Message 21 - By Leroy Surface

This is the Covenant

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Jeremiah 31:31-34

When God uttered His voice from Mount Sinai, it was to a people He had chosen in Abraham to be His own peculiar treasure. He would make them to be a people “above all people” on the earth. They would be a “kingdom of priests,” and a “holy nation.”  His only command to them was “obey my voice, and keep my covenant.”  God audibly gave His Law to His people in a voice they could hear, in what we call “The Ten Commandments.”  The record in the twentieth chapter of Exodus says that God’s “chosen people,” the children of Israel, refused to even listen to the voice of God, saying, “let Moses speak with us…we will obey his voice, but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”  In Deuteronomy 5:29 Moses tells of God’s response when His chosen people rejected Him: “O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!”  Israel had a “heart problem,” and they could not receive God’s law into their hearts. The “Law of God,” intended to be engraved on the fleshy tables of their hearts, was instead engraved on tables of stone, where it will forever be a witness against fallen man, that he has no heart to serve God.

Hundreds of years later, after it was proven again and again that the people could not serve God due to their “heart problem,” God gave the wonderful promise of a “New Covenant” through the prophet Jeremiah. God said, “I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts.”  In Jeremiah’s day there was still an obstacle to the promise. Israel still had the same “heart problem” as before. God could not write His Law upon sinful hearts. If there was to be a “new covenant” there must also be a “new heart.”

It was through the prophet Ezekiel that the necessity of a new heart began to be realized. In Ezekiel 8:31, God told His people, “Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” This command proved to be as futile as the ten that were engraved in stone. Even if the people could cast away their transgressions and change their lifestyle for a season, they could not make themselves a new heart. Amazingly, it was because the people could not change themselves that God gave another wonderful promise.

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Ezekiel 36:26-27

 What a wonderful promise this is, but there is another obstacle to its fulfillment. An “old man” with a sinful heart and spirit cannot simply have a “change of heart;” there must be a “new birth,” by which comes a “new man” with a “new heart,” and a “new spirit.”  It would be a “new creation,” with a “new covenant;” God’s Law would be written in the hearts of all His people.

The New Covenant

Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

II Corinthians 3:3

Please do not take lightly what I say. The “new covenant” cannot be written with ink; neither can it be engraved in stone. It can only be written, or “engraved,” as the Greek text says, “with the Spirit of the living God…in the fleshy tables of the heart.”  Paul continued in II Corinthians 3:5-6 to say, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament… (new covenant),” Denying any sufficiency of himself, Paul made no claims as to his abilities to do any thing, while declaring that God had made him to be an “able minister” of that which God had written in his heart.  He continues, “…not of the letter, but of the spirit…” The “letter,” written with ink, or engraved in stone, was not Paul’s ministry, as he explained, “for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.”  Paul was an “able minister” of that which God had written in his heart. He was an “epistle of Christ… known and read of all men” (II Corinthians 3:2-3).

But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? 

II Corinthians 3:7-8

 Beginning in the seventh and eighth verses, Paul begins a comparison of the glory of the two covenants that will continue through the remainder of the third chapter. The Law, written and engraven in stones, was a ministration of death, yet it had a certain glory that was manifest in the face of Moses when he came down from the Mountain of God with the tables of stone. It was such glory that the congregation of Israel could not look upon his face. Paul asks the question, “if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious… How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?” Paul was comparing the “glory” of that which was engraved in stone with the glory of that which is engraved in the hearts of the children of God. He makes the same comparison three different ways in the next three verses:

For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.

II Corinthians 3:9

The Law of God engraved in stone ministers condemnation and death. The Law of God written in the heart ministers righteousness. It is the “glory that exceeds.”

For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.

II Corinthians 3:10

Even the face of Moses, which was “made glorious,” had no glory when compared to the “glory of God” that is in the hearts of the children of God. It is the “glory that excelleth.”

For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.

