Freed from Sin
A Sermon on Romans 6:6-7
Originally preached Nov. 7, 1958
Scripture
6Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Sermon Description
If the old self has died to sin, then why does the Christian still struggle with sin? In the previous passage, Paul confirmed that the old self in Adam was crucified with Christ. In this passage, Paul specifically uses the term “the body of sin,” which means the body lived in today. In the sermon on Romans 6:6–7 titled “Freed from Sin,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones speaks at length to distinguish between the “old man” and the “body of sin” to which Paul refers. As a Christian, the old self is dead but the mortal body has not yet been delivered from the effects of sin and the fall. Sin still has a rule on the body and so one should long for the redemption of the body that will come. Paul warns that it is because of this exact purpose that the Christian should no longer live in sin and let the members of the body be instruments of sin. Why would the Christian act like the person who has already died? A day is soon coming when the body will be glorified, just as Christ’s body was glorified when He ascended into Heaven. Let the Christian continue to fight the sin that tempts the carnal body and long for the day when they will be free from the effects of sin.
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul is expounding on Romans 6:5, the first part of the verse which says “if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death.”
- Paul says the first thing we know is that our old man was crucified with Christ. Our old man refers to our old humanity and adamic nature which we inherited from Adam.
- The crucifixion of our old man has two main results:
- The body of sin might be destroyed: The body of sin refers to our physical bodies which are still under the influence of sin. Sin still reigns in our mortal bodies.
- That we should no longer serve sin: We should no longer be slaves to sin. We have been freed from sin’s dominion.
- The body itself is not sinful, but it is the sphere in which sin operates. The Lord Jesus had a human body but was without sin. We have the same natural instincts as Jesus but we were born with a sinful nature which causes the bodily instincts to dominate us.
- The object of salvation is to free us from sin entirely, including its effects on our bodies. Our spirits have been freed from sin, but our bodies await full redemption.
- The term “the body of sin” is the same as “the flesh.” It refers to the body as it is dominated by sin.
- The old man refers to our old humanity in Adam. The old man was crucified, died, and was buried with Christ. We do not gradually die to the old man.
- We should not think of ourselves as still opposing or burying the old man. The old man has already been crucified and buried. We must realize the truth of our new identity in Christ.
- We must wage war against sin in our mortal bodies, not in our redeemed spirits. We must yield our bodily members to righteousness.
- We can experience victory over sin in our bodies now by knowing the truth of our position in Christ and using our bodily members as instruments of righteousness.
The Book of Romans
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.