Free from Sin
Are we free to do as we please? Or are we free from sin because we are under grace?
This is a Bible Study. Have your own Bible handy to look up the references mentioned.
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15. “The Christian life is to be obedient unto Christ. It means communication with Christ. My friend, do you love Him? That’s the important thing.” (John 14:15) (McGee, J. Vernon, Thru the Bible: Volume IV. [Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1983], 685)
“The fact that we are saved by grace does not give us an excuse to sin, but it does give us a reason to obey. Sin and law go together.” (Wiersbe, Warren W, The Bible Exposition Commentary New Testament Volume 1 Matthew-Galatians. [Colorado Springs: David C Cook, 2004], 533)
“Freedom is not the exercise of unlimited spontaneity. It means to be set free from the bondage of sin in order to live in a way that reflects the nature and character of God.” (Mounce, Robert H, The New American Commentary, Volume 27, Romans. [Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995], 155)
16. “Every person who is living is a bond servant to someone or something…Now Paul is saying that the one who is our master is the one who we obey. If you obey sin, then that is your master. Don’t say Christ is your master if you are living in sin; He is not your master.” (McGee, 686) John 8:34-36
Sin is One Master
17. “Paul set forth two masters: one is sin, and the other is obedience [to God]. There is no possibility of living without an allegiance to one or the other.” (Mounce, 155)
“When you were in the world, when you were lost, you obeyed sin. It was natural for you to do that.” (McGee, 686)
“When you have been saved, you have a new nature that can obey Christ.” (McGee, 687)
“ We have to walk by faith and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Only the Spirit of God can produce the Christian life.” (McGee, 687)
18. “The apostle reminded his readers in Rome that they had broken free from the slavery of sin and become the willing servants of righteousness. “ (Mounce, 157)
“It does not mean that sin has been eradicated or removed. It does mean that now we can live for God.” (McGee, 687)
19. “Paul reminded his readers that he was putting the argument in human terms because of the inherent difficulties in understanding spiritual truth.” (Mounce, 157)
This verse “suggests that the Christian ought to be as enthusiastic in yielding to the Lord as he was in yielding to sin.” (Wiersbe, 533)
I like the AMP translation of this verse:
For just as you presented your bodily members as slaves to impurity and to [moral] lawlessness, leading to further lawlessness, so now offer your members [your abilities, your talents] as slaves to righteousness, leading to sanctification [that is, being set apart for God’s purpose].
We need to offer our members including your abilities and talents to righteousness which is set apart for God’s purpose.
See MacArthur’s definition of your members in verse 13. See discussion in Dead to Sin; Alive in Jesus
Bondage to Sin
20. “The unsaved person is free—free from righteousness. But his bondage to sin only leads him deeper into slavery so that is becomes harder and harder to what is right.” (Wiersbe, 533)
21. “You were not only free from Christ, you were fruitless. You did as you pleased. The only fruit was shame.” (McGee, 687)
“What benefit did we reap from that lifestyle?” (Mounce, 158)
22. “Now we are set free from sin’s bondage. We have become slaves of God…The reward for serving God is growth in holiness and, in the end, eternal life.” (Mounce, 158)
“He sets before believers now the golden and glad prospect that is theirs as slaves of God. They are freed from sin which leads to death, and they can have fruit which will abide into eternity. Life eternal is in contrast to death.” (McGee, 688)
23. “If you serve a master, you can expect to receive wages. Sin pays wages—death! God also pays wages—holiness and everlasting life.” (Wiersbe, 533)
“This verse describes two inexorable absolutes: (1) spiritual death is the paycheck for every person’s slavery to sin; and (2) eternal life is a free gift God gives undeserving sinners who believe in His Son (cf. Ephesians 2:8-9)” (MacArthur, 1525)
“You are to walk moment by moment by faith. You cannot live for God by yourself any more than you can save yourself. It requires constant dependence upon Him, looking to the Lord Jesus Christ by the power of the Spirit.” (McGee, 688)
References
In this article Scripture quotations taken from KJV.
Scripture quotations from AMP:
Amplified Bible (AMP)
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
McGee, J. Vernon, Thru the Bible: Volume IV. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1983
MacArthur, John, The MacArthur Bible Commentary. Nashville, Thomas Nelson Inc., 2005
Mounce, Robert H, The New American Commentary, Volume 27, Romans. Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995
Wiersbe, Warren W, The Bible Exposition Commentary New Testament Volume 1 Matthew-Galatians. Colorado Springs: David C Cook, 2004
Death to Sin; Alive in Christ The Law
