The Book Of Romans
There are many things the apostle Paul would have the members of the Body of Christ know and in our last study we saw some of the things he would not have us to be ignorant of concerning this dispensation of the Grace of God. Today, I would like for us to consider a phrase used by the Apostle Paul to call attention to something that is very important for all of God's redeemed of this dispensation to know. That phrase is, "KNOW YE NOT." As Paul presented the message of the Mystery to the different Gentile congregations, he expected them to grasp everything he taught about God's program for today. Yet, after Paul left these different areas, he received word that some of the Saints had not fully understood what he had taught, or they had neglected to put into practice some area of teaching that was necessary if these Saints were to walk well pleasing to our Lord. When writing to these congregations after hearing of their failure to live up to the teachings he had given them, Paul brings up these different doctrinal points by challenging his readers with the phrase, "KNOW YE NOT." He then proceeds to repeat the doctrine they were failing to put into practice in their personal lives. In the Book of Romans we have three subjects that are introduced with the phrase, "KNOW YE NOT." Let us look at these passages and see if we can gain a fuller insight into Paul's teachings concerning the message of the Mystery which had been "HID IN GOD" (Ephesians 3:9) and "KEPT SECRET, SINCE THE WORLD BEGAN" (Romans 16:25).
Baptized Into Christ
Not only did the Saints of Paul's day lack a good understanding of the doctrine of baptism, many today are confused about what Paul taught in Romans 6:3, when he wrote: "KNOW YE NOT, THAT SO MANY OF US AS WERE BAPTIZED INTO JESUS CHRIST WERE BAPTIZED INTO HIS DEATH?" There are many Christians today who believe a water ceremony is being spoken of in this Romans 6:3 passage. Paul would not be talking about a water ceremony here because he had already taught that Water Baptism was not to be practiced in this dispensation of the Grace of God (First Corinthians 1:17). Water Baptism was given to the nation of Israel as a ceremony that identified the recipient into the Priesthood. In as much as there is no priesthood for the Body of Christ, there is no water ceremony to be practiced today in this dispensation of the Grace of God. A majority of the problems surrounding the subject of BAPTISM would be answered if we recognized the fact that BAPTISM is a Greek word that has been inserted in our English text. If we are to understand what the writers of Scripture meant when they spoke of Baptism, let us use the English word, IDENTIFY or IDENTIFICATION, when we see this Greek word in our English text. In every place where the subject of Baptism is spoken of, we will find some kind of identification being referred to. This can be seen in Romans 6:3 if we use our English word, IDENTIFIED, in place of the Greek word, BAPTIZED. In this passage, Paul is talking about our oneness with Christ. The doctrine that had been missed by these Roman Saints was the fact that when Christ died on Calvary's Cross, God saw every believer as having died with Him there. It is this identification with Christ that gives us the power to overcome Sin. Not only were we identified with Christ in His death, we were also identified into His burial and His resurrection. This is why Paul encourages the Saints to live the resurrected life right now. (Romans 6:3-6). Paul wanted these Saints at Rome (and all the members of the Body of Christ) to know that we already have the victory over sin. Because of our having died with Christ, Sin no longer has any claim upon us. Sin cannot dictate to, or exercise control over, a dead person. This is Paul's point in this Romans six passage. Since every believer died with Christ, and because of this death Sin has no claim upon, or power over, those who are IN CHRIST, why is it that so many Christians are not free from sin in their lives? The answer is simple. These Saints whose lives are weakened by sin have never understood the teaching of Romans 6:3. They do not know that Sin no longer has any authority over their lives. They have never put into practice the truth of Romans 13:14, where Paul said: "PUT YE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND MAKE NOT PROVISION FOR THE FLESH, TO FULFILL THE LUSTS THEREOF." Because most Saints do not know that Sin is powerless due to our death WITH CHRIST, they ALLOW Sin to work in their lives. They even make allowances for sin in their lives by saying, "I can't help doing the things I do because this is the way God made me." This statement is just an excuse to satisfy the desires of the flesh and blame God for their actions.
