Monday, August 10, 2009
Romans 6:1 Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!
SHALL WE CONTINUE IN SIN?
Martin Luther was criticized for his teaching of justification by faith alone. It was said this teaching would lead to complete moral chaos. Religious leaders said: "If we can't hold the Law before people and tell them they can't go to heaven unless they keep the Law, what is to prevent them from doing as they please? If a man is saved by trusting in Jesus Christ alone, why should he care about living a life according to the Law? Why should he care about doing good?"
If Martin Luther had to listen to this criticism, so did the apostle Paul before him. His enemies said to him: "If what you say is true, Paul, then we may as well continue in sin, we may as well live as sinful lives as we please, because you say God's grace abounds more than our sin and will cover it all with forgiveness in Jesus. If God's grace abounds more than sin abounds, then no matter how much or how often we sin, God's grace will take care of it. So let us continue in sin, trusting in God's continual forgiveness."
How did Paul respond to this criticism? In the sixth chapter of Romans we read: "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!"
Then he tells us why this is impossible. He bases his argument on our Christian baptism. When we were baptized, we were baptized into Jesus Christ, and this makes it impossible for us to continue in sin!
