ROMANS CHAPTER 6

ROMANS CHAPTER 6
(1) “WHAT SHALL WE SAY THEN?
SHALL WE CONTINUE IN SIN, THAT
GRACE MAY ABOUND?”
The question, “What shall we say then?”,
is meant to direct attention to the 20th verse
of the previous Chapter.
To be sure, Paul is not asking these questions
because he doesn’t know the answer,
but rather because of erroneous interpretations
by others placed upon the great Doctrine
of Grace as preached by Paul.
The Doctrines of Grace — especially that
which declares Justification to be by Faith
apart from works — excites the enmity of
the natural heart, and this enmity expresses
itself today, as it has from the first, by the
outcry of verse 1.
Here human reasoning conflicts with Divine
Teaching. The latter declares that man
is absolutely ruined by sin and wholly unable
to restore himself to God’s Favor; the
former teaches that man is not wholly ruined,
that he can by self-culture merit God’s
Favor and secure his own happiness. Actually,
such is modern Psychology.
The question, “Shall we continue in sin,
that Grace may abound?”, was asked by someone,
or else made as a statement by Legalists
who did not understand Grace, or else understood
it, but did not believe in Grace.
This person was either claiming that he
could sin all he wanted to, and Grace would
cover it, or else he was claiming that Paul
was teaching something that gave people a
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175
license to sin. No doubt these erroneous in- NOTES
terpretations, willful or otherwise, were coming
from all directions.
To be sure, there were not too many in
the Church of that day, especially those in
Jerusalem, who were very much in sympathy
with Paul’s Message of Grace, in any case.
They wanted to continue in the Law of Moses
and just simply add Jesus to that Law. So,
and as stated, a Justification which was altogether
by Faith and totally apart from works,
did not set well. From this source most of
the complaints arose.
It is highly unlikely, that new converts
would have developed this reasoning. The
very nature of the complaints rests with those
who claimed spiritual maturity.
SIN
The first thing we must settle regards the
word “sin.” Does it refer here to acts of sin
committed by the Believer, or to the depraved
nature (sin nature) still in him?
Inasmuch as the definite article appears
before the word “sin” in the Greek Text, in
other words “the sin,” this means we are referring
here to the sin nature, actually to sin
reigning as a king (Rom. 5:21).
Every time the word “sin” is used in this
Chapter as a noun, if the Reader will substitute
the words “sinful nature” or “sin nature”
in its place, interpretation will be much
easier (Wuest).
Someone has said that Romans Chapter
6 presents the machinery or mechanics of
the Holy Spirit in telling the Believer how
to have victory over sin. That which Jesus
Christ did at Calvary and the Resurrection
is beautifully outlined respecting the
Believer’s position in Christ. That position
is not one of attempting to gain the victory,
but rather maintaining what Jesus has
already done for us.
THE HOLY SPIRIT
In Romans Chapter 8 we have the dynamics
of the Holy Spirit as the Source of Power
which enables the Believer to appropriate to
himself these great things Christ has done.
In Romans Chapter 7 we find the selfdependence
problem rearing its ugly head
which prevents the Holy Spirit from giving
the Believer victory over the sinful nature,
which stops the Fruit of the Spirit from being
developed.
In this 6th Chapter we are presently studying
Paul is not talking about what kind of life
the Believer should live, but by what method
or how he should live that life (Wuest).
As Romans Chapter 8 graphically portrays,
and which we will hopefully learn more about
when we arrive at Commentary on that most
important work of Paul’s, we must understand
the absolute necessity of the Holy Spirit
in all of this. Actually, it is not possible for
anyone to properly understand the Word of
God, without the aid, leading and guidance
of the Spirit of God; however, when it involves
great and salient Truths such as we
are studying here, and especially considering
their complication, it is absolutely imperative
that the Holy Spirit have complete
control of our lives in order that He may
perform His Office Work as He desires, without
interference and hindrance. Unfortunately,
that is not quite as simple as it sounds.
The last question in verse 1 could be asked
in this fashion, “Shall we continue in the
sinful nature?” “Continue” in the Greek is
“meno,” and means “to remain, abide.”
