We have gotten to this point in Paul’s letter where he has outlined that what God has given is not acquired and not earned. And it is a grace that is given freely to us. So Paul now will look at the challenges of the extent of God’s grace.
So the question, why not keep sinning if grace covers it? But the desire to sin leaves us when we put our trust in God. The word here is “abiding in sin.” It means to be invited and remain in a place. Are we going to coddle and tolerate sin? It is a question of habit and being comfortable with sin. But Paul’s response is full of emotion, “By no means!” We don’t want our lives defined by that which is contrary to God’s definition in our lives. In so many ways we hear the excuses such as “I was made this way” or “I cannot change who I am.” But when we trust in God, we become someone who we were not before.
The reality is that all of us who are baptised in Christ Jesus are also baptized in His death. It does sound gruesome. Our faith is in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. That is why we have a unique perspective of death. In Christ, God has put everything in him to be a functioning child of God. So when Jesus died and was raised from the dead, we too can die of our sinful lives and rise as a new person as a child of God.
So think about your life with God through Jesus. For Jesus, sin was dealt with completely and forever. So when you put your faith in Jesus, you are being united with Him in death. Your sin is being taken care of completely and forever. Also, you are being united in Him by His resurrection. That you can be a new person, not a slave to sin. We all struggle with sin, don’t we. But that isn’t being a slave to sin. But instead being a slave is not believing that we can trust in Jesus to or don’t fully trust in salvation. Sin cannot take control of us, but when sin is there we now turn to God and sin has no power greater than the trust we have in God.
What God is saying true to you is that you are dead to sin and alive to God. The reason that we see sin so prevelant is that a fallen world sees it as the only way to live. But God shows us that it is death. And to move past death, we need salvation from sin. So we trust Jesus, die of sin, and then we are raised in righteousness.
6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? (ESV)
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (ESV)
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. (ESV)
7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (ESV)