II Corinthians 3:11

The glory of the old covenant passed, just as the glory in the face of Moses faded. The glory of the new covenant, God’s Law written in the hearts of His children continues. It is the “glory that remaineth.”

The Gospel Hidden

But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

II Corinthians 4:3-4

There are two reasons given in these two verses as to why the lost cannot see the gospel of Jesus Christ. In the third verse, if our gospel “be hid,” the lost cannot see it. In the fourth verse, if the lost have been “blinded” they cannot see the gospel. It is the “god of this world” that blinds the minds of those who “believe not.”  The god of this world is none other than that old deceiver and devil, Satan. He uses every possible means to blind the people, including religion. He is the manipulator behind every false god that is in the world today, or that has ever been. Sadly, he has established his stronghold even in the midst of the “Christian” churches and is far more prominent that most would think. In II Corinthians 11:4, Paul warned the church against “another Jesus, another spirit, and another gospel.”  It is in the realm of church doctrine that the god of this world has been most successful in blinding Christians to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The fact that Jesus came to save sinners “from their sin;” that the believer is “made free from sin;” that the children of God do not “continue in sin;” or that a child of God is no longer a “sinner;” all these truths and a thousand more have been “hidden” under the doctrines and traditions of long since dead organizations of man. Satan does not care if you are a Jew, a Muslim, a Hindu, a Buddhist, or a Christian; they are all the same if you are not freed from sin by the grace of God given at Calvary. Men of God can preach the simple truth of the gospel, but people cannot hear it, because “tradition” speaks louder than words. I can write the truth of the gospel, but few can see it, because their minds have been blinded by dead doctrine. God gave a remedy to this problem in the verses following:

The Remedy

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Genesis 1:3

 Our Bible begins with the record of creation. The first verse declares, “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.”  How much time elapsed between verse one and verse two, we do not know. We do know that in verse two there was a problem: “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.”  The earth was “worthless and empty; and there was no light.”  God gave a remedy: “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”  God’s remedy will always begin by a “moving of the Spirit of God.” “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” 

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

II Corinthians 4:6-7

From the day of Adam’s transgression until the days of Jesus Christ, darkness prevailed over all peoples of the earth (those people who prevailed in darkness constituted the world, and still do). Jesus came into the world as “the light of the world.” In the new creation, God has shined into the hearts of believers “to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Paul said, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels.” This is the “new covenant” of the “new creation.” It is the Law of God written in the hearts of the people. It is eternal life. In the original creation, light is the source of all life. In the “new creation” it is just the opposite; life is the source of all light. John spoke of Jesus; “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” Isaiah spoke of this “light” when he prophesied in Isaiah 60:1-3, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” Life alone is the source of that light.

In II Corinthians 4:2-3, Paul says, “…by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost.”  Oh, what a sad condition this is. If the “truth” is not manifest in the life of the “believer,” the gospel is “hid to them that are lost.”  They will perish because they cannot see the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. Peter spoke to wives in I Peter 3:1-2, giving them in principle a truth that every believer must know. “Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.” We will examine what Peter said:

“…that, if any obey not the word….”   The words “obey not” are translated from the Greek word “apeitheo,” which means, “to disbelieve (willfully and perversely).” “…that, if any willfully and perversely do not believe the word, they also may without the word be won….” There are multitudes that will never believe our preaching, because their minds have been blinded by the god of this world. They may perversely and even viciously deny what we say, but they can never deny what they see if our gospel is not hidden. Peter said, “…they also may without the word be won by the conversation (Greek word ‘anastrophe,’ meaning ‘behaviour’) of the wives (not only wives, but every child of God); While they behold your chaste (Greek word ‘hagnos,’ meaning ‘clean,’ i.e. (figuratively) ‘innocent, modest, perfect’) conversation coupled with fear.” Those who cannot believe that which is engraved in stone or written with ink may both read and believe the same truth when it is manifest in the life of a child of God. God’s Law, engraved in the hearts of His people speaks much louder than the same Law when it is only written with ink, engraved in stone, or even shouted from a pulpit.

