Romans 6:2

God forbid. We who died to sin, how shall we any longer live therein?

It was pointed out by the apostle in previous portions of the letter that the basis of man's justification is that of his being "in Christ," dead to self, and possessor of a new identity, that of Christ himself, being one with him. It was absolutely unthinkable that such a person could think of continuing the old sinful ways.

We who died to sin ... Whatever can that mean? Clearly; it cannot mean that temptation to sin has ceased. Neither does it refer to repentance, nor to any other subjective or inward change wrought by the gospel in Christians themselves. Three times in this chapter it is stated that Christians are dead, or have died, unto sin (Romans 6:2,7,11). A careful reading of Romans 6:11 shows what is meant:

Even so ye also reckon yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God, in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:11).

Christ died to pay the penalty of sin; and the person who is truly "in Christ" therefore died unto sin "in the person of Christ." This was exactly the thought expressed by Paul, thus:

For the love of Christ controls us, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died (2 Corinthians 5:14).

Christians are thus dead to sin in exactly the same way that they are said to be dead to the law, namely, "by the body of Christ" (Romans 7:4). An old illustration that came of events in the Napoleonic wars emphasizes what is meant.

Illustration: Napoleon's war machine was impressing large numbers into the army; and a young gather was about to be inducted. His wife and children were gathered around him in as tearful a scene as can be imagined; and, in response to such a pathetic situation, one of the man's neighbors stepped forward and took his place, as the laws and customs of that era allowed. The substitute was killed in battle; and several years later the draft apparatus was again operating in that same village, and the same father was haled before the board a second time for induction. That time, however, the prospective inductee boldly stepped before the board and produced a parchment, signed by the emperor himself:

This man (name) perished upon the battlefield of Rivoli in the person of his substitute (name). SIGNED: NAPOLEON BONAPARTE

It is exactly that type of immunity which Christians enjoy through having died to sin in the person of their Lord.

Steele expressed this same conviction of what it means to be dead to sin. He wrote:

That we "died to sin" is a phrase that frequently appears in the Pauline epistles in different forms, and uniformly alludes not to an inward deliverance from sin, but to the Christian's objective relation, or to his personal standing before God in the vicarious work of Christ; it means that we are legally dead to sin in Christ.[8]

That this analysis of the phrase "dead to sin" is correct is further corroborated by what Paul said of Christ, that "he died to sin once" (Romans 6:10); and that cannot possibly mean that the inclination to commit sin had died in Christ, but means rather that Christ abolished the legal penalty of sin by his death. Also, Paul said, "For he that hath died is justified from sin" (Romans 6:7). Again, from Steele:

The justification of the Christian is thus based on his co-dying with Christ; that is, we are said to have died when Christ died, and to have done what Christ did. The words undoubtedly mean a co-dying with Christ in that one corporate, representative deed; that is, they mean that we were one with Christ in his obedience unto death, as we were one with Adam in his disobedience.[9]

All of this underscores the importance and absolute necessity of being "in Christ," that is, being baptized into him, being made legally a part of him, putting him on, making his identity ours, coupled with the putting away of the old man.

The grand argument of these first two verses is that justification involves the putting away of the old man and the discontinuation of the practice of sin. Greathouse put it thus:

The justified believer has been justified FROM sin (Romans 6:7). He is no longer tyrannized by the revolt that has plagued the race since Adam fell.[10]

Barth expressed the thought in these words:

What is forgiveness of sins, however we understand it, if it is not directly accompanied by an actual liberation from the committal of sin? ... What is faith without obedience?[11]

[8] David N. Steele, op. cit., p. 46.

[9] Ibid.

[10] William M. Greathouse, Beacon Bible Commentary (Kansas City, Missouri: Beacon Hill Press, 1969), p. 128.

[11] Karl Barth, Church Dogmatism (Napierville, Illinois: Alec R. Allenson, Inc., 1958), Vol. IV, part 2, p. 505.