Editors note: The following is vital truth for spiritual growth for every believer in Christ as contained in Romans chapter 6. This article is used by permission from the author's book, "The New Nature."

THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CHRISTIAN

In Rom. 6:11-13 Paul teaches that the Christian has certain responsibilities in light of his freedom from the sinful disposition with Christ.

The slaveholder who has lost his position of master over a slave may try to continue dominating his former slave. In spite of the fact that he has no legal right to do this, the former master will succeed in his attempt unless his former slave reckons on the fact that his previous relationship with this master has been terminated. Only if he takes this fact into account will the former slave recognize that he is no longer obligated to obey this man and thereby refuse to render service to him.

By analogy the sinful disposition, after it has lost its position of master over the person who has died with Christ, tries to continue dominating its former slave. In spite of the fact that it has no right to do this, the sinful disposition succeeds in its attempt unless the regenerate person reckons on the fact that his former master-slave relationship with this disposition has been terminated as a result of his death with Christ. Only if the regenerate man takes this fact into account will he recognize that he is no longer obligated to obey the sinful disposition and thereby refuse to render service to it.

Because this is true, in Rom. 6:11 Paul commands the Christian to reckon himself to be dead to his sinful disposition. Paul expresses this command in the present tense. Since, as noted before, the sinful disposition continues with the Christian, Paul no doubt intends the present tense to be taken in the continual sense: "Keep on considering yourselves to be dead to sin."

The first responsibility of the Christian, then, is that every time the sinful disposition tries to control the Christian to commit sin he should remember the fact that that disposition is no longer his master. It lost that position forever when the person died with Christ. Thus, the Christian should recognize that he is no longer obligated to obey his sinful disposition. He now has a choice. He should refuse to render service to it.

The second responsibility of the Christian is that he is to reckon himself "alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 6:11). It appears that this responsibility is associated with the truth that the Christian has been resurrected spiritually with Christ to be a regenerate man with the new disposition and Holy Spirit within him (verses 4-5). When he was an "old man" the person existed in a unique personal relationship with his sinful disposition, and his life was characterized by that relationship. Now that he is a "new man" the person is alive with reference to God. He lives in a unique personal relationship with God, and he has tremendous potential to live a new kind of life. In light of this truth Paul is commanding the Christian to reckon on the fact that he has been made spiritually alive with reference to God.

Since this command is expressed with the same verb as the previous command, it too is to be understood in the continual sense: "Keep on considering yourselves to be alive to God in Christ Jesus." The second responsibility of the Christian, then, is that every time the sinful disposition tries to control the Christian to commit sin, he should remember the fact that he now lives in a unique personal relationship with God; therefore, his life is to be characterized by that relationship.

The Christian’s third responsibility is to "not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts" (Rom. 6:12). When the person was unregenerate, his sinful disposition reigned like a king over his physical body, making it a "body of sin." It used his body as an instrument to perform its evil deeds. Because the person’s death with Christ ended his master-slave relationship with his sinful disposition and because his resurrection with Christ placed him in a vital personal relationship with God, the believer is to keep on (present tense) refusing to allow his sinful disposition to use his body as an instrument. He is to say no every time the sinful disposition stirs up lusts and tries to dominate his body.

The fourth responsibility of the regenerate man is to "not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness" (Rom. 6:13). Whereas the previous responsibility dealt with the proper use of the entire body, this one deals with the proper use of individual members of that body. Rom. 6:19 indicates that Paul’s readers, while in their former position of slavery, had put the individual members of their bodies at the disposal of their sinful dispositions to be used as tools for the performance of evil deeds. Eyes, ears, tongues, hands, feet, and sexual members had been used in ways offensive to God. But now that their sinful dispositions had lost the position of master over them they were not to put the members of their bodies at the disposal of those dispositions again. Thus, the Christian is to say no to the sinful disposition every time it tries to use an individual member of his body.

The fifth responsibility presented by Paul is to "present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead" (Rom. 6:13). In Rom. 6:16 Paul declares that when one person presents himself to another person to be his obedient slave, he thereby becomes the other person’s slave. In light of this declaration, in the fifth responsibility Paul commands the Christian to present his total being to God to be God’s slave. Now that the person has been freed from the sinful disposition as master, he is to take God as his new Lord and Master.