About two months ago a man called, asking to meet with both my son Keith and myself. This man is about sixty-eight years old, and has always been a very strong willed man, who was sometimes a little ornery. I knew him many years ago when he had been both a lifetime alcoholic and a chain smoker. I remember the day he said, “I’ll never drink another drop of alcohol,” and he didn’t. A few years later he told me, “I’ll never smoke another cigarette,” and again he was true to his word. I have always admired this man for his inward strength and will power, but there was no reason to believe he was saved. We arranged to meet him at the church at a given time, and this is what happened. He said to me, “Leroy, I see people all around me that have something I don’t have, and I want it.”  He continued, “I have watched my wife for the years since she was saved. She has had so many problems with her health and other things, but she never thinks about those things. She only thinks about the problems of others, and how she can help them.” He continued, “I can only think about old ‘number one.”  Tears filled his eyes as he continued, “I have tried and tried, but I can’t change. I know these people have something I don’t have, and I want it.”  This man didn’t understand the preaching, and had never read the scriptures. He said, “I don’t know anything. I don’t even know how to pray, and I am scared to death to try, but I want what I see.”  Oh, how God shined into his heart that night. The miracle of salvation happened, and the light turned on in his heart for all to see. Things of God that he has never heard with his ears, or seen with his eyes, are written in his new heart. That was the miracle of salvation for one who “believed not the word.” 

The Foundation

According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

I Corinthians 3:10-11

If the “New Covenant” is the “Law of God written in the hearts of His people (and, it is),” then the gospel we preach must be the foundation upon which the new covenant is established. It is a foundation laid by God Himself: “Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste” (Isaiah 28:16). That “foundation” is “Christ-crucified.”  The revelation of “Christ-crucified” was first given to Paul, hence his words, “I have laid the foundation.” He went on to say, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid (by God), which is Jesus Christ” (and Him crucified). The fact is that many “other foundations” have been laid during the centuries since Paul’s generation. We must seek God for the grace to be as “wise masterbuilders” and lay again in our generation that true foundation “that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (and Him crucified).

But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

I Corinthians 1:23-24

“Christ-crucified” is a stumbling block to those who are blinded by religion, and the most foolish of all messages to those who love the wisdom of this world. One of the “tenets” of the “New Covenant (the Law written in the heart),” was prophesied in Jeremiah 31:34, and confirmed in Hebrews 8:11, “And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.” The fact that the “church” has a “program for every problem” testifies against us. “Our gospel is hid.”  The fact that the “church” has “heaped to themselves teachers after their own lusts (II Timothy 4:3),” many of whom have made themselves rich in this world’s goods through teaching the people how to “know the Lord;” that “fact” also testifies against us, that “our gospel is hid.”  I say to every person that is in any program, seeking to conquer the lusts of their own heart through religious philosophy, or counseling psychology, that there is a “truth” that will make you free. It is the “foundation of life.”  It is the gospel of Jesus Christ, which Paul said is “the power of God unto salvation unto every one that believeth” (it).  We will turn to the scriptures to reveal just a little of the foundation as the apostle Paul laid it.

Things we must Know…

The Truth that makes Free

But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Galatians 1:11-12

The remainder of this message is a little of the truth that I see in the gospel as revealed to the apostle Paul by Jesus Christ. It is my commentary on Romans 5:12 through Romans 6:23. This is a glimpse of the foundation that is laid for a victorious life in Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:12 through Romans 6:23

12      Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

“By the one man, Adam, sin entered into the world…” We know there was no sin until Adam transgressed God’s one commandment; “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:17).  Sin entered the heart and nature of Adam, and so to every descendant of Adam who is the common father of us all. We are all sinners by birth, and subject to death (mortality), not because of any sin we have done, but because in Adam’s transgression, we all sinned.