To Whom Ye Yield Yourself
In keeping with his theme of our being freed from Sin by our identification into Christ's death, Paul addresses our separation from Sin in detail in the last part of Romans chapter six. Paul has already established the fact that we died with Christ (Romans 6:3), were buried with Him (Romans 6:4) and were then raised with Him unto newness of life (Romans 6:5 & 11). Because of this identification with Christ, we are encouraged not to serve Sin (Romans 6:6-7). The whole purpose of this lengthy discussion of Sin no longer having dominion over the Saints is to press home the point that all relationships that once existed between the Saints and Sin have been severed because of their death with Christ. Not only had the Saints at Rome miss this most important teaching of our identification with Christ, they were not aware of the fact that man is a perpetual servant. Paul addresses this truth in Romans 6:16 by saying: "KNOW YE NOT, THAT TO WHOM YE YIELD YOURSELF SERVANTS TO OBEY, HIS SERVANTS YE ARE TO WHOM YE OBEY." We who live in the United States are prone to believe man was created to be an independent creature who is free to do what ever he wanted to do and is not responsible to anyone. This was never the case. No Scripture can be found to suggest man was created to be anything but a servant. Romans 6:16 makes this clear. Paul's point in this last part of Romans chapter six is to show that every man was a servant (a SLAVE) to Sin by virtue of physical birth. The natural man may insist he is doing what he wants to do, but the truth is that Sin is his Master. The natural man can do nothing except what Sin wants him to do. The natural man is like a beast with a ring in his nose by which Sin leads him into the activities of the flesh. We were ALL the slaves of Sin before we were saved and we all did the bidding of our Master. BUT, with salvation and our death with Christ on Calvary, Sin's power as our Master was severed. Now, as the Saints of God, we have become the servants (the SLAVES) of "RIGHTEOUSNESS" (that; is, of Christ). The great difference between these two Masters is that Sin demands full obedience from his slaves; whereas Christ sets His servants free to serve Him out of a heart of love. Most Christians fail to recognize Christ's ownership over the Saints of God. Yet, this is the whole purpose of God's redemption. By the shed blood of Christ, God purchased the Christians out of the slave market of Sin. Once a Slave of Sin has been bought by the Blood of Christ, Sin relinquishes all rights and claims over that one and Christ takes title to these slaves of Sin. Christ owns every believer because He purchased them. This is what Paul is speaking of in First Corinthians 6:20. Romans 6:23 shows us the difference between these two masters. Sin takes everything from his slaves and rewards them with DEATH. Christ GIVES His servants the GIFT of Eternal Life.
The Law And The Living
The truth Paul would have us know is that we DO NOT have to serve Sin as our Master any more since we have been redeemed. If Sin continues to have any control of our life, it is because we have permitted him to take control of that which belongs to God. This is why every Christian should put Romans 6:12-13 into practice in his daily walk. In Romans 7:1, Paul again challenges these Saints by asking the question, "KNOW YE NOT?" This time Paul speaks of the power the husband has over his wife because of the Law of Marriage. The Law of Marriage continues in force as long as the husband and wife are alive, but when one of the marriage partners dies, the Law of Marriage is broken and the remaining partner is free to be married to another. Paul uses this Law of Marriage to teach the same truth he had been talking about in chapter six, that the Christian is no longer bound to Sin. In Romans 6:16-23, Paul speaks of the Master/Slave relationship. In Romans 7:1-6, Paul uses the Husband/Wife relationship, showing Sin as the husband and mankind as the wife. As long as a man remains alive, he is bound to Sin as a wife is bound to her husband. But, if the "wife" were to die, Sin would have no more authority over her because the Law of Marriage only has power over the living. Paul's point is that the "wife" who is saved, DIED with Christ on Calvary. Therefore, Sin no longer has any power over her because the Husband/Wife relationship was broken by the death of the "wife."
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Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
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