Victorious Christian life through Sanctification: (chap.6)
Salvation belongs to both Jews and Gentiles and must be obtained only through believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul begins from (chap.6 through to chap.8), the importance of holy life and every believer must lead a life holy and pleasing to Him. Sanctification is nothing but setting apart and for doing good works. A sanctified life makes all the difference in this world.
The basis of Sanctification: (6:1-4):
It is quite possible that many new and immature Christians would take the idea that “Grace abounds much more when sin abounds” (5:20). As the church of Rome had both Jewish and Gentile believers, it was quite natural that Jewish believers were tending more towards the legalism and Gentile believers towards licence. Both were in extreme situation. In both the cases Apostle was warning them. Sin is all around us. If Grace increases when we sin, it is natural that a believer gets this idea to sin more in order to increase God’s grace.
- The Russian monk Gregory Rasputin in 20th century, taught and lived with the idea of salvation through repeated experiences of sin and repentance. He believed that because those who sin the most require the most forgiveness, therefore a sinner who continues to sin without restraint enjoys more of God’s grace of forgiveness, than the ordinary sinner. Therefore, Rasputin lived in notorious sin and taught that this was the way to salvation. This is an extreme example of the idea behind Paul’s question.
- Some people think that their job is to sin and God’s job is to forgive, so they will do their job and God will do His job!
This is the extremism and abuse of God’s grace. God’s grace is very much required for every believer because even “our righteous acts are like filthy rags in the sight of God”, (Isa.55: ) then, what about our filthy or unrighteous acts. But thanks be to God, whether our acts are filthy or good or righteous, still we need the grace of God. The abundance of Grace of God in no way encourage us to sin more. Such a thought cannot be entertained. Because we died to sin, in other words, we are taken away from the sin’s power or set free from sin, with the demonstration of our baptism, we must no way entertain ourselves in sin.
In the first century days, immersion was the usual form of Baptism i.e. the believer was completely buried in water and raised again. This form of Baptism symbolises the death and burial of the old way of life. Coming out of water symbolises that he is resurrected and from now-on-wards he lives for Christ. If we think that our sinful life is dead, this gives us the motivation to live for Christ in sanctification. We can continue to enjoy our wonderful life with Jesus. Our baptism indicates that we are dying to live for God. Death will not have any mastery over us.
Although the Baptism refers to immersion baptism, some people are confused with that whether Paul was speaking about Spirit Baptism or water Baptism. In (6:3) says: “all of us are baptized into Christ” speaks more of water baptism, but again in (1 Cor.12:13) “For we were baptized by one Spirit into one body.” Whether it is Spirit baptism or water baptism, both are done by the Holy Spirit. The underlining factor is that baptism is not regeneration. Baptism does not save us nor does it give us the entry into eternal life. Baptism is an activity after the Salvation experience. It is the visible truth of identification with Christ. Therefore we are buried with Christ’s burial and rose again, identified with Christ. We are dead to this world. We have nothing to do with sin. So baptism is important as an illustration of spiritual reality. If someone has not spiritually died and risen with Jesus, all the baptisms in the world will not save him. Something dramatic and life changing must happen in the life of the believer. We can’t die and rise again without changing our life. The believer has a real (spiritual) death and resurrection with Jesus Christ.