13      (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

We know that the law “came by Moses” over twenty five hundred years after Adam’s transgression. Due to the fact that there was no law, there could be no record of sins during that time period, because “sin is the transgression of the law.”

14      Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

From Adam to Moses there was no written law for the people to transgress; yet death reigned. Moses gave the Law, and death continued its reign until Jesus Christ. God destroyed the world in the days of Noah, not because of what they “did,” but because of what they “were;”  “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”  Of course they “did” all that was in their hearts to “do,” but it was the condition of their hearts that brought their destruction upon them. None of them had “broken the law” because there was no law, yet they perished for what they were.

The key to the last phrase of this verse is the word “figure.” Translated from the Greek word “tupos,” which is defined as “a die (as struck), i.e. (by implication) a stamp or scar.”  Adam’s transgression is the “die” that was “struck” on the heart and nature of the first man, Adam. He became the “prototype” of fallen humanity. Paul said we have all “borne the image of the earthy” (I Corinthians 15:49).

15      But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

This first phrase, “But not as the offence, so also is the free gift,” seems difficult, yet it can be simply understood. In effect the “offence” and the “free gift” were opposites, but in principle they were the same. The offence of Adam tore man away from God and His likeness, bringing man down to depravity and slavery, while the “free gift” reconciled man back to God through the death of Jesus, the Son of God. The principle is the same in that one man, Adam, was proxy for all in the fall, and one man, Jesus, was proxy for all in the redemption.

16      And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.

Another difficult phrase, which is explained in the same verse; “And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift.” Adam’s one offence brought the judgment of condemnation to every person, but the “free gift” of Christ brings a person from many offences unto justification. Consider “justification” for a moment. Many good and sincere gospel teachers have explained “justification” simply as “just as if I had never sinned.”  The truth is, however, “if I had never sinned,” I would still be a sinner, and thus condemned by Adam’s sin. Understand “justification” in this way; it is “just as if Adam had never sinned.”  What would I be if Adam had never sinned? We would all be in the image and likeness of God, breathing the breath of God, and in perfect fellowship with God. That is what justification is about.

17      For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

The “reign of death” spoken of throughout these verses must be understood to be much more than the natural death and decay of the body. God counts every person without Jesus Christ to be “dead in sins and trespasses.”  Jesus said, “He that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and he that liveth and believeth on me shall never die.” The sinner that exists from day to day, breathing the air, working on a job, raising a family, is never counted by God to be “alive;” while the child of God whose body is laid in a casket is never counted by God to be dead. The person without Jesus is a slave to sin and a prisoner of death. The person with Jesus has received “abundance of grace” and the “gift of righteousness.”  They “reign in life” through Jesus Christ our Lord.

18      Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

Paul shows clearly that it is by the “offence of one” that every person came under the condemnation of death; yet in that same way it is by the “righteousness of one” that the “free gift” comes upon every person unto justification of life. He sets the stage for a single verse of scripture to so clearly define the gospel message as follows:

19      For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

It was by Adam’s disobedience that we were all born as sinners into this world. “So by the obedience of one…” It is the “obedience” of Christ as described in Philippians 2:8: “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” It is by Jesus’ “obedience” to the “death of the cross” that many shall “be made righteous.”

The eighteenth verse speaks of “the righteousness of one,” and the nineteenth verse speaks of “the obedience of one.” These both speak of the same thing; that is, “the death of the cross.”  Romans 3:25 speaks of Jesus Christ, “whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past….” God “set forth” His Son to be “an atoning victim” (propitiation) for our sin. Paul said it was to “declare His righteousness.”  Is God righteous? Look to that place called Calvary. Look to the one hanging on a cross between two thieves. Who is he? It is the Son of God. If He is the Son of God, why is He nailed to that cross, suffering as a deceiver and a blasphemer? If you can rightly answer that one question, then you know that God is righteous. Again, when you can rightly answer that question, you will understand the wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ.

