Always Be at it!
Do you mortify? Do you make it your daily work? Do not take a day off from this work; always be killing sin or it will be killing you. We must strike it as an enemy until it ceases living. Sin is laboring to bring forth the deeds of the flesh. When sin lets us alone, we may let sin alone. Sin is active when it seems to be the most quiet, and its waters are often deep when they are calm. Sin is always acting, conceiving, seducing and tempting. There is not a day but sin foils or is foiled. There is no safety but in a constant warfare from sin's perplexing rebellion.

Sin will not only be striving, acting, rebelling, troubling, and disquieting if not continually mortified, it will also bring forth great, cursed, scandalous, and soul-destroying sins (Gal.5:19-20). When sin rises to tempt, it always seeks to express itself in the extreme. Every unclean thought would be adultery if it could; every covetous desire would be oppression; and every thought of unbelief would be atheism.

It is like the grave that is never satisfied. Sin's advance blinds the soul from seeing its drift from God. The soul becomes indifferent to sin as it continues to grow. The growth of sin has no boundaries but the utter denial of God and opposition to him. Sin proceeds higher by degrees; it hardens the heart as it advances.

Mortification withers the root and strikes at the head of sin every hour. The best saints in the world are in danger of a fall if found negligent in this important duty. Negligence of this duty decays the inner man instead of renewing him. It is our duty to be "bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God" (2 Cor. 7:1), and every day to be growing in grace (I Pet. 2:2), and seeking to be renewed in the inner nature day by day (2 Cor. 4:16).

(From The Works of John Owen: volume six; published by Banner of Truth Trust: pages 9-14)

A Puritan Prayer for True Christianity
Lord of Heaven,
Thy goodness is inexpressible and inconceivable.
In the works of creation thou art almighty,
In the dispensations of providence all-wise,
In the gospel of grace all love,
And in thy Son thou hast provided for
our deliverance from the effects of sin,
the justification of our persons,
the sanctification of our natures,
the perseverance of our souls in the path of life.
Though exposed to the terrors of thy law,
we have a refuge, from the storm;
Though compelled to cry, "Unclean,"
we have a fountain for sin;
Though creature-cells of emptiness
we have a fullness accessible to all,
and incapable of reduction.
Grant us always to know that to walk with Jesus
makes other interests a shadow and a dream.
Keep us from intermittent attention to eternal things;
Save us from the delusion of those
who fail to go far in religion,
who are concerned but not converted,
who have another heart but not a new one,
who have light, zeal, confidence, but not Christ.
Let us judge our Christianity, not only by our dependence upon Jesus,
but by our love to him,
our conformity to him,
our knowledge to him.
Give us a religion that is both real and progressive,
that holds on its way and grows stronger,
that lives and works in the Spirit,
that profits by every correction,
and is injured by no carnal indulgence.

(from "The Valley of Vision"; published by Banner of Truth Trust: page 215)

Living Under Grace

One of the most significant biblical concepts that revolutionized my thinking as a Christian was understanding the difference between the indicatives and imperatives of the Gospel. The "indicatives" of the Gospel are those statements which tell us what God has done for us in Christ, and what has happened to us as the result. For instance, in 2 Corinthians 5:17 & 21, we're told: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come...For our sake he made [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." In each of these declarations we are given the facts of what God has done to save us in Christ, and the consequence of that saving work in our lives. These are the Gospel indicatives.

The "imperatives" of the Gospel however, are the commands which tell us what to do now that we're saved. Hence, in Colossians 3:12-13, we are commanded to "put on...compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive."

Now what is vitally important to understand about the indicatives and imperatives of the Gospel, is the order in which they are placed in Scripture. The indicatives always come before the imperatives. This is why, for example, we see in Paul's letter to the Ephesians, that he devotes the first three chapters to what God has done to save them (indicatives); and then the last three chapters to how they are to live since they are saved (imperatives). One crucial point of keeping indicatives before imperatives helps us to see how it is even possible that we're able to live in the manner God has set forth. It is only due to the fact that God has redeemed us by Christ, giving us a new nature, and has sent the Holy Spirit to indwell us that we can live holy lives which glorify God.

In Romans 6:14, we have a Gospel indicative which is meant to encourage us in our fight against sin and service to God (cf. Rom.6:12-13). In my last two posts I have sought to unpack this indicative by showing how it expresses two principle truths in relation to our Christian life: first, Romans 6:14 establishes our assurance for persevering in sanctification. This assurance is stated by proclaiming that "sin will have no dominion over you." Here is a glorious Gospel fact! The rule and reign of sin has been forever broken over the believer in Christ. This one truth promises a Christian that he will persevere to the very end.

