The "fine
print" behind
Romans 8:1
Overcoming
the sin of pornography & fantasy lust
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Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin
is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
This
verse is often used in evangelism to assure the sinner that eternal
life through Christ Jesus is a free gift
from God. Since
it is free, little more is required than simply repeating a “sinner’s
prayer” from one’s heart. No work is necessary for salvation.
When after we believe we commit a sin, we simply confess the sin
to God and all is forgiven (1 John 1:9). Our salvation is assured
because it’s a free gift from God. Nothing we can do will jeopardize
it as long as we “believe.”
Let’s examine Romans 6:23 in the context of the entire chapter.
Let’s look at the “fine print.” We will see that
it is not quite as simple as we have been led to believe.
First, Paul makes it clear…
Romans
6:1 What
shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may
increase? 2 BY NO MEANS!
Paul emphatically denies that grace gives us any license to sin.
He denies that the more we sin, the more the grace of God is available
to forgive that sin. That is not the point or purpose of grace at
all.
We died
to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t
you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were
baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through
baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from
the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
If we have been baptized into Christ Jesus, we have died to sin
and have been raised to live a new life of holiness. We should stop
living in sin.
5 If
we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly
also be united with him in his resurrection.
6 For we know
that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin
might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7
because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
In baptism
our old self is crucified with Christ so that we should no longer
be slaves to sin. We have been freed
from sin’s mastery
over us. That means that we stop sinning.
Sexual sin in the body of Christ
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God
in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your
mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do
not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer
yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life;
and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.
We are
not to use our physical bodies to sin. But today there may be many
believers, servants of God and pastors who commit sexual sin such
as the sin of lust. With the easy availability of pornography, especially
on the internet, many Christians allow themselves to sin sexually.
This
includes
the sin of masturbation accompanied by fantasy lust. We think that
if
we just confess our sin to God, all will be forgiven until the
next time we commit the sin, after which we confess our sin to God
again,
and so forth ad infinitum. It is obvious that with such
teaching on grace we no longer fear God or His wrath.
Few
servants of God will speak out about this because many have not
taken the “plank” out of their own eye
and therefore are not to judge others (Matthew 7:1-5). “Christians
are not perfect, just forgiven,” it is said. “We are
all human.” Because of this teaching, we believe that despite
our sins we are all covered by the grace and infinite love of God.
There is no pressing need to resist sin. As a result, sin masters
many servants of God and some fall into sin, adultery, and divorce.
Since this can happen to any of us, we are quick to overlook their
sin, to forgive them, and then to restore them to ministry. It
is easier to understand and forgive someone if we ourselves may
be guilty of committing the same sin in our hearts.
Then
there are other, lesser sins among God’s servants which
involve our bodies. One is the failure to take proper care of one’s
physical body---which the Lord purchased for Himself with a price
and is the temple of the Holy Spirit. We often overeat and eat
things which are not beneficial for our bodies. (Pastors rail against
the sin of smoking, but dare not speak out against overeating
and poor eating habits which also pose significant risks to our
bodies. Imagine how many people would look for another church if
we did.) We fail to provide adequate exercise for our bodies. Essentially,
we fail
to honor
God's
temple. Among Christians and God’s
servants there is a lack of discipline and self-control in this
area. This
can
result
in sickness
and even
death. But we are assured that it is all covered by God's grace
and medical insurance.
1 John 1:9-10
Yes,
according to John's
oft-quoted verses the Lord has made provision for us when we sin.
But this should be the exception to the rule instead of the rule.
John quickly reminds us of this in the very following verse, “I
write this to you so that you will not sin” (1 John 2:1). But
because of the prevailing misunderstanding of grace, we fear that
sin has
largely become
the rule in the body of Christ and not the exception. This has
happened
because grace has essentially become a license to sin, whether
or not the Church will admit it. Jude warns us about such
pernicious teaching. He felt he had to write and urge us to
contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. (Jude
3 & 4)
14 For
sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law,
but under grace.
It is clear from the above verse that if we are under the true grace
of God, we will not be mastered by sin. But unfortunately the verse
has all too often been interpreted to mean that since we are under
grace, we need not obey the law of Moses for our salvation. Yes,
we are indeed saved apart from the law of Moses. However, this does
not at all mean that we are free to sin.
15
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under
grace? BY NO MEANS!
This is
the second time Paul emphatically interjects with this phrase. He
evidently feels strongly about this matter.
“By no means!”
Paul
foresaw the danger of his teaching on grace being perverted into
a license to sin. Twice he exclaimed, “By
no means!”
But it
has nevertheless taken place to an extent which surely grieves the
Lord. The consequence of the corruption of grace is widespread sin
within the
body of Christ
and widespread tolerance of sin.
16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone
to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether
you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which
leads to righteousness?
If a
Christian is a slave to sin, plainly, he will die. But if you are
a slave to obedience, you will become righteous.
What does “righteous” mean
here? Let’s look into this word.
17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin,
you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were
entrusted. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves
to righteousness.
If we
wholeheartedly obey the teaching with which we are entrusted,
we are set free from sin and become slaves of
righteousness. Could
this mean that we actually start doing what is right in God’s
sight and live in a way that pleases Him?
What does “righteousness” mean here?
19 I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural
selves.
Paul recognizes that we weak human beings will always look for ways
to justify our continual sin.
Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity
and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to
righteousness leading to holiness.
It is
clear that believers are to offer the parts of their bodies in
slavery to righteousness, and that leads to
holiness. Paul teaches
here that we are able to become holy and should become holy. This
ought to be the rule in the Church, and not the exception. Jesus
commanded us, “be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father
is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)
20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of
righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the
things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!
If a Christian is a slave to sin---cannot cease from practicing
sin---he or she will die. Going to church faithfully or repeatedly
confessing the sin will not save such a person.
True grace will lead to personal holiness
22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become
slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result
is eternal life.
The true grace of God sets us free from sin. This leads to holiness
in our personal lives. And the result is eternal life. Now we can
more accurately understand the final verse of the chapter, which
is Romans 6:23.
Romans
6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal
life
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We can
now have correct understanding Paul’s
teaching on grace. The gift of God sets us free from slavery
to sin so that we can live
holy lives and become increasingly like Jesus. This is the true
grace of God. And
the result is eternal life.
Click
below to read The Fine Print Below Romans 8:1 where we
will learn exactly how we can put to death the misdeeds of our
body so
that we can live holy lives to become like Jesus and to please God.
Read
the "fine
print" behind Romans 8:1
Overcoming
the sin of pornography & fantasy lust
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