Considering the word “continue,” this
question could be asked as well, “Shall we as
Believers, continue habitually to sustain the
same relationship to the sin nature that we
sustained before we were Saved?” Of course,
the answer is “No!” And yet many Believers
are continuing to be ruled by this evil impulse;
however, there is victory outlined in
this great 6th Chapter.
The above fundamental question asked by
Paul is not so much with regard to particular
acts of sin, but with respect to the
Believer’s relationship to the sin nature. This
is after all basic acts of sin in one’s life, being
the result of the degree of one’s yieldedness,
to the sin nature.
Some of the following material on the “sin
nature” is taken from the teaching of the
Greek Scholar, Kenneth Wuest. However,
even though I greatly respect his work, we
do have differences, mostly in the realm of
the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. Consequently,
my thrust respecting direction would
be a little different than his. Nevertheless, I
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176
in no way question his motives, and feel that
his contribution to the Work of God has been
of tremendous magnitude. I have borrowed
heavily from him, definitely believing that
his treatment of this all-important subject
is of tremendous benefit.
WHAT IS THE SIN NATURE?
The sin or evil nature is actually the
Adamic nature which imprisoned man at the
Fall. It has poisoned the entirety of the human
race and for all time. It is the nature
which encourages sin and which against, man
is powerless.
At Calvary Jesus broke the hold of this
deadly yoke. However, He did allow it to remain,
but powerless. Its remaining is a disciplinary
measure. If the Believer correctly
follows Christ, there is no problem; however,
if we yield to temptation and sin, and then
try to overcome in the flesh, the sin nature
comes alive with serious consequences.
So, in this Chapter we will study this allimportant
subject of sin in the life of the
Christian, why it is there, and the victory
afforded by Christ — the only victory there
is incidentally.
THE BELIEVER AND THE ISOLATION
OF THE SIN NATURE
Every individual has evil impulses. Heredity,
environment, education, training,
circumstances, all play a part in one’s behavior.
The average individual does not allow
too many of these evil impulses to run
rampant through his experience. But there
are some impulses over which he has no
control. He has fought them with all the
willpower he could muster, but with little
or no success.
In the pages of the Bible, we find the way
of deliverance. It is found in one of the most
profound, metaphysical Passages in all the
Bible. Paul, the Hellenistic Jew, probably
trained in the University of Tarsus, the foremost
Greek School of Learning of the time,
and in the Rabbinical School of Theology at
Jerusalem, is the writer, but the Holy Spirit
is the Author.
One must read carefully, to follow him
through the intricate mazes of the inner
workings of man’s personality. Are you,
gentle Reader, longing for victory over certain
evil impulses? Then read Paul in the
following pages.
THE MANNER IN WHICH GOD ATTACKS
SIN IN THE HUMAN RACE
1. He Justifies the believing sinner, that
is, He removes the guilt and penalty of the
person’s sin, and bestows a Positive Righteousness,
even Jesus Christ Himself, in
Whom the Believer stands Guiltless and Righteous
before God’s Law for time and eternity.
2. He Sanctifies the person in that He
breaks the power of the indwelling sinful nature
and imparts His Divine Nature, thus freeing
the individual from the power of sin and
enabling him to live a life pleasing to God,
doing this at the moment the sinner puts
his Faith in the Lord Jesus as Saviour.
Actually, this act is followed by a process
(a continued process of Sanctification) which
goes on during the Believer’s life as he yields
himself to the Ministry of the Holy Spirit,
Who eliminates sin from his life and produces
a life in which the Christian virtues
are present.
3. He will Glorify the Believer in that He
will transform his physical body at the time
when the Lord Jesus comes back to take out
His Church. This will make the body immortal,
perfect, and free from any indwelling
sin. However, it is concerning the second
of these phases, the Sanctifying process,
to which we now wish to speak.
