These three chapters in Romans, if properly understood, are the key to knowing our place and position in Christ, and to living the more abundant resurrection life of victory over sin and all that Jesus promised us. I constantly stress the truths found in these chapters to all who will listen. What good does it do to teach what is right, and share God's commands that we must do right, if we do not point them to the power source necessary to perform what is right?

Religion is Cain’s altar. Religion is man’s attempt through ceremony, formulas, attitudes and doing things in order to please God or improve ourselves. None of these things are acceptable to God. God never moves in us and for us on the basis of what we do. But always on the basis of what we believe - faith. The amount of faith is not important - a mustard seed is all that is needed. But our faith must be correctly placed and anchored. Our faith, trust and dependence must be 100 percent, totally, completely and unreservedly in Jesus Christ and Him crucified. When our faith is anchored only in Christ and His atonement, the Holy Spirit does the work in us and for us.

v.1) “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that Grace may abound?”

Paul is asking: Since God’s Grace forgives all sin, should we continue to allow our old nature to reign in our life and practice a habitual lifestyle of sin and rebellion against God - so that God’s Grace can forgive it all?

V.2) “God forbid (NO WAY! - ABSOLUTELY NOT!). How shall we who died to sin (our old sin nature, which produces acts of sin if allowed to rule in us), live any longer in it?”

Jesus saves us from sin - not so we can sin more! Do not toy with the serpent of sin! The serpent always bites!

v.3) “Don’t you know, that as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?”

When we accepted Christ as our savior by faith, in God’s mind we died with Christ - and were also raised up with Him in new life. The whole human race was in Adam when he sinned. Therefore the very seed of the human race was corrupted by sin. Likewise, when we accept Christ as Savior by faith, God legally places us spiritually in Christ. Our old Adam (sin) nature becomes dormant, and all things become new in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.

v.4) “Therefore we ARE buried with Him (our old man died and was buried with Him) by baptism into death (accepting Jesus and His shed blood for us on the Cross - by faith): that just like Christ was raised up from the dead by the Glory of the Father (like Jesus was raised from the dead by the power and Glory of God the Father), even so, we likewise should walk in newness of life” (we were raised with Christ by the same Glory of the Father - all things become new in Christ! :)

v.5) “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His (Christ’s) death, we shall also be (a new creation, raised in newness of life) in the likeness of His Resurrection:”

v.6) “Knowing this, that our old man (our old Adam-sin nature) is crucified with Him (Jesus), that the body of sin might be destroyed (our old man is destroyed by the power of God in response to faith in Christ), that from now on we should not serve sin.”

v.7) “For he who is dead is freed from sin” (If our old man is dead, we become dead to sin - dead to our old sin nature. A dead man laying in a casket cannot respond. He cannot covet, lie, steal, hate, be humiliated or provoked - he is dead. Likewise, we become dead to sin when we are in Christ by faith.)

v.8) “Now if we are dead with Christ (crucified with Him by faith), we believe that we will also live with Him” (since we died with Him, we are also, by the power of the Holy Spirit, raised with Him in newness of life).

v.9) “Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dies no more (Because He lives, we will live also!); death has no more dominion over Him" (Because death has no more dominion over Christ, it has no more dominion over those in Christ by faith. This physical body still has the old, dormant sin nature attached to it. It will eventually stop functioning - and the sin nature will be completely gone with it. But the Lord will give us a new resurrection life body when we are glorified at the First Resurrection. “Though our outward man is perishing, the inward man is renewed day by day”).

v.10) “For in that He died, He died unto sin once: (Jesus is the Lamb, the spotless sacrifice with no sin. Therefore Jesus died once as the sacrifice for sin, and rose from the dead because there was no sin to hold Him in the grave - Jesus destroyed death): but in that He lives, He lives unto God (resurrection life - Jesus is the first fruits - because He lives unto God forever, so will we in Him!).

v.11) “Likewise reckon (consider) you also yourselves to be dead indeed to sin (Dead to our old sin nature - which produces acts of sin. “Consider/reckon” is an act of faith - it is believing, not doing; not fleshly, human effort or religious works!), but alive unto God through (faith in) Jesus Christ our Lord (and Him crucified)”.

v.12) “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof."

(How do we “Let not”? If we misunderstand this, we will think that “Let not” means to use our own human power to keep sin from reigning in our life. If we are not careful to completely understand what is being said by the Holy Spirit here, we can think mistakenly that correctly identifying (considering ourselves dead to sin in Christ) will empower our own human Will and effort to overcome sin. It will not! “Not by (human) might, nor by (human) power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts” - Zech 4:6. If we try to work righteousness in ourselves, or even try to ‘help’ the Holy Spirit do the work in us - it is Cain’s altar! It is the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit alone, that does the work and produces the fruit of the Spirit, Christ-likeness and victory over sin! And the Holy Spirit only works in and for us in response to total faith and dependence in Christ and Him crucified - and that alone!)

v.13) “Neither yield your members of instruments of unrighteousness to sin: but yield yourselves to God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”

The words ‘neither yield’ carry the same connotation as the words ‘let not’ in the previous verse. We ‘let not and neither yield’ by placing our faith in Christ and Him crucified and allowing the Holy Spirit to be the power source. If we attempt to ‘let not and neither yield’ in our own human strength, failure will be the certain result - no matter how sincere we might be. The Lord does not change. No flesh will glory in His presence. No one will be able to say “I helped God get rid of sin in my life”. Christ, through faith in the Cross and the Holy Spirit - does it all.

