In Romans 5:21 the Apostle Paul writes that as sin reigned in our lives prior to our justification and conversion, God’s grace enables us to attain righteousness through obedience to Him so that we may inherit eternal life by through Jesus Christ our LORD (absolute Master).  In an earlier posting we studied Paul’s expose’ of those who were teaching that sin was good because it allowed God to show His grace.  Paul’s response was, “God forbid.”

In chapter six the apostle asks: “Shall we continue to sin so that God’s grace may be glorified?”  Again his answer is that God forbids us to even consider such heresy (vs 2).  He asks in verse one how one who is DEAD TO (THE TEMPTATION TO) SIN can continue to sin.  The word “dead” in the temptation sense is equivalent to the word “immune” in the medical sense.  Drug-based immunity to a disease renders one resistant to that disease, which continues to attack but is rendered powerless due to the drug.

In the spiritual sense, obedience to God’s Law is the spiritual “drug” God administers to the saint which has the same effect relative to diseases.  When He promised that “none of these diseases” (Deut. 7:15) would affect His people He was saying that His Law-keeping people were “immune” to the diseases that affect those who are not immune due to their breaking of His Law–sin (1 Jn. 3:4).  However, if those who are spiritually “immunized” continue to sin, He promised to afflict them with all of the diseases with which He had afflicted the Egyptians (Deut. 28:60).  God does not respect persons (Acts 10:34).  What He does FOR or TO one He does FOR or TO all of mankind depending on one’s obedience or disobedience to Him.  WE DECIDE WHAT GOD DOES TO US OR FOR US.  Read Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26.

Beginning with verse two of chapter six Paul has much to say about SPIRITUAL LIFE AND DEATH.  A more clear and important explanation of God’s dealings with mankind cannot be found than Romans chapter six.  In verse two Paul asks how one who claims to be a true Christian can continue to sin?  Obviously, there was a significant number of “sinners saved by grace” in the Rome church.  Church history reveals that by 70 A.D. Satan’s people had taken over the church system that had come into being on the Day of Pentecost 31 A.D.

In verses three through five Paul likens a true baptized saint to Jesus Christ Who, having been put to death, was then immune to Satan’s temptations to sin.  The saint’s immersion in water symbolizes His death to Satan’s assaults.  His coming up out of the water symbolizes his “newness of life” which he must manifest in order to remain immune to Satan’s “fiery darts” of temptation.  As was the case with Jesus, these temptations will continue as long as the person lives.  In Isaiah 59:2 we are told that sin separates us from God (removes the Holy Spirit from within us), thereby removing our immunity to Satan’s temptations.  Without the Holy Spirit’s power to resist temptation, we sin.  One sin begets another sin, which begets another sin …..

King David is a prime example of the sin-begets-sin phenomenon.  He had sinned with Bathsheba and impregnated her.  This brought on another problem–her husband.  David arranged to have him killed.  David’s sin with Bathsheba caused God to remove His Spirit from him.  This made the next sin (murder) easier to commit.  Over time, as everything continued to go well for him, David believed that he had gotten away with his sins.  Evidently he came to believe that God had overlooked them because of who he (David) was.  Then the Prophet Nathan paid him a visit, confronted him and told him what God was going to do to him.  The rest is very painful history for David and Israel.  In Psalms 51:11 David is lamenting his sins and begging God, saying, “Please do not take your Spirit from me (permanently).”  His sins had indeed separated him from the Lord.  God is no respecter of persons.  He works the same way in both the churched and the non-churched who sin.  For those in both categories, the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23).  If David had not truly repented and reversed the course of his life he would have died in his sins and would not be resurrected when Christ returns and calls the “firstfruits” of the Spirit to Himself.  Instead, David would go up in the second resurrection.  And if he still did not repent, he would be involved in the third resurrection and be cast into the Lake of Fire.  Read The Three Resurrections.  Key word–Three.

In verses six through fourteen Paul hammers home the theme of dying to sin and living the holy life.  Again, man is in charge of his relationship with the Lord.  In verse six Paul uses the word “YIELD,” revealing that the one to whom we surrender our lives is the one whom we serve in this life.  Sinners, both churched and non-churched, have unknowingly yielded their lives to Satan and serve as his puppets.  As God told the Laodicean (modern day) Church, in His eyes one is either hot or cold–one serves either Him or Satan exclusively.  God does not share His saints with the devil.  Those who straddle the spiritual fence (sinners saved by grace–SSBG) He compares to vomit which He will “spew out of My mouth” on Judgment Day (Rev. 3:14-22).  If you are a SSBG, come out of Satan’s church system immediately, be separated from it and never touch it again.  Only then will God be your God; only then will you be his child (2 Cor. 14-7:1).  THE OLD MAN OF SIN MUST BE DESTROYED–TOTALLY.  “BEHOLD, ALL THINGS MUST BE MADE NEW (1 Cor. 5:17).  Otherwise, one will continue to serve Satan by yielding to his temptations to sin.  Jesus said that only those who overcome Satan’s temptations to sin will sit with Him on His throne in paradise (Rev. 3:21).

In verses eight through 12 Paul tells us that, “IF we (himself included) have DIED TO SIN AS CHRIST DIED TO SIN,” AND REMAIN IN THAT SPIRITUAL CONDITION UNTIL DEATH, WE WILL QUALIFY FOR SALVATION UPON CHRIST’S RETURN.  In verses 12-16 Paul makes it clear that man decides whether God or Satan will rule his life.  Notice the words “RECON,” “LET” and “YIELD” are used relative to whom one serves (vss 11,12,13,16).  Those words tell us that we choose our master–either God OR Satan.  God shares His people with no one.

We choose whom we will serve.  Let us choose to serve the Biblical God, not the church god.  Let us walk the way of the Biblical God as did Jesus of Nazareth.  Read Jesus of Nazareth: God, Man or God-man.  Key word–Godman.

I repeat some things time and again for the sake of those who might be reading my website for the first time.  If you would like a list of series titles and key words email me at lpj4142@gmail.com   The list is free and I will not contact you again unless asked to do so.  L.J.