6^th Chapter of Romans

Romans 6:1 (all verses are from the New International Version)

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?

In the last chapter Paul finished talking about how the law was added so that our sin may become more prominent - to bring it to a head so that it can be dealt with in our life. Being that the law caused sin to increase, in the sense that now more sin was going to be obvious in the lives of the people, God increased His grace all the more towards those in Jesus Christ.

Following this logic the next obvious question that comes to mind is: Should we continue on sinning so that we may have more grace given to us? Should we increase the sin so that grace abounds?

Some have alleged, in Paul's time and in the present time, that it makes no difference how one decides to live his own life as long as he has faith. This is the "faith only" crowd, deceived by their own justifications in their made up religion. They answer to themselves, and in their own eyes they are pretty wise and pretty good (Pro_3:7; Pro_12:15; Pro_16:2; Pro_21:2; Pro_26:12; Pro_30:12). Paul will answer them according to the teachings of the Gospel, according to the teachings of Jesus!

Does it make any sense to continue living in sin if we know that it is sin that causes God's wrath to be revealed against us (Rom_1:18)? It is from sin that we have been saved! We will see the need to die to sin so that we may not live in it any longer! It is in sin that we will die forever! God cannot save us to remain in sin since it is those who sin who will receive the eternal punishment!

I am careful not to go to the extreme some have gone in interpreting this text as saying we can achieve sinless perfection. Paul clearly emphasizes the continuance of living in sin, not the mistakes we will make since we are in the flesh. We will make mistakes even though we are in the state of grace, which is why this is such an incredible and wonderful salvation we have!

1Jo_1:4-10 ESV And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. 5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Walking here refers to continuous action. If we could achieve sinless perfection, why the need for the blood of Jesus to cleanse us from all sin while we are walking in the light?

What we know about sin (THE SEVEN R's OF SIN):

1. The Rascal behind sin: Gen_3:1 - The ancient serpent - the devil. He wants you to be a slave to sin (Rom_6:16).

2. The Record of sin: Sin has a long bad rap sheet (Gen_6:7). It will take us farther than we want to go, keep us longer than we want to stay and cost us mor than what we want to pay.

3. The Reason for sin: Jam_1:14-15 We are tempted and drawn away by our own lust. We are lawbreakers (1Jo_3:4).

4. The Result of sin: Rom_6:23 - Sin brings death; both the first and the second one if we don't allow Jesus to transfer us into His Kingdom - (Rev_20:14)

5. The Remedy for sin: Rom_5:8 - Jesus became sin for us that we may become His righteousness (2Co_5:21).

6. The Refuge for giving up sin: Eph_1:3 - We are given every spiritual blessing in Christ and we are added to the church, to the saved (Act_2:47).

7. The Reward for giving up sin: Joh_14:1-3 - To live with Jesus forever in eternity (Mar_10:30)!

...that grace may abound?

Paul is referring back to the a priori arguments he had made in the previous chapter ("How much more"; "All the more" and other phrases as these). "If God's grace is so incredible, then does it matter if we don't change?" That's his argument, or at least what some were postulating.

God's grace is definitely greater than any sins we will ever commit, there's no argument there; but, does that preclude the need for repentance? God will accept anyone that comes to Him, and Paul understood that better than anybody (he called himself the chief of sinners - 1Ti_1:15). However, we need to die to sin to become children of God. That means we need to abandon our former way of life, crucify it, as you will hear Paul say in the next few verses, to be born again!

Paul again negates the fact that he is trying to say that one ought to do evil in order that good may come, as he did in Rom_3:8. But Paul explains again the need to die, to abandon the sinful life (in the next few verses) as it relates to our incorporation as he explained it in Rom_5:20 as it relates to grace vs. law.

Romans 6:2

By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

DEAD TO SIN AND ALIVE IN CHRIST

Here's the obvious answer to the false claims laid upon Paul and the Christians as to the possibility of union with Christ without dying to sin: No way!

Baptism is the Portal to Union (Incorporation) with Christ - How we Get Into Eternal Life!

If we are to die to sin as we join Christ, how can we continue to live in it? Paul continues with a dissertation on how our union to Christ takes place through baptism (a death and a burial). Baptism is described as the portal through which we join Jesus and become one with Him in His death so we can become one with Him in His resurrection. Our joining to Him requires a death and a burial on our behalf (Rom_6:11; 2Co_5:14).

