Paul begins to teach sanctification. Divided into 2 sections – 1-14 & 15-23
1-14: You are dead in Christ. You are risen with Christ
15-23: You have a new nature. The old one is gone.

Verse 15
• Rhetorical question and Apostolic abhorrence
• “We are not under Law” – In what sense:
 NOT abrogation of His moral law. (Romans 3:31, Matthew 5:17-18, Romans 7:12)
 We are free from the condemnation by the law – Under Grace- Romans 5: 2,20,21
Verse 16
• Axiom – “Do you not know?” – Self-evident truth
• Context – You are no more a slave to sin (Romans 6:6,7,12-14)
• You have a new master, you are a slave, not to sin but to righteousness.
• Either a slave of obedience or a slave of disobedience – Either In Christ or In Adam.

Verses 17-22 --- Paul draws contrast between 2 slaveries (slave of sin & slave of righteousness) in terms of
• Where they started?
• Where each one moves/goes?
• Where they end up

Verse 17 and 18
• But thanks be to God – Why? -It is all God’s gracious work (Romans1:8, 2 Corinthians 2:14)
• We were slaves of sin – Original sin – Inherited corruption and Inherited guilt
• Humanist view often questions how we can be slaves if we have free will. This notion has got into the minds of Christians as well.
Paul begins his comparison in terms of where each one starts
• A slave of sin – By birth, all men – man freely wholeheartedly enjoys sin
• Slave of God/ righteousness – Once slave of sin has been set free – That is the reality- I have a new master.
 Obedient from heart – when we were converted, we are not only ethically bound to obey, but also creatively made/transformed/regenerated to obey.
 Paul is talking about a state of being and not a command to be kept.
 Obedience is a mandatory reality for a Christian.
 A true believer may sin, may fall but he will get up and continue to fight that is and he hates sin like Paul in romans 7.
 We are set free from one slavery to another – answer to the question on verse 15.

Verse 19a
• Paul says, now act in line with your new identity(slavery).
• Paul uses the analogy of master-slave to help us understand the supernatural, incomprehensible working of God’s grace.

Paul now gives the comparison in terms of their practice.
 A slave of sin- Radically corrupt old nature with the body works in harmony with the old master(sin). Lawlessness leads to more lawlessness.
 A slave of righteousness -New nature with old body and new master. God granted me grace not that I may still sin and somehow get away with it but that I may no longer surrender myself to sin.

• “Just as….so now” – Not an occasional obedience – but Always, every situation.

Verse 19b
• Righteousness leading to holiness.
• But it is not an instant holiness formula. A believer will fall, but gets up and yields all the more until God perfects him.

Verse 20 – NO MIDDLE GROUND

Verse 21 & 22 – Paul makes the comparison in terms of the end result.
• Slave of sin – Death – sin is a shameful soul killer
• V.21- asks us to look back – we will find nothing but shame

• Slave of God (V.22) – Sanctification – eternal life


Verse 23 – God’s absolute Law
• Sin- Death
• God (In Christ) – Eternal life
• I am the way – John 4:16. No other name – Acts 4:12


FREE WILL

Humanist view
• Our ability to make choices spontaneously on our own
• Choices not conditioned or determined by any prior inclination or prejudice or disposition.
• A choice born out of nothing -born out of neutral will

Jonathan Edwards
• Hailed as “America’s greatest scholar”
• Famous book – “Freedom of the will”
• Defines: Free will/ freedom is the mind choosing
• We don’t make choices without our mind approving the direction of the choice.
• What the mind deems as desirable, the will is inclined to choose.
• Edwards’ law of free will: Free moral agents always act according to the strongest inclination they have at the moment of the choice. For example, when we sin the desire to sin is greater than the desire to obey Christ.

John Calvin similarly says, “Man chooses what he wants, what he desires”.

So, our desires determine our choices.

Romans 6:17 – “slaves of sin” – describes natural man in his fallen state.

• The will is free to do what the person desires or wants to do.

What is the problem? – The root of the desires of the heart.
• Romans 3:11, 1 corinthians 2:14, Ephesians 4:18, Ephesians 2:1-5
• Every inclination of the heart/ desires is sinful
• St. Augustine: “we were in a state of moral inability to do the things of God”
Hence, Jesus says in John 3: Unless you are born again you shall not see the kingdom of God.