For the sixth Sunday after Pentecost, the three readings are Jeremiah 20:7-13; Romans 6:12-23 and Matthew 10:5a, 21-33. Chosen to preach on this coming Sunday at Christ Lutheran Church in Augusta, MO is Romans 6:14, “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”
The passage begins with verse 12, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.” Every theological passage in the Bible may be taken in one of two ways–the wrong way and the right way. The wrong way is the way of the theologian of self-glory; the right way is the way of the theologian of tghe cross. In other words, the wrong way is me doing it; the right way is God doing it.
Most people, including some Christians, will conclude from verse 12 that the way you stop from sin reigning in your mortal body is simply to stop sinning. However, that can’t be correct since even the most mature of Christians are sinners deserving of nothing but temporal and eternal punishment. The key word in verse 12 is “reign” which means that sin is not just present but rules your life.
Verse 14 clarifies that sin is still present with the Christian. But the verse reveals that there is a way that it no longer has dominion because you are not under law but under grace. What does that mean? To be under law is not the same as living according to the law. Rather, it refers to being under the thumb of law in the sense that what you say, think or do here on earth makes the difference as to whether or not you go to heaven or hell.
Living under the law is living with the assumption that your own obedience will be the criterion for your salvation. Living under the Gospel is living with the Good News that it is Christ’s own obedience that will be the criterion as to whether or not you are saved. For through faith in Christ, the Christian receives the benefit of not having our result in eternal damnation. It is not that sin is taken away. Just look in a mirror to demonstrate that. It is instead that the punishment for your sin, which you richly deserve, has been transferred to the cross.
When verse 22 speaks of “having been set from sin” it is not talking about no longer sinning. Rather, it is being set free from the eternal consequences for our sin which Jesus took upon Himself on the cross with the words, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Answer: “Because you have taken upon that cross the sins of the whole world!”
Good works, in the form of fruit of the Holy Spirit, do take place in the life of the Christian. However, such fruit never precedes salvation; they always follow our being totally saved by grace through faith on account of the life, death and resurrection of our merciful Savior, Jesus the Christ!
Name:Tom Baker