In the righteous judgment of God, it was not “right” that every person born into this world would be condemned to eternal death by the offence of one man who disobeyed God’s commandment thousands of years before. There had to be another man to undo “for all” what Adam had done “to all.”  There was no descendant of Adam that could do such a thing, for all were slaves to sin and prisoners of death. The apostle John begins the wonderful story this way in John 1:1-3; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”  In the fourteenth verse, John continues, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”  The creator of all things was made flesh to live among us. He would give Himself to save His people from their sin. As nothing else could, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, suffering and dying on the cross for the sin of the world, declares “the righteousness of God” for all to hear. God is just, and He is the justifier of all who believe in Jesus.

20      Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

The apostle John says, “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).  In these words of John we receive understanding of the words of Paul in our text. Paul says, “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.”  Many have believed and have even taught others, “the more sinful we are, the more gracious God is.”  Oh what a soul damning thought. The truth of this verse is, “the law entered,” not as a remedy for sin, but to identify sin, and “sin abounded.”  It was about sixteen hundred years later that “grace and truth came by Jesus Christ,” and grace abounded “much more” than sin abounded. We will see more about this as we continue in these scriptures, but the “grace and truth” that came by Jesus Christ is “much more” than the offence that came by Adam and abounded under the law.

There are five places in the fifth chapter of Romans that the words “much more” are used. The sum purpose of these words is to establish that the redemption made by Jesus Christ is “much more” than the fall that came through Adam. If the offence of Adam cast man down from the righteousness of the image and likeness of God into total depravity, then the redemption that is in Christ Jesus cannot leave man in his sinful state to continue in sin as long as he is in this body, because the redemption is said repeatedly to be “much more” than the fall.

21      That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Sin reigns “unto death.”  Notice, however, the “past tense” that is used in the language: “…as sin hath reigned unto death…” as though the person has already died. It was “unto” the “death of Jesus Christ” on the cross that sin had its reign. Remember in the fourteenth verse, “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses” over those who did not have a law. Death reigned from Moses to Christ over those who were under the law. It is the entrance of “grace and truth” that ends the reign of sin and death, through the “death” and resurrection of the Son of God. For those who believe that sin continues its reign until we are released from its power by the death of our natural bodies, nothing remains but the “wages of sin” which is “eternal death.”

Romans, Chapter 6

1        What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

This sixth chapter of Romans begins with a simple question. The question is based upon an erroneous interpretation of Romans 5:20, held by some even in Paul’s day. If sin abounds, and grace abounds much more, why not continue in sin so that grace will be more abundant? Those who believe this error are ignorant of the truth revealed by both Peter and James that, “God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6; I Peter 5:5). Those who continue in sin do so without grace

2        God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

Paul answers their question with a question. He notes the impossibility of one who is “dead to sin” to “live any longer in sin.”  This truth is built upon his words in Romans 5:21; “…sin hath reigned unto death.” Paul will establish in the next verses that every child of God has died to sin through death with Jesus Christ on the cross. Sin has lost its power to reign over those who know the truth.

3        Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

It was Jesus who first told us, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). In this verse Paul calls their “knowledge of the truth” into question. “Know ye not that every person that is in Christ was baptized into His death?” It is in His death that we are joined to Christ. It must be understood that the “baptism” in this verse has nothing whatsoever to do with what is called the “sacrament” or “ordinance” of water baptism. Jesus introduced the baptism that is spoken of in these verses in Luke 12:50: “I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!” Jesus was speaking of His death on the cross as a “baptism” which He would suffer. Again, in Mark 10:37-38, James and John came to Jesus with a request, “Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.” Jesus answers in the next verse, “Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” The “cup” spoken of here was the same cup Jesus Himself prayed to the Father about in Matthew 26:39, “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me….” The “baptism” spoken of in these verses is His death on the cross. Water baptism is only a type and a shadow of which “baptism into His death” is the reality.

