Slaves to Rigtheousness

Romans 6:17–18

But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.

As we continue our series through the book of Romans exploring how the righteousness of God reveals a new humanity (5-8), a new family, through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, tonight we pick back up in Romans 6:15-23. Paul continues his clarification of sanctification and the Christian perspective on sin, the law, grace, and righteousness. 

There was a misunderstanding of the Christian’s relationship to the law and sin regarding the grace of God in the First Century. Some were teaching that the more we sin the more grace we receive therefore God looks even more gracious. Last week we looked at how the beginning of Romans 6 debunks this thought. The Christian should not and cannot continue in sin, that would be a complete misunderstanding of the grace of God. This week’s passage shows another misunderstanding where people thought they could sin because they were no longer under the law but under grace. Paul’s response once again is “By no means!” or “God forbid!” or “May it never be!” 

Anytime a Christian is trying to justify, rationalize, and defend sin they are missing the point. The apostle John tells us, “You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). The whole point that Jesus came for is to set us free from sin and death and restore us to a right relationship with the Father. Any teaching that encourages or permits sin is wrong. 

Christians will sin at times, but their life should not be characterized by sin. When a Christian sins, they should respond with repentance knowing God will forgive them and restore them. However, they must be careful to not excuse sin because they “know” God will forgive them. There is a significant shift between the understanding that “when I sin God will forgive” to “God will forgive so I can sin.” One is the Gospel; the other is demonic. God forgave us in Christ so that we will no longer sin.

God’s work in our hearts is a transformative work that frees us from slavery to sin to become slaves to righteousness (Rom. 6:17-18). There is a key phrase in these verses, “obedient from the heart”. The heart refers to our desires and loyalties. Learning to love Jesus will result in obedience and righteousness. When we sin, we show that, at least momentarily, we are desiring something or someone above Jesus. When we learn to love Jesus above all else, we will happily give up what is keeping us from fully experiencing Jesus. When we understand his will for our lives and fully pursue Jesus, we will understand that being a slave to righteousness is the most free way to live.