Romans 6 and 8, taken together, are one of the most powerful calls to holy living in the New Testament. Oddly enough, they bracket Romans 7 - the one and only passage where Paul seems to imply that we have no hope of living above sin. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it!
For now, note that Romans 6 begins with the question, since we are under grace, why don't we just go on sinning? Paul's strong "God forbid!" or "may it never be!" is his shocked reaction. We DIED to sin! How can we live in it any longer?
For Paul, to be a Christian was to live "in Christ," a real union with the Son of God. He uses the phrase some one hundred sixty four times, and at other times speaks of Christ "in us." Like Jesus' image of the vine connected to the branches, this living connection between us represents life and transformation. To be sure, the transformation is not completed in this world, but it most certainly has begun!
In 6:3-5 Paul discusses our baptism as an entering into this connection; we are joined to Jesus in his death and his resurrection...really, truly, genuinely. The result of this union are the shocking claims made in 6:6 - our old "self" has been crucified with Jesus (see Gal. 2:20); the "sinful body" has been rendered powerless; and sin's enslaving hold on us has been broken. Um, Wow! Sure, people love to argue about whether or not the sinful nature in us has been eradicated or simply moved off the throne, but you cannot deny the straightforward claim that sin's dominion over us is decisively broken. In the same vein, 6:7-10 talks about the way that death severs us from sin's dominion; that by sharing in Christ's death, we have somehow moved beyond sin's power to hold us. Christ died to sin once and for all, and now Christ lives for God...and if we are united to Christ, our experience should be the same. Dead to sin, alive to God!
The word "so" indicates the connection between all that Paul has said in 6:3-10 and the commands that follow in 6:11-14. Because of all that dying to sin stuff, now...
6:11 Reckon yourself dead to sin but alive to God; begin to be what you already are!
(See Col. 3:3-5)
6:12 Reject the reign of sin. Sin shall not be the boss of you! Defy sin, rebel against rebellion.
6:13a Refuse to yield your members as instruments of sin.
6:13b Reserve your service for God instead!
6:14 Realize that sin's power over you is broken!
Now, this is really some strong meat. It is bold, defiant, and challenging. It is not a claim that we are now beyond sin. Rather, it moves into an amazing passage on our newly won freedom from sin's dominion, and the call to use that freedom to surrender our lives to the One who saved us (Gal. 5:13).
6:14 is very similar to 6:1, by asking again, now that we are under grace, should we expect to go on sinning? And the answer is, it is BECAUSE we are under grace that sin's power over us is broken, and a new life is now possible for us!
6:15-25, the second great section of the chapter, has the same theme as the first; we have now been set free and we should use this freedom to CHOOSE a new master. There is the possibility that we might yield ourselves to sin again; but we should turn to yield ourselves to God. There is a paradox here, in that sin would appear to offer us freedom but ends up with us in the worst slavery imaginable; yielding obedience to God as His slaves may seem to be constrictive, but in truth brings us into glorious liberty. JB Phillips translates verse 23, "Sin pays its servants; the wage is death. God gives to those who serve Him; His free gift is eternal life."
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