The second principle truth of the Christian life in Romans 6:14, is where we're continuing to camp out even in this present post: it is our permanent position for the perseverance. "...since you are not under law but under grace." As we live the Christian life from day to day with the massive fact of sin's dominion having ceased to enslave us; we do so, with the understanding that our position is no longer under law but under grace. By not being under law (as we saw in the previous post), we are not under the law's curse and condemnation. When we were slaves to sin, all the law could do was to confirm that bondage and judge us accordingly. While the law shows us what God requires for a righteous life, it cannot give us the power to live it nor save us from our sin which keeps us from such a life.

But thanks to be God that we're no longer under law in this way. Rather, by God's redeeming power in Christ, the permanent position of all His people is under grace. What does this mean? The answer to this question is actually a summation of everything the apostle Paul had written from Romans 3 to the first half of Romans 6. First of all, to be under grace is to be in a position before God where He has justified us on account of what Christ has done to save us and bring us to God (3:21-5:1). We're also now in God's favor, at peace with God, and reconciled to Him (5:2-11). Furthermore, to be under grace, is to be in a position where we are no longer in Adam but we're now in Christ - thus, we're no longer classified as sinners but are now classified as saints (5:12-19). Moreover, since we are under grace, we have died to our old life in Adam, having been enslaved to the power of sin (6:1-7). Under grace has further placed us all in spiritual union with Christ (6:3-5, 8-11). So, we have a new life then to live under grace which opposes sin and serves God (6:12-13). All these Gospel facts confirm us as under grace.

Not Under Law

Musing on the great truth that "sin will have no dominion over you" - John Murray (1898-1975) observed:

"Sin does not rule in the believer. To think so is to deny the lordship which belongs to Christ by reason of his death and resurrection. And just as the deliverance from the power of sin is decisive, so it is inclusive. If the believer were under the dominion of any sin, then the truth of the proposition 'sin shall have no dominion over you' would be abrogated. The deliverance in view must therefore apply to all sin, and the inescapable inference is that the sin he commits does not have the dominion over him. Sin as indwelling and committed is a reality; it does not lose its character as sin. It is the contradiction of God and of that which a believer most characteristically is. It creates the gravest liabilities. But by the grace of God there is this radical change that it does not exercise the dominion."

Every Christian should take in deeply those last quoted words of Murray: "But by the grace of God there is this radical change that [sin] does not exercise the dominion." This is what believers in Christ must hold on to when facing the remaining force of indwelling sin (cf. Rom.7:17-18). Sin's rule, reign, and power has been forever borken. It has been eternally breached. United to Christ, our position is entirely different in relation to sin. We are no longer its slaves. "For sin will have no dominion over you."

Now in my last post I described this truth of Romans 6:14 as our assurance for persevering in sanctification. This assurance comes to us as an encouragement to carry out the imperatives of Romans 6:12-13 - where we're commanded to oppose sin and serve God. With such a high and holy mandate, every believer needs some kind of guarantee that they will not ultimately forsake God and return to their former bondage under sin's reign. Hence, the opening words of Romans 6:14 come to us as a mighty promise of God that we will persevere in sanctification. "For sin will have no dominion over you."

But in addition to this indicative regarding our relationship to sin, Romans 6:14 goes on to express another important reality which aids us as we oppose sin and serve God. It is our permanent position for the perseverance. In the latter half of Romans 6:14, we're told: "...since you are not under law but under grace." The reason sin will not have dominion over us, is because we are not under law but under grace. What does this mean? These words are expressing a definite and permanent position that is true of every Christian. A Christian is not under law but under grace.

But what are the implications of this position? To begin with, let's consider for the remainder of this post, the truth that we are not under law. At the outset of this statement we must clear away a popular misconception. There are many Christians who take this indicative to mean that we have nothing to do with God's law any more. How do we answer this? First of all, the Bible nowhere teaches that a Christian is finished altogether with God's law now that he is saved. While it is true that we are no longer under the curse and condemnation of the law (Gal.3:13); yet, we have not been liberated from the moral mandates of the law - namely - to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength; and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matt.22:37-38). These two commands sum up the whole of God's moral law (Exod.20:1-17), and thus the righteous requirement of the law; which by the regenerating work of the Spirit, we now have the desire, power, and responsibility to fulfill (see Rom.7:22; 8:3-4; 13:8-10; cf. Jer.31:31-34; Heb. 8:8-13). The Christian life therefore is not a life of lawlessness! Salvation by grace has not canceled obedience to God's law. Rather, it has enabled us with the freedom to obey God in response to His law (see I Jn.2:3-6).

