15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!
16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obeywhether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.
18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
19 I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness.
20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness.
21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!
22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Reflection

The Nature of Our Freedom (6:15~18)
Paul addresses the paradox of grace and obedience. His question, “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?” echoes the common misunderstanding that grace excuses continued rebellion in sin. Grace does not give us permission to sin; rather, it liberates us from sin’s bondage so that we can live lives that are pleasing to God. A heart that has truly experienced God’s grace is transformed. It no longer finds enjoyment in sin. This is what enables us, as those bought with the price of Christ’s life, to become “slaves to righteousness.” Our freedom is not to do whatever we want but to fully live our new life, empowered by the Spirit, to genuinely honor God.

- What evidence of slavery to sin do you find when you look back on your life before Christ? What evidence do you now see that shows sin no longer rules over you?

Changed Lives (6:19~23)
Paul uses the shocking image of slavery to illustrate the spiritual reality that our choices reveal. Our choices show whether we are enslaved to sin or to obedience to God’s command. Sin promises short-term pleasure but ultimately delivers death and despair. Serving God leads to freedom and lasting joy. The wages of sin stand in contrast with the gift of God in Christ: salvation is unearned and freely given, yet it calls us into a transformed life. We now live changed lives, not because we have to earn eternal life but because we love the God who set us free from sin’s power. We live Christ-like lives because this is the kind of life that the new heart within us produces.

- What motivates you to obey Christ instead of sin? How is a life enslaved to sin different from a life enslaved to Christ? 

A letter to God 

Gracious God, thank you for freeing me from sin’s slavery through Christ. Empower me by Your Spirit to live a life of righteousness and obedience that honors You. May my freedom glorify You and bring me lasting joy. In Jesus’ name, amen.

All Copyrights of the text in Living Life belong to Duranno Books.