Shepherds Bible Romans chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

1. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may
abound?

# Shall we continue this then, so more and more goodness may come
from God? Remember, earlier they had slanderously accused him of
teaching this.

2. God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer
therein?

3. Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ

were baptized into His death?

# He is saying here: of course not! We are dead to sin by our baptism

into faith in Jesus Christ and also into His death.

4. Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as
Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so
we also should walk in newness of life.

# We also by His resurrection shall walk in a new life with Christ.

5. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we

shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection:

# “Planted together”, now let’s reword this so it is simpler to

understand. For if we have grown together in the likeness of His death,
then we must also come back in the likeness of His life. You might say
we would be resurrected in Him.

6. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of
sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

# Knowing that our old self is crucified with Him, we would then no
longer serve sin.

7. For he that is dead is freed from sin.

# Another way of putting this would be, once a man is dead, he is

absolved from the claims of sin.

8. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with
Him.

# lf we die in Christ, we shall also live, in Christ.

9. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death
hath no more dominion over Him.

#Remember this death that He died was for sin.

10. For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He
liveth unto God.

# In this death, it was for the sins for the whole world, but in His
resurrection, He lives for God.

11. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but
alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
# Or, sin should not affect you or tempt you as easily as before you
chose to serve God.

12. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey
it in the lusts thereof,

13. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness

unto sin:
but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead,
and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

# Don’t let your own body and passions serve as a vice, but dedicate
yourselves to God. Serve God, not evil.

14. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the
law, but under grace.

#Sin shall not rule you as you have atonement through Jesus Christ.
Remember that Paul is speaking here on three levels: to the Gentiles,
to the rulers of the Sanhedrin and to Israel. The elect are still
responsible to the law.

15. What then? shall we sin because we are not under the law, but
under grace? God forbid.

#Of course the answer is God forbid. Remember Paul had been
criticized for teaching this, just as many identity teachers have been
criticized for teaching a second chance. Now let’s clarify this. There is
absolutely no second chance. You are either ignorant and therefore
innocent, or you know what’s going to transpire, and if you know right
from wrong, you have no excuse for choosing wrongly.

16. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey,

his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of
obedience unto righteousness?

# In other words, are you going to be a servant of sin that brings

death, or a servant of Jesus Christ who brings eternal life?

17. But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have
obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

# Thank God you have taken on this faith; you believe from the heart in
Jesus Christ.

18. Being then made free from sin, ye

became the servants of righteousness.

# The servants of righteousness worship which master?... the Lord

God, who sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem us.

19. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your
flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness
and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants
to righteousness unto holiness.

# Paul says I use this as an example because of the weakness of your

nature.

20. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from
righteousness.
21. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now
ashamed? for the end of those things is death.

# Or, what did you gain, Paul asks, by all that sin that you are now
ashamed of because there is no gain, only death.

22. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye
have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

# Or, now free of sin, you are holy and have gained eternal life.

23. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

#The old church, more or less, used this scripture to hold people to the
church, teaching hell and damnation, and not fully explaining the gift,
the free gift of God. What Paul meant in these preceding chapters is
that as mortal men we would sin, but having died with Christ in
baptism or even in receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, our faith
holds true when it comes from the heart, and the gift of forgiveness is
ours for the asking. Temptation is always with those still in the flesh,
but Paul is saying, when you stumble, don’t turn away from Christ. Ask
Him to strengthen you; hide in His gracious forgiveness. When you ask
forgiveness and mean it from the heart, I assure you that is what our
Saviour will do for you.

# Speaking on the third level to the elect, Paul says a great deal here in
a spiritual sense. There’s no way that you will serve Lucifer in the last
days as he appears in the very near future, yet beloved, more so than
ever you will have to lean on Jesus and ask Him to strengthen you.
Many will be deceived by Lucifer, as will be covered in the 11th
chapter, but there’s no way you will be deceived by him because you
know this man of sin will come first before Jesus Christ returns. So
Paul means once you’re raised to a higher level of thinking, or
resurrected if you would have it so, you know these truths: who the
false Christ is, who his children are (you can identify his seed). Once
you’re aware of this, there is no way you can be turned back again to
serving that man of sin and be deceived by him, because you know it
will surely bring you death, a spiritual death.