Romans 6:16

In Romans 6, Paul exhorts true believers to remember that our old nature was crucified with Jesus on the cross so that we are no longer slaves of sin, but free now to obey God. One very practical way Paul shows us how to stop letting sin reign in our lives is to compare being a slave of sin to being a slave of God.

There is good news and bad news here. The bad news is that we are all slaves. The good news is you can choose your master. You are a slave of the one whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience to God, leading to righteousness. One master hates you and wants to deceive you, take you captive, and lead you to death with him in hell. The other Master loves you, died a most horrible death to pay for your sin, and wants to give you fullness of joy now (Psalm 16:11). So, before making your choice, consider where each master is leading you.

Paul continues this comparison through the end of the chapter, finally asking in verse 21, “What possible benefit were you deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed, for the end result of those things is death? But now, having been set free from sin and enslaved to God, you have your abundant fruit of holiness that leads to everlasting life.”

Paul ends chapter six with the sober pronouncement: The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).

Tom Day