbling in sin, not existing in a constant state of sin. Understanding the differences in the use of this word greatly impacts how we understand this section. Paul is telling us of what new life in Christ should look like. We are united, alive to God, and under grace.

The concept of being dead to sin, but alive to God can be complicated in its simplicity. Verses 8-9 help us to understand this truth a little bit more.

“Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.”

The death of Christ is the true dying to sin that we benefit from. And because he rose again, he cannot succumb to the death that sin is leading us to a second time. Because he lives, so do we. We have been born again, this time to righteousness, not to the sinful nature we entered this life with. Choosing righteousness and to serve Christ as master is an active, constant choice. It needs to be present subjunctive like the tense used in verse 1. A habitual action of servitude to our Savior.

Serving sin is like working a job that you hate. It makes you miserable and you spend all of your free time trying to find something new, better, and something that will bring you joy. Christ is that new job. Salvation is the accepting of this new job, after constant, endless searching. It is Christ walking up to you in your dejected state and saying, ”All you have to do is show up.” Now, you’ve chosen Christ in that moment and what does it mean for your life after? It means that you chose Christ and you must continue to do so. Because who would ever leave their new job on lunch break and go back to where they came from and check in with their old boss, just to see if he needs you to do anything for him? No one would.

This analogy made the choice so clear. We have left our old lives behind and have moved into something so much better. Though we were slaves to sin, now we are slaves to righteousness. Verse 16 continues to clarify what this means in a form that is crystal clear.

”You are slaves of the one you obey…”

If you obey your stomach, you are a slave to food. If you obey your greed, you are a slave to money. And if you obey God, you are a slave to righteousness. Studying scripture is both joyful and disheartening at times. To read a section and have it suddenly make sense is incredible, but daunting. Because it means that I have a choice to make. To choose Christ as I did the first time when I was 6, or to choose sin. We are free from having to sin, but we are not completely free from its grip on us. 1 John 1:8 states,

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

One day soon we will be truly free from the grip of sin, but until that glorious day we have a choice to make with every decision, thought, and moment of our lives. Choose Christ as you once did and be a slave to obedience, righteousness, and the One who gave you life. The final verse in this chapter a well known and well loved Gospel verse. But its truth carries into life after salvation too.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Be what you are; free.