“Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:8-11)
In his letter epistle to the Roman church Paul stressed salvation by grace in order to refute those in the church who claimed that Gentile Christians had to follow the Mosaic Law. He then addressed questions and objections that such people in his audience may raise such as since we are saved by grace not works, why not just continue to sin so that God’s grace will be even further exalted? Paul’s emphatic answer was that grace never gives anyone license to sin. Through baptism we have been united with Christ in His death and resurrection. We are no longer slaves to sin but servants of Christ. Sin has no power over us and so it should no longer have any appeal for us. We constantly rely on God’s grace to fight against all its attempts to rule and enslave us.
The idea of fighting against sin and temptation should not be foreign to us for we are united with Jesus. He is sinless and we should desire to be like Him. Paul warns us that we cannot have it both ways. Those who give in to sin become enslaved by it. Those so enslaved lose their ability to choose freely. They go along their merry way, thinking they are willingly pursuing their personal lifestyle preferences. In fact are being led around by the nose. Those who are in Christ are His servants. They no longer live for self but for Him. They act in His righteousness and walk in His will.