Romans – A Treatise
Chapter Six
THE DOMINION OF SIN
Scripture Reading: verses 11-14
LIKEWISE RECKON YE ALSO YOURSELVES TO BE DEAD INDEED UNTO SIN, BUT ALIVE UNTO GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD. LET NOT SIN THEREFORE REIGN IN YOUR MORTAL BODY, THAT YE SHOULD OBEY IT IN THE LUSTS THEREOF. NEITHER YIELD YE YOUR MEMBERS AS INSTRUMENTS OF UNRIGHTEOUSNESS UNTO SIN: BUT YIELD YOURSELVES UNTO GOD, AS THOSE THAT ARE ALIVE FROM THE DEAD, AND YOUR MEMBERS AS INSTRUMENTS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS UNTO GOD. FOR SIN SHALL NOT HAVE DOMINION OVER YOU: FOR YE ARE NOT UNDER THE LAW, BUT UNDER GRACE.
In this universal courtroom man has been unequivocally condemned, first of all because of his offences – his sins. Next the great question of his evil nature, termed “our old man,” is brought under review and also condemned. This after-the-flesh man is reckoned as having been put to death by being identified with the Lord Jesus in His death. Therefore, the Christian having an identity with both Adam and Christ, appears on the scene as a very complex being. He has an evil nature distinguishing him with Adam, but he also has a new life in Christ, and this composite individual is still on this earth in a human body. Here is our two-fold problem: (1) Yielding to the propensities of the flesh, to the natural inclinations of our old man and live a life dominated by sin; or (2) Coming under the dominion of God’s grace revealed in Christ, allowing the new order to have precedence.
In order to see the clear perspective of these two problems, notice the wording of verse 11: “Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Notice specifically the name given to the Lord Jesus. We are alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Here the thought of the supremacy of Christ in His demands on us is asserted. It is not through Jesus, or through Jesus Christ, but through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Becoming a Christian is more than simply accepting God’s way of salvation, loosing us from the guilt of our offences. It goes beyond that. The true Christian is one who (1) knows what it is to have all sings put away through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ; who (2) knows what it is to have bowed the knee, and who (3) knows what it is to have owned the universal authority of One whom he calls “Jesus Christ our Lord.”
“If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”1 This is the premise upon which we take our stand as true believers on the Lord Jesus Christ. In these days, many have a superficial attitude toward many things, largely glossing over the sovereign authority of our Lord, even in some religious circles. If we could ever get it into our consciousness that to be a Christian is to do the will of the Lord Jesus, to own His supreme authority in every step of our journey, we would not think lightly of Christian conduct.
The subject presented in this passage reveals two realms of authority set in juxtaposition, the one to the other. One is the realm where sin reigns; the other where grace reigns. One is the authority of Satan; the other of Jesus Christ our Lord. We cannot go on professing to be under the realm of grace while continuing to serve sin and Satan. One is a contradiction of the other. So verse 12 comes in: “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.” Remember that man is not a will-less being. He is not one who moves inanimately, controlled by a force outside himself. God has given each of us a heart, conscience, mind, and will. The moment we are born again something entirely new is introduced into our spiritual being. It is a new life, the very life of the risen Lord Himself. This life is in conflict with our former tendencies toward sin. Also, the world around is characterized by moral principles that are repulsive to our new nature and new life. A conflict is set up in the believer’s heart; between good and evil; between the flesh and spirit. But the Christian is not will-less. Even after conversion, God accords us the choice of either serving the Lord or self. Note that our sins have been put away. They have been accounted for under judgment in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ; the sinner is forgiven. God has said: “Your sins and your iniquities will I remember no more forever.” That is something distinct and apart from the man himself problem (not merely his sins) which is before the court at this moment. Therefore, he stands a criminal once condemned, now pardoned. He is still in the body; he has a mind and heart; conscience and will.
The option is presented to him regarding whether he will continue to be dominated by the principles that controlled him before being born again. His decision is that he will not. He reckons himself dead to sin, and refuses to allow the reign of sin in his mortal body by refusing to obey its lusts. Verse 13 says: “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”
The Christian is a living man; he has a body; he has intelligence; he has the option of either yielding under the domination of sinful lust, or yielding his members unto righteousness. If he is a true believer, the Scripture says unequivocally he must yield himself as alive unto God and dead unto the old Adam tendencies. “For sin shall not have dominion over you,” says verse 14, “for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” He is no longer on trial to determine whether he is a sinner or not. The law was given to settle that question, and the law has amply demonstrated that the man after the flesh cannot be obedient to God, but is a rebel in the inner springs of his being. But now the Christian, the one who has been born again, has new life in Christ and must be controlled by something far more superabundant than law – the grace of God. And the grace of God makes demands on us that are far more strict and far reaching than the law could ever make. May we realize the demands placed on us under God’s grace. In a word, He demands that we should “live unto God.” No longer having ourselves as an object or satisfaction or gratification of the flesh, but in self-denial we should live as witnesses for God here on the earth for His good pleasure and for His glory.
