Romans 6:1-11 - Dying and Rising with Christ
6:1 What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? 2By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? 3Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. 7For whoever has died is freed from sin. 8But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
About Romans: Paul’s letters are the oldest Christian documents that we have. The earliest, probably 1 & 2 Thessalonians, were written within 25 years of Jesus’ death. Romans was the last letter/book that Paul wrote. It may have been written before any of the Gospels. Romans was written to pave the way for Paul to visit the church in Rome, a church he had never visited, but whose help he needed to complete the work he longed to do in the western Mediterranean. Most scholars believe that Paul was put in prison and died outside of Rome. Romans is the most fully developed and densely theological of all of Paul’s work. In it we see the Jewish roots of Christianity and the powerful grace of God that washes over all of human life and, alone, leads to salvation.
Background to Today’s Lesson: Romans culminates with an incredible outpouring of grace. In that chapter he is dealing with the theme of salvation by grace alone. As Biblical scholar Ted Smith puts it, “In chapter 5 Paul tells the story of a relentless, resourceful God who is determined to speak the last word. That last word is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Even as redemption is accomplished in Christ, Paul recognizes that it is not yet fully realized. Some, he imagines, might the ask, if grace is free in Christ, if redemption accomplished, then can’t I just keep on sinning so that I will receive even more grace? Not so fast. In today’s beautiful passage Paul tries to answer that question by explaining the transformation that takes place in baptism. We are simply not the same creatures before and after, even if we can’t notice the difference ourselves. Something amazing has happened to us and as that transformation takes shape in our lives the old rules of the Law cease to apply even as the morals at the heart of the Law become daily opportunities to act in gratitude and praise for saving grace.
What does Paul mean by “Grace”? In general, grace is the biblical term that describes God’s amazing love for all human beings. It is more than just a feeling, however. Grace is an action. It is what God does for us. It is love at work, making things right. It is also a kind of place, or state of being, in which we live and move in the environment of God’s love. To be in grace, or to stand in grace, is to be surrounded by God’s love to such an extent that it is like the very air we breathe, and our own actions become actions of God’s grace. Grace is powerful and works powerfully on, within, and through us.
What does Paul mean by “sin”? For Paul sin is the universal turn from God-centeredness to self-centeredness. It is a condition that results in a near total distortion of reality and issues in a cascade of behaviors that offend God, harm ourselves and others.
What does Paul mean by “the glory of God”? This does not simply mean God’s splendor and radiance as it does in some other parts of the Bible. For Paul, God is the one who moves with righteousness upon the earth, and that is God’s glory: the doing of justice, living according to the created plan of goodness, plenty and balance. For human beings to hope in glory is not simply to hope to share God’s power and splendor. It is to share in God’s character. For Paul this glory for human beings will finally be complete in the nearer presence of God in heaven.
What does Paul see as the purpose of baptism? For Paul, baptism is the intimate sharing in the entirety of Jesus’ death and resurrection. As Jesus was crucified and rose, in baptism we die with him to sin and rise with him to new, transformed, and unending life. The old is done. The new has begun and will have no end. When we rise from baptism sin has no power over us and we are invited to live in such a way that that is apparent not only to God, but to the world. After baptism, we walk in the world like Jesus.
Word Study
Vs. 1 – sin and grace – see above.
Vs 2 – By no means! – This is an incredibly sharp statement in Greek. In English the best we can do is add an exclamation point. In Greek, the tenses of the words add an emphasis that is hard to express in English.
Died to sin, living in it – see Paul’s view of baptism above.
Vs. 4 – newness of life – The word we translate ‘newness’ refers to an experience that is qualitatively different from anything that has gone before. It is to be completely regenerated. Life, zoe, refers to the eternal, powerful life force that transcends biological life.
Vs. 6 - Old self – the word for ‘old’ means both what has been in times past and what has been of long standing. The word translated ‘self,’ Anthropos, is a generic word for human beings as opposed to other creatures.
Vs 7 – freed – This is an interesting form of the word for ‘to justify.’ It implies bringing out a facet of a person, here a person who has been justified by God’s grace. It is a new character that shows.
Vs. 9 – dominion – this word means to have mastery over another, usually without consent. It is not the same concept we find in the Old Testament which means to be responsible for the good of something.
Questions for Personal Reflection
1. When you think of living a new life in Christ, what are the predominant characteristics of that life? How do you feel when you see that in yourself?
2. How do you experience God’s grace? What makes it difficult for you to “live in grace”?
3. It is not unusual for even baptized Christians to struggle with sin. When those struggles arise for you, what difference might it make for you to remember that you are actually already dead to that behavior and freed for new life?
4. When you think of dying and rising with Christ, what does that mean to you? For Paul it was not an experience reserved for the next life. How do you die to the old and rise to the new in your daily dealings?
5. What does the concept of being free from sin by grace mean to you? What does it take for that freedom to change behavior? How is it different to make moral choices from gratitude rather than fear?
Spiritual Tool Box
This week try to remember the power of your baptism whenever you see water in any form. Thank God for the newness that is yours, that the worst is over the healing has already begun. Make a practice of repeating God’s praises to yourself throughout the day and give thanks.