Treasures New and Old

Treasures New and Old

Romans: Newness of Life: Who Will Be King in Your Life?

This chapter in Romans is a discussion about the new life of victory we can enjoy in Christ. Paul is addressing both Jewish and Gentile believers, and he argues that now that we are saved by God’s grace through Christ and sin has no more dominion over us. Therefore, we should no longer walk in sin but, rather, in that new life and power we have, instead, in God’s light. Let’s look at Chapter 6 in Romans in this second article:

I have divided it into four paragraphs/subjects. Last month we looked at the first two subjects, and this month we will examine the last two subjects. They are:

  • Walking in Newness of Life: vs. 1-6
  • Made Free from Sin: vs. 7-13
  • Who Will Be King in Your Life – Sin or God? vs. 14-19
  • Choose to Serve the Master: vs. 20-23

Who Will be King in Your Life – Sin of God?

It is my belief that we must daily decide who will rule in our lives, that is, who will make all of the decisions? Whose guidelines/rules/principles will we follow? Will we focus on the things of the world, on ourselves, or will we strive to allow King (and Lord) Jesus Christ to rule in our hearts? That is the primary issue that Paul is discussing in these next verses. Let’s dip in . . .

Romans 6:14-19:

For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.

Three types of sin: Psalm 51:1-3 (emphasis added): “To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.”

Three main sources of sin: 1 John 2:16-17 (emphasis added): “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.”

First: Some Definitions:

Dominion: (Wordsearch’s Strong’s G2961): kyrieuo: dominion, exercise lordship, be lord over, control; taken from (Wordsearch’s Strong’s G2962): kurios: to rule, have supreme authority, be a controller, the Lord (667 times), lord (54 times), to be master.

Transgression (Strong’s G3847): parabasis; (Strong’s H4604): ma-al: treachery, grievous, trespass, violation, falsehood; (Strong’s H6588); pasha: a revolt, rebellion, transgression. Implies a deliberate violating of what is right, the law, a knowing illegal act, or knowing violation of God’s law or standards. These are to be blotted out.

Blot out (Strong’s H4229): machah: “a primitive root; properly to stroke or rub; by implication to erase, . . . abolish, blot out, destroy, . . . put out, reach unto, x utterly, wipe (away, out).”

Iniquity: (Strong’s H5771): avon: perversity, evil, fault, mischief, punishment, from (Wordsearch’s Strong’s H5753): awa: crooked, wrong, wicked, bent bowed: implies a corrupt measuring standard, a false moral compass, one bent toward evil, anti-god philosophies, for example. Guilt.

Sin: (Strong’s H2403): chat-ta-ah: sin, sometimes habitual sinfulness, an offender; root word is from (Strong’s H2398): chata: fault, harm, offense, sin, to miss the mark, to forfeit, bear the blame.

Wash me thoroughly: (Strong’s H3526): kabas; (Wordsearch’s Strong’s H7235): rabah; “kabas rabah“: (WASH): “A primitive root; to trample; hence to wash (properly by stamping with the feet), whether literal (including the fulling process) or figurative :- fuller, wash (-ing);” (THOROUGHLY) multiple times, increase times, exceedingly, abundantly, many times, long time.

Second: Verse by Verse Examination:

Verse 14 Notes: “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”

  • Three areas we as believers must work on:
    1. Lust of the flesh
    2. Lust of the eyes
    3. Pride of life
  • All three have one of these three components:
    1. Transgression
    2. Iniquity
    3. Sin
  • But they no longer have mastery over you or me – we have been made free from sin. We are not under the legal system, but under grace, and with grace comes the power to overcome sin and walk, instead, in newness of life.

Verse 15 Notes: “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.”

  • Back to the argument Paul already dealt with – Wow! Since I am not under the law (and, therefore, under the power of sin), I can keep doing my favorite sins!
  • I can see Paul at this point tearing his garments in anguish over this idea.
  • Are you kidding me?! That is an absolutely terrible idea! May it never so much as be named among us! God forbid!
  • Did Christ sacrifice Himself for your sins just so that you can keep on sinning? NO!
  • Grace is the world we now live in. Grace extended to us doesn’t mean more opportunity to fail or keep sinning, but to overcome sin. It should be seen not as a get out-of-jail-free card, but a power to overcome, a super vitamin if you please.

Verse 16 Notes: “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”

  • Who, therefore, is your boss? Your master? Your Lord every day, every hour? Who is your king? Who has dominion over you?
  • To whomever you give your instruments will become your boss. Give your instruments to sin, and you are back in that slave-master relationship to sin and participating in it voluntarily.
  • Your instruments:
    • Your thoughts
    • Your hands and feet and actions
    • Your eyes and ears
    • Your speech
    • Your mind, will, and emotions
    • Your ideas and visions for yourself
    • Lust of the flesh
    • Lust of the eyes
    • Pride of life
  • The endpoint for sin is always death of some kind. Your choices either tend towards sin and death or obedience to God and righteousness. Is this area of our Christian lives, there is no neutral zone.

