Week 23- Free Weeknd Program for Street & Vulnerable Children

Let’s remind ourselves of all we learnt from Romans 1-6. As we learn repeatedly, our knowledge deepens and we grow in faith and wisdom by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Romans 1 : Sin is rebellion against God, it seeks to dethrone God and make self god; worshiping created things instead of the Creator. Sin ruins the soul and sets it on a steep slippery slop unto eternal damnation. God’s wrath - anger is revealed against sin, but the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation, it tells us of the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ.

Romans 2: God exposes hypocrisy and warns against it,. we can’t hide under the guise of religion, judging others but doing the very same thing. our outward performance means nothing without obedience. “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to hearken than the fat of rams.” 1 Samuel 15:22. God is impartial, His judgment is true for all.

Romans 3: All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. No one is justified by the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ. Christ is the sacrifice, atonement (payment) for sin to demonstrate God’s righteousness. Salvation is ONLY through faith in Jesus Christ, this is true for Jews and non Jews; those who know God’s law and those who don’t and live like they don’t care (licentious)

Romans 4. Justification by Faith- Through the example of Abraham, we see that righteousness is credited through faith, not works. Just as Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness, we are also justified by Faith . To be Justified mean just as if we never sinned. David said such a man is blessed by God because God doesn’t count his sins, but accepts him based on the righteousness of Christ.

Romans 5: We see the benefits of our justification by faith: we have peace with God, and we can rejoice in our sufferings because they produce perseverance, character, and hope. through Adam’s disobedience sin entered the world, but through Jesus’ obedience many will be made righteous.

Romans 6: The Doctrine of Sanctification - Christians cannot continue in sin just because we are under grace. We participated symbolically in Christ death and resurrection, we died to sin and are no longer slaves to it. Freed from the power of sin, we are enabled by the Holy Spirit to live a life of obedience to God - righteousness and holiness. it doesn’t mean we will never sin, it means sin is no longer our master, Christ is our new master and we have power through the Holy Spirit to resist sin.

In summary, Romans 1-6 shows our sin nature inherited from Adam, our sinfulness, our redemption through Faith in Jesus Christ, and the new life of righteousness that we Christian’s are called to live because of our new nature.

Today, we will study the last 5 verses of Romans 6, verse 18-23 as we conclude this chapter.

Romans 6:18 says: “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” Through faith in Jesus Christ, we have been set free from the power of sin.

Before now, sin was our master, it controlled us. But through faith in Christ, we’re no longer slaves of sin, the chain has been broken, the domineering control of sin is gone! we’ve become “slaves to righteousness.” This is not ethics or sound morals, it’s a new nature, a new life, the life of Christ given to us. 1 John 5:12 says Who so ever had the son has life and whoso ever does not have the son, does not have life. We are slaves of righteousness because of this new life, a new heart. it doesn’t mean we’re in bondage again, but rather, we’re now committed to doing what’s right in God’s eyes.

A life of obedience to God. It’s like being a “slave” to good habits - it’s a good kind of servitude; being a slave of God is an honor, covet it! ask God to make you willing and obedient for His glory. Again, because of Christ, we’re no longer controlled by sin. Instead, we’re now dedicated to living a good and righteous life by the grace of God in us; this is a change that brings joy and peace, not burdensome obligation.

Romans 6:19 “I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.” In the past, we willingly gave ourselves over to sin (impurity, lawlessness, disobedience) and it only led to more sin. It’s like a vicious cycle - the more we engaged in sinful behavior, the more it controlled us, and we continued. Now, God is urging us to present ourselves as “slaves to righteousness.” He’s not suggesting a new form of bondage, but rather a new form of freedom. By willingly choosing to serve righteousness by obedience, we break the cycle of sin and experience sanctification, which is the process of becoming more like Christ in our thoughts, actions, and attitudes; we keep getting better Proverbs 4:18.

