penalty of sin

Set free from sin

Paul’s explanation of Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross in the book of Romans was intended to establish the basis for believers being justified by faith. Paul said, “Therefore since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:1-2). Paul went on to say that because of one man’s trespass, death reigned, but those who receive Christ’s free gift of salvation will “receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness” and will reign in life (Romans 5:17). The Greek words thanatos (death) and zoe (life) were used by Paul to depict the two states of being that humans can exist in. “Often in the Septuagint, thanatos has the sense of destruction, perdition, misery, implying both physical death and exclusion from the presence and favor of God in consequence of sin and disobedience. Opposed to zoe (2222), life and blessedness (Septuagint: Deuteronomy 30:19; Proverbs 11:19; 12:28). In the New Testament, this sense is applied with more definitiveness to the gospel plan of salvation, and as zoe is used to denote the bliss and glory of the kingdom of God including the idea of a joyful resurrection, so thanatos is used for the opposite, i.e. rejection from the kingdom of God. This includes the idea of physical death as aggravated by eternal condemnation; sometimes with the idea of physical death being more prominent, and other times subsequent perdition being more prominent (John 8:51; Romans 6:16, 21, 23; 7:5, 10; 8:2, 6; 2 Corinthians 2:16; 3:7; 2 Timothy 1:10; Hebrews 2:15; James 5:20; 1 John 3:14; 5:16, 17). Called also the second death (Revelation 2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:8), referring to eternal spiritual separation from God” (G 2288). Paul concluded, “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life” (Romans 5:18).

Paul’s explanation of what happens when a person is baptized indicated that just as Jesus Christ died and was raised back to life, so everyone who identifies himself with Christ’s death and resurrection will experience the same thing. Paul asked:

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:3-4)

Paul went on to explain that it is the believer’s union with Christ that causes him to be set free from sin and to walk in newness of life. Paul stated:

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:5-11)

Paul made note of the fact that one who has died has been set free from sin (Romans 6:7) and death no longer has dominion over him (Romans 6:9). Dominion refers to having absolute authority over someone (G2962). Jesus told his followers, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24). The Greek word that is translated set free in Romans 6:7 is dikaioo (dik-ah-yoˊ-o). This is the word that Paul used when he talked about being justified by faith (Romans 3:28, 30; 5:1). Therefore, being set from sin is related to God’s justification of those who put their faith in Christ.

Although justification by faith is a declaration that a person has been restored to a state of righteousness through belief and trust in the work of Christ rather than on the basis of his own accomplishment, Paul indicated that being set free from sin involves an act of one’s will. Paul instructed believers to, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness” (Romans 6:12-13). Presenting our members to sin has to do with us being in the immediate vicinity or proximity of something that we know is morally wrong and could cause us to sin. Instead, we must stay close to God and be ready and willing to do what he wants us to.

Paul equated being set free from sin to becoming slaves of righteousness. Paul explained:

What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

Paul indicated that becoming slaves of righteousness leads to sanctification, the resultant state of purification that enables us to be holy as God is holy. “The only kind of sin whose power is broken in the lives of people is canceled sin—sin that has already been punished in Christ’s death and forgiven through faith. Thus is it necessary to fight sin in the strength and in the freedom of that gracious reality. Believers in Christ can be victorious over sin only because—and must be victorious over sin precisely because—Christ has conquered sin in them by virtue of his death and resurrection. As has already been implied, however, the believer enjoys this decisive victory over the dominion of sin as a result of union with Christ, his heart and life are not totally purified. Though the penalty of sin is paid and the power of sin is broken, the presence of sin still remains in the believer’s flesh and therefore must continually be put to death. Thus the sanctification that begins definitively at regeneration necessarily continues throughout the entirety of the Christian life. This continuous aspect of sanctification is called progressive sanctification” (Biblical Doctrine, MacArthur and Mayhue, p. 635).

Paul concluded his discussion of being set free from sin with a reminder of the spiritual endowment that believers receive as a result of being adopted into God’s family. Paul stated, “For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at the time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have becomes slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:20-23). Paul linked sanctification to the end result or final outcome of eternal life. Revelation 21:1 tells us that after the second death, there will be a new heaven and a new earth, “for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away” and “the dwelling place of God is with man” (Revelation 21:3). John indicated God himself will be with his people, and “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall their be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:3-4). The fact that former things have passed away is an indicator that in eternal life there will be no reminders of the sin that was once a part of our daily lives.