Deuteronomy 11:26-28 (Moses said): “Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.”

Deuteronomy 30:19-20: “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

Verse 17 Notes: “But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.”

  • Thank God for the power over sin He has given you. When you were saved on the day you obeyed from the heart, based on the good news given to you, the gospel we all hold dear, you were relieved from the guilt and shames of past sins and enjoyed the knowledge that you are now a son/daughter of God and servant of Christ. Your writ of transgressions was blotted out, and you have been extended eternal life.
  • What a day that was. Guilt was lifted, sin forgiven, and relationship with God restored. You went from a slave to sin (bound with no hope of every defeating sin in your life, indeed, you may have not even been looking to do so) to be able to walk away a free person – no longer entangled again in that yoke of bondage sin puts us in.
  • You remember what you were told – some form of the following:
    • You are a sinner for all have sinned and all have come short of God’s glory
    • Sin has a penalty – death. Eternal death if not paid for and forgiven
    • But God gave us a gift. One who took our sin, paid the penalty of death for us and, instead, imputed on us His righteousness.
    • Now we have a new creature inside us that the Bible calls the new man, who is a spiritual and eternal man who has a relationship with the Father and has the power to walk away from sin – if you choose to do so.

Verse 18 Notes: “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”

  • Now that you have that new creature within you and made free from sin, become, instead, servants of righteousness.
  • WAIT, YOU SAY! I didn’t sign up to be a servant/slave of righteousness. I just wanted to get saved and become free from sin. I didn’t read the fine print that said I had to be a slave to God and do what He directs me to do.
  • There are forces in this world that we can’t avoid:
  • Taxes, work, bosses, laws, behavior expectations, yielding to others at times (traffic, etc.) homework, practice (piano, violin, etc.), authorities, and a host of lesser and greater pressures and directions and requirements that we can’t avoid without some peril to ourselves.
  • I could boil it down to the world, the flesh and the Devil on the one hand, and God on the other.
  • WHO WILL BE KING IN YOUR LIFE?
  • God?
  • The flesh?
  • The Devil?
  • Others? And who do they serve? God, flesh, or the Devil.
  • Ultimately, we will all be servants to one of these three “masters:” God, our flesh, or the Devil.
  • If you are saved, and, therefore, have the power to walk away from sin, accept your place in the Kingdom of Heaven and submit yourself in every way to the King and see if life doesn’t become totally different for you.

Verse 19 Notes: “I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.”

  • Paul is reminding those in Rome of their frail flesh that just loves to sin: so easy, go with the flow, everyone is doing it, why stand out from the crowd, make it easy on yourself, and other thoughts that all tend to destruction. We need to be reminded, as they needed to be reminded, that we have a weekly, daily, even hourly, and maybe minute by minute battle to die to self and live unto God.

Choose to Serve the Master

We all have a choice of who will sit on the throne of our lives. Let’s choose to serve the Lord Jesus Christ with our whole heart, soul, and mind. Choose the Master!

Romans 6:20-23: “For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Matthew 6:19-24:

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Psalm 19:7-14:

The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is they servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward. Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

Matthew 11:28-30: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.“

Verse 20 Notes: “For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.”

  • Paul is reminding us that we will be servants to something: either the world, the flesh (our own), or the Devil on one hand (servants of sin) or righteousness serving God on the other hand.
  • If we serve sin, we are not serving righteousness and, therefore, are, in essence, free from serving righteousness (free from serving God). Not a position for a born-again believer to be found in.
  • We are once again faced with two masters that Paul introduced earlier in Chapter 6: either sin (the world, flesh, or Devil) or righteousness (God).
  • It is spiritually perilous to try and serve both masters.

