Romans 6:1-7: "What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 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 united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 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-because anyone who has died has been freed from sin."
The grandest misconception throughout Christendom today is the notion that God's grace gives license for a person to perpetuate sinful behavior without consequence. How many times have we witnessed professing "Christians" act in such a way that were they to communicate their behavior verbally they would say something like this: "I know that I sin a lot . . . but I love it . . . and I don't feel badly about it and am certainly not going to change it, because it's all covered by Christ's blood."
The Apostle Paul addressed this very issue in Romans 6, when he strongly denounced such a foolish rationale about sin. The Greek words, "me genoito (by no means!) used by Paul are very strong; and in the context of the passage, he sternly rebukes the idea that one can have free reign of his life (i.e. satisfying his sinful desires) after he has committed himself to the LORD.
Paul then uses the imagery of death to illustrate who the redeemed are before their LORD. If a person truly has yielded himself to Christ, his old sinful ways have been crucified "so that the body of sin might be done away with" (Romans 6:6). The true Christian through the power of the Holy Spirit will resist temptation and live a life as an offering to the God (Romans 6:13).
The strongest word in the entire chapter may be the conditional "if" mentioned in verse 5. Paul tells us that IF we have been united with Christ through His death (for the atonement of sin) and IF we have died to ourselves (i.e. to our selfish quest for lordship and the satisfaction of our wanton desires ), then we will be united with Him in His resurrection. Just as death has no mastery over Christ, so too for the true believer sin no longer has mastery over him (see Romans 6:9). He lives a life to the honor and glory of his LORD, not for the indulgence of the flesh.
Make no mistake about it, grace is an amazing offering of love by God for the redemption of humanity; however, only those who renounce their allegiance to "self" as god in favor of becoming a true slave to Christ will reap the blessing of God's forgiveness and salvation for all eternity. Freedom from sin is predicated upon a person dying to sin and living a new life of surrender to God.
Do not fall prey to the notion that God's grace is something easily acquired through a few token words spoken to a pastor during a worship service invitation. Grace will only be afforded to those to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow Him in faithful obedience as LORD. Whereas this might not be the popular trend for the understanding of grace in our culture, we must never forget the words of Christ in Matthew 7:13-14: "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Though many will at the Day of Judgment attempt to enter into the blessedness of God's eternal kingdom, they will be refused . . . for they did not appreciate that salvation is given only to those who relinquish their lives to the Lord (i.e. "dying to self) and follow Him in faithful obedience (Luke 13:24).
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