So then, what does it mean to be not under law? It means to be not under the curse and condemnation of the law - since all the law can do by itself is to confirm us in our sinful bondage and judge us for this bondage. The law demands perfect obedience to God which it has no power to give but can only declare and approve. A person under law therefore is someone who is enslaved to the power of sin; because they have no power either in themselves to be free from sin nor in the law to aquire that freedom. Yet, for the believer, the law no longer stands over him pronouncing judgment but approval on account of Jesus Christ.

Free From Sin's Dominion

When it comes to living the Christian life, there is perhaps no passage in God's Word more foundational to our understanding than Romans 6. One reason for this is due to the fact that this chapter addresses head on the danger of antinomianism. This is the teaching which says, "Since I am 'under grace' and no longer 'under law', then it doesn't matter how I live. Under grace I can sin all I want to." Many people in the visible church have bought into this lie. But in Romans 6 the self-deception of the antinomian is exposed, as we are told that a Christian can no longer live in sin since he has "died to sin" (6:1-2, 15-18).

Another reason however for the importance of Romans 6 is the certainty it brings to every Christian regarding the assurance of final salvation. Romans 6 sends a message to every believer in Christ that their salvation will be preserved and thus they will persevere to the very end. No true child of God will be finally and fatally lost. This means that despite how difficult and trying our sanctification may be, God will keep us to the end. And one of the great statements in Romans 6 which speaks directly to this issue is in verse 14: "For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace."

This declaration falls on the immediate heels of two great imperatives communicated in verses 12-13. First, we are called to oppose sin. Second, we are called to serve God. But what guarantee do we have that our opposition to sin and service to God will last? How can we be sure that we will not ultimately defect from God and re-enter our former bondage to sin? The answer to these troubling questions are summed up in Romans 6:14, where at the closing of God's command to fight sin and serve Him, we are given a sweet assuring promise regarding the stability and steadfastness of our sanctification. And in this promise there are two important indicatives concerning our relationship to both sin and God.

First, there is our assurance for persevering in sanctification. The opening words of Romans 6:14 declare: "For sin will have no dominion over you..." Right from the start we must understand two things about this statement. First of all, it is not an imperative. This is not a command where we're being told to do something. Second of all, this is not a promise of future reward pending our obedience to what we are commanded to do in verses 12-13. In other words, we must not take these words in verse 14 as either an exhortation or a consequence of what happens if we oppose sin and serve God. Rather, when we read, "For sin will have no dominion over you", this must be understood as a statement of assured fact for the believer in Christ. An assurance that he can and will effectively oppose sin and serve God since sin will have no dominion over [him]. Moreover, this is God's Word of assurance for His people that they will persevere in sanctification because they will never again be under the dominion of sin.

But affirming this truth raises a question: what does it mean to be under the dominion of sin? One reason for this question is due to the reality that sin still remains in our mortal bodies as Christians, and we still commit sin (6:12; cf. 7:14-24). So how then must we understand that sin will have no dominion over you? Again, what does it mean to be under the dominion of sin? The answer to this question takes us to Romans 3:9-18, where we're told that "both Jews and Greeks, are under sin." To be "under sin" is to be under sin's power, rule, and thus its dominion. But the kind of people described as under sin's dominion are not believers but unbelievers. They are in rebellion to God's law, blind to the things of God, with no inclination to seek God in a saving way, and full of corruption on a path of sinful misconduct (3:10-12). This is a person under the dominion of sin. But this is not a Christian!

A Christian has died to his old way of life under the enslaving power of sin (6:2). He no longer lives under sin's tyranny nor in sin's territory. Furthermore, what he was in Adam as a lost condemned sinner has died also. The "old self" is dead (6:6) and a new creation has been joined in spiritual union with Christ (6:3-5; cf. II Cor,5:17). Based on these gospel facts, is it any wonder that we are given such strong assurance - "for sin will have no dominion over you?" Be encouraged, Christian! Sin has lost its rule over you. It may fight to regain power but it will not prevail. United to Christ under the reign of His redeeming grace - this is where you live.