Useful Bible Studies > Romans Commentary > chapter 6
Sin means our wrong and evil thoughts, words and actions. Everyone is guilty (3:23). These things control people’s attitudes and behaviour so strongly that we may consider it impossible ever to be free from them. So, this is truly a wonderful promise: sin will no longer control God’s people. God frees them from both the punishment and the power of sin.
The reason is that God’s people have received his grace. Grace means God’s kindness. That particularly refers to the fact that Christ died for them (5:6-8). When he died, he took their sin upon himself (1 Peter 2:24). His death made it possible for God to forgive their sin, and to give them a right relationship with himself.
However, God’s grace towards them did not end with Christ’s death: rather, their relationship with him depends entirely on God’s grace (1 Corinthians 15:10-11). Their lives are a continuous experience of God’s grace.
God’s grace, or kindness, is his free gift. It is not something that we can ever earn or deserve. So therefore it does not depend on our own efforts - not even on our efforts to obey God’s holy law.
God’s law shows his perfect standards for our lives, and therefore it cannot change (Matthew 5:17-20). The judgement of God’s law is rightly against our wrong and evil acts. However, when God forgives us, we do not suffer the judgement of his law. Instead, Christ suffered the punishment of the law (Isaiah 53:4-6) so that we can live by God’s kindness, his grace.
Next part: Excuses for evil behaviour (Romans 6:15)
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