One day, a well-known non-believing comedian was caught reading a Bible. “Bill, what are you doing?” A friend asked. “Looking for loopholes,” the comedian said in his distinctive drawl. In this entry in Romans Applied, Paul closes a loophole.
“What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1–2, CSB)
In the verses prior, Paul had laid out that there is no sin greater than God’s grace. “The law came along to multiply the trespass. But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:20–21, CSB) With twisted logic, some took Paul’s statement as permission to sin even more so that more of God’s grace would be evident.
What a loophole. It’s like saying Christ saved me, so I’m going to rebel even more so that I can be saved in some greater way. Paul emphatically writes, “Absolutely not!” The real truth revealed in that supposed loophole (which Paul slams shut) is action that demonstrates that nothing has changed in our hearts. It is the cheap grace of claiming God’s forgiveness but remaining as we were without repentance. Paul is bluntly saying that that is impossible.
Paul begins to explain this impossibility, “Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:3–4, CSB)
In choosing to sin or walking away from sin, we have a choice. Having a new life in Christ doesn’t mean we’ve lost the ability to sin. In verses 11-13, Paul uses language such as “consider yourselves dead to sin” (vs 11), “do not let sin control you”(vs 12), “Do not give in to sin” (vs 12), “Do not let any part of you become an instrument of evil” (vs 13), and “use your whole body to do what is right for the glory of God” (vs 13).
While we have a choice, something in us has dramatically changed because of Christ. “For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under the law but under grace.” (Romans 6:14, CSB)
Romans Applied. What this means for us is that our hearts are dramatically changed, made new. Where once we were slaves to sin and its passions, we are now free. That doesn’t mean that we can’t or won’t sin; we will. The difference is that we don’t want to sin. Our feet no longer run to sin, but we instead run towards Christ. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9, CSB) Sin is no longer our master; we stand in God’s prevailing grace.
- Romans Applied – Prevailing Grace - June 3, 2026
- Proverbs – Grandkids - June 1, 2026
- Romans Applied – Abundant Grace - May 27, 2026
