P. Richard Choi
For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace. Romans 6:14.
The problem with this passage is that, taken in isolation, it could be misinterpreted as saying that one can overcome sin only if one gets rid of the law and accepts grace in its place. Indeed, the passage has been read to mean that law and grace are contrary to each other. According to John Stott, “Law and grace are the opposing principles of the old and the new orders.”1 Others have gone so far as to portray the law as the cause of sin, if not sin itself. Interpretations like these are unacceptable. They not only go against the overall teaching of the Bible, but they are also contrary to Paul’s own statements elsewhere in the letter that speak positively of the law (e.g., Rom 7:12, 16; 1 Tim 1:8). For Paul, law and grace—as the death and resurrection of Christ—are complementary, not opposing institutions.
The Christian and sin – To arrive at the proper understanding of the passage, we must first consider the context. The immediate context, Romans 6:12-14, is a transitional passage linking the larger discussion blocks of verses 1-11 and 15-23, both of which are marked with opening questions. Verses 1-11 open with a question prompted by the preceding discussion in 5:12-21: “Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase?” Paul vigorously denies this possibility. Whatever else Paul wishes us to understand by the statement “for you are not under law, but under grace,” he does not want us to think that the reign of grace frees us from obedience to the law. Christians should not remain in sin, because baptism has united them with Christ’s death and resurrection. Similarly, verses 15-23 open with a second question that, as the one in 6:1, relates back to the discussion at the end of chapter 5, “Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?” Paul again denies this possibility. Christians must remain free of sin by becoming sanctified in Christ.
The age of Adam and the age of Christ – Romans 1-5 make clear that Paul thinks of history in terms of two ages or epochs: the age of Adam and the age of Christ. Unlike the age of Christ, the age of Adam is characterized by sin. So when, in 3:9, Paul declares that all humans—both Jew and Greek—are under sin, he is saying that every human being outside of Christ belongs to the age of Adam. Obviously, the age of Adam continues in history as a parallel reality even after the coming of Christ. What is important for our purpose, however, is that the sharp contrasts drawn between law and faith (3:21-4:21), trespass and grace (5:1-21), and sin and holiness (6:1-23) all express this two-age scheme.
The problem is that under this worldview, the law seems to belong to the age of Adam. Indeed, Paul states clearly that the law no longer performs its condemnatory function (Rom 8:1) in the age of Christ. To prevent the reader from drawing any false inferences about the law, Paul offers two arguments in chapters 6-8. First, Paul argues that the law is not evil. So, after a lengthy argument, Paul affirms the goodness of the law in 7:12, “The law is holy, just, and good.” Then, Paul reinforces this affirmation in 8:4 with the statement that the requirements of the law need to be fulfilled. Second, Paul shifts the orientation of his argument from history to human experience. In 5:12-21, Paul focuses on what Christ’s death means for history. In chapter 6 he turns his attention to what Christ’s death means for our experience. The purpose of 6:12-14 is to mark this shift of focus from history to the human experience in the context of the law.
The meaning of “under law” and “under grace” – Romans 6:14 begins with the words “for sin shall not be master over you.” The future tense of the statement “shall not be master” has given rise to several different interpretations. Some see it not as a command but as a promise, others as an encouragement and assurance. These are good suggestions. What it cannot mean, however, is that we will be presently and instantaneously sinless. The tense of this verse needs to be understood in the light of the admonitions in verses 12, 13, and 19 and the present tense statements in 7:14-25.
The second half of Romans 6:14 states, “for you are not under law, but under grace.” The very next verse makes clear that Paul here uses the phrase “under the law” to mean life in the old age of sin and death lived under the condemnation of the law. By contrast, the phrase “under grace” describes life in the new age of righteousness and vitality lived by the renewing power of grace. For Paul follows right on to say: “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? … having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (vv. 16, 18). So, the statement “for you are not under law” (v. 14) tells the reader that a successful transfer has taken place between the ages.
The two expressions—”under the law” and “under grace”—are best taken as Paul’s attempt to elucidate the meaning of baptism in terms of law and grace. The life under the condemnation of the law corresponds to dying, and the life under grace corresponds to the resurrection and the Spirit-filled life in which we receive power to break free from the grip of sin. The immediate purpose of the verse is to define baptism as the means of appropriating the powers of the new age that has dawned in Christ.
The role of baptism – But just how does baptism enable the human being to undergo such a radical change? For Paul, the body is a neutral entity that must be under the control of some sort of spiritual power. This view is what Paul has in mind when he speaks in the figurative language of “reign” and “slavery.” Unlike “the flesh,” which in Paul’s language refers to our sinful nature, the body can be either good or evil depending on the power it contains. The expression under law describes the body under the power of sin. In other words, as long as the power of sin reigns in my life, I am under the condemnation of the law. Similarly, under grace means the body has become the dwelling place of the Spirit of the risen Lord. And only in such a state can the law be fulfilled in the life of the believer.
In Romans 6:14 Paul is not referring “to any law in particular but to law as a principle. His point is that Christians are not under law as a way of salvation, but under grace. Law cannot save a sinner, nor can law put an end to sin or its dominion. Law reveals sin (ch. 3:20), and because of the sinfulness of man, law, as it were, causes transgression to increase (ch. 5:20). Law cannot forgive sin, nor can law provide any power to overcome it. The sinner who seeks to be saved under law will find only condemnation and deeper enslavement to sin” (F. D. Nichol, ed., Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, 6:541).
For baptism to transfer the body from the power of sin to the power of Christ, three conditions must be met. First, we must be baptized in water in a manner that reen-acts the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Yet, going through the baptismal rite is not enough, because its duration is too brief and, often, our understanding of baptism at the time is incomplete. Second, the initial experience of baptism must be repeatedly remembered in our minds as an experience of dying with Christ to the Old and rising with Him to the New. And finally, our affections and will must become daily identified in sympathy with the affections and will of Christ through a growing faith and love (Gal 2:20).
Paul uses the phrase under the law to mean to live under the condemnation of the law, and by the expression under grace he means to live “under the plan that God has offered of salvation from the bondage of sin” (F. D. Nichol, Answers to Objections, 82).
1 John R. W. Stott, Romans: God’s Good News for the World (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 181.
HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
Read it through,
Pray it in,
Work it out,
Note it down,
Pass it on.
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