Our joining to Christ is akin to marriage. As the Bible says :

Mat_19:6 NIV

“So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

Eph_5:31-32 NIV

"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." 32 This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the church.

Rev_19:7 NIV

Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.

Rev_21:2 NIV

I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

We inaugurate our readiness as Christ's bride through baptism. It is our official engagement to our Lord Jesus, as we declare Him Lord and Savior; sole husband and God.

This is the only place in Scripture that describes how we are united to Christ. As a groom must die to himself (his former life as a single man) to be joined to bride, so the bride must undergo the same death to self to be united and both are a new creation (2Co_5:17).

We already discussed in the former chapters how the Son of God died to Himself, not just physically, but on an eternal plane. The logos underwent a permanent change to be united to His bride, the church. In the same manner, if we are to be united to Jesus, a permanent change must take place: death must take place in ourselves. A death to our former life and ways. There's the repentance that must happen to avoid the punishment of sin (Luk_13:3). And of course, what does one do with a dead body? One must bury it! Therefore as we die, and we are not only dying our singular death to self, but we are also participating in the death of Jesus. We are crucified with him that our body of sin may de done away with (verse 6).

The phrase "dead to sin" which Paul uses so often throughout his letters is another synecdoche which does not mean:

1. Temptation has ceased in our flesh

2. We are perfect

3. We are sinless

4. We have repented

"Dead to sin" stands for the divinely legal exchange of identities. We are dead to sin and its effects and eternal consequences (not terrestrial effects and consequences). We are not inwardly delivered from sin but legally dead to its devastating eternal consequences through the vicarious (substitutionary, propitiating) work of Jesus.

Christians are thus dead to sin in exactly the same way that they are said to be dead to the law, namely, "by the body of Christ" (Rom_7:4). An old illustration that came of events in the Napoleonic wars emphasizes what is meant.

Illustration: Napoleon's war machine was impressing large numbers into the army; and a young gather was about to be inducted. His wife and children were gathered around him in as tearful a scene as can be imagined; and, in response to such a pathetic situation, one of the man's neighbors stepped forward and took his place, as the laws and customs of that era allowed. The substitute was killed in battle; and several years later the draft apparatus was again operating in that same village, and the same father was hailed before the board a second time for induction. That time, however, the prospective inductee boldly stepped before the board and produced a parchment, signed by the emperor himself:

This man (name) perished upon the battlefield of Rivoli in the person of his substitute (name). SIGNED: NAPOLEON BONAPARTE

It is exactly that type of immunity which Christians enjoy through having died to sin in the person of their Lord. -- Coffman

If our very purpose to join Jesus is to be saved from the consequence of sin, how can we still live in it? If I died to sin to be united to Jesus, why would I want to continue to live in sin? I know sin offends God (Isa_59:1-2); He is repulsed by it. He is a holy God and cannot tolerate it (Lev_11:45; Deu_7:6; 2Co_6:17). He sent His Son to die for me that my sin would no longer be in our way! Why in the universe would I want to continue to be or live in sin???

Romans 6:3

Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

Immersion into Christ's death

Baptism is the vehicle God has put in place for us to get into Christ - to be joined to Christ. There are no other verses in the New Testament that specifically teach how to get into, or united to Christ as this one does so completely. It is important to notice from this whole chapter how God has specifically talked about how and when our union to Christ happens.

Paul is all inclusive when it comes to the opening of this topic since he begins by saying: "...all of us who have been baptized..." All Christians had to have already participated in this death and burial of self in order to experience the new life in Christ (resurrection). Since we all had to die to sin to be joined with Christ, why continue living in wickedness? Paul explains how we die to sin and when. It is significant to understand that the how and when we die to sin is the beginning of forgiveness of sin and the joining to Jesus, receiving the Holy Spirit. False teachings always discard the importance of the how and when, since "forgiveness of sins" has been made an ecumenical philosophy. Basically, the ecumenist teaches, "it is up to each to find how they will join themselves to Christ...". We see that kind of thinking completely rejected here, since Paul talks about it matter of factly by saying: "...don't you know this is what we did and for this reason?" He's very specific about how God's instructions are to be followed and nothing is to be left up to the individual except the desire and willingness to join Jesus in baptism!

