Getting it wrong?

I have been reading the text of Roman's 6:1-14 for some days now in preparation for the Easter Sunday service. I don't normally prepare this far in advance, but I find Roman's a difficult book to study so wanted to make sure I was really getting to grips with the text. It is tough reading, it makes me feel uncomfortable when reading it because of the fact that like most people I find it difficult not to sin, it is part of my daily struggle with life and "the flesh" and Paul's opening statement “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” although not meant in that way feels like an accusation with the text launching into what seemingly is a condemnation: I should be dead to sin, when I die I no longer have any senses: touch, smell, taste and sight will all be alien to my dead body. That being the case, on first reading it seems that it is the same when we die to sin; we will not be able to sense sin and therefore not able to sin. Oh boy, what a downer, I can sense sin, I struggle with sin, I cannot help but sin; I judge others, I don’t respect my parents, I covet what my neighbour has, etc. etc. etc. Am I sure I am saved? Am I sure that I have been reborn to righteousness? Reading some of the biblical commentators I might be left feeling like this. A majority of Christians might be left feeling like this and the rest are so self-righteous that they will be like it without realising it!

However, I have recently progressed from just reading the text to studying it with the help of John Stott’s commentary on Romans and he makes three points that has allowed me to breathe again: (1) Jesus on the cross ‘died to sin once for all’ he was aware of sin, didn’t fall into sin, but wasn’t and isn’t after his death unaware of our sin. (2) Paul writes to believers that we are no to let sin ‘reign’ in our bodies and that we must not obey sins ‘evil desires’ so even in our sanctified nature we are still able to sense sin and even to sin. (3) Not being aware of sin, not being able to sin is incompatible with the Christian experience; we are all tempted and sometimes we fall into sin. If we deny this we are denying the truth of the evidence of our own lives.

So what does it mean to die to sin, well for that I will leave you with the explanation of Robert Haldane that John Stott suggests is the best way to look at it. It doesn’t entirely explain it for me but does give a different insight into ‘death to sin’, Stott explains that “Paul is referring not to a death to the power of sin, but to a death to its guilt, that is to our justification.” For me the danger is that if we are dead to its guilt, then are we not inviting ourselves to continue to sin?

Answers on a postcard, I think I need to study this a bit more…..