Today’s article focuses on three verses from Romans 6. Before we read those verses, let me introduce you to a couple of theological concepts.
We’ve seen in yesterday’s article that we are living in a period theologians describe as “already but not yet.” We have already experienced God’s freedom from sin, but we are not yet fully delivered from it. This complete deliverance will occur at the end of time.
This brings us to another important concept involving Greek moods: the indicative and the imperative. The indicative states what has already happened, while the imperative tells us what we should do in response.
Theologians describe this as “become what you are.” We are already free in Christ; now, let’s live out that freedom.
Let’s apply these two theological concepts to Paul’s words in Romans 6.
Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions.
No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness.
For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace (Romans 6:12-14).
The word “therefore” in verse 12 refers back to what Paul wrote in Chapter 5 and the first 11 verses of Chapter 6. Jesus has conquered the power of sin through His death and resurrection.
When we died with Him in His crucifixion and were raised with Him in His resurrection, we too are no longer under the power of sin. That’s the indicative.
The imperative, however, calls us to act on it now.
Sin exerts its control over us by leading us to obey our passions. The solution is to stop presenting ourselves as servants of sin.
We can offer our bodies to sin in various ways, such as consuming media that distances us from God. The same applies to the conversations we engage in, the attitudes we adopt, and the thoughts we entertain within ourselves.
Instead of surrendering control of our lives to the influence of sin, we can choose to present ourselves to God and embrace the life He desires for us.
One of the first steps in doing this is to spend time with Him—listening to His voice through reading the Bible and talking with Him through prayer. While there are many other ways to draw closer to God, this is a strong starting point.
We are living in the in-between time. We have been saved, we are being saved, and one day we will be completely saved. This means that our salvation has begun, we are in the process of experiencing it, and at the end of time, God will fully free us from the power of sin and bring us into the fullness of His life.
During this in-between time, we need to follow the imperatives and make choices that allow the Lord, rather than sin, to be the dominant force in our lives.
Verse 14 returns to the indicative mood, where Paul states what is happening: we have been freed from sin.
When Paul speaks about the law, he doesn’t mean that the law is bad—on the contrary, the law is a gift. However, when he refers to the law, he’s talking about the old age.
Now, we are living in the new age of Christ, made possible through His death, resurrection, and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The concept of becoming what we are is powerful and worth reflecting on. We achieve this by daily presenting ourselves to God, rather than following the dictates of our passions, which stem from sin’s desire to control our lives.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 