Romans6

Romans Chapter Six

Paul continues with the illustration of God’s strength outweighing our weakness and God’s good outweighing our bad, and uses the contrast again to bring us the challenge of making a critical choice. He says if we are entering into a new partnership with the life of Jesus then we should let the old life of independent self die off and let the new life of dependent partnership with Jesus emerge. Paul then takes things to the next logical step of identification with Jesus in this new life we have been given.

He chooses the rite of water baptism to illustrate the death and burial of our old self life ( We once belonged to the Adamic Race - Homo Sapiens - now we belong to the 'Jesus Race' - Homo Divinicus.). He shows us that when we enter into this truth with faith we are identifying with Jesus in his death by going into the water to be buried - and identifying with Jesus in His resurrection by coming back up out of the water. He unfolds the revelation that water baptism is the Christian’s acknowledgement of and commitment to letting the old life die off and entering into the new life in Christ.

Paul says we now have two distinct choices about the life we shall live. Before we had only one choice – living a life for self. Now we can voluntarily submit to a new life. This is a choice - to live with and for God - and this means total trust in God, a person who is totally good and who does extravagantly good things for His children. Even though life can be harsh and cruel, God is thoroughly good in his intentions toward humanity.

Paul now lifts the argument to its highest note. He says that we can now become part of the goodness of God himself - an instrument to be used for his goodness toward humanity - rather than an instrument of self indulgence. He says we can become one with him and live for him and live through him. This high calling or commission is what we will now have to give account for, not our compliance to the Law, because the Law no longer judges us, but a shared life and mission with God now summons us.

ROMANS CHAPTER 6 - CONTEMPORARY ALIGNED VERSION (SPIRITCODE)

1 But does this mean that because God’s goodness outweighs our badness so much that we should stay bad so that more of God’s goodness can be seen? 2 Definitely not. How can we, who want the old sin life to die off, also want to keep it alive at the same time? 3 Don’t you know that as many of us as were baptised into Jesus, (which means immersed into the life of Jesus, and identified with his life) are first immersed into his death, and infused with what his death means. 4 It means that we were buried with him when we were immersed as one with him in his death, so that just as he was raised from the dead by the glorious power of The Father, we too will be infused with the power of his new life. 5 For if we have shared the death with him, we will also share the risen life with him. 6 be aware of this, that the entire previous order of humanity in Adam has been crucified with Jesus, that the whole confederacy of sin might be put out of action, so that from now on we don’t have to serve in that old confederacy. 7 Because if you are really dead and put out of action to something like sin, you can really say you are free from it. 8 So if we are part of Christ’s death, we are part of His life. 9 We know that Jesus has been raised from the dead for eternity and he is not going to have to die again, so death has no hold over him. 10 And the significance of him dying means he only had to die once, but the significance of him living is that he forever lives for and with and in God. 11 So the same thing applies to you. See yourselves as being as dead, as Jesus was, to the world of sin, but alive and living for and with and in God, through what Jesus has done on our behalf. 12 So don’t let sin rule your life so that you have to do what it wants 13 and don’t let any part of your being or your nature be used as the means for wrongdoing, but rather give your whole self to God, as someone who is alive from the dead, and let your whole being and nature become the means of well doing, as unto God. 14 And sin is not in control of you, because you are not answerable to the penalties and judgements of the Commandments, but you are answerable to the empowerment of God’s goodness. 15 So does that mean we can sin, because we are no longer under the penalties of the Commandments, but under the empowerment of God’s goodness to us? Not at all! 16 Don’t you know that whatever you submit yourself to voluntarily, you become the slave to it, whether it is to wrongdoing that ends up in death, or in submission to God, which ends up bringing you into a life of godly well doing. 17 But thank God that even though you used to be slaves to sin, you have submitted yourselves to the truth of what I have been saying to you. 18 And being set free from sin’s hold over you, you have become the servants of godly well doing. 19 I am speaking to you now in human terms and because of the weakness of human nature. You once allowed your entire beings to be given over to immorality, and to evil and wicked behaviour. So now in the same way, give yourselves over to a life of integrity and devotion to demonstrating the goodness of God. 20 For when you were slaves to wrongdoing, you certainly were not slaves to well doing. 21 What was the fruit of doing all those things of which you are now ashamed? For those things only end up in death. 22 But now, no longer a slave to wrongdoing, but having offered your lives to God, the fruit of your lives will be pure and sweet, and the result will be everlasting life. 23 Death is the payment for a life of sin, but God freely gives us everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord.