Scripture
Sin’s Power Is Broken
1Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? 3Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? 4For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
5Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 6We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 8And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. 9We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. 10When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. 11So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
12Do not let sin control the way you live;[1] do not give in to sinful desires. 13Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.
15Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.
19Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.
20When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. 21And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. 22But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Translation notes (1)
- 6:12 Or Do not let sin reign in your body, which is subject to death.
23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
For many of us, it is natural for us to compare. From the time we are young kids to when we become seasoned adults, the temptation to compare is everywhere. Social media only makes this tendency worse. We look at other people’s lives and compare our homes, looks, jobs, and even our kids. Even more, we compare our morals and the good things we do with other people. We look at someone else who has messed up and is struggling with a particular sin and think, “At least I did not do that.” Or we look to other people as a standard for living good lives and being good people. The truth is, this comparison will never take us where we want to go. When we begin weighing our sins against other people’s, we have a problem. We fail to realize that we are all on the same playing field with God. You see, He does not compare our sins with anyone else’s because all sin separates us from God.
If we need a reminder that we cannot compare sins with other people’s sins, we can look at Romans 6. The apostle Paul told us in this verse that “the wages of sin is death” (verse 23). We don’t use the word “wages” often, but it means the payment required or the price demanded for sin. From the seemingly great to the seemingly small, all sin deserves death. That is what we earn for our sins. In light of this, there is no comparing our sins because all sin is destructive in God’s economy and leads to death.
Although it begins on a grim note, Romans 6:23 offers us hope. Paul teaches that although sin leads to death, “the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” You see, although we were lost in our sin, Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect life, and died on a cross to pay the penalty we owed for our sin. Then He rose again from the grave, conquering sin and death. His death and resurrection offer us life.
In light of the good news of life in Jesus, there is no room for judgment if we place our faith in Him. You see, instead of judgment, a better use of our time is to spend pointing people to Jesus and the life He offers to all who place their faith in Him. May you and I be people who point people to Jesus instead of judgment.
Moving toward action
Let’s take a few minutes to take an honest look at our lives. Is there sin that you have been struggling with? Confess that to God. He offers grace, hope, and forgiveness when we turn to Him. Maybe the Scripture reading today has revealed a judgmental and critical spirit that you did not realize that you have been showing. Confess that to God as well. Remember that we are on equal playing ground before God as you go about your day.
Going Deeper
Romans 6:1-23 (NLT)
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