A matter of the heart

The Bible views the heart in a much different way than we typically do. The first mention of the heart is in Genesis 6:5 where it says, “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” What we think in our minds is important with regard to spiritual activity. If all we ever think about is evil, we will not be able to do what God wants us to. Jesus told his disciples, “Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person” (Matthew 15:18-20).

Moses instructed the people of Israel to “love the LORD your God with all your heart” (Deuteronomy 6:5). The Hebrew word that is translated heart, lebab (lay-bawbˊ) is “a masculine noun meaning heart, mind, inner person. The primary usage of this word describes the entire disposition of the inner person that God can discern…It is also used to describe the place where the rational, thinking process occurs that allows a person to know God’s blessing (Joshua 23:14); to plan for the future (1 Kings 8:18); to communicate (2 Chronicles 9:1); and to understand God’s message (Isaiah 6:10). Like the English usage, it often refers to the seat of the emotions, whether it refers to joy (Deuteronomy 28:47); discouragement (Joshua 2:11); comfort (Judges 19:8); grief (1 Samuel 1:8); sorrow (Psalm 13:2[3]); or gladness (Isaiah 30:29)” (H3824).

Deuteronomy 10:16 talks about circumcising the foreskin of your heart. Circumcision was what distinguished the Israelites from all other people. When God established his covenant with Abraham, he said, “This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you” (Genesis 17:10-12). Moses later told the people of Israel, “And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live” (Deuteronomy 30:6).

Jesus used the illustration of a tree bearing fruit to explain the connection between our hearts and what comes out of our mouths. Speaking to the Pharisees, religious leaders who were known for their religious hypocrisy, Jesus said:

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:33-37)

The Greek word that is translated give account is logos (logˊ-os), which means “something said,” and in this instance refers to a discourse or conversation (G3056). Jesus indicated that God’s moral accounting system is based on our speech, “for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:37). Justification means that you have a right standing before God. You are legally free from the guilt and the penalty of sin. “As a matter of right or justice: to absolve, acquit, clear from any charge or imputation” (G1344). John identified Jesus as “the Word,” logos, indicating that he is the moral standard by which our words will be judged.

Paul talked about God’s judgment in his letter to the Romans. Paul said, “For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when the Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus” (Romans 2:12-16). Paul indicated that the work of the law is written on the hearts of believers. In other words, the scriptures that reside in believers’ hearts cause them to do what the scriptures state.

Jesus said in his parable of the sower (Luke 8:5-8) that God’s word, or as Paul stated, his gospel, is sown like seed in people’s hearts. Jesus explained:

Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. (Luke 8:11-15)

Jesus said God’s word must be held fast in our heart, or more specifically, lodged in our minds, for it to bear fruit. Another way of thinking about this is that we must first comprehend God’s word before it can be translated into action.

Paul argued that circumcision was of no value to the Jews if they did not obey God’s commandments. Paul said, “For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision break the law. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart by the Spirit, not by  the letter. His praise is not from man but from God. Being a Jew inwardly means that you are committed to living according to God’s word. This commitment is referred to as conversion and is our response to being regenerated by God or as Jesus put it, “born again” (John 3:3)

The book of Isaiah recounts God’s judgment of Israel and Judah and provides us with an example of how the whole world will be judged when Jesus returns. In Isaiah 29:13-16, the LORD said:

“Because this people draw near with their mouth
    and honor me with their lips,
    while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
therefore, behold, I will again
    do wonderful things with this people,
    with wonder upon wonder;
and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
    and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.”

Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel,
    whose deeds are in the dark,
    and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”
You turn things upside down!
Shall the potter be regarded as the clay,
that the thing made should say of its maker,
    “He did not make me”;
or the thing formed say of him who formed it,
    “He has no understanding”?

God said the people had turned things upside down by denying him as their Creator, and in a very little while he intended to intervene (Isaiah 29:17).

Paul rebuked the Romans because of their unrepentant hearts and said, “You are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed” (Romans 2:5). Later in his letter, Paul talked about salvation being available to everyone and encouraged the Romans to confess their sin and be saved. Referring them back to Deuteronomy 30:1-14, where Moses talked about God circumcising the people’s hearts, Paul asked, “But what does it say? ‘The word is near you in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Romans 10:8-10).