Romans 6:15-23
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Welcome back again to Delving into the Scriptures! Today we will wrap out Romans 6, but there is still plenty more on the topics of sin, grace and salvation to follow as we move into Romans 7!
This passage in Romans makes it clear that in this world you have two choices, and two choices only. You are a slave to that which you choose – sin, or God. You are either a slave to sin, and produce the fruit of more sin and eventually death – or you are a slave to God, and produce holiness and eternal life.
There is no third choice. There is no middle ground, no fence sitting.
It is one of the greatest deceptions of this world that there is a ‘middle ground’. You don’t do bad things, in fact, you are mostly a ‘good person’. You think to yourself ‘surely God will recognize that’? You say to yourself ‘but I’m not a murderer, and I give to charity, and I have good will toward men’? But the Bible says this in John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
One of the clearest definitions of sin is this – disobedience to God. So God has called you to obey Him – and if you are not obeying him, you are in sin. So if you are in the ‘middle ground’, then in reality you are in sin, as you are not obeying God! All you are doing is being self centered and defining the world based on your own internal reckoning – you are putting yourself and your own opinions above that of even the God who created you!
The true definition is who you are is in God’s eyes, and there are two choices – obedience, or sin. Romans 3:23 says “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God“.
There are no ‘good people’.
Let’s do that verse in John again for good measure -
John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
So you are a slave to that which you choose (willingly or by default – because by not choosing you have chosen sin, as you will not be in obedience to God). A slave to sin brings the fruit of more sin and then death. A slave to God brings about obedience, righteousness, holiness and new life.
A slave isn’t the perfect analogy, and even Paul apologizes for it. However it is very appropriate – you remain a slave to that which you serve. If we are in sin we are in slavery to sin – it is our master, and we have no way out except through Jesus Christ. However if you are a slave to God you have to obey His commands, and His ways – we have freedom in Christ, but only within the bounds of what He has set out for us.
And that also is a good reminder for us – God has called us to obedience. Obedience in areas like prayer, fasting, reading scripture, fellowship (church), worship and more. These are things that He wants us to do – and things which will draw us closer to God, and His will, and His way. These are the things that as ‘slaves’ to God, we need to be doing.
So in the end – sin leads to death. But God has given a greater gift – that of Jesus Christ, who will take us from both sin and death, and lead us to eternal life in Him.
Lord God, thank you for your Son. Thank you for providing a way out of being a slave to sin and death – and to new life in You. Help us to understand this, help us to know there is no middle ground, and that we are not naturally good people, but that we are sinful from the beginning. Teach us how to grow in righteousness lead us to new life in You. In Jesus Name. Amen.
No Middle Ground! – Romans 6:15-23