Chapter # 6 Paragraph # 3 Study # 5
September 25, 2016
Humble, Texas
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Thesis: The contrast that exists between the two "methods" of Life.
Introduction: Romans 6 is all about what kind of response "believers" should have in respect to the grace of God and the problem of on-going bondage to The Sin. This evening we have come to the last verse of the chapter where Paul presents the stark contrast between the impact of a life of bondage to The Sin and the impact of a life of bondage to The God.
- I. The Contrast Is Between the Fruits Produced.
- A. "The Sin" makes its boasts concerning "Life".
- 1. The only real leverage "The Sin" has is arguments regarding its ability to bring a person into a superior experience of "Life".
- a. This entire paragraph is all about the processes involved in "living": hearing (doctrinal content), yielding (acceptance of that content), presenting (making the members of the physical body available to the "king"), and fruit production (taking action in this cause/effect universe).
- b. Since there is no appeal for submission to "doctrine" that promises "death", "The Sin" argues that "Life" will result from its "truths".
- 2. The arguments of "The Sin" center upon the "wages" it promises.
- a. The term "wages" is not technically "wages".
- 1) In the uses of the term in the New Testament the idea is invariably "provisions for one's living".
- a) The usual term for a "wage" as payment for labor is misthos, as revealed by Matthew 20:8 and Romans 4:4.
- b) In normal settings, "wages" are the basis for the "provisions for one's living", but not in exceptional settings, one of which is that of a soldier (where the idea of opsonion is used by John the Baptizer [Luke 3:14] and Paul [1 Corinthians 9:7]).
- 2) "Wages" are part of those provisions, but may not even be the major part.
- 3) Paul opts for opsonion in this case because "The Sin" covers all aspects of one's "living".
- b. What "The Sin" is claiming is that there is a complete "Life" available by allowing it to be "The King" (6:12) over the mortal body.
- 3. Paul's counter claim is that everything "The Sin" sponsors produces "death" unto "Death".
- B. "The God" makes His claim that His grace in Christ Jesus our Lord yields Eternal Life.
- 1. At the root of God's promises is His "grace" in the form of "grace-gifts".
- a. The "grace gifts" are clearly defined in Romans 5:15 and summarized in 12:6.
- 1) In 5:15 there are two specific issues: grace and a gift by grace that equals a "grace-gift".
- 2) In 12:6, on the heels of a caution regarding how we think of ourselves and others, Paul simply attributes the differences between us to "grace given".
- b. The outcomes of "grace-gifts" are called "fruit" (6:22) and play into the process at the level of "what is produced out of the body" in a cause/effect world.
- 2. The essence of the promise is "Eternal Life" as a quality of experience measured by the internal issues of peace and joy, not by the external issues of situations.
- a. There is often no difference in external situations created by "The Sin" or by "Faith".
- b. The real difference is within.
- 3. This claim has its focus in "Christ" "Jesus" "our Lord".
- a. The King.
- b. The Savior.
- c. The Ultimate Authority.