We need to review some Greek words to understand what God has not said and what He has said to be able to debunk false doctrine concerning union to Christ (Rom_6:5) and forgiveness of sins (Act_2:38):

· (Baptizo) = to make whelmed (i.e. fully wet); to baptize (note: "whelm" means "submerge"); to immerse; to bury in water.

· (Rhantizo) = to render besprinkled; sprinkle.

· (Cheo) = to pour.

So when we speak of being baptized into Christ we understand we are to be fully immersed in water, as in a burial, which is what Paul expressly means when he says "...buried with Him in baptism...".

· Sprinkling water over someone is not being baptized (immersed) into Christ's death

· Pouring water over someone is not being buried in baptism into Christ's death

Also the Spirit emphasizes the importance of knowing what is happening when you are being baptized. It is imperative to know (verses 3, 6 and 9), to believe (verse 8) and to consider (verse 11) these things that the baptism may result in your unification to Christ's death and resurrection by faith (Mar_16:16; Col_2:12; Gal_3:27; 1Pe_3:21).

Therefore, subjecting anyone to baptism under compulsion, or without freedom of choice, or without their volition is equivalent to just getting them wet. It is not the water that saves but the pledge of a good conscience when we submit to the command of baptism (1Pe_3:21). Baptism is able to save only when we have done it in faith; in obedience to God, submitting to His Command (Mar_16:16; Act_2:38-41; Act_8:12; Act_8:36-38; Act_22:16; Eph_4:5).

...baptized into His death?

This baptism all believers undergo is a command obeyed to partake in the death of Jesus. In order for us to die to sin in a divinely legal way we need to partake of His death through the vehicle of baptism - we are baptized into His death. Following Jesus is about dying in the manner He died - giving Himself up, a living sacrifice to God (Rom_12:1). How did Jesus die? He was crucified. His flesh was crucified and tortured for the sake of the Good News and the salvation of mankind. If we are to be united to Christ we need to step into His death first, and thank God this is done through baptism.

Paul will begin to lay the groundwork here that the baptism we are to undergo is very different than Christ's. It is a merciful thing! Observe the following verses:

Mar_10:37-40 ESV And they said to him, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory." 38 Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" 39 And they said to him, "We are able." And Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared."

Luk_12:49-50 ESV "I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! 50 I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!"

The baptism Jesus is referring to in these verses was not the water baptism he received when John baptized Him in the Jordan at the beginning of His ministry. He's talking about His suffering and crucifixion. This is why the baptism we undergo to join Jesus is a death and burial with Him. It is a re-enactment of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus! Thank goodness it is a bearable one!

As we view baptism in this light we understand that baptism is something we receive. It is a work of God and not of man, as we've discussed many times before and we will discuss again throughout this chapter. We submit in this baptism, passively, while God puts away the body of sin and circumcises our heart (Col_2:11-12). In essence this is why baptism is a portal, bringing us to the state of grace in which we can stand because our condemnation has been removed. Now after baptism, we walk, as we will see in the next verse. In baptism we lay down, passively. Afterwards, we begin our new walk, actively. This new walk is of our own doing with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Only when we partake in His death can we partake in His eternal life, as the next verse also says (Rom_6:4). The only way we can partake of the death of Jesus is by willingly dying to self: Baptism is a voluntary death to self. Observe what Jesus says here about Himself:

Joh_12:24 NIV I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

In order to be fruitful and live purposefully you need to die to self to be joined in His death. Jesus echoed this also here:

Mat_16:25 NIV For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.

And Paul talks about it here:

2Co_4:11 NIV For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.

1Co_15:36 NIV How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

Col_3:3 NIV For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

In order to be able to live eternally you need to die to your egotistical and selfish self. Your flesh is already condemned to die and unless you die to self, you will die forever separated from God. You will be lost!

Seeming contradictions in Scripture

Christ did not send me to baptize... (1Co_1:17)

Baptism, in and of itself, is nothing. It is only water, as 1Pe_3:20-21 indicates. Baptism in and of itself is merely removing dirt from the body - i.e., taking a bath. If we were to preach baptism, as some do, then we devoid the message of the Gospel of its power (1Co_2:1-4). The power of God to save mankind is in the Gospel (Rom_1:16); for in it is revealed the righteousness of God (Rom_1:17) which Paul has been explaining throughout Romans. The power does not come from sacraments (works) but by faith. Therefore, it we were to preach baptism as a sacramental (works based) salvation then we are indeed preaching a works based salvation as opposed to a faith-works (true faith) based salvation.

