“Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace?”
Romans 6:1 (NLT)
Paul asks in Romans 6:1 whether we should keep sinning so grace can abound. His emphatic answer is, “By no means.” But that is the wrong question: we have died to sin, so why keep living in it? In water baptism, we are buried with Christ into his death so that, just as He was raised by the Father’s power and to His glory, we can walk in newness of life. Why would we want to hang out with dead things?
Life in Christ is not even in the same category as living in sin; God’s life in us is greater than anything we thought we had by embracing sin. Colossians 3:1–15 shows us this new life. Verse 3 says our earthly life is dead, behind us and beneath us. Our real life and hope are hidden with Christ in God. Christ is in heaven, seated at the Father’s right hand, interceding for us and pouring out the Holy Spirit. That is where we must fix our gaze.
When we become a new creation, we get new tastes, new vision, new ears, new thoughts. What once attracted us becomes dead to us. As we focus on heaven and follow God’s way, we get farther from Adam’s way of sin. God creates distance between our past and our new life in Christ. Grace abounds as we seek grace instead of sin, not as an excuse to sin. We pursue love, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, mercy, forgiveness, and unity as a result of the grace given us.
Today, allow grace to abound by treating sin as dead to you. Sin no longer has power over you because of your relationship with Christ, and it has no benefit for you. Your real life, your true hope, is hidden with Christ in God. Focus on heaven and God’s desires by following the Way, Jesus Christ. Then Adam’s way of sin will become more and more of a distant memory, more and more dead to you.