Let me summarize what Paul says in Romans 6. It is a pivotal chapter in his presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which can be put in one word, Grace. It can also be understood in Paul’s words in verse 23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Left to ourselves we are sinners with death hanging over our heads. But God graciously offers us a gift: eternal life. We receive this gift by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. When we do this God frees us from the reign of sin and a life to be ashamed of that ends in spiritual death. In its place God invites us to turn our lives over to Him, including every part of our body, and then obey whatever He asks of us.
As he is explaining this Paul affirmed the Roman believers in verses 17-18, “But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.”
His reference to “the form of teaching” is what is found in the Bible. That’s where you find what God calls us to do. When we obey we are free from sin and become slaves to righteousness. “The benefit you reap” when you experience this new freedom and commitment, “leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life” (Verse 22).
Have you received this gift of God’s grace? If not, receive the gift of God, eternal life, by asking Jesus Christ to be your personal Savior and Lord.
