In the first chapter of Romans through the fifth chapter, Paul began by telling us we are dead in sin. He then goes on to explain that through faith in Christ Jesus we are free from the penalty for sin. Now as we enter the sixth through the eighth chapters, Paul will explain how we are dead to sin and thereby free from the power of sin.
Through the first five chapters of Romans -- much like an attorney -- Paul provided historical and prophetical evidence to make his case that salvation is the result of grace -- not from our own works. However, many people have difficulty with this concept for one reason: It rationalizes sinful living. They think: "If we preach grace, then people will not address the sin in their lives -- they will conduct themselves immorally because they don't have defined boundaries. We must therefore provide rules for how to think and act appropriately." In chapter six Paul will address this thinking by those who insist that grace leads to immoral living.
If you were free from receiving speeding tickets for the next year, would you regularly break the speed limit? Would you laugh in the face of the Highway Patrol? Would you go just 5 or 10 miles over the limit, or as fast as your car would go? Would you only break the speed limit when you felt it was safe to do so? Right now, do you follow the Law because it is right or because you fear the penalty? Your answers will tell you a lot about your orientation toward sin in general.
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