...baptized on behalf of the dead... (1Co_15:29)

What if someone has died before they had a chance to be united to Christ through baptism? Can a living person get baptized on their behalf as the passage above suggests? This is what the passage may seem to say and many complicated interpretations have been assigned. If Paul is indeed alluding to this practice, why didn't he condemn it vehemently since it stands in opposition to the doctrine of the one baptism? Perhaps some correct Greek rendering is it order for it to be understood and harmonized contextually. I favor the dynamic rendering God's Word gives it:

1Co 15:29 GW However, people are baptized because the dead will come back to life. What will they do? If the dead can't come back to life, why do people get baptized as if they can come back to life?

Instead of using "baptism for the dead" God's Word translators used "baptism because of the dead". This makes contextual sense and is in keeping with everything else Paul talks about regarding salvation and baptism. Since 1Co 15 is talking about the resurrection, Paul makes an allusion to baptism being done because we will be raised again to a new life, the moment we are baptized, in view of that eternal life we will receive when we are resurrected. Not only are we resurrected spiritually new right after baptism - resurrected with Christ; but also we will be raised again on the last day to new eternal life with Christ, which is what these first few verses of Romans 6 talks about.

False doctrines on baptism:

1. Some have distorted this passage so, believing it to be in contradiction to the so called "faith-only" doctrine, labeling baptism as a "work of man" and therefore not necessary for union to Christ (salvation). Please see my commentary on Rom_4:5-6 for a thorough explanation.

2. Some believe baptism to be ceremonial in the sense of a public showing of faith (outward sign of an inward grace). Nowhere in the Scriptures can this view be substantiated.

3. Some believe the water (or the ceremonial act) has power to remove sins since they subject individuals who lack the ability to know, believe and consider these things; i.e., infants, unaccountable people (who are not able to give an account for themselves, like those who are severely mentally retarded, autistic or suffer from any developmental disability that renders them unable to give account for themselves) to the baptism. Since these individuals cannot have faith to believe in what they are doing, the adults who subject them to the baptism then must believe the water or the ceremony has some power to absolve sin or unite them to Christ.

It is by the one baptism (Eph_4:5) that believers are baptized into the one body (1Co_12:13), into Christ (as we are discussing in this verse), into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Mat_28:18-20), into his death (as here), and into the kingdom of God (Joh_3:5). The false theory that one might indeed be in some mystical form of the body of Christ and not be a part of his church has no biblical ground. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer says:

It is impossible to become a new man as a solitary individual. The new man means more than the individual believer. ... It means the Church, the Body of Christ; in fact it means Christ himself.

And the Lord added to them (the church) day by day those that were being saved (Act_2:47).

Luke's statement justifies the deduction that if one has not been added to the church, neither is he saved.

Romans 6:4

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

Buried and Raised with Jesus

It is immediately clear from reading this verse that baptism is a burial (interment = from "putting into dirt"), hence an immersion = putting into water; not a sprinkling or a pouring. One does not bury a body by sprinkling dirt on it or by simply pouring dirt over it. You may ask, what's the difference? First of all, the Greek is specific as I explained in the previous verse. If something else was to be meant the Spirit would have clearly indicated that. Second, what if Naaman would have asked Elisha's servant: "What difference does it make whether I dip myself 6 or 7 times in the Jordan or another river?":

2Ki_5:12 NIV Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage.

It is a matter of obedience, not convenience.

No man can misunderstand what is meant by baptism/burial without extensive help; but, lest there be any doubt regarding the testimony available, a few typical comments follow from ancient Christian sources and some modern ecumenical sources:

Chrysostom:

When we sink our heads in the water, as in a tomb, the old man is buried, and going down, is wholly hid once for all.

Tholuck:

In the early days of the church, persons, when baptized, were first plunged below, and then raised above the water.

Macknight:

For are you ignorant, that so many of you as have, by baptism, become Christ's disciples, have been baptized into the likeness of his death, having been buried under the water, as persons who, like Christ, have been killed by sin.

Conybeare and Howson:

This passage cannot be understood unless it is borne in mind that the primitive baptism was by immersion.

Barnes:

It is altogether probable that the apostle has allusions to the custom of baptism by immersion.

