“Whose Slave Are You?”
Roman s 6:15-19

Introduction: 1) Romans 5:1 marked the 3^rd section of this letter.  In this section, Paul demonstrates how righteousness by faith alone in Christ along is the foundation of our hope.  Our only hope of eternal life is by trusting in what Christ did on our behalf, not in our deeds, not in our obedience to the Law, not in our feeble efforts to approach God. 

2)     Paul new his audience would have major objections to this teaching; he knew they would misconstrue what he was saying.  So, beginning in 6:1, Paul addresses the first objection that would be raised: By promoting God’s grace (that abounds over sin), the gospel encourages people to continue in sin.  The false syllogism went like this: God is glorified when His grace abounds over sin; therefore, we should continue in sin so we can experience more grace and so God can be more glorified.  Paul responds in 6:2-14 by showing how our union with Christ – we become ONE with Christ at our conversion – makes continuation in sin an impossibility.  He concluded his argument in v. 14: “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”  This statement would give rise to the second objection: By freeing us from the Law and placing us under grace, the gospel encourages people to continue in sin.  Paul combats this false understanding of the gospel beginning in verse 15.

[READ Romans 6:15-19]

1)      Every preacher I’ve ever spoken with about preaching and every book I’ve ever read about preaching agree about one thing: Illustrations in a sermon are very important to explaining the text in a way that connects with people.  A good illustration has a way to make a hard truth easier to understand.  Jesus used illustration in his teaching in order to connect with his listener.  When he gave the parable of the seed and soils, He knew the listeners understood the types of soils in the land and how each would respond to a seed being planted in it. 

2)     While every preacher and books on preaching I’ve read agree that illustrations are very important to explaining the text, they also agree on something else: Finding a good illustration that properly applies to the text is a difficult task.  Paul, being a good communicator, realized that he needed a way to illustrate the point he has been making (and would make), namely, that, when the gospel frees a person from the Law, it doesn’t give them a license to sin.  So, beginning in verse 15, he uses an illustration from a well-known institution in Rome: SLAVERY.  He refers to people as slaves in vv. 16 (2x), 17, 18, and 19 (2x).

3)     Paul had a PERSONAL reason for using the metaphor of slavery.  Even though Paul knew it  fell very short of the actual truth he was trying to explain (v. 17 – “I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations”), he used it because the Romans could easily connect with what he was saying (nearly 20% of the Roman Empire’s population were slaves).

4)     Paul also had a THEOLOGICAL reason for using the metaphor of slavery.  He is showing the Romans that, the reason a person (who has been set free from the Law) doesn’t continue in sin is because when a person is saved (set free from the Law) they become a slave of righteousness.  You see, Paul says that everyone – saved and unsaved alike – are slaves of sin or righteousness.  And the way you can determine your master is by asking the question, “Which one do I obey?”  The same is true for us.

Proposition: Having been set free from the power of sin and the Law, believers overcome sin in their daily lives by presenting their bodies to righteousness as obedient slaves.

Transition: In the text, there are three (3) steps you need to take to determine whether or not you are truly free from sin and a slave of righteousness.

I.      INSPECTION: Identify Your Current Status.         (16)

           A.    You are enslaved to one of two MASTERS.

1.       There is no middle-ground; neutrality is not an option!

2.      Who are the two masters?

a.     Master 1: SIN

(1)   To be a slave of sin means to be under the power, influence, control and dominion of sin

(2)  We are like the Jews of John 8:33, who refused to believe that they were enslaved (or had ever been enslaved)!  One of Satan’s great tools of deception is convincing enslaved people that they are freed.

b.     Master 2: OBEDIENCE

(1)   Odd that he doesn’t say Jesus, God (he says it later), or Gospel, but Obedience

(2)  Paul is emphasizing that the life under grace is characterized by obedience; therefore he calls obedience a master

            B.    You are headed for one of two ENDS.

1.       Each master leads their slaves to an expected end.

2.      What are the ends?

a.     End 1: DEATH

(1)   If you are enslaved to sin, DEATH is your ultimate destination

(2)  Sin leads to death (cf. Rom. 6:23 – wages of sin is death!)

(3)  Sin will kill…

(a)  Your marriage

(b)  Your friendships

(c)   Your Fellowship

(d)  A church body

(e)  Your Soul!

(4)  The pattern of sin is always easy to mark:

(a)  Sin will Bribe you

i.                    It is Deceptive

ii.                 promises you something great

(b)  Sin will Burn you

i.                    It is Disappointing

ii.                 when you get what sin promises, you won’t want what you get

(c)   Sin will Bury you

i.                    It is Deadly

ii.                 It destroys everything in its path!

b.     End 2: RIGHTEOUSNESS

(1)   A right standing before God

(2)  Disclaimer: Paul is not teaching a works-based salvation; He is speaking of the obedience he will unpack in 6:17, an obedience to the Gospel

      C.     Conclude: How do you determine which masters is yours?  Ask yourself this question, “Which of   these do I obey?”  If you obey sin, then you’re a slave of sin.  If you obey the obedience (to the gospel), then you’re a slave of righteousness and obedience.