THE CHRISTIAN AND THE
EVIL NATURE
When the medical profession speaks of a
disease germ that has not yet been isolated,
it means that germ has never been identified
and thus isolated from those germs which
are known. Since that germ has never been
identified, medicine has not been able to discover
a remedy for it. Once the germ has
been isolated, a remedy can usually be found.
It is so in the case of the Believer.
The Christian who has never isolated the
evil nature — that is, who has not discovered
the Truth of Romans Chapter 6 where God
through the Apostle Paul describes the inner
change which occurs at the moment he is
Saved, and also the Christian’s adjustment to
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177
this inner change, does not have consistent NOTES
victory over it. But when in the Christian’s
thinking, this matter is cleared up and this
nature isolated, he has the remedy which will
enable him to gain consistent victory over
sin in his life.
THE IDENTITY OF THE EVIL NATURE
The Scriptures are very clear as to the identity
of the sin nature which indwells an individual
as he is born into the world. It is
the result of Adam’s Fall, and is incumbent
upon every human being.
One only has to glance at such portions
as the following, in order to appraise the
character of this sinful nature: “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” (Gen. 6:5):
“. . . there is none Righteous, no, not one:
“There is none that understandeth, there
is none that seeketh after God.
“They are all gone out of the way, they
are together become unprofitable; there is
none that doeth good, no, not one.
“Their throat is an open sepulchre; with
their tongues they have used deceit; the poison
of asps is under their lips:
“Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
“Their feet are swift to shed blood:
“Destruction and misery are in their
Ways:
“And the way of peace have they not
known:
“There is no fear of God before their eyes”
(Rom. 3:10-18):
“Now the works of the flesh are manifest,
which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness,
lasciviousness,
“Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance,
emulations, wrath, strife, sedition, heresies,
“Envying, murders, drunkenness,
revellings . . .” (Gal. 5:19-21).
The Bible has thus isolated the germ called
sin; identifying it as the fallen nature received
from Adam. This nature remains in the individual
even after God has Saved him, as we
learn from I John 1:8, “If we say that we
have no sin (sin nature), we deceive ourselves,
and the Truth is not in us.”
God, in Salvation breaks the power of this
sinful nature over the Believer, but leaves it
in him as a disciplinary measure. When the
Believer refuses its behests, saying a complete
“Yes” to Jesus Christ, he glorifies God,
defeats Satan, and grows in spiritual strength
and stature.
If the Believer expects to gain consistent
victory over this nature, he must know two
things: A. What God has done in his inner
being with regard to that nature; and, B.
What adjustments it is necessary for him to
make in relation to it. These two things
Paul takes up in Chapter 6, which we are
now studying.
TWO QUESTIONS
Paul’s presentation consists of two questions
and their answers. The two questions
are as follows, and to which we have already
briefly addressed: “What therefore shall we
say? Shall we who profess to be Christians,
continue to sustain habitually the same relationship
to the evil nature which we sustained
before we were Saved, in order that
God’s Grace might abound, thus forgiving
our sins?” (Rom. 6:1):
“What then? Shall we commit occasional
acts of sin because we are not under the uncompromising
rule of Law, but under the
lenient Sceptre of Grace?” (Rom. 6:14).
The above questions are a paraphrase of
what Paul said.
Neither of these questions ever occurred to
Paul, for he knew Grace. They were asked
him by some person who had listened to the
great Apostle preach on Grace, a person who
did not understand the implication of God’s
Grace, but who lived under Law. Or else, and
as we have stated, they were posed by some of
the Judaizers, who were not in agreement with
Paul concerning the great Gospel of Grace, in
other words the New Covenant.
Paul answers the first question in verses
2-14, by showing that it is a spiritual impossibility
for the Believer to sustain the same
relationship habitually to the evil nature
which he sustained before he was Saved. He
answers the second question by showing that
the Believer has changed masters, before
Salvation, having Satan as his master, and
since Grace has wrought an inward change,
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 6:1
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now having Jesus as his Master.
UNDERSTANDING ROMANS
CHAPTER 6
The key to understanding this great Chapter
is the definite article (a rule of the Greek
language) which precedes the word “sin” of
verse 1 in the Greek Text. In effect it says
“the sin.”
