Romans 6 Devotional 
by Pastor Lawrence Bowlin

              What we think of ourselves and how we think about ourselves can make all the difference for our growth in holiness or sanctification in Christ.  If we believe that we are bound to sin and that we cannot overcome it, then we are much more likely to fall into the same sin patterns over and over again.  If, on the other hand, we believe that we are saints of God, and slaves to righteousness, then we take on entirely different mindset, especially in the midst of temptation.  In this chapter, the apostle Paul is bringing up perceived objections to the doctrines of grace stating that as a result of this teaching some might sin all the more presuming upon God’s mercy.  In response to this objection, Paul lays out the groundwork for our union with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection.  Through our faith in Christ Jesus, we have been identified with Christ in every way.  A great exchange has taken place in our lives.  Jesus has taken on our sin and died in our place.  And now we have taken on his righteousness in a new life that is no longer under the law but under grace.  Because we are identified with Christ in his death, we no longer stand condemned before the law, since we are now dead to the law through faith in Christ, and now the life that we live is the life of Christ resurrected as servants of God and servants of righteousness.
              So, Paul says in v.11, “you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus,” no longer obeying the passions of the old man, but instead obeying the new passions of Christ in the new man to serve the Lord in righteousness, which leads to life everlasting.  The alternative only leads to death, “for the wages of sin is (always and only) death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  We know that we have received that free gift of life, when we choose life each day rather than death, when we choose to offer our minds and our bodies to the Lord in righteousness rather than to the world and to devil in sin.  These are pivotal actions that differ between the believer and the unbeliever, but those actions differ based on what the individual believes and reckons to be true in his or her life.  Those who believe that they are slaves to sin will inevitably walk in sin, but those who believe that they have died to sin and have been resurrected to a new life in Christ, are learning to say no to ungodliness and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.  Therefore, we must hold firmly to the truth of our new nature in Christ Jesus.  When temptation comes calling, we must remember that we are no longer under sin’s dominion and no longer slaves of the devil; rather, we have been freed from our chains, freed from our fears of condemnation and freed from the failure of our own flesh.  We now have new life and new hope in Christ Jesus along with great power and wisdom through the Spirit of Christ to overcome temptation and to persevere in the faith and to grow in sanctification.