4        Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

The purpose of our being “baptized into His death” is our “resurrection” to “walk in newness of life.” Peter tells us that God has “begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…” (I Peter 1:3).

5        For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

Our being in the likeness of His resurrection is based upon and subject to our being in the likeness of His death.

6        Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

These several verses are “foundation stones” of a Christian life that will not fail in the storm. “Our old man is crucified with Him…” The little word “with” is of utmost importance, because it comes from the Greek word “sun (pronounced soon),” and denotes “union.” “Our old man is crucified in union with Him.” When Jesus Christ, the Son of God was nailed to the cross, our old man of sin was nailed to that same cross with Him.

The next phrase denotes the reason our old man is crucified; “that the body of sin might be destroyed.”  In this phrase, the word “that” is very important. It is translated from the Greek word “hina,” which means, “in order that.” “Our old man is crucified in union with Christ, in order that the body of sin might be destroyed.”  Next, in this verse, we must look at the word “body.”  It comes from the Greek word “soma,” which means “the body” (as a sound whole). It is used throughout the New Testament to identify the natural body of man, but it differentiates between a hand or a foot, which are simply “members of the body,” and the entire body, which is made of many members. To clearly understand the term “body of sin,” think of the difference between a “glass of water” and the “ocean.” The ocean is the “body of water,” and the “source of all waters.”  Now we read the text as follows; “Our old man is crucified in union with Christ, in order that the entire body and source of sin might be destroyed….” Finally, the word “destroyed” is translated from the Greek word “katargeo,” which means, “to be (render) entirely idle (useless).”

“…that henceforth we should not serve sin.”  The Greek word translated “henceforth” is “meketi.” It is made up of two Greek words, “me” and “eti,” which may rightly be translated either “no further,” or “lest still,” according to the usage in the sentence. This writer believes this sixth verse to clearly say the following: “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified in union with Christ, in order that the entire body and source of sin might be rendered entirely idle and useless, lest we continue to be slaves to sin.” If our “old man” is not crucified, and the source of sin disabled, our faith is vain, and we are certainly slaves until this very day.

7        For he that is dead is freed from sin.

Thanks be to God, we are not slaves, because, “He that is dead (crucified in union with Christ) is freed from sin.” In this verse, though concealed by the translators, Paul gave us the scriptural definition of “justified.” The word “freed” in this verse is translated from the Greek word “dikaioo,” meaning, “to render just or innocent.” It is used forty eight times in the New Testament, and in every place with the exception of this one in Romans 6:7, it is translated as “justified.” The scriptural definition of “justified?” “He that is dead (with Christ) is justified.”

8        Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

The message of our union with Christ is carried over from the sixth verse into this eighth verse. The Greek word “sun (in union with)” is used in two places.“If we died in union with Christ… we also live in union with Him.” Drop the word “shall,” as it is not found in the Greek text. Our union with Christ in life is now, even in this present evil world. Paul explained this “mystery” as “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

9        Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

This is the third time the matter of “knowing” has arisen in this sixth chapter of Romans. These are great and wonderful truths that we must “know” if we are to be made free from sin. In this verse Paul begins an example for every believer in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus died once. Being raised from the dead, He will never die again, because death has no more dominion over Him.

10      For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

This verse is most important as establishing the basis for our great confession in the next verse. Jesus died! He died unto sin; and He died but once! Jesus lives! He lives unto God. This is the pattern of our salvation through death and resurrection “in union with” Jesus Christ.

11      Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

“Likewise (in this way) reckon ye also yourselves…”  The word “likewise” ties us to the facts that were stated about Jesus in the previous verse. He “died unto sin once…likewise, we died (with Him) unto sin once.”  He “liveth unto God…likewise, we live (in Him) unto God.”  When Jesus “died unto sin once,” we were “with (in union with) Him.” In that our old man died with Christ, we are “dead indeed unto sin.”  In His resurrection, a “new man” was born, and we are “alive unto God through (the Greek word is ‘in’) Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Our union with Christ is both in His death and in His life.