We yield ourselves to God by placing our faith totally and completely in Christ and Him crucified, with absolutely no trust or reliance being placed in our own efforts. The result of properly placed faith is us reckoning ourselves dead with Christ, with the Holy Spirit then empowering us and raising us in resurrection life. Only then, can we yield our members as instruments of righteousness to God. And it is accomplished by faith - not human effort.

v.14) “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under the law, but under Grace.”

The result of properly anchored faith will be that sin will not have dominion over us. No, we will never be conditionally perfect until the resurrection, but it does mean that our lifestyle will become one of habitual victory over sin - not habitual sin.

We are not under the law. James 2:10 says that if we keep all of God’s laws, and yet break just one law, one time, we are guilty of ALL. God’s law is Holy and Just and Good. But the law cannot save us because it is weak through the flesh (Romans 8:3); that is, no human being can keep God’s law perfectly because of the sin nature resident in our flesh. All human attempt to keep God’s law is doomed to failure. There is only one human being who ever kept God’s law perfectly, the Lord Jesus Christ. And when our faith and dependence are placed totally in Christ and Him crucified, God’s Grace and power flows to us and we keep the law by the Power of the Holy Spirit - not human strength or will power. Grace comes only through faith in Christ and Him crucified.

v.15) “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under Grace? God forbid.”

The Holy Spirit, through Paul, explains the path to victory through Christ, the Cross and the Holy Spirit, and then takes us back to verse one again. Through His death, burial and resurrection, Jesus cleared the way for God’s Grace and power to flow to us. Jesus defeated sin on the Cross. Jesus did not die on the Cross to make a way for us to sin with impunity, He did it to bring victory over sin! He did not die for us to save us in sin - but from sin.

This brings us to a juncture. A Christian who is truly saved can have either one of several competing motivations and heart attitudes, or, any combination of conflicts. The heart is deceitful and only God can truly know it. Human beings are complex creatures. When we get saved, there is much of our old nature that simply drops off, and we have no more problem with it. Then, there is one, or a few, sins that try to hold on and do not go as easily.

The determining factor in all this, is whether or not our faith is in the right place. Or, faith might be in the right place (Christ and Him crucified) to begin with, and then be moved away from the right focus. We must remember that every attack by the enemy is intended to either weaken or misdirect our faith. That is, to either weaken and destroy it, or to move it away from the only effective power source (Christ and Him crucified). A mustard seed of faith, properly placed, will ultimately bring victory. But, great faith, if placed wrongly - will always lead to defeat.

With that said, we move on to the conflicts. Now, when I say conflicts, I do not mean this in the generally accepted psychological jargon of today. Psychologists attempt to resolve and integrate conflicting beliefs, whereas Christ works in us a total rejection of all false beliefs, until faith in Him and His finished work on the Cross is the only thing that remains.

We now come to the question of whether or not a truly born again Christian can desire to sin. The answer is, yes and no. There is an allure and an enticement to sin. We must be honest and agree with scripture, there is pleasure in sin - for a season. The evil one tempts us to sin by trying to hook into our fleshly lusts and entice us (James 1:14). The lie that we can enjoy the pleasures of sin but avoid sins consequences (death and hell), has been effective since the serpent deceived Eve.

On the other hand, every Christian loves the Lord to varying degrees (he that is forgiven much, the same loves much), and does not really want to sin. In other words, if it came down to a simple choice, the Christian would choose not to sin. But, merely choosing not to sin - is not enough. Ask the drug, alcohol or pornography addict, who would stop if they could, if merely making a choice is enough. It is not. Once we KNOW the Truth, the Truth will set us free. Satan has several methods in his bag of tricks, but once they are understood, and the path to victory over them is understood, resurrection life in Christ is the result.

Choice is involved. In fact, that is where everything starts, but it cannot end there. We must define the choice we are making, and what power source that choice makes available to us. Every believer is a little different as to what can potentially entice them. One believer has no problem at all with alcohol, it is very easy to ‘just say no’ because there is no allure. But, to another, this might be a real problem. The point is, that as long as we remain in these mortal bodies, the possibility remains for each of us to sin in some way.

