I. THROUGH BAPTISM WE ARE DEAD TO SIN, ALIVE TO GOD (1-11)
A. How Through Baptism We Are No Longer Under Sin. (1-7)
1. Lest we think we can sin so grace can abound, we are told that we are dead to sin. When we become a Christian, the number of sinners decreases by one. If we continue to live in sin, we are dead to God (Eph. 2:1,2). Dead to sin is the opposite of continuing in it. How do we die to sin (1 Pet. 2:24)? When does this transformation take place? At baptism.
2. In baptism we have been baptized into Christ's death and raised to walk in newness of life. We put on Christ when we are baptized (Gal. 3:27). We form a union with Him, a common experience is shared under His authority. We receive the benefits of His death when we participate in it. We are united with Him in baptism and as He was raised from the dead, we are raised from spiritual death when we come up from the waters of baptism. (Compare to Eph. 4:23,24; Col. 2:12; 3:10; Jn. 3:1-81) If we are united with Christ in His death, then we must be united in His resurrection.
3. In baptism, our body of sin dies and we are freed from it. Our sinful life is done away and Christ takes sin's place in our life (Gal. 2:20). The footnote in the NKJV says we are cleared from our sins. Therefore we are justified. So Paul answers the question of verse 1, that sin is not an intelligent option for one dead to sin.
B. Dead Unto Sin - Alive Unto God. (8-11)
1. If we are dead with Christ, we are raised with Him, to live with Him now and in the world to come. If Christ is our teacher, high priest and King, we cannot continue in sin. The fact He will die no more bolsters our faith. Just as the dominion of death was conquered by Christ, so we can conquer spiritual death in Him.
2. Now we are dead unto sin, but with Jesus we are alive unto God. Jesus is through dying (Heb. 10:12). His death was once for all time. We are either dead to sin or we are not. If we are dead to sin then we are reckoned alive to God in Christ.
II. OUR RELATION TO SIN AND RIGHTEOUSNESS (12-23)
A. No Longer Under Sin. (12-17)
1. Sin is not to reign in our bodies. Do not let sin command your life. We must control our lusts, not obey them.
2. Our members are not to be instruments of unrighteousness. The plans and purposes of the inner man are accomplished through our members. Obedience or disobedience comes from the heart. (Prov. 4:23; Mk. 7:21-23) If our body sins, then our spirit is impure.
3. Sin is no longer under the law. Grace is our means of escaping sin's domination. Where law condemns, grace allows for pardon.
4. But lest we think we are free to sin, we must realize that we are now servants of something else. Grace is not licence to sin. We are encouraged not to sin and grace makes it possible to live a more sin-free life. Obviously, grace is not license to sin, because if we sin we are serving Satan, and we have been called to serve God! Even though we have been bought with a price to serve God, we are free not to serve Him if we so chose. We are servants of whom we obey. If we serve sin we will die. If we serve righteousness we will live (Jn. 8:34-36). Paul gives thanks that Christians were leaving their sinful pasts behind. The gospel is a form or mold. When we obey it, we take the shape of the mold or conform to it.
B. Servants of righteousness. (18-23)
1. Being made free from sin we are free to serve God with our members to righteousness to holiness. By obeying the gospel we change masters. The changes come through death, burial and resurrection. Either way, we are slaves, to evil or to good. Paul uses the customs of men to explain his point. Formerly they had presented their members as servants to iniquity (that is lawlessness). They had no regard for God or His law. Now they are to present their members as servants to righteousness unto sanctification (Rom. 12:1).
2. Before, as servants of sin, we were free from righteousness, but the fruit was death. This implies that upon becoming a servant of righteousness we should live free from the practice of sin. The final result of that former life is spiritual death.
3. But now we are free from sin, servants to God and enjoy the fruit of eternal life through Christ Jesus. We can be sanctified now and have eternal life in the world to come. To go back to the former life would be insane. Sin pays you wages, God gives a free gift. The final reward for service to sin is eternal death. While eternal life cannot be earned, it comes as a free gift only to those who love and serve the Lord.