The sentence structure of this eleventh verse is very interesting. The word “indeed” is key to the power and reality of the confession. It is translated from the Greek word “men.”  The “Strong’s Concordance” definition is as follows: “men:’ a primary particle; properly, indicative of affirmation or concession (in fact); usually followed by a contrasted clause with 1161” (the Greek word for ‘but’). The “concession” in this verse is “In fact, I am dead unto sin.” The contrasted clause is, “But I am alive unto God in Jesus Christ my Lord.”

The “reckoning” in this verse is not only that we are dead unto sin, but also that we are alive unto God. The power of our “reckoning” is also found in the word “indeed;” it is a “fact” that we are both dead to sin and alive to God in union with Christ. It is a fact, but until you reckon it so, you will continue to struggle with sin in your heart and nature.

12      Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

The translators really did us an injustice to this verse. Their error has bound untold millions of people to “continue in sin,” even though it is not their will to do so. “Let not sin therefore reign…” seems to prove that sin remains in the mortal body of the believer. The wording indicates a continuous struggle with sin. This is certainly not what the apostle Paul was saying in this verse. We must examine what Paul actually said to find the truth he reveals.

The first word in this verse, “let,” is not found in the Greek text. It was borrowed from the Greek word translated “reign” in this same verse, hence “let reign.” It is the word “not” that is the key to understanding this twelfth verse. It is translated from the Greek word “me (may).”  “Strong’s” gives the definition as follows: “a primary particle of qualified negation (whereas 3756 expresses an absolute denial); (adverbially) not, (conjunctionally) lest.” As an adverb, the word would properly be translated as a very weak “not.” As a conjunction, it should be translated as “lest.” In fact, it is a conjunction, connecting the eleventh and twelfth verses in this way: “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord, lest sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, etc.” Paul establishes in this verse that if you do not reckon the fact that you are dead unto sin with Christ, but alive unto God in Christ, sin will most definitely reign in your mortal body.

The last phrase of this verse speaks of the reign of sin in the mortal body, “…that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.” The word “lusts” is translated from the Greek word “epithumia” which is defined as “a longing (especially for what is forbidden).”  The same Greek word is also translated as “concupiscence” in several places, which is defined by the “New Century Dictionary” as “illicit desire; sensual appetite; lust.” There are those in religion who have successfully restrained their outward actions of sin, yet almost every thought of their mind is on uncleanness, or sinful things. These are “obeying sin in the lusts thereof,” for it is the sin of the heart that man cannot control. Those who are “dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through our Lord Jesus Christ” have no such struggle. It is of vital importance that you “reckon (just consider it so)” the truth of the gospel to your life.

13      Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

The Greek word “meede,” which is translated “neither” indicates a “continued negation.” It is derived from two separate words meaning “and lest,” connecting the thirteenth verse with the previous two verses as follows: “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord, lest sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof; and lest ye yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin.”

The last phrase of this verse begins a new sentence with the word “but,” which from the Greek “alla” means “contrariwise.” “Contrariwise yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and yield your members (hands, feet, mouth, etc) as instruments (offensive weapons) of righteousness unto God.”

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

The verse begins with the Greek word “gar,” translated “for,” and “assigns a reason.” The previous verse instructed us to yield our members as instruments of righteousness unto God, “because sin has no dominion over you.” It is impossible to present to God for His service that which sin still dominates. The reason is also given as to why sin has lost its dominion over us; “because ye are not under the law, but under grace.”  Sin “abounds” under the law (Romans 5:20), and “reigns” unto death (Romans 5:21). Grace “abounded” at Calvary, and “reigns” through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 5:21). “Grace” is the reason given that sin has no more dominion over us.

