For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not
under law but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin because we
are not under law but under grace? May it never be! 16 Do you not
know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for
obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin
resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? 17
But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became
obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were
committed, 18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of
righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms because of the
weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as
slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further
lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to
righteousness, resulting in sanctification.

Last week we tried to answer the question raised by verse 14:
What does it mean to be "under grace" but not "under law"? My
answer was that being "under law" means that we are bound to make
lawkeeping the righteousness by which God justifies us. "Under law"
means that justifying righteousness comes from our own lawkeeping.
On the other hand, being "under grace" means that our justification
is a gift of grace on the basis of Christ's righteousness,
Christ's lawkeeping, Christ's perfect obedience
of faith (including his atoning death). (See the 11-26-00
sermon.)

Don't Let Sin Master You, Because Sin Is not Going to Master
You

Now today's question is: Why does being "under grace" guarantee
that sin will not master us? Notice the logic of verse 14: "Sin
shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under
grace." This is a promise: "Sin shall not be master over you." It
is not a command like "Thou shalt not kill." It is a promise of
what must be and will be for all who are under grace. We can tell
this because verse 14 is given as the basis of a command in verse
13: "Do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as
instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as
those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of
righteousness to God." That's a command. Now verse 14 adds the
reason: "For sin shall not be master over you."

This is the striking way that New Testament ethics is
structured. "Don't let sin master you, because sin is not going to
master you." If that strikes us as strange, which it does at first,
it's because we come to the Bible with our man-centered bias toward
self-determination. In other words, we come with the bias that if
the Bible tells us to make a choice (like "don't present your
members to sin"), then in the moment of that choice we, not God,
have the final say. And if you come with that bias – that
genuine, responsible choice means ultimate self-determination
– the connection between verse 13 and verse 14 will probably
make no sense. Don't yield to sin (verse 13) because sin
will not be master over you (verse 14).

But if you learn from Scripture to see the sovereignty of God
and the real responsibility of man in such a way that God is
ultimate and decisive, then this is the way you will learn to talk
about the choices of the Christian life: I choose not to let sin
reign in my body, because God is at work in me and will
not let sin reign in my body (see Philippians 2:12-13; 3:12; 1
Corinthians 5:7).

Now keep in mind that we have seen this same way of thinking
already in verses 1-2. Romans 6:1-2: "What shall we say then? Are
we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be!
How shall we who died to sin still live in it?" Do you see how Paul
argues? You can't go on living in sin, because when you
were united to Christ by faith, you died with Christ to sin. And
so, since you can't go on living in sin, therefore
don't continue to sin that grace may increase. You see the
reasoning: Your death with Christ ensures that sin will not be
master over you. Therefore, don't let it be master over you. O may
the Lord give us grace to adjust our thinking in line with Biblical
thinking!

"Under Grace," so Sin Is not Your Master

So the question today is: Why does being "under grace" ensure
– guarantee – that sin will not be master over those
who are under grace? Verse 14: "Sin shall not be master over you,
for you are not under law but under grace." What is it
about being under grace that guarantees that sin will not be master
over us?

I will mention three things, two from the wider context of
Romans, one from the immediate context.

1. When we are under grace the wrath of God is entirely removed
from us, so that all God's action toward us is saving action.

All his power flows in the service of his mercy, and not the
service of his wrath or punishment. He is for us and not against
us. Therefore our chief enemy, sin, will not defeat us.

Romans 8:1 says, "There is now no condemnation for those who are
in Christ Jesus" – that is, for those who are "under grace."
And what does this imply about our future? Let Romans 8:31-32
answer: "If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare
His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not
also with Him freely give us all things?" In other words, if God
did the hardest thing in justifying us – putting us under
grace – at the cost of his Son, then he will do everything
necessary to save us, including not letting sin be master over
us.

Being "under grace" means being out from under wrath. And when
we are out from under the wrath of God, all his power stands in the
service of his mercy to help do whatever it takes to get us to
glory (Romans 8:30). So the first answer is: being under grace
guarantees that sin will not be master over us because being under
grace means being out from under wrath, and having all the power of
God on our side and not against us.

2. Second, when we are "under grace," paralyzing guilt that
makes us hopeless in the fight with sin is taken away.

This was my argument from Romans 6:6b-7. So I will not dig into
it again here. Notice the last phrase in verse 6: ". . . so that we
would no longer be slaves to sin." That's the goal we are after in
this chapter: real freedom from sinning. Then comes the foundation
of this liberty in verse 7: "For he who has died is freed
[literally: "justified"] from sin." Which is the same as saying,
"For he is under grace, not under law."

