Verses 1-11
-
God's grace for our sin does not make sin ok.
-
Jesus died once, and He defeated sin once and for all.
-
When we are saved and get baptized, we enter into Jesus' death and resurrection, which means that sin's power over us dies, and we can rise again into a new, holy life.
-
Now, don't live in sin anymore because Jesus gave you power to stop sinning.
-
-
-
Verse 11. Do not see yourself as a sinner anymore. See yourself as a new creation that's dead to sin (2 Corinthians 5:17).
-
Why would you keep on sinning if you're not a sinner anymore?
-
Verses 12-23
-
Verses 12-13. If you believe that sin has been defeated, you will give your body in obedience to God. Do not use your body for sinful things anymore.
-
Verse 14. Remember, because of the power of God's grace, sin does not have to control you anymore.
-
Verses 15-19. We know that God's grace is not permission to keep sinning because if we kept on sinning we would still be slaves of sin. And in that case, Jesus' death—to free us from the control of sin—would have been for nothing.
-
If we are saved we are slaves of God, to obey God. If we make a practice of obeying sin, we are still controlled by sin—not saved.
-
Verse 16. So, obedience is what's important. We know that we are saved when we begin obeying God's Word to stop sinning.
-
-
-
Verses 20-23. If you are saved, the result in your life will be holy living—you will be stopping your sinful habits. This leads to eternal life (Hebrews 12:14). Sin leads to death.
-
Remember this main point: Jesus did not die just to forgive you of sin. Jesus died to forgive you of your sins and to give you the power, right now, to stop sinning. If you are not getting better at quitting your sin, you are not experiencing what Jesus died for.