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

This is the second time Paul answers an erroneous view of grace in this sixth chapter of Romans. In the first verse the question was, “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” Abounding grace can never result in a continuance in sin. In this verse a perverted view of grace is denied a second time. “Shall we sin, because we are not under the law?” Some believe that an absence of law translates into an absence of sin. The truth is, there is never an “absence of the law.”  The “Old Covenant” is the law written on tables of stone. The “New Covenant” is the law written in our hearts (Jeremiah 31:31-33; Hebrews 8:8-13). This is “grace.” Those under grace cannot continue in sin.

16      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?

The apostle asks a question with an obvious answer. “Do you not know that you are slaves to the one you present yourself to obey?” A sinner has no choice as to whom he will serve. He is a slave to sin, and when sin calls, he will answer. The message of this verse is simple; your master is the one you must obey.

17      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.

This is a most important verse. God is “thanked,” not because you “were the servants of sin,” but because you are “made free from sin” (eighteenth verse). You have “obeyed from the heart…” In Romans 10:10 Paul says, “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness.”  In Galatians 3:1, Paul wrote “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth…”  In Galatians 5:7: “Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?” The Galatians were obeying every command of Moses, beginning with circumcision, and trusting they would be saved through the deeds of the Law, but they were not “obeying the truth.” The “truth that makes free” is such that it cannot be obeyed by any action or work of man. The truth that makes us free is “God in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself (II Corinthians 5:19)” through our death and resurrection with Jesus Christ. Salvation is one hundred percent the work of God. It is a gift received by faith alone: “only believe!” Obey “from the heart” that “form of doctrine.” That “form of doctrine” is “Christ-crucified.” 

The word “form” in this verse is translated from the same Greek word, “tupos,” which was translated “figure” in Romans 5:14. Its primary definition is “a die (as struck).”  Adam’s transgression is the “die” that cast every person as a sinner; “Christ-crucified” is the “die” that makes many to be righteous. From the instant of Adam’s transgression it was forever settled that every descendant of Adam would be born in sin, a sinner. From the moment that Jesus Christ, the Son of God died on the cross, it was forever settled that the children of God would be “born again” in righteousness and true holiness. It is a fact that Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and was raised again on the third day. The “faith” of the gospel is found in the sixth and seventh verses of this sixth chapter of Romans; “our old man is crucified with Him…the source of sin is destroyed.”  If this is not true, we will never be free, but Paul concludes in the seventh verse, “He that is dead(with Christ), is freed from sin.”  

18      Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

That “form of doctrine,” which is “Christ crucified,” has made us free from sin to become the servants of righteousness.

19      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.

In verses nineteen through twenty-two, Paul gives a simple illustration to explain “freedom from sin” in human terms. He begins, “I speak after the manner of men….”  In times past they had “yielded” the members of their body to uncleanness and iniquity leading to more iniquity. Paul instructs them, “being made free from sin, and become servants of righteousness… yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.” Paul’s simple illustration begins in the next verse.

20      For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.

How free is free? What does it mean to be free from sin? Paul answers with a simple statement of obvious truth; “when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.” Being “free from righteousness” does not mean they “had power over righteousness,” but simply that there was no righteousness in them. Sin was their master and everything they did was sin. Even their efforts to do good were unacceptable, as Isaiah said, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Isaiah 64:6).

21      What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.

The child of God, being a servant of righteousness, is always ashamed of the past life of sin. Everything he did, whether “good” or “evil,” was the fruit of what he was, a slave to sin, and a sinner. The end result for every servant of sin is always eternal death.

22      But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

“But now…” Oh what a contrast between “then” and “now.”  Then you were servants to sin and free from righteousness. Now you are servants to God and free from sin. Your fruit is holiness, and your “end” is everlasting life, because...

23      For (because) the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 Message 21 - By Leroy Surface - This is the Covenant

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