Matthew 6:22-24: “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.“

  • Many breaking down this passage have misunderstood what Jesus was saying here. The two phrases regarding the master (hate and love versus hold and despise) are not levels or degrees of servitude or commitment but, instead, are an expanding of the discussion above regarding the single eye and the evil eye.
  • An evil eye is one that roams, that seeks its own and not that of God. The evil eye is, in effect, a double-focused eye as opposed to the single eye.
  • What is the source of light (truth) for us? It is the focused eye. When we are single-minded and single-focused on Christ, His ways, His truth, His commandments flood our soul and spirit with light.
  • When we are double-eyed or double-minded, Jesus says that not light, but darkness will be our portion. Such darkness leads to many things including failures, sins, lust, and lest we forget, James tells us that (James 1:8) “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” A Christian who is not single-minded towards God and His Word is unstable – up one moment and down the next. Bad decisions, unchecked emotions, doubts and failures. Unstable.
  • Jesus has set the stage in this discussion for two possibilities: single-mindedness and God’s light filling us or double-mindedness (the evil eye) and darkness flooding our souls.
  • What is the result of these two positions?
  • Consider that these two masters still seek to rule or have dominion over us. They are manifested in our flesh as the old man and the new man. The old man wants to serve sin, the new man wants to serve God. How are these two revealed in us?
  • If we are single-eyed – that is, focused on Christ, then we will love God and hate sin, the flesh, the world, and the Devil – see Matthew 6:24. We love God and our relationship with Him grows and prospers.
  • Meanwhile, we hate the sin master. We reject sin’s control over us. We hate to participate in what sin wants and refuse to submit to sin for we hate it.
  • If we have double-minded eyes (evil eyes) then we will attempt to cling to both, and we will try to hold to God and despise the world, the flesh, the Devil, and sin – but not spurn them enough to let them go. We want the pleasures of sin while still trying to be good Christians.
  • But also look at the damage it does to our relationship with God, our other master. We merely hold to Him. We do not love Him. Since we don’t love Him, we may not read His Word (daily love letters), or pray (daily discussions with Him), or serve Him as we ought.

Verse 21-23 Notes: “What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

  • We now turn to a discussion of the results of obeying the two possible masters. We will summarize the sin masters as one: the world, the flesh, and the Devil – simply as sin. The other master we will, of course, call God, which includes His righteousness and holiness.
  • Notice that obedience to either master bears fruit or results. Read again verses 21 and 22.
  • Fruit from sin makes us ashamed. That fruit destroys and has an end – as seen in verse 23 – death. All evil fruit of sin leads to death. Death of conscience, friends, relationships, in greater context – marriages, homes, jobs, and ultimately, physical and spiritual death. The wages of sin, the fruit, the result of sin is death.
  • Fruit from serving God tends to life and, indeed, the gift of God as we submit to Him and serve Him includes eternal life.

Going back to Matthew 6, just in front of the single-eye discussion, Jesus is talking about fruit as a treasure. Matthew 6:19-21: “Lay not up for yourselves teasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.“

  • Here we see another principle. As we lay up treasure for our master (which one will it be for you?) we find our heart bent toward that treasure and that master. The more treasure (fruit we bear) we have, the more we will love and cling to that master. Laying up treasure in heaven can’t be stolen or lost, but feeding the old man and laying up treasure for the old man down here will result in lost treasure ultimately.

Wages/Benefits of Serving God

  • Psalm 19:7-14 (emphasis and format added):
  • The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward. Who can understand his errors?
  • (1) cleanse thou me from secret faults.
  • (2) Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
  • (3) Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

Closing Thoughts for Believers

1. We stand before God justified by faith in Jesus Christ, and we, therefore, stand!

2. This justification before God leads us to have peace and rest in Him.

3. We now have 24/7/365 access to God, to His grace, to His peace, to His power over sin.

4. We have God’s power over sin in our lives.

5. God’s love is shed abroad in our hearts, the Holy Ghost (the seal of promise) has been given to us.

6. We are able to endure tribulation because His hope has been given to us.

7. We have a battle within us – two natures, the new man and the old man.

8. These equate to two masters, God and sin.

9. Serving them bears fruit, or treasure, or reward. Service to Christ bears eternal fruit. Service to sin bears lost treasure and, ultimately, death.

10. Attemping to serve both masters, God and sin, results in a weak and unsatisfied relationship with God but a constant loathing of sin in our lives with a constant longing for pleasures that only results in death.

11. We as Christians have God’s power over sin in our lives. We need not serve sin any longer. We are counted as dead to sin. We, therefore, need to live accordingly – dead to sin but alive unto God.

12. We are not alone in this struggle: God’s love is shed abroad in our hearts. The Holy Ghost (the seal of promise) has been given to us. He is both comforter and guide, teacher and admonisher, and encourager and provider for wisdom.

13. We are able to endure tribulation, trials, and temptations because He hope has been given to us.

14. We are able to be super-conquerors in Christ. Romans 8:37: “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”

15. Jesus seeks to support us as we take His yoke upon ourselves and truly make Him master in our lives. Matthew 11:28-30: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.“

16. As we focus on Christ and purpose to be single-minded towards Him, to serve Him only, we will have the light of God’s truth shed abroad in our hearts and lives.

So Church, Who Will Be King in Your Life?

Deuteronomy 30:19: . . . choose life . . . not cursing . . .

Joshua 24:15: “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

John 15:1-8:

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them, into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.“

Maranatha!

Bro. Joe

References

Strong, J. Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries. Meyers, R. (2005). e-Sword. [computer software] . Franklin, TN: Equipping Ministries Foundation. (Original work published 1539)

Strong, J. Strong’s Talking Greek_Hebrew Dictionary. Wordsearch. (2020). Wordsearch Bible. [computer software] . Nashville, TN: LifeWay Christian Resources. (Original work published 1890).

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