Introduction: Let’s review for a moment what we have learned in the
past few weeks. Jesus came as a second Adam. Jesus succeeded where
Adam failed. Just as we were swept into sin by Adam, so we are swept
into righteousness by Jesus – if we choose. We can choose to be
incorporated into Jesus’ baptism, sinless life, death and
resurrection by being baptized. Are we together so far? Last week we
began to consider what is next: living life according to our
spiritual, not human, nature. Let’s continue to explore what it means
to be united to Jesus in day-to-day living. Ready? Let’s plunge
into our Bibles!

  1. New Life


    1. Read Romans 6:3-4. What does Paul say we can have new? (A
      new life.)


      1. Do you like new stuff? I’ve got a friend who used to
        say to me, “I like my toys new.” That is not how I
        look at life. “Open box,” “refurbished,” “scratch and
        dent,” “second” are my “brand names.” For me, part of
        the joy of ownership is paying less.


      2. What is the problem with getting used toys? (You
        inherit the problems of someone else.)


      3. If you are reading this, you have a “used” life.
        (Hopefully, you don’t qualify as a “scratch and
        dent.”) What is the attraction of the “new life”
        offered by Jesus? (Those things you regret, those
        problems you created are part of the old life.)


        1. Is leaving the old life behind really possible?
          Or, is this unrealistic talk?


    2. Read Romans 6:5-7. How does Paul describe our new life?
      Does it completely erase the old life? (The Bible says the
      “body of sin” is “done away with” and we are “no longer
      … slaves to sin.” The memory and the awareness of past
      sins may be there, but sin, at least the dominance of sin,
      is past.)


      1. Would it be best to completely forget our past sins?
        (For some people, getting burned by sin is an
        important aid for future conduct!)


    3. Read Romans 6:8-11. When does our new life begin? Is this
      future? Or, is this something we can have right now?
      (“Count yourselves” means to apply it now. This new life
      is something we can have now.)


  2. New Life Living


    1. Read Romans 6:12-13. When I become new, when I take on my
      new life in Jesus, is the sin problem, if not sin
      dominance, a thing of the past? (We still have to make the
      decision to “not let sin reign in us.”)


      1. What does it mean to “offer” ourselves to God instead
        of to sin? (First, we have a conscious decision to
        make – and we need to be making it all the time.
        That decision is to choose righteousness instead of
        wickedness. Second, the word “offer” seems to mean
        be available, be willing. We make the choice for
        righteousness, but we let God make the decision on
        how we are used.)


    2. Read Romans 6:14. If you just had a twinge of anxiety
      about the idea of turning your life over to God for Him to
      make the executive decisions, what does this text suggest?
      (It suggests that our decision is to continually choose
      sides. Even if we chose selfishness we are not the master
      – sin is the master.)


      1. Can you remember (maybe short-term memory is all that
        is needed) when you were addicted to sin? (If the
        answer is “yes,” then the reasonable conclusion is
        that we have more choice when we choose
        righteousness.)


    3. Romans 6:14 says something very interesting. It says that
      sin is not our master because we are under grace and not
      law. Let’s try to paraphrase this: You will no longer
      have to worry about a traffic accident or a traffic injury
      because we have abolished all of the traffic laws. No more
      speed limits. No more pesky stopping for traffic lights or
      stop signs. It’s your choice on which side of the road to
      drive. Would that make any sense to you? (I think “not
      under law” means a couple of things. First, it means “not
      under the condemnation of the law.” Grace has set us free
      from the condemnation of the law. Second, it means that
      keeping the law is not the way we seek salvation. Grace
      is our new way of salvation.)


      1. Read the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:17-19. What does
        Jesus say about His role and the law? (If you think
        I’m going to teach you to break one of the
        commandments, you are not reading the text
        carefully!)


      2. Read Galatians 3:10-11. In what way does Paul say
        here that we are not under the law? (We are not
        depending on the law to be just before God.)


    4. Read Ephesians 4:22-24. What new part of our new self is
      mentioned here? (A new attitude.)


      1. Those of you who have been reading these lessons for
        years know that I like to refer to “righteousness by
        attitude.” What do you think this “new attitude”
        means? (You love God. You are grateful to God. You
        want to please Him. From experience I know it is hard
        to turn away from wanting to please yourself, it is
        even more difficult to be honest about what pleases
        God and what pleases you. But, if you decide by the
        power of the Holy Spirit to develop this attitude,
        you are on the right road.)


    5. Read Romans 6:15-18. What does this say to Christians who
      argue that the law is done away with and that we can do
      whatever we want because we are under grace? (It tells us
      as clearly as possible that sin is not an option – even
      for those under grace. The reason why we should not
      (cannot) choose sin is because we will become a slave to
      it. As we mentioned before, anyone who has been addicted
      to sin (which is probably all of us) knows precisely what
      this text is talking about.)


    6. Read Romans 6:19. What encouragement do you find in this
      verse? (Paul confesses that we are weak. How I love to
      know that other people are weak – it is not just me who is
      weak.)


      1. What does Paul imply is the cure for human weakness?
        (Not to be in our “natural selves.” He suggests we
        look to the Holy Spirit for power (against sin)
        beyond our natural self.)


    7. Read Romans 6:20-21. Be honest, when you were addicted to
      sin, what benefit did you reap? How did it work out?
      (There is no doubt that sin has its attraction. But the
      outcome is a train wreck. If your sin did not result in a
      train wreck, thank God for His mercy to you and consider
      how it could have worked out if Satan had his way.)


      1. Although Paul challenges us to consider the result of
        our sins here and now, he also directs our attention
        to the fact that the destination of the sin train is
        eternal death.


        1. Considering all of this, how dumb do we have to
          be to choose sin?


    8. Read Romans 6:22. Where does a life united to Jesus lead
      us? (Holiness and eternal life!)


      1. When the verse says “leads to holiness” what does
        that suggest about the times when we slip and fall
        into old habits? (We are on a path. If we have the
        right attitude, if we ask the Holy Spirit to lead, if
        we choose to be united to Jesus, we will keep moving
        towards holiness. It might be three steps forward and
        one step back, but we are on the move towards
        holiness.)


    9. Read Romans 6:23. What is within our power to earn and
      what is not within our power to earn? (We can earn death.
      Eternal life is a gift.)


    10. Friend, are you living the new life now? Do you have an
      attitude that desires to please God? Do you want to live a
      Spirit-led life? Do you want to leave the dirty feeling
      of your sin addiction? Will you, right now, confess your
      sins to God and ask Him to help you this day to enter new
      life-living?


  3. Next week: Atonement and Universal Harmony.