“The Devotion of a Slave”

(Romans 6:15-23)

Series: Romans – United in the Gospel[on screen]

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

April 24, 2022

Introductory Comments:

Have you ever argued with someone who was really good at arguing? Perhaps you go through an entire argument, you think you bring resolution, and then all of a sudden they bring up another point of attack. It’s quite frustrating. A good detective, a good attorney, and a good arguer makes sure that they have all of their bases covered when they are presenting their case.

Well, in this passage, Paul is trying to make sure that he has all of his bases covered when it comes to understanding the relationship between living in God’s grace and fleeing a lifestyle of sin. 

Paul spent quite a lot of effort in the last passage, Romans 6:1-14, describing that we are dead to sin so we should no longer live in it. Now, Paul is going to shift his argument by talking about slavery. 

Today’s sermon is entitled, “The Devotion of a Slave.” [on screen]

Before we dive into this sermon, let’s go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to speak to us through His Word. 

(prayer)

You may remember that Paul started off last’s week’s passage with this question, “What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply?” [on screen] Of course, the answer last week was “Absolutely not!”

This week, Paul starts off the passage with another question. Look at verse 15, “What then? Should we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?” [on screen]

So, let’s see how Paul responds. First, let’s look at . . .

I. The response (15-16) [on screen]

So, the question is, Should we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?”

Paul concludes the previous passage, from the previous sermon, by saying this in verse 14, “ . . . sin will not rule over you, because you are not under the law but under grace.”

So, then, if we are not under the law but under grace, should we sin because we’re not under the law? Won’t God’s grace cover us even if we sin? Let’s see Paul’s response. Looks at verses 15 and 16:

15 What then? Should we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? Absolutely not! 16 Don’t you know that if you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of that one you obey—either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness? 

Of course, Paul has an emphatic response, as he did last time. He responds once again, “Absolutely not!” “Far from it!” “Of course not!” “God forbid.” “By no means.” Paul is super clear that we should not sin simply because we are not bound by the law any longer. 

Thankfully, when it comes to his response as to why we should not keep sinning, Paul is not like the frustrated parent who simply says, “Because I said so,” (which by the way is a valid reason for parents). Paul goes on to give an explanation as to why we should not sin even though we are not under the law. 

Paul helps explain his response by giving us a picture to understand the situation. He gives a picture of slavery. 

You see if you are committed to something so much that you give your obedience to that thing and you give your devotion to that thing then you are a slave to that thing. In a sense, you belong to that thing. Paul says, “ . . . if you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of that one you obey.”

So, Paul presents us with two options for slavery in this passage. Well, what are our options? Look at verse 16. Paul says we are either slaves of sin or we are slaves of obedience (of course, meaning obedience to God). 

This is Paul’s response to the question of verse 15: we should not sin unless we want to be slaves to sin.However, Paul goes on. He wants us to understand . . . 

II. The reality (17-20) [on screen]

You see, the reality of the situation is that there are tremendous implications about o