It’s like a new born baby, first she learn to sit, then crawl, stand, walk and one day she will start running. Also, Imagine you’re on a sports team. At first, you might not know the rules or how to play well. But as you practice more, you get better at the game. You might have started out clumsy, but eventually, you become really good at it, a professional like Ronaldo, That’s like how we can become really good at disobedience- doing wrong things if we practice them a lot. But God is saying, just as you were once really good at doing wrong things - being disobedience, now you should try to be really good at doing right things - being obedient Just like how you practiced to get better at the sport, you should practice obedience doing good things. This practice will lead to you becoming more holy, like practicing football makes you a better player.

Romans 6:19 is encouraging us to put the same energy and dedication into obedience- doing good and living a holy life as we once did when we were living in a way that wasn’t pleasing to God. It is essentially a call to shift our allegiance, devotion from sin, which leads to more sin and ultimately death, to righteousness, which leads to sanctification and eternal life.

Romans 6:20 “When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness.” when you were living a life full of wrong thoughts, choices and actions, you didn’t really have to worry about doing what was right - you were “free” from it. It’s not that being obedient was impossible, but rather, it wasn’t a concern or priority because your life was dominated by sin. However, this isn’t a good kind of freedom. It’s like being “free” from studying for exam - it might feel good in the moment, but the end result isn’t beneficial. You will fail the exam and feel the shame. In the same way, being “free from the control of righteousness” might seem appealing in the short term, but it leads to negative consequences in the long term.

So, in Romans 6:20 we see that while living a life of sin might seem like freedom, it’s actually a form of bondage because it leads us away from the true joy and peace that comes from living a righteous life.

Romans 6:21 “What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!” Think for a minute, when you were living in sin or maybe you are still living in sin, God is asking you to think about what real benefit you gained from doing things that you are now ashamed of. What benefit did you gain by being disobedience - sinful?

The answer is that there was no true benefit. Instead, those actions and behaviors lead to spiritual death ( separation from God). Today, God is encouraging us to think about the consequences of our actions. When we sin - do things that are wrong, we might feel like we’re getting some sort of short-term benefit or pleasure. But in the long run, those actions don’t bring us anything good. In fact, they lead us away from God and result in spiritual death, which is separation from God.

So, Romans 6:21 is a reminder to consider the long-term effects of sin , our sinful actions - disobedience and to choose to live in a way of obedience that leads to life, not death. Romans 6:22 “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.” Compare the life of sin and its consequences with the life of righteousness and its rewards. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we have been set free from the power of sin. We’re no longer under its control. Instead, we’re now “slaves of God” - but this isn’t a negative form of slavery. It means we’re committed to serving God and living according to His ways. He has put obedience in our heart and we love to obey Him Ezekiel 36:26.

We are slaves of righteousness, committed to serving God. The “benefit” or reward of this commitment is holiness, which means becoming more like God in our thoughts, attitudes, and actions. And the ultimate result of this process is eternal life - not just living forever, but having a quality of life that’s full of joy, peace, and closeness with God. Choosing to serve God and living righteously brings us true and lasting benefits - becoming more like God and experiencing eternal life. Romans 14:17, we will study this next year. This is in stark contrast to the temporary and harmful “benefits” of living in sin.

Finally, Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The difference between living in sin versus living in righteousness through faith in Jesus is clear. The first part, “For the wages of sin is death,” means that the end result or “payment” for a life of sin is death. This isn’t just physical death, but spiritual death - a separation from God, who is the source of life unto eternal damnation, eternity has no end, think about this often. We all have appointment with death, no matter what the false prophets & teachers tell you. Hebrews 9:27, think often about where you will spend eternity, heaven or hell. Nothing else is more important. Purgatory is a lie. God said “ I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live” Deuteronomy 30:19.

Back to the second part of Romans 6:23, it says “but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord,” this is the wonderful alternative. Instead of the death that sin leads to, God offers us a gift - eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. Unlike wages, which are earned, a gift is freely given. We don’t earn eternal life through our good deeds; it’s a gift that God freely gives us when we put our faith in Jesus.

So, Romans 6:23 is saying that while choosing to live in sin leads to death, choosing to accept God’s gift of salvation through Jesus leads to eternal life. Amen.