Romans 6:18-22
When a person becomes a believer in Christ, having given Him their heart and accepting His love and forgiveness, they are instantly made free from sin and its dominion. Grace takes over where law had led them and they are free from the yoke of sin that had been on their life. If this be the case, why do we sin again after we have come to know Christ?
Paul uses “the manner of men” (Romans 6:19) to help describe what is happening in us after we are saved. This phrase means that he is using a fleshly example so that we can understand heavenly words. These would be “words of man’s wisdom”. Paul doesn’t down the use of wisdom words to prove a point, in fact he welcomes them. He does, however, oppose using the words of man’s wisdom in order to offer man salvation and freedom. This he says, will render the cross “of no effect” (1 Corinthians 1:17).
The wisdom words that he offer are given “because of the infirmity of your flesh” (Romans 6:19). The word “flesh” is the Greek word “sarx” meaning ‘body’. By this, we see that Paul is not talking about our nature to sin or our carnal side, but rather he is speaking of our literal body. The “infirmity” must be something more than sickness, for Paul was a firm believer that Jesus had borne our infirmities in His body on the cross.
The infirmity of our flesh is the habit of sin in us. Sin is easy for us to do because we have a lifetime of doing it. We can sin as easy as falling off a log; for sin has been in us from the moment that we were born. We don’t have to think about how to sin or find a good reason to sin, we simply live our lives and sinful actions or words or deeds find their way out of us. This phenomenon occurs because sin had become a habit for us, while we were sinners.
Just as you can tie your shoe and think of 15 other things at the same time, never once thinking about the loop that you are making or crossing the laces the correct way, you can sin without forethought. How are you so adept at tying that shoe while not even thinking about it? It is something that you have practiced for years, and you now do it by habit.
It is not your sin nature rising up inside of you that causes you to sin now that you are a believer. That sin nature was crucified with Christ at the cross when you were baptized into His death at conversion. Remember, Jesus “died unto sin once” (Romans 6:10), and you should “likewise consider yourself to be dead indeed unto sin” (Romans 6:11). Now that you are saved, you yield your body to “righteousness and holiness” because that is where your fruit leads you (Romans 6:19, 22).
As a sinner, you literally yielded your body over to doing whatever sin that made you happy. You did not fight sin, you just committed it. Now that you are a believer, you yield your spirit man over to the things of God which lead you to live out your righteousness and holiness. If your chief influences are things of this world, it becomes easier for the habits of sin to return, for you are hanging out near your former master. The old habit of sin dies out the more that you realize who you are in Christ, for you are yielding yourself over to Him. This brings “obedience” into a new light for the Christian. We do not obey to “stay saved” or “please God”, but so that we may shine as a light with His righteousness shining through us. We are “free from sin” (Romans 6:22), so let us walk like it!
When a person becomes a believer in Christ, having given Him their heart and accepting His love and forgiveness, they are instantly made free from sin and its dominion. Grace takes over where law had led them and they are free from the yoke of sin that had been on their life. If this be the case, why do we sin again after we have come to know Christ?
Paul uses “the manner of men” (Romans 6:19) to help describe what is happening in us after we are saved. This phrase means that he is using a fleshly example so that we can understand heavenly words. These would be “words of man’s wisdom”. Paul doesn’t down the use of wisdom words to prove a point, in fact he welcomes them. He does, however, oppose using the words of man’s wisdom in order to offer man salvation and freedom. This he says, will render the cross “of no effect” (1 Corinthians 1:17).
The wisdom words that he offer are given “because of the infirmity of your flesh” (Romans 6:19). The word “flesh” is the Greek word “sarx” meaning ‘body’. By this, we see that Paul is not talking about our nature to sin or our carnal side, but rather he is speaking of our literal body. The “infirmity” must be something more than sickness, for Paul was a firm believer that Jesus had borne our infirmities in His body on the cross.
The infirmity of our flesh is the habit of sin in us. Sin is easy for us to do because we have a lifetime of doing it. We can sin as easy as falling off a log; for sin has been in us from the moment that we were born. We don’t have to think about how to sin or find a good reason to sin, we simply live our lives and sinful actions or words or deeds find their way out of us. This phenomenon occurs because sin had become a habit for us, while we were sinners.
Just as you can tie your shoe and think of 15 other things at the same time, never once thinking about the loop that you are making or crossing the laces the correct way, you can sin without forethought. How are you so adept at tying that shoe while not even thinking about it? It is something that you have practiced for years, and you now do it by habit.
It is not your sin nature rising up inside of you that causes you to sin now that you are a believer. That sin nature was crucified with Christ at the cross when you were baptized into His death at conversion. Remember, Jesus “died unto sin once” (Romans 6:10), and you should “likewise consider yourself to be dead indeed unto sin” (Romans 6:11). Now that you are saved, you yield your body to “righteousness and holiness” because that is where your fruit leads you (Romans 6:19, 22).
As a sinner, you literally yielded your body over to doing whatever sin that made you happy. You did not fight sin, you just committed it. Now that you are a believer, you yield your spirit man over to the things of God which lead you to live out your righteousness and holiness. If your chief influences are things of this world, it becomes easier for the habits of sin to return, for you are hanging out near your former master. The old habit of sin dies out the more that you realize who you are in Christ, for you are yielding yourself over to Him. This brings “obedience” into a new light for the Christian. We do not obey to “stay saved” or “please God”, but so that we may shine as a light with His righteousness shining through us. We are “free from sin” (Romans 6:22), so let us walk like it!