This time Paul does not use the present tense as he did in the first four responsibilities. This would seem to indicate that the Christian’s presentation of himself to be God’s slave is a once-for-all transaction, not something that needs to be repeated continually. Once the Christian makes the commitment, he is God’s slave forever. Each day of his life is to be lived in accord with that commitment.¹

For the sixth responsibility Paul says to "present your members as instruments of righteousness to God" (Rom. 6:13). Whereas the fifth responsibility commanded the Christian to present his total being to God, this responsibility commands him to present the individual members of his body to God to be used as instruments of righteousness. Since Paul uses the same verb for the fifth and sixth responsibilities, it would appear that this presentation is also a once-for-all transaction. Once-for-all the believer is to dedicate each individual member of his body to God to be used in ways pleasing to God. ² The eyes, ears, tongue, hands, feet, and sexual members are to be presented in such a way that they will not be used contrary to the character and will of God, the new Master. ³

Up to this point Paul has emphasized one major result of a person’s death with Christ – release from the sinful disposition as master. Now in Rom. 6:14 he declares a second major result of death with Christ – release from law.

Paul begins verse 14: "Sin shall not be master over you." What Paul is teaching through this statement is that it is a certain fact of reality that at no time in the future will the sinful disposition ever hold the position of master again over the person who has died with Christ.

Paul continues in Rom. 6:14 by giving the reason for his first statement. The person who has died with Christ will never have the sinful disposition as master again because that person is "not under law, but under grace."

Several things should be noted concerning this declaration of release from law. Firstly, Paul is drawing a contrast between two positions: the position of being under law and the position of being under grace. His use of the word "under" for both positions indicates that both involve subjection to some governing principle. Those who are "under" law are in the position of subjection to law as a governing principle. Those who are "under" grace are in the position of subjection to grace as a governing principle.

Secondly, Paul is indicating that there is some relationship between being under law as a governing principle and having the sinful disposition as master. He will develop this truth further in Romans 7.

Thirdly, Paul is teaching that there is some relationship between being under grace as a governing principle and not having the sinful disposition as master. As a governing principle for daily living, grace is able to do what external law cannot do: release a person from mastery by his sinful disposition. Paul will develop this truth further in Romans 7 and 8.

Fourthly, Paul is declaring that Christians are not under any external law as a means of sanctification. The word "the" is missing before the word "law"; therefore, Paul is not referring to any specific law system. He is teaching that no external law will set a person free from mastery by his sinful disposition. Although Paul is not referring to any specific law system in Rom. 6:14, he does refer specifically to the old covenant law system in Rom. 7:4-7 where he explains his statement in 6:14. This indicates that he regards the old covenant law as being part of the external law referred to in 6:14. Thus, in 6:14 Paul is teaching that Christians are not under any external law, not even the old covenant law, as a means of sanctification.

The author concludes that in Rom. 6:14 Paul is teaching that the reason Christians will never again have the sinful disposition as master over them is that Christians are not under any external law (including the old covenant law) as a governing principle for sanctification. Instead, they are under grace for sanctification.

Scholars who deal with the antecedent of Romans 7 are convinced that Rom. 6:14 is that antecedent. In Rom. 7:1-3 Paul uses the illustration of marriage to illustrate his statement that sin shall not be master over the Christian, for the Christian is not under law but under grace (6:14).

In the next edition of the GFJ, we will begin observing Romans 8. Look for it!

Editor's Footnotes:

1. An aorist active imperative verb does not demand a "once for all" meaning as seen in Romans 13:7, "Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due…" Would it not be nice to pay taxes only once for all! It does, however, command a decisive decision that needs to begin.
2. While Dr. Showers holds the "once for all" position held by Greek scholars of yesteryear, Daniel Wallace writes regarding the pure ingressive aorist imperative of Romans 6:13 "The stress on the beginning of an action that the context usually makes clear is not a momentary action." (Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, pg. 720)
3. For further discussion on the aorist tense, read Dr. James Boyer articles in the Grace Theological Journals, "Semantics in Biblical Interpretation" (Spring, 1962) and "A Classification of Imperatives: A Statistical Study" (Spring, 1987), or in "The Hermeneutical Spiral" by Grant R. Osborne (pg. 51). He writes, "As Frank Stagg has noted, the aorist never means 'once for all'…" (from "The Abused Aorist "by Frank Stagg in the Journal of Biblical Languages – 1972 / pg. 222-223).
4. "Under" (hupo) often denotes a governing principle as noted in Matthew 8:9; Romans 3:9; Galatians 3:22-25; 4:21, 5:18; Ephesians 1:22; 1 Timothy 6:1; 1 Peter 5:6.

Renald E. Showers is a graduate of Philadelphia College of Bible and holds degrees from Wheaton College, Dallas Theological Seminary, and Grace Theological Seminary. He presently is on the staff of The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, Inc. and serves on the faculty of the Institute of Biblical Studies. He has been a guest Bible Conference teacher at the Duluth Bible Church and will be again in June of 2000.