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Romans 5: 20 - 6: 14.
A1 | 5: 20, 21. STATEMENT.--"Where sin abounded grace did much more abound."
B1 | 6: 1. QUESTION.--"Shall we continue in sin that grace abound?"
C1 | 6: 2. REPUDIATION.--"God forbid. How shall we that are
dead to sin live any longer therein?"
D1 | 6: 3-14. ANSWER.--
| A2 | 6: 3-10. | 2-5. | a1 | Know ye not?
b1 | Dead to sin.
6, 7. | c1 | Knowing this.
d1 | Freed from sin.
8-10. | a1 | Knowing that?
b1 | Died to sin.
|
B2 | 6: 11. Reckon. | e | Dead to sin.
f | Alive to God.
| A2 | 6: 12-14. | 12. | a2 | Let not sin reign.
b2 | In your mortal body.
12, 13. | c2 | Not obey lust,
neither yield to sin.
d2 | Yield to God,
instrument of righteousness.
14. | a2 | For sin shall not have dominion.
b2 | Over you.
C1 | REPUDIATION.--"Ye are not under the law but under grace."
There is an insistence throughout this whole passage upon death followed by life, and
it is of the utmost importance that we do not miss the teaching of Scripture upon this
basic argument. First of all the insistence upon death:--
"How shall we that are dead to sin . . . . ." (6: 2).
"Baptized into His death" (6: 3).
"Buried with Him by baptism into death" (6: 4).
"Christ was raised up from the dead" (6: 4).
"In the likeness of His death" (6: 5).
"He that is dead is freed from sin" (6: 7).
"Now if we be dead with Christ" (6: 8).
"Christ being raised from the dead, dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over
Him" (6: 9).
"In that He died, He died unto sin once" (6: 10).
"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin" (6: 11).
"As those that are alive from the dead" (6: 13).
Here, in the space of thirteen verses, are fourteen references to death, independently of
the allied words "buried" and "crucified". It would be a mistake to leave the matter here.
Far too many have stressed "death" and "the cross" without realizing that power can only
begin with us when we receive new life and stand on resurrection ground. Consequently
we must go through these verses again to note the recurrence of life and resurrection:--
"Like as Christ was raised up from the dead . . . . . even so we also should walk in
newness of life" (6: 4).