"Are we to continue to sin that grace might increase"
NKJV"Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound"
NRSV"Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound"
TEV"That we should continue to live in sin so that God's grace will increase"
NJB"Does it follow that we should remain in sin so as to let grace have greater scope"
This is a present active subjunctive. It literally asks the question, are Christians "to abide with" or "to embrace" sin? This question looks back to 5:20. Paul used a hypothetical objector (diatribe) to deal with the potential misuse of grace (cf. 1 John 3:6,9; 5:18). God's grace and mercy are not meant to give a license for rebellious living.
Paul's gospel of a free salvation as the gift of God's grace through Christ (cf. Rom. 3:24; 5:15, 17; 6:23) raised many questions about life style righteousness. How does a free gift produce moral uprightness? Justification and sanctification must not be separated (cf. Matt. 7:24-27; Luke 8:21; 11:28; John 13:17; Rom. 2:13; James1:22-25; 2:14-26).
On this point let me quote F. F. Bruce in Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free,
"the baptism of Christians constituted the frontier between their old unregenerate existence and their new life in Christ: it marked their death to the old order, so that for a baptized Christian to go on in sin was as preposterous as it would be for an emancipated slave to remain in bondage to his former owner (cf. Rom. 6:1-4, 15-23) or for a widow to remain subject to 'the law of her husband'" (pp. 281-82, cf. Rom. 7:1-6).
In James S. Stewart's book, A Man in Christ, he writes:
"The locus classicus for all this side of the apostles' thought is to be found in Rom. 6. There Paul, with magnificent vigor and effort, drives home to heart and conscience the lesson that to be united with Jesus in His death means for the believer a complete and drastic break with sin" (pp. 187-88).
6:2 "may it never be" This is a rare optative form which was a grammatical mood or mode used of a wish or prayer. It was Paul's stylistic way (i.e., Hebraic idiom) of answering a hypothetical objector. It expressed Paul's shock and horror at unbelieving mankind's misunderstanding and abuse of grace (cf. Rom. 3:4,6).
"we who died to sin" This is an aorist active indicative, meaning "we have died." The singular "sin" is used so often throughout this chapter. It seems to refer to our "sin nature" inherited from Adam (cf. Rom. 5:12-21; 1 Cor. 15:21-22). Paul often uses the concept of death as a metaphor to show the believer's new relationship to Jesus. They are no longer subject to sin's mastery.
"still live in it" This is literally "walk." This metaphor was used to stress either our lifestyle faith (cf. Eph. 4:1; 5:2,15) or lifestyle sin (cf. Rom. 6:4; Eph. 4:17). Believers cannot be happy in sin!
6:3-4 "have been baptized. . .have been buried" These are both aorist passive indicatives. This grammatical form often emphasized a completed act accomplished by an outside agent, here the Spirit. They are parallel in this context.
"into Christ Jesus" The use of eis (into) parallels the Great Commission of Matt. 28:19, where new believers are baptized eis (into) the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. The preposition is also used to describe the believers being baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ in 1 Cor. 12:13. Eis in this context is synonymous with en (in Christ) in Rom. 6:11, which is Paul's favorite way to denote believers. It is a locative of sphere. Believers live and move and have their being in Christ. These prepositions express this intimate union, this sphere of fellowship, this vine and branch relationship. Believers identify with and join with Christ in His death (cf. Rom. 6:6; 8:17), in His resurrection (cf. Rom. 6:5), in His obedient service to God, and in His Kingdom!
"into His death. . .we have been buried with Him" Baptism by immersion illustrates death and burial (cf. Rom. 6:5 and Col. 2:12). Jesus used baptism as a metaphor for His own death (cf. Mark 10:38-39; Luke 12:50). The emphasis here is not a doctrine of baptism, but of the Christian's new, intimate relationship to Christ's death and burial. Believers identify with Christ's baptism, with His character, with His sacrifice, with His mission. Sin has no power over believers!
6:4 "we have been buried with Him through baptism into death" In this chapter, as is characteristic of all of Paul's writing, he uses many sun (with) compounds (e.g., three in Eph. 2:5-6).
1. sun + thaptō = co-buried, Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12; also note Rom. 6:8
2. sun + phuō = co-planted, Rom. 6:5
3. sun + stauroō = co-crucified, Rom. 6:6; Gal. 2:20
4. sun + zaō = co-exist, Rom. 6:8; 2 Tim. 2:11 (also has co-died and co-reign)
"so we too might walk in newness of life" This is an aorist active subjunctive. The expected result of salvation is sanctification. Because believers have received God's grace through Christ and have been indwelt by the Spirit, their lives must be different. Our new life (zoē) does not bring us salvation, but it is the result of salvation (cf. Rom. 6:16, 19; 8:4; 13:13; 14:15; and Eph. 1:4; 2:8-9,10; James 2:14-26). This is not an either/or question, faith or works, but there is a sequential order.
"newness of life" This is "new" in quantity, not just new in time. It is used in a variety of ways in the NT to speak of the radical change the Messiah brings. It is the new age, cf. Isaiah 40-66.
1. new covenant, Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25; 2 Cor. 3:6; Heb. 8:8,13; 9:15
2. new commandment, John 13:34; 1 John 2:7,8; 2 John 5
3. new creation, 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15
4. newness of life, Rom. 6:4
5. newness of spirit, Rom. 7:6
6. new man, Eph. 2:15; 4:24
7. new heavens and earth, 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1 (cf. Isa. 66:22)
8. new name, Rev. 2:17; 3:12 (cf. Isa. 62:2)
9. new Jerusalem, Rev. 3:12; 21:2
10. new song, Rev. 5:9; 14:3 (cf. Isa. 42:10)
"Christ was raised" In this context the Father's acceptance and approval of the Son's words and works are expressed in two great events.
1. Jesus' resurrection from the dead
2. Jesus' ascension to the Father's right hand
All three persons of the Trinity were involved in raising Jesus from the realm of the dead. See full note at Rom. 6:9 and 8:11.
"the glory of the Father" For "glory" Rom. 3:23. For "Father" see
6:5 "if" This is a first class conditional sentence, which is assumed to be true from the writer's perspective or for his literary purposes. Paul assumed his readers were believers.
"we have become united with Him" This is a perfect active indicative which could be translated, "have been and continue to be joined together" or "have been or continue to be planted together with." This truth is theologically analogous to "abiding" in John 15. If believers have been identified with Jesus' death (cf. Gal. 2:19-20; Col. 2:20; 3:3-5), theologically they should be identified with His resurrection life (cf. Rom. 6:10).
This metaphorical aspect of baptism as death was meant to show
1. we have died to the old life, the old covenant
2. we are alive to the Spirit, the new covenant
Christian baptism is, therefore, not the same as the baptism of John the Baptist, who was the last OT prophet. Baptism was the early church's opportunity for the new believer's public profession of faith. The earliest baptismal formula, to be repeated by the candidate, was "I believe Jesus is Lord" (cf. Rom. 10:9-13). This public declaration was a formal, ritual act of what had happened previously in experience. Baptism was not the mechanism of forgiveness, salvation, or the coming of the Spirit, but the occasion for their public profession and confession (cf. Acts 2:38). However, it also was not optional. Jesus commanded it (cf. Matt. 28:19-20), and exemplified it, (cf. Matt. 3; Mark 1; Luke 3) and it became part of the Apostolic sermons and procedures of Acts.
To be continued--