Bloomfield:

There is a plain allusion to the ancient mode of baptism by immersion.

Wuest:

The word "baptized" is not the translation of the Greek word here, but its transliteration, its spelling in English letters. The word is used in the classics of a smith who dips a piece of hot iron in the water.

Thayer:

Definition of [Greek: baptisma]: immersion, submersion.

Mosheim:

In this century (the first) baptism was administered in convenient places, without the public assemblies; and by immersing the candidate wholly in water.

Barrett:

Paul here makes use of the picture suggested by the practice of baptism by immersion.

One hundred other quotes can easily be brought forward; but these are more than enough to show what is easily visible in the verse itself, that baptism in the age that knew the Lord was by immersion. -- Coffman

This verse (Rom 6:4), along with the previous one (Rom 6:3), are intimately tied with 1Co_15:3-4 :

1Co_15:3-4 NIV For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

Baptism is a participation in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. No wonder Paul commented to the Corinthians:

1Co_15:1-2 NIV Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

When these verses are read together we see a common theme:

1Co_15:3-4 Rom_6:3-4

GOSPEL GOSPEL RE-ENACTMENT

Christ died for our sins We are baptized into His death

Christ was buried We are buried with Him by baptism

Christ was raised on the third day We are raised to walk in newness of life

As verses 1 and 3 say of 1Co 15, this Gospel saves you if:

· It is preached to you

· You receive it

· You take your stand in it

· You hold firmly to the word, not your own thinking or opinion

If it is your opinion or thinking you hold onto, then your belief is in vain. So how do we receive this Gospel? How do we take our stand in it? How do we make it our own? How does it save us? We re-enact it through baptism!

Baptism is the portal (gateway) to eternal union with Jesus:

Joh_10:9-10 NIV I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

How do we enter through Jesus to be saved? Is the Bible specific about how exactly Jesus is the gate (portal)? No other verse is as specific as Romans 6:3 ff as to how we enter and unite to Christ. No wonder the Bible calls it obeying the Gospel:

2Th_1:8 NIV He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

1Pe_4:17 NIV For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

We need to enter through Jesus to be saved, as Joh_10:9 says. It is not with Jesus but through Him that we are saved. It is not merely an association with Jesus that saves us, but an incorporation that binds us and identifies us with Him. We don't just get credentials in Christ, as an employee may get when he joins a company. We are identified with Him directly, as His brothers, as His family. We bear the unfalsifiable royal seal of the Holy Spirit!

We have direct access through incorporation. We have the right to be heirs (Joh_1:12-13)! Many believe they are united to Jesus by different means, like prayer, or sacraments or acts of worship. Jesus is clear that if you try to hijack yourself in any other way you are a thief and a robber, not that you will be successful in any way!

Joh_10:1 NIV "I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber."

The spiritual disciplines: prayer, Bible study, fellowship, worship services, etc; are only aids for those who've been incorporated into Jesus, for those who are walking in the newness of life, they are not binding contracts as baptism is. No one gets married to another by a kiss, gift giving or conversation. Marriage occurs by the fulfillment of a binding contract, not even necessarily by a ceremony. We therefore can conclude that baptism is not merely a ceremony, as some contend, but a participation, an induction, an incorporation, a binding contract between God and man. It is where the exchange takes place - as bride and groom exchange vows and rings. Of course, God exchanges our sin for justification, His Holy Spirit and union to His Son Jesus Christ - Eternal Life!

...baptism into death...

As we read in the verse before this baptism is into a death. We emphasize, as we did when we discussed the footsteps of faith of Abraham, that the first step of faith is to leave something. In this case, since we are baptized into death - His death - we are leaving our own life to be united to His death. This is for the purpose of us being raised in new life! Not the same life as before but a new life redefined and identified with Christ! Just as a bride and groom are married to die to their previous single living and form a new life together, we form a new life as we are bonded to Jesus, incorporated through His death that we may also walk in newness as He was raised also. It is important to observe that a couple does not get married because they have already died to singlehood; no, they get married to die to singlehood! In the same manner we are not baptized because we are dead to sin, we are baptized to be dead to sin and alive in Christ Jesus! Before baptism we are dead in sin! Afterwards we are dead to sin!

...as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father...

