Romans 6:19 – I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.
GENERAL SUMMARY: Paul makes his appeal in language that is easy to understand using examples that everyone is familiar with. His point is that before we were saved, we were slaves to sin. But now that we are redeemed by Christ, we should be fully dedicated to righteousness which manifests in personal holiness. 
DIGGING DEEPER: Speaking in human terms: This phrase was common among the Greek writers. It refers to concepts or examples that were commonly understood by the majority of people.
It also refers to the manner in which the information was given – in a popular or simple style as opposed to the deep and sometimes obscure writing of the philosophers.
Because of your natural limitations: There is a very good reason for Paul to speak in ‘human terms’. Specifically, he does so because the Christians of Rome are inexperienced or unfamiliar with heavenly things. Paul’s discourse on righteousness wouldn’t do them any good if it was given in ‘Christian jargon’ which they couldn’t understand.
This is a lesson we should learn. If we want to relate spiritual truth to people who have never heard the gospel or who have no religious training at all, it would be best to use common examples to explain spiritual ideas.
For example, in this study we have compared salvation to a free gift. Using that analogy we have explained that salvation is free to us, but Jesus paid the price for us to receive it. When we use common everyday examples like this, it really helps get our message across.
Just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness leading to more lawlessness: Technically, we could define sin as voluntarily presenting our minds and bodies as slaves to impurity/wickedness/lawlessness. Before our salvation, each one of us lived our lives this way.
In Romans chapter one, Paul discussed our sins and perversions at length. He proved that our sin placed us in bondage which led to even greater depths of moral depravity. The more we sinned, the deeper we were immersed in wickedness; the deeper we got in wickedness, the more we sinned! It was a hopeless cycle that we could not break.
It is worth noting that we ‘presented’ ourselves or in other words we willingly sinned. It was something we wanted to do; we took great delight in our it.
This principle still applies today. Those who are apart from Christ devote their bodies and minds to sin. They enjoy it and revel in it, not realizing that sin drags them further and further into bondage and deeper levels of depravity.
Now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification: Thank God, he did not leave us in that hopeless situation!
Now that you have been justified in the sight of God by faith in Christ, your bodies and minds should be servants of righteousness. We now willingly and gladly dedicate ourselves to doing what is right in God’s sight. Just as sin leads to greater and deeper levels of depravity, so righteousness leads to greater and deeper levels of holiness and sanctification. Every aspect of our minds and bodies has been redeemed by Christ:
- Formerly our mouths were used for cursing and lying. Now they are used to praise God and encourage others.
- Formerly our ears were used to listen to foul stories, gossip and slander. Now they are used to hear the gospel and the cries of the lost.
- Formerly our hands were used in every conceivable sin. Now they are used to minister the love of God to the saints and to the lost.
- Formerly our eyes were used to seek out lust, now they are used to search the scripture and look for good works.
- Formerly our minds were focused on ourselves and how to obtain our own desires. Now they have been renewed by the word of God.
Of course, as we have mentioned in the past, redemption is instantaneous, but sanctification is an ongoing process. Thankfully, Holy Spirit is present to assist us.
Romans 6:20 – For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
GENERAL SUMMARY: When you were a sinner, no righteousness was found in you. Now that you belong to Christ, no sin should be found in you.
DIGGING DEEPER: When you were slaves to sin you were free in regard to righteousness: This circles back to the thought that you can’t serve two masters. Sin and righteousness are polar opposites. You can be a slave/dedicated servant of righteousness, or you can be a slave/dedicated servant of sin, but not both.
Paul is expressing the thought that when a person is a slave/servant of sin, they are completely submersed in it. It occupies all their time, energy and thoughts. Their will is fully submitted to it. They are utterly void of any righteousness. 
Think of it this way: If you take a sponge, hold it under water and squeeze it a couple of times, all the air will be gone. It will be completely full of nothing but water. That is a picture of us as sinners. We were like sponges soaked in the water of wickedness; no molecules of righteousness (air) were found in us.
Although he doesn’t specifically say so, the apostle is implying that when you become a servant/slave to righteousness, you will be totally submerged in it; to the best of your ability, you will seek to squeeze all sin out of your life.
Romans 6:21 – But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
GENERAL SUMMARY: Remember, this chapter deals with the question of whether or not the gospel plan of justification by faith leads one to increased sin. Paul has shown over and over in different ways that the answer is ‘no’. In fact, he has proven that the opposite is true – the gospel leads men and women to live lives of increased holiness.
In this particular example, he uses our own past experiences. Paul wants Christians to consider the benefits they received from sin. When they recall the bitterness, slavery and addiction that sin brought, they will not continue (or increase) in sin, they will abandon it.
DIGGING DEEPER: What fruit were you getting at that time: ‘Fruit’ refers to rewards or advantages. Paul wants each person to stop and consider what they gained or experienced when they were sinners.
The obvious answer is that the fruits of sin are things like bitterness, anger, hate, broken relationships, disappointment, frustration, addiction, etc. Any pleasure derived from sin eventually crumbles into ashes or hardens into bondage. If we are honest, we will admit that there is no profit or lasting good to be gained through sin.
From the things of which you are now ashamed: At one point we all reveled or delighted in sin. We were foolishly proud of the things we did. We had no sense of sin and no fear of God.
But once we placed our faith in Christ, our understanding was enlightened. We understood how disgusting our former thoughts and behavior were to God and to others. We realized that through sin, we degraded ourselves.
At that point, our sin ceased to be a matter of pride and instead became a matter of shame. It did not make us ‘cool’ in the eyes of others; it was source of humiliation. Worse yet, we had to face the fact that there was no one else to blame - we brought that shame upon ourselves.
For the end of those things is death: The inevitable outcome of a life of sin is death, both physical and spiritual.
