Romans 6
by David Giles
Slaves to righteousness instead of slaves to sin
Discussion Questions
- Does this chapter help explain the link between salvation and holiness?
- Can someone be saved without pursuing holiness?
Share your thoughts below, or tweet about it with the #boundlessbible hashtag. Don't forget this week's Children's Challenge!
Going Deeper From 'Words of Life'
If we mess up, if we sin – indulging in forbidden territory – sometimes the mindset is that we can simply be forgiven. All’s well, for eventually we’ll be received back into God’s grace. This is twisted thinking. It’s sinful thinking, actually. Excuses for rebelling against God. Yet many of us have ‘been there’ – although we hate to admit it.
It doesn’t make sense; for if we’ve been freed from the grip of sin, why would we want to sin again? Why revert to the old life when we have new life in Christ? It’s because we’re human and we always have a choice to follow or not to follow God. Temptations are before us every day. And because of this, we need to actively live a new lifestyle that embraces wholeness and holiness.
A lifestyle that tells the world that we’re united with Christ:
If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection (v 5).
This lifestyle must reflect that we’re united with Christ daily. The way we converse with others; work habits; recreational choices; how we are with our family; our time in communion with God. It’s a liberating lifestyle because of our freedom in Jesus to use all the spiritual gifts and natural abilities he has given us. We can be totally alive in him!
I recently read of a large corporate company that used various questions in its hiring process. One of these questions caught my attention: ‘What punctuation mark best describes who you are?’ What would be your response? A full stop? Comma? Colon? Question mark? Are we living holy and pure lives, pleasing to him?
Let’s not be anything but an exclamation mark, living totally for Christ! If we have such a lifestyle, we’ll one day receive our eternal reward:
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (v 23).
Beverly Ivany
Tags: Romans