Romans 6:15, Free From the Law Not Lawless

Romans 6:15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

The complacent Christian who received blessing and strength from God can let his guard down to yield to temptation, sinning against God. William MacDonald said well, “We are free from the law but not lawless. Grace means freedom to serve the Lord, not to sin against Him.” No, not so much as a little sin! The Apostle Paul is exhorting the Christians in Rome to spiritual vigilance, consistent holiness. He tells us that this is what the Christian life ought to be!

Alas, he understood the spiritual warfare in the life of the Christian. He urged them to keep themselves strong in the Lord. He showed how ridiculous it is for the Christian to yield to sin. Let it not be, don’t even think about it, God forbid!

The three greatest enemy of the Christian is the world, the flesh and the devil. The late pastor, Adrian Rogers puts it succinctly, “The world is the external foe, the flesh is the internal foe and the devil is the inferno foe! The world refers to the system that is opposed to our God and His Christ. The flesh refers to the old Adamic pre-disposition that all of us have to sin. Satan is that enemy inside or outside that’s working and its tools are the world and the flesh. You think of the flesh as a pool of gasoline, the world as a match and the devil as the one that strikes that match and flings it.”

It is true that the enemies of the Christian are powerful. But he has the indwelling Spirit of God and the Word of God to give him the victory over these enemies! Amen.