Often at NewBranch you will hear it stated that, as Christians, we have been freed from the penalty of sin, the power of sin, and one day we will be freed from the presence of sin. In our Justification we are freed from the penalty of sin in that Christ took our penalty upon Himself and paid it for us (Gal. 3:13). Through Christ’s victory in His life, death, and resurrection He also freed us from the power of sin so that we are no longer enslaved to sin. We have been freed from the power of sin because sin’s dominion over us has been broken. This is clearly seen in Romans 6.
In his book, The Christian Life, Sinclair Ferguson has a chapter entitled “Sin’s Dominion Ended” in which he explains Paul’s argument in Romans 6. I think a brief outline of Ferguson’s exposition will be helpful. He explains as follows:
Romans 6:1-2
The heart of the argument is expressed in these words: ‘We died to sin.’ (pg. 135)
Here, in Romans 6, the point is this: we do not continue in sin for the simple reason that we are the kind of people who have died to sin. (pg. 135)
Ever since the day when by God’s mighty power we were born from above we have had this radically new relationship to sin. The tragedy is that so many of us either do not know it or do not live in the light of it. (pg. 135)
The heart of what Paul says is that in Christ the Christian has died to sin and is raised to a new life to God. In the verses which follow the apostle works this out in three stages. (pg. 136)
Romans 6:3-5
Our death to sin is accomplished through union with Christ. (pg. 136)
Point I in the argument is: Those who have died and been raised with Christ to newness of life cannot consistently live in sin. To do so would be a denial of their new identity. (pg. 136)
Romans 6:6-7
Our union with Christ involves the death of ‘the old man’. (pg. 137
Point 2 in the argument is: If we are freed from sin we cannot go on living as though we were still under its dominion. (pg. 137)
The great question of course is: What does it mean to be ‘freed from sin’? (v.7) (pg. 138)
Paul cannot by any stretch of the imagination be suggesting that the Christian ceases his struggle with sin. (pg. 138)
Nor can he mean that the Christian ceases sinning altogether, for as his argument progresses we see that this freedom from sin is the basis for our struggle against sin: ‘Therefore, do not let sin reign…’ (v. 12) (pg. 138)
…what he is speaking about is the rule, dominion or reign of sin in the life of the believer. That has been broken and abolished in Christ, Sin no longer has the same authority… (pg. 139)
Romans 6:8-10
Our union with Christ leads to new life in him. (pg. 139)
Point 3 in the argument therefore is: We do not continue in sin, not only because we have died to it, but also because, by our very nature as Christians, we are living new lives to the glory of God. (pg. 140)
Conclusion
If we consider ourselves to be what we truly are, he argues, dead men brought to life in Christ; if we build on this sure foundation, refusing to yield our body to sin as its slave, then we will discover that the assurance Paul gives us, ‘sin shall not be your master’, will also be our daily experience. (pg. 140)
But this freedom from the dominion of sin is not the end of our struggle against sin. In fact it is the beginning of a new conflict with it. For while we have died to sin, sin has not died in us. (pgs. 141-2)
What is the “new conflict” for the believer? It is, as John Owen said, The Mortification of Sin (Rom. 8:13). Therefore we make war on our indwelling sin as we rest confidently in the reality that we have been freed from sin’s penalty, power, and one day soon, it’s presence. On that day, the war will be over and we are guaranteed victory in Jesus.
“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.” -Romans 6:12
Written by Matt Baker