In other words, justification by faith alone is the foundation
for not being a slave of sin. Which is another way of saying that
being "under grace" is the foundation for not being a slave of sin.
And the point I made some weeks ago was that one reason that some
people are enslaved to sin is that they feel so hopeless they won't
even make the effort to change. That is what the teaching and the
reality of justification by faith alone is meant to overcome. So
the second reason we see that being "under grace" guarantees that
sin will not be master over us is that being under grace means
being out from under the kind of guilt that is so paralyzing and
hope-defeating, we don't even take up the fight with sin.

3. Now, finally, when we are under grace, God is at work in us
to will and to do his good pleasure.

That's a quote from Philippians 2:13, but let me show it to you
from the immediate context of Romans 6:14-19. The key verse on this
point is verse 17: "But thanks be to God . . ." Notice that
carefully. What is he going to thank God for? What has God done?
"Thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became
obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were
committed (literally: to which you were handed over)." What is he
thanking God for? He is thanking God for their obedience to the
teaching of the apostles. And it is not mechanical, but "from the
heart."

This is what happens under grace. When the wrath of God is
removed, and paralyzing guilt is taken away, the saving work of God
is sanctifying work. That is, God inclines your heart to obey the
form of teaching to which the apostles handed you over. "Thanks be
to God that you became obedient" from the heart!

You see this again in the wording of verse 18. Notice the
passive verbs. Who is doing the acting in these verbs: "And
having been freed from sin, you became slaves of
(literally: were enslaved to) righteousness"? Here again
it is God at work. God "freed" you from sin. God "enslaved" you to
righteousness.

So there are two supports for this third point. When we are
"under grace," God works in us to do his will. That is why sin will
not be master over us if we are under grace. We see it first in the
words of verse 17: "Thanks be to God that you became obedient." And
we see it secondly in the words of verse 18: We "were freed" (by
God!) from sin and we "were enslaved" (by God!) to righteousness.
This was God's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes.

To sum up, then, we've been asking
why being "under grace"
guarantees that sin will not be master over us. Reason one: because
under grace, the wrath of God is entirely removed and the power of
God flows to us in saving, helping, keeping mercy, not punishment.
Reason two: because under grace, paralyzing guilt is taken away and
we are given hope that it is worth it to fight sin. Reason three:
because under grace God himself comes into our lives and inclines
our hearts away from sin and toward righteousness.

Exhortations

So let me close with three short exhortations.

1. Do not jump to the conclusion that when Paul says, "Sin will
not be master over us," it means that we will be perfect in this
life. Paul makes plain in Philippians 3:12 that he is not perfect
nor has he already attained his goal, but he presses on. He says
that we are being changed from one degree of glory to another (2
Corinthians 3:18). And when we get to the struggling Paul of Romans
7, who says, "I do the very thing I do not want to do," we will see
that even though he says sin is the culprit (7:20), he takes
responsibility for his complicity and says, "Wretched man that I
am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?" (7:24). We
will not be perfect until we are transformed fully in the presence
of Christ (1 John 3:2).

When Paul says that sin will not be our master, he does not mean
that the defeated and dethroned foe is driven from the castle at
once, but in stages, and the Christian life is to fight that fight
and to fight it as those whose victory is sure: "Sin will not sit
on this throne."

2. When you hear that God is sovereign and that he has
guaranteed that those under grace will not be defeated by sin, do
not jump to the conclusion that the battle is a charade, and
nothing hangs on your choices. Don't say, "Let us sin that grace
may increase" (Romans 6:1). Don't say, "Let us sin because we are
not under law but under grace" (Romans 6:15). In other words, don't
come to the Bible with the assumption: if it does not depend on
what I choose ultimately, it does not depend on what I choose at
all. That is man-centered, unbiblical thinking. Rather say, "Since
it depends on God ultimately, there is hope that I, a dead and
hardened sinner, may choose what is good and live a life pleasing
to the Lord. Let the sovereignty of God make you hopeful that
change is possible, not passive as if no change were necessary.

3. Finally, realize that Paul is teaching us in this chapter how
to live for the glory of God, not the glory of ourselves. That is
why God's action is ultimate and ours is dependent on his. That is
why God doesn't say, "Just do it." It is why he says, "Because you
are under grace, do it." And: "Because you have died with Christ,
don't do it." And: "Because you are enslaved to righteousness by
God, do it." "Just do it" is man-centered. Do it because "God is at
work in you to do it" is God-centered. Putting it this way keeps
the work of God front and center in your life. That is where he
will get the glory.

I close with the way Peter put it in 1 Peter 4:11, "Whoever
serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which
God supplies; so that in all things God may be
glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the
glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

That's our goal – the glory of God through Jesus Christ.
So, know that by faith you are "under grace," not "under law."
Therefore, sin will not be master of you. Fight it by faith because
victory is sure.