Transition: After describing how a person can know who their master is, Paul has a word for those who were once slaves of sin but have been delivered by God’s power and have become slaves of righteousness.

II.   CELEBRATION: Glorify God For Your Past Salvation.                       (17-18)

           A.    Thank God that you were Delivered by Him.                        (17)

1.       What God delivered us from: Sin

2.      How God delivered us: “have become obedient”

a.      What does “obedient” imply, if it’s not talking about a works-based salvation?

(1)   Romans 1:5 – through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations.

(2)  Romans 15:18 – For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience – by word and deed

b.      Paul uses the term “obedience of faith”  in 1:5 to describe his purpose in bring about the conversion of people in all nations; and he uses the phrase “to bring the Gentiles to obedience” in 15:18 to describe the conversion of Gentiles who had already been saved

c.       Conclusion: The use of “obedience” is speaking of obeying the gospel; i.e., repenting of your sins and trusting Christ alone for salvation.

3.      What God Delivered Us To: “the standard of teaching” – the Gospel

4.      The fact that we are commanded to thank God for this tells us that this was an act that God performed, not us!

            B.    Thank God that you are Enslaved to Him.

1.       When we were “set free” from sin we became “slaves of righteousness” (18)

2.      There was a transfer of slavery

a.      The word “committed” in 6:17 means to deliver over to.  Consider the places in the New Testament where it is used…

(1)   Matthew 5:25 – “your accuser hand you over to the judge”

(2)  Luke 12:58 – “the judge hand you over to the officer”

(3)  1 Timothy 1:20 – “Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.”

b.      It pictures the transfer of a person from one care to another, an exchange

3.      We were enslaved to sin, but Christ broke the chains of our slavery and enslaved us to Himself!

4.      Colossians 1:13 – He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son

Transition: Having been set free from Sin’s imprisonment and made slaves of Christ and righteousness, we now conquer sin on a daily basis by…

III.           SUBMISSION: Yield To God For Your Ongoing Sanctification.         

            A.    Remember How You Once Serve SIN.        (19)

1.       Who likes to remember their former life?  What was it like?

a.      Romans 3:13-18 – ¹³ “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” ¹⁴ “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” ¹⁵ “Their feet are swift to shed blood; ¹⁶ in their paths are ruin and misery, ¹⁷ and the way of peace they have not known.” ¹⁸ “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

b.      We offered our MOUTH

c.       We offered our TONGUES

d.      We offered our FEET

e.      We offered our WAY OF LIFE

f.        We offered our AFFECTIONS

2.      We did all this naturally.  We obeyed sin because our greatest joy was in sin.  We resisted the gospel because our greatest joy was in something other than the gospel.  In other words, we obeyed our master well!

3.      We simply followed our joy!

4.      While we don’t like to think about our past, Paul says it is actually the key to overcoming sin in our life.  He says to “Remember How You Once Served Sin” and…

            B.    Serve Righteousness The Same Way! (19)

1.       ODD: The key to holy living, the key to overcoming sin on a daily basis is by remembering how you used to serve sin!

2.      Now, I overcome sin by following my true joy – JESUS!

3.      Now, true joy comes when I offer my body – all of me – to Christ in obedience to Him!

Conclusion: 1) In a sermon entitle “The Doctrines of Grace Do Not Lead To Sin”, Charles Spurgeon summarizes this text well, especially the objection that others might have when it comes to Sola Gratia, salvation by grace alone.  He said:

“Now if the doctrine of grace in the hands of an ordinary man might be dangerous, yet it would cease to be so in the hands of one who is quickened by the Spirit, and created anew in the image of God. The Holy Spirit comes upon the chosen one, and transforms him: his ignorance is removed, his affections are changed, his understanding is enlightened, his will is subdued, his desires are refined, his life is changed—in fact, he is as one new-born, to whom all things have become new. This change is compared in Scripture to the resurrection from the dead, to a creation, and to a new birth. This takes place in every man who becomes a partaker of the free grace of God. "Ye must be born again," said Christ to Nicodemus; and gracious men are born again. One said the other day, "If I believed that I was eternally saved, I should live in sin." Perhaps you would; but if you were renewed in heart you would not. "But," says one, "if I believed God loved me from before the foundation of the world, and that therefore I should be saved, I would take a full swing of sin." Perhaps you and the devil would; but God's regenerate children are not of so base a nature. To them the abounding grace of the Father is a bond to righteousness which they never think of breaking: they feel the sweet constraints of sacred gratitude, and desire to perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord. All beings live according to their nature, and the regenerated man works out the holy instincts of his renewed mind: crying after holiness, warring against sin, labouring to be pure in all things, the regenerate man puts forth all his strength towards that which is pure and perfect. A new heart makes all the difference. Given a new nature, and then all the propensities run in a different way, and the blessings of almighty love no longer involve peril, but suggest the loftiest aspirations.”

2)     Whose slave are you?  Have you been changed and delivered from sin’s bondage?  Are you a slave of Christ and righteousness?  Eternity depends on whose slave you really are.