A rule of Greek syntax refers the sin mentioned
in this verse back to the sin mentioned
in Romans 5:21. In that verse, sin
is looked upon as reigning as a king, and it
is clear that the reference there is to the
sinful nature, not to acts of sin, as we already
have explained in previous Commentary.
Thus, the sinful nature is spoken of
in verse 1 and throughout this 6th Chapter
where that word occurs.
When Paul says, “What shall we say
then?”, he refers back to his statement in
Romans 5:20, “Where sin abounded, Grace
did much more abound.”
In view of that statement by Paul, perhaps
some questioner asked Paul the following:
“Paul, do you mean to say that God is
willing to forgive sin as fast as a man commits
it? If that is the case, shall we who
profess to be Christians, continue to sustain
the same relationship to the evil nature which
we did before we were Saved, thus allowing
acts of sin to enter our experience, thus allowing
God to forgive those sins and display
His Grace?”
The question thus simmers down to the
relationship of the sinful nature to the
Christian.
(2) “GOD FORBID. HOW SHALL WE,
THAT ARE DEAD TO SIN, LIVE ANY
LONGER THEREIN?”
The two words, “God forbid,” presents
Paul’s answer to the question. “Away with
the thought, let not such a thing occur.” His
first reaction is an emotional one, with his
second answer being a rational one.
The question, “How shall we, that are dead
to sin, live any longer therein?”, portrays in
a nutshell the hardcore principle of what the
Believer now is in Christ. Please allow me
to emphasize it again, that Paul is speaking
of a spiritual quality which the Believer has
at the moment of Salvation, which is that
he is now “dead to sin.” However, the Christian
must remember that death is not extinction
but separation.
When Paul asked as to how it is possible
for the Believer to continue to live in sin, he
is not asking a question for information, but
is rather presenting a rhetorical question designed
to declare the impossibility of the
thing. He is actually saying that it is an
impossibility for a Christian to habitually sustain
the same relationship to the evil nature
that he sustained before God Saved him.
If a person subscribes to the “sin a little
bit every day” religion, claiming that the
Believer sins just as much as the unbeliever,
etc., that is a sure sign that this person has
really never been born again. Actually, the
new nature is the prime characteristic of the
Child of God. However, at the same time,
the evil nature or sin nature also remains in
the Believer, which is the cause for Paul’s
treatment of this subject.
THE CHRISTIAN AND SIN
The Christian has died to sin in the sense
that God in supernatural Grace, while leaving
the sinful nature in the Believer, has separated
him from it. There has been a definite
cleavage, a disengagement of the person from
the effects of the evil nature, even though it
is still present in the Believer. However, this
evil nature or sin nature is a dethroned monarch.
Before Salvation, it was the master of
the individual. Since Salvation, the Believer
is its master.
When the Believer begins to see this
Truth, he has isolated this nature, identified
it in its proper character, and has within his
grasp the remedy for it. However, many Believers
have little or no knowledge whatsoever
of this particular subject, which leaves
them at a serious disadvantage.
WHY DOES THE LORD LEAVE THE
SINFUL NATURE IN THE BELIEVER
AFTER CONVERSION?
It is for our discipline. However, before I
go into that a little more fully, let me address
myself to some erroneous teaching
which seems to be prevalent in some circles.
One particular teaching is “sinless perfection.”
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This stems from an erroneous understand- NOTES
ing of Sanctification. Such teaching claims
that a person comes to Jesus at Conversion,
and then some time later, hopefully soon,
the individual is then Sanctified. At that
time, at least according to this teaching, the
person has reached sinless perfection. Actually,
this Doctrine came out of the old Holiness
teaching, and is carried over into some
Pentecostal circles.
AN EXAMPLE
Years ago a friend of mine, actually one of
the greatest Bible Scholars I have ever personally
known, and who is now with the Lord,
was discussing this issue with some of the
Leaders in a major Pentecostal Denomination.
They were teaching “sinless perfection,”
and he, although a member of that particular
Denomination, was rebutting this error.
