Paul
shows how unfounded is the objection that being justified by faith apart from
personal merit leads one to live a life of sin. On the contrary, grace is the
supreme motive for obedience and inevitably results in holy living.
(Romans 6:1-23)
In every age
there have been those who have denounced the doctrine of justification by faith
on the ground that it logically leads to sin. The opponents ask:
If all the believers sins have already been paid for
If he has already been credited with perfect
righteousness
If his good works will not help save him
If
all this is true (the opponents ask) then why worry about sin?
Paul
himself was falsely accused of teaching
such a doctrine:
Romans 3:8
-
Why not say-- as we [Paul and those with him] are being slanderously reported
as saying
and as some claim that we say-- "Let us do evil that good may result"?
Romans
6 answers all such objections
showing that the truly
justified sinner will take no such attitude:
He will not sin that grace may
abound (verse 1)
He will not sin because he is
under grace and not under Law (verse
14)
On the contrary,
the gospel method of salvation
by grace leads to true obedience and
inevitably results in good works!
But the justified
sinners obedience results from love, not fear:
His good works are are
performed out of gratitude for Gods free gift of salvation,
Not
in the hope that these works will help save him!
Paul teaches in Romans 6, that justification by faith leads the believer, not
to a life of sin, but a life
of grateful obedience.
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