Remember how Paul used the expression "slave of Christ" in chapter 1? In chapters 6 and 7, the idea of freedom is very prevalent. While we were once slaves to sin and the law, we no longer are, if we are slaves of Christ Jesus. We have died to sin and thus have been freed from it, and we have died to the law and have thus been freed from it as well.
Dead to sin, free from sin:
Chapter 6 is all about sin in our life. No before I begin, I think it is important to note that as Christians, we will still sin, and this is a bummer. But take heart, Paul writes great encouragement which we will close with. That said, when a person becomes a Christian, they are baptized sometime soon after. ("Go and make disciples of the nations, baptizing them...." After becoming a follower, you are to be baptized, says Jesus himself) This baptism symbolizes that person going down to the grave with Jesus, and rising up from it, a picture of how their sin goes down to the grave and stays there! That is what the first 14 verses of chapter 6 are all about. In short, "we are dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus"(verse 11).
So what then does it mean to be free from sin? Does it mean you will no longer sin? No, unfortunately we will sin while we have earthly bodies, no matter who you are, however, we still have freedom from sin. So what does that mean? I'm convinced that the point Paul is trying to make is that sin does have its deathly grasp on us any longer if we have put our faith in Christ's sacrificial death for our sin. You see, without Christ, our sin would mark us as rebels against God, but Christ's blood has atoned for Christians and thus has freed us from sin's grasp. Similarly, those who don't have Christ have no desire to stop sinning. Many people continue to get drunk, to have premarital sex, to shoplift, lie, cheat, etc (verse 20). Christians are not exempt from sinning like this, but what separates Christians is Christ's blood. Despite their past sins, they are forgiven. Any current or future sins do not hold them down because they stand forgiven in Christ. While I think that our consciences will convict us when we have done something wrong, we need not feel guilty because we know that Christ has freed us from sin and thus we can boldly go to God in humble repentance.
Dead to the law, free from the law:
First off, as Paul states, the law and rules are not an evil thing and they aren't a bad thing. Nonetheless, the thing we must understand about Christianity is that it is not about following rules. The goal of Christianity is not to try and live the best life you can, it is not following every little minute rule in the Old Testament, it is not going to every church service, event and camp either. The point of Christianity is glorifying God, and the gospel of Christianity is putting your faith in what Jesus did on the cross, not what we do in our lives. The thing about the law is this: you can never live up to it and you can never fully follow it. You will slip up at some point. But that is why Jesus went to the cross! That is why Jesus died in our place. Jesus did those things so that we could have eternal life that we don't deserve. So just as we are dead to sin, we are also dead to the law. All of those rules can't be followed fully, but they don't need to because we have Jesus' blood which sanctifies and purifies us! Now then, should we just live life how we want and do whatever we want to do?
No!!! The thing is, as Christians, we will follow rules (such as Jesus' commands) and we will go to church events, but we don't do these things to gain salvation (because we can't gain salvation through works) we do these things because we have been changed by God! I hope this all makes sense, it is a hard thing to explain. Essentially, the law is a good thing (it is of God and created by God) but it is also the thing that shows us our sin. It is a thing that represents following rules to gain salvation. However, Jesus came and died for us, in our place, so now we only have to believe in him and we gain salvation. We also gain a new heart and the Holy Spirit lives inside us, which means that we will still try to follow Jesus' commands and "be good", (but not to gain salvation).
Of course, we are only human and as Paul says: "When I want to do good, evil is right there with me" (7:21). We will continue to sin, but understand that is our human sinful nature. Nonetheless we can confidently know we have been set free by Christ so despite the fact that we still sin, we know that one day we will be completely free from sin, and we know that all of our sin has already been forgiven and paid for on the cross of Jesus Christ. To my non-Christian friend, do you feel guilty after doing something "bad"? Jesus Christ alone is the power that can save you from sin, free you from sin and free you from guilt. He died on the cross as a sacrifice for your sin, for my sin and for everyone's sin, so that all who believe in him can have eternal life, forgiveness of sins and right standing with God.
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