Jesus resurrection was by the glory of the Father. As His flesh died and He was forever changed by His association with us, He was also raised to glorify the Father's plans in the Gospel. Our new life with Christ exemplifies this glorification as well. Our new live is the evidence that God is glorified by what we say and do. God will not be glorified if we get stuck in our old life. We give the glory to God by walking and striving in this new life! Jesus has won back Paradise lost! So important is this that Peter warns us:

2Pe_1:8-10 ESV For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.

May we never forget what we have been saved from!

...walk in newness of life.

A new lifestyle necessitates death. This new life does not come from us accepting an idea or merely changing our belief about something. Merely changing your behavior or your outlook is not what we're talking about here. This new life is acquired when we surrender ours. How? God provided the format for how we are to exchange our old life for the new one in Christ. Outside of this format there is no newness - there is deception! This new life is a walk (Psa_1:1-3). This new life involves dethroning Satan from our thoughts and life and holding fast to Jesus' Lordship as He is our Savior! Our old identity must be repudiated (cast off, rejected, divorced) and left behind, tossed as you toss a dirty stinking diaper! In this new life we are Christ (Gal_2:20)!

The new life is made possible by the purification provided by the slaying of Jesus' body on the cross of Calvary; by His blood (Heb_1:3). The reception of the Holy Spirit identifies us and unites us to Jesus' body (1Co_12:13; Eph_1:13; Tit_3:5) and even in ours, somehow (1Co_6:19), the Spirit dwells and empowers us divinely (Rom_15:13; 2Ti_1:7; 2Pe_1:3). It is a new life! An everlasting life - a restoration to Paradise!

Romans 6:5

If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.

United with Him in Death - United with Him in Life

United together: The Greek word sumphutoi means “grown along with", "to grow in union” or “to plant in union.” The word describes two organic entities, like plants, that have been planted together and are growing together, closely entwined or even united. This is the word picture Jesus was referring to when He disclosed:

Joh_15:4-6 ESV Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

Paul also expands upon this later on in this very book:

Rom_11:17-22 ESV But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 Then you will say, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.

How are we planted together? How are we grafted in?

A- We are baptized into Christ's death.

B- In baptism, we participate in Christ's:

1- Death

2- Burial

3- Resurrection

C- We are raised to walk a new life.

D- If we have died with Christ, we will also live with Him in the

newness of life.

1- If we join Christ in His death (baptism) - If - Then statement!

2- Not all will be baptized

3- Not all will have new everlasting life!

The purpose of baptism is to provide us with a way to die to self so that we may live forever. The purpose is to be restored to the fellowship we once had with God. This had to be put in effect through a mediator (One that interposes between parties at variance for the purpose of reconciling them) who took our sins and gave us passage (access) to God's grace (1Ti_2:5). The vehicle Himself is Jesus and baptism is the virtual portal that puts us within the mediator Himself by faith. Since we willingly have sinned and fallen short of God's glory, our union to Jesus' death requires our willingness to die with Him in the manner which He died: crucifying the flesh. By this crucifixion He destroyed the embodiment of sin in Himself and now as we join Him in that manner of death we destroy the very obstacle between us and God - sin. We are restored to life! This is how we are planted in the here and now to flourish in the thereafter!

We die to sin through the absolute denial of ourselves and renunciation of our evil nature with its pride by being baptized into Christ, that action constituting the death of our old identity, because by that action we have put on Christ (Gal_3:26-27). It is in that legal sense of being dead to sin through the body of Christ (since we are in him, we died with him) that Paul was speaking earlier; but at this point he spoke more of the demise of the old man, which is death to sin in a different sense. The believer is transformed through God's creative act within him, having been born again, the old man dying and being replaced by the new man in Christ. Brunner commented on this as follows:

We have been baptized into the death of Jesus. That means we enter into his death in faith, not only as a death on our behalf, but as our death. He has not only died for us, but he died in our place; his death was really valid for us, and this sentence of God executed upon him for our salvation we allow to be executed upon us. We surrender ourselves into his death; we are crucified with him; we sacrifice our old hitherto sinful life to this death, letting the old man be buried with Christ. -- Coffman

What is this newness of life? This verse says we will certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His. This resurrected life is not only referring to the resurrection of all souls at the end of the world. This is talking primarily about the newness of life we must walk in Jesus: dead to sin (state) and alive to Christ (process) (Rom_6:8; Gal_2:20)! It is talking about the whole life we have now in Christ, saved from sin - not saved in sin! The newness of life is the resurrection we have in Him after baptism. A life that is to be lived in glorification of God, in service to Him, in newness! This also includes the resurrection to eternity that is appointed to all who have been incorporated in Christ.