The very first thing that Jesus must do to correct an area of weakness in our lives, is bring us to the point that we ‘choose’ to be rid of it. This is the very definition of repentance. So, all this can be boiled down to the following principle. Whether it is the sinner repenting and coming to Christ, or the Lord dealing with a Christian about a problem area in the sanctification process, the solution is the same. We must lock our understanding into this one truth; the solution is always faith in Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

First, the Lord must bring us to a choice - repentance.

Whether for the sinner being brought to salvation, or the Believer who has not yet totally surrendered a certain area, the means by which the Lord works repentance in us is the same. The correction of the Lord is always meant to bring repentance and restoration. The Lord will allow whatever difficulties or trials as are necessary to bring about repentance, even if He must bring our whole world crashing down around us to get our attention.

Second, once the choice has been made on our part, we must understand how to approach the Lord to receive the salvation or victory He has now convinced us that we need.

Just as a sinner can be repentant and wish for deliverance, but not find it unless Christ is preached to them and they believe, a Christian can be repentant but not KNOW the Truth of how the Lord has provided for victorious living. In short, once we have repented, we must know how to approach the Lord with that repentance. We approach God only through faith in the Cross of Christ. Period. The believing sinner turns to faith in Christ and Him crucified, and likewise, the repentant Believer must always approach God the same way, for everything. Saved or unsaved, Believer or unbeliever, entrance and audience to the Throne of God can be attained only one way - through faith in the finished work and shed blood of Jesus on the Cross for us.

If the sinner is repentant, but turns to religion or any way but the Cross of Christ for salvation, God will not accept it. Likewise, the Believer can be sincerely repentant, but attempt to gain victory over sin by a means other than faith in Christ and Him crucified. The result will be failure, because God brings victory over sin only through the Cross of Christ. This means that the Lord must attempt to steer the Believer to correctly place their faith. Again, in Mercy, the Lord will do whatever it takes to bring us to the Cross - even if He must bring our whole world crashing down around us.

The sincere Christian who does not know the truth of the Cross will live a life of repeated failure in thought, word or deed. It cannot be otherwise. If the Believer is repentant and asks forgiveness, the Lord will always forgive. But that is not victory - it is forgiveness. If the Believer does not come to an understanding of God’s way of victory, that sin(s) or problem(s) will grow worse in intensity. We can approach God through Able’s altar (the Cross) for salvation and be truly saved, yet approach God through Cain’s altar (everything other than the Cross - psychology, will power, human strength, fill in the blanks anonymous, etc...). God rejects every offering made at Cain’s altar - regardless of the sincerity with which that offering is made.

As they say in mathematics, every sin, every problem, every need, the praise, thanks and worship we offer to the Lord, everything, all simplifies to this:

1.) Faith anchored 100 percent, totally and completely in Jesus and what He accomplished for us on the Cross.

2.) The Power of the Holy Spirit (which comes to us only through #1).

3.) Period. End of discussion. The End. No more. No less.

The following is often quoted as an epitaph, but in truth it applies every single time we approach God, for whatever reason we approach Him. If we approach Him at any time, in any other way, He will not hear us:

Are you an alcoholic? Run to the Cross. Are you bound by nicotine? Throw your patch away and run to the Cross. Addicted to gambling or pornography? Run to the Cross. Are you a drug addict? Run to the Cross. Are you just plain mean? Run to the Cross. Have a temper? Run to the Cross. Need healing? Run to the Cross. Need deliverance? Run to the Cross. Need salvation? Run to the Cross. Need the Holy Spirit? Run to the Cross. Need direction and guidance? Run to the Cross. Need a closer walk with Jesus? Run to the Cross. Need food? Run to the Cross. Need gas money? Run to the Cross. Need a bigger home? Run to the Cross. Need to worship God? Run to the Cross. Want to praise and thank Jesus? He will only accept that praise and thanks through the Cross.

Need power in your life and ministry? Run to the Cross. Need a move of God in your church? Throw the purpose driven lie in the trash and run to the Cross. Want to see souls saved? Forget forty days of purpose and run to the Cross. Are you tired of climbing the corporate ladder? Run to the Cross. Do you have lots of money but you’re still empty inside? Run to the Cross. Are you bound by religion? Run to the Cross. God forbid, are you a pedophile? Run to the Cross. Are you a murderer or a robber? Run to the Cross. Are you bound by lust? Run to the Cross. Are you wallowing in doubt and unbelief? Run to the Cross. Are you depressed? Run to the Cross. Are you trapped in prostitution? Run to the Cross. Do you think Jesus won’t forgive you? Run to the Cross - and see for yourself. Jesus has never turned anyone away.

Need your teenager delivered from drug addiction? Run to the Cross. Need your marriage saved? Run to the Cross. Need your children to do good in school? Run to the Cross. Do you need the Mercy and Grace of God? Run to the Cross. Need the presence of God in your life and home? Run to the Cross. Need victory over the world the flesh and the devil? Run to the Cross. Need a pay raise? Run to the Cross. Need a loved one saved? Run to the Cross.

Need to reach the whole world with the Message of the Cross? Run to the Cross.