Having escaped the penalty of sin through Christ, why would any true Christian ever seek out sin again? To do so would mean guaranteed death.
Galatians 4:8-9 – Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?
As one bible commentator it, ‘In the past sin was unprofitable. In the present it is shameful. In the future it will be deadly, for the wages of sin is death.’
So, we find that Paul is giving yet another proof/reason why free, abundant grace does not result in continued sin, but in a life of holiness.
Specifically, Christians now have a full understanding of how disgusting and worthless their sin was. It provided nothing of value in their lives; it made them offensive in God’s sight. In the end, it brought only death. From the standpoint of personal experience, Christians will forsake sin and turn to lives of holiness.
Romans 6:22 – But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
GENERAL SUMMARY: Verse 21 outlined the fruit you reap when you sow sin in your life. The final outcome of sin is death. Verse 22 discusses the fruit you reap when you sow righteousness in your life. The final outcome of those who practice righteousness is the gift of salvation from Jesus Christ.
DIGGING DEEPER: But now: Now that you have received salvation through Jesus Christ.
You have been set free from sin: The authority and dominion of sin has been broken in your life by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
And become slaves of God: Having been set free from the kingdom of darkness, you are now a member of the kingdom of heaven, with Christ as your King, God as your Father, and Holy Spirit as your advisor. Your life is dedicated to Jehovah; you willingly yoke yourself to him.
Matthew 11:29-30 – Take my [Jesus] yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
The fruit you get leads to sanctification and eternal life: The fruit of sanctification includes (but is not limited to) peace, contentment, joy, comfort and success/victory.
A life of holiness/sanctification is profitable in many ways:
- It conforms us to the image of Christ.
- It glorifies God.
- It promotes the gospel.
- It ensures the good of our neighbor (Matthew 22:34-40).
- It prepares us for the world to come.
Those who have trusted in Christ as Savior will naturally practice sanctification and will eventually receive eternal life in the next age.
Before we go any further, let me make one thing crystal clear - our sanctification/holiness does not earn us a place in heaven (Isaiah 64:6). Eternal life is NOT based on our works. We receive eternal life as a free gift from Jesus Christ when we place our faith in him as our Redeemer. Our sanctification is the natural result of our life in Christ.
Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
GENERAL SUMMARY: Throughout this chapter, Paul has shown in different ways that the free gift of justification does not lead to an increase in sin. In fact, the opposite is true – justification leads to a life of increased holiness.
Our choices in this life determine our final, eternal outcome. Sin guarantees death. Salvation (the free gift of Christ Jesus) guarantees eternal life. 
DIGGING DEEPER: The wages of sin is death: ‘Wages’ refer to that which is a person earns or deserves. Wages are not a gift; they are something owed to us. Since most of us work for a living ourselves, we understand this concept. If our employer promised to give us $50 an hour and we worked 10 hours, we earned $500, and our employer is obligated to pay us.
Throughout the fifth and sixth chapters of Romans, Paul portrays sin as a king. Sinners are the soldiers in his army. They serve him. They fight under him and for him. As their employer, sin must pay wages to sinners. The wage they were promised/guaranteed is death, so that is exactly what they can expect at the end of this age. Sin is obligated to pay them what is owed.
Ezekiel 18:4 - …the soul who sins shall die.
There are people who like to accuse God of being unjust for sending people to hell. By saying that, they show their ignorance. God is perfectly just. People in hell will be treated exactly as they deserve to be treated; they will receive exactly what they earned.
But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord: The sinner receives exactly what he has earned but, thank God, the Christian does not!
As Christians, we receive gifts from God, not wages. These gifts include (but are not limited to) mercy, peace, joy, satisfaction, salvation and eternal life. All the benefits of heaven are given to us solely because of the goodness of God; we have done nothing to earn or deserve them.
Because we have done nothing to earn them, God will receive all the credit and glory for our eternal life. Our final outcome is a living witness to the mercy and grace of God, which will be made known to the entire universe.
The atoning work of Jesus Christ is the channel through which these blessings flow.
Let me offer you some encouragement:
In today’s post we noted that Paul spoke in ‘human terms’. In other words, he avoided using Christian jargon or fancy words when trying to explain the gospel.
I know most of us don’t confuse people intentionally, but it might be a good thing for us to pause and consider the terms/phrases we are using when we share Christ. We might want to adopt some examples that are clearer to those who have no religious background. We should not assume that everyone understands terms like ‘saved’, ‘justified’ or ‘raptured’.
Let me offer you some relief:
Sanctification, the ongoing, lifelong process of spiritual growth in each believer, is never finished on this side of eternity. Until our fallen nature is changed and we are released from our fleshly bodies, we must be on constant guard against sin.
Most of the time, we can be victorious:
I Corinthians 10:13 – No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
However, at times we will still fail. When that happens, don’t be discouraged. Don’t give up. Don’t beat yourself up. (Satan would love it if you did that!) Instead, just repent and get back to your kingdom work! Holy Spirit will help you overcome the next time.
Let me offer you some strength:
The Christian life is a busy life. We have family obligations, social obligations, work obligations and ministry obligations, just to name a few.
I suspect that most of us don’t spend a whole lot of time dreaming about what heaven will be like. But I think it would be beneficial if we did.
The final outcome of the Christian is eternal life in heaven. It will be a place of unimagined splendor, opportunity, love, fellowship, discovery and worship.
Obviously, we don’t serve God just to obtain eternal life; we serve him because we love him. But spending time imagining the gifts he plans to shower on us gives us strength to fight another day in this life. It motivates us to continue the (sometimes) painful process of personal holiness. So, if you’re feeling a bit tired or weary, spend some time studying or dreaming about your life in eternity. Read the testimony of someone who went to heaven and then returned to earth. It will make today’s struggles easier!