Let's examine what leads up to the new life that we may understand it better:

It is a fact that if we are united in a death like His, we will be united in a resurrection like His

1- A death like Jesus' death

a- A crucifixion of the flesh

b- A voluntary giving up of life

c- A destruction of the body of sin

d- A surrendering of your will and life

e- A death to sin

2- A resurrection like Jesus' resurrection

a- He resurrected from the dead!

b- Death has no dominion over Him!

c- Sin has no dominion over Him!

d- He lives for God!

e- New life under God's power and grace

Dead (Death) to Sin -- Coffman

"Death to sin" has a dual nature in this chapter

1. It is the legal death to sin, which is the status of being dead to sin "in Christ," a legal state that one enters in the act of baptism - the baptized believer being dead to sin in the same way that he is dead to the law "by the body of Christ."

2. It means the crucifixion of the old man, the utter and final rejection of self, what Jesus called "denying" one's self, renouncing the old identity, repudiating the old system of value-judgments, mortifying the members of the fleshly body, etc. This is called the personal death to sin.

The first aspect of being dead to sin is accomplished in one formal, dramatic act of conversion to Christ; but the second aspect, the personal death to sin, cannot occur in one blinding burst of light, but is a growth process.

The death to sin, in the personal sense, properly begins with the repentance of the believer and his denial of himself as preliminary to his baptism; but, as every young Christian quickly finds out, the old man is far from dead at that point! The Holy Spirit's employment of the growth metaphor in this verse clearly shows the truth. Successfully crucifying the old man requires a lifetime of devotion and Christian service; and it cannot ever be done at all without the believer's first achieving a legal status of deadness to sin, through his conversion to Christ.

Romans 6:6

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin--

Crucified with Christ to be Free from sin

This is what happens when we are united to Jesus' death:

1. Our old self (old life, goals and aspirations) is crucified with Him. Crucifixion is agonizing. Jesus endured it voluntarily for our sake. We are to be united with Him in this regard: emotionally, physically and spiritually; when it comes to the crucifying of the flesh and its desires.

2. The body of sin was brought to nothing. Here is acknowledged once again that baptism is for the forgiveness of sins (Act_2:38).

3. Knowing points 1 and 2 (the legal death to sin) enables the Christian to embrace the new holy life in Jesus - the personal death to self (denying the flesh). It is a precious knowledge that saves us from the wrath of God and from the deceitfulness of the flesh! A promise made by God, a substitution - an exchange! No matter how difficult the pursuit of holiness may be we need to remember that only by looking above and remembering the promise we have in ourselves, the Holy Spirit, we can make it! We are already presented perfect in Christ!

4. Sin has no dominion over us any longer - We are saved from sin - not in it!

5. All this is God's work! This verse explains the behind the scenes of baptism.

Col_1:28 ESV Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

2Pe_1:9-10 ESV For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.

Col_3:5-8 ESV Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

Thus the personal aspect of death to sin presents a constant challenge; but thank God it is indeed possible of achievement through the Christian's righteous legal status in the Lord. -- Coffman

Romans 6:7

because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

Just as when someone dies in the world he is acquitted of all debts, public and private, so in Christ, when we die with Him, we are acquitted of our debt of sin. Amen! We are free from all the involvements and entanglement of sin, past, present and future:

1. All the claims sin has had upon your past that may affect your present attitude and stability (mental and emotional)

2. All the present temptations and distractions

3. The future wage of sin - death

We are set free from sin; but we are not free of sin. We are not perfect nor can we achieve sinless perfection in this life. In other words, we still are susceptible to temptation and sin since we are in the flesh (we will study this at length in chapter 7), but in Christ sin no longer has dominion over us. In Christ we have dethroned Satan and have received the power of regeneration through the Holy Spirit. We have the power to overcome sin and not succumb to it since we have the influence of the Holy Spirit in us.

Tit_2:11-12 NIV For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. (12) It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age...

1. We are to die to the practice of sin now that we are dead to the Law, and therefore to sin - God's wrath is on us no more!<