Sermon Breakdown

1. The apostle Paul is addressing a question that was raised in Romans 6:1 - "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?"
2. Paul rejects this suggestion outright saying "God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein?"
3. The translation "we that are dead to sin" is incorrect. The proper translation is "we that died to sin". This points to an act in the past, not an ongoing state.
4. There are several incorrect interpretations of this verse that can be rejected:
   • That Christians are dead to the influence and power of sin (perfectionism)
   • That Christians ought to be dead to sin
   • That Christians are dying more and more to sin
5. Charles Hodge incorrectly interprets this to mean that Christians have renounced sin. This interpretation puts too much emphasis on human effort and not enough on God's work.
6. A better interpretation is that Christians have died to the reign and rule of sin, not just its guilt. Sin no longer has dominion over Christians.
7. This is proven by several other passages like Colossians 1:13, Acts 26:18, and Philippians 3:20 that speak of being transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light.
8. Christians are either under the reign of sin or the reign of grace. They cannot be under both. Christians have been taken out from under the reign of sin and placed under the reign of grace.
9. The objection that Christians still sin does not contradict this. There is a difference between a Christian's position and their experience. Christians may still sin out of habit and forgetfulness of their new position.
10. The reign of grace guarantees a Christian's final salvation and victory over sin. Grace is more powerful than sin.
11. The exhortations for Christians to reckon themselves dead to sin and not let sin reign are calls for Christians to live in light of the truth of their position, not calls to accomplish these things through their own effort.