First of all, they should have had more
forethought than to argue with this man,
considering his vast Scriptural knowledge.
To make the story brief, in a few minutes
time my friend proved his point from the
Bible to such an extent, that his opponent,
who was incidentally “perfect,” lost his temper.
His associates had to restrain him, and
had they not done so, he would have physically
attacked my friend.
So much for “sinless perfection.”
SANCTIFICATION
The moment the sinner comes to Christ,
at that moment he is “Washed, Sanctified
and Justified” (I Cor. 6:11).
As we have previously explained, Sanctification
is a Work of Grace which takes place
immediately at Salvation. Actually, it is impossible
for one to be Justified unless he is
first made perfectly clean, which Sanctification
does. It is a Free Gift from the Lord.
However, even though the believing sinner
is made “perfect” in Christ, and because
of his Faith in Christ, still, the “sin nature”
remains, with the Sanctifying process continuing.
Once again, as we have previously
explained, the moment the sinner comes to
Christ, he receives a “Standing” in the Lord
at that time, which never changes. It is in
Christ, so it cannot change. However, his
“State” is something else altogether. It
changes almost by the hour. This is what
Scholars refer to, and rightly so, as “Progressive
Sanctification.” In other words, the
Holy Spirit is working in the Believer’s life,
to bring his “State” up to his “Standing.”
Actually, it is a lifelong process, and will not
conclude until the Believer is presented
“faultless before the Presence of His Glory
with exceeding joy” (Jude vs. 24).
One could say and be Scripturally correct,
that “one is Saved and is being Saved.” Or,
“One is Sanctified and is being Sanctified.”
There is also another teaching which is
quite popular, which claims that the soul
and the spirit are Saved while the body isn’t.
Consequently, they claim that when the Believer
sins, that only the body sins, and not
the soul and the spirit. (Others claim that it
is the spirit only which does not sin, but the
body and the soul.)
There is no truth to either of these claims.
Whenever the Believer sins, he sins spirit,
soul and body. That’s the reason that Paul
said, “And the Very God of Peace Sanctify
you wholly (Progressive Sanctification); and
I pray God your whole spirit and soul and
body be preserved blameless unto the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Thess. 5:23).
If the spirit was blameless, as some teach,
then Paul’s statement makes little sense.
There is another teaching which claims
that sin is a consequence of the Law, which
disappeared with the New Covenant. These
individuals seem not to understand that sin
existed before the Law of Moses, which Paul
graphically describes in Romans Chapter 5.
In this thinking, they teach that any confession
of sin by the Believer before God is
error. Behavior is made right by “confessing
who one is in Christ Jesus,” they say. Forgiveness
of sin (I Jn. 1:9) then plays but little
part in their present-day experience, at least
in their thinking. Their whole conception
is, that everything is made right by a proper
confession, which does not include the confessing
of any type of sin or failure. Of course,
they deny the existence of a “sin nature.”
DISCIPLINE!
Naturally, the Believer wants to know why
the Lord allows the sin nature to remain in
the Believer which seems to be the cause of
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so much trouble.
First of all, He does such for a purpose, to
which we will momentarily address ourselves.
However, even though the “sin nature” is
allowed to remain in the Believer, as we have
already stated, it is now isolated, and if we
properly follow Christ, it will cause no problem.
Actually, it is not really the “sin nature”
which causes the problem, but our own
evil hearts (Mat. 15:18-19).
Someone has described the “sin nature”
in the life of the unbeliever as a roaring conflagration,
which it is. In other words, the
unbeliever cannot help but sin because that’s
what he is — a sinner.
However, when the sinner comes to Christ,
he is made a New Creature in Christ Jesus.
At that time the “sin nature” is extinguished
as far as its power is concerned. However, it
is still present, somewhat like glowing embers,
which cause no trouble unless fuel is
applied to those embers.
Whenever the Christian sins, that is the
fuel that’s applied to the sin nature, which
can cause great problems. If the situation is
not understood correctly according to the
Bible and handled according to the Bible,
even as we are attempting to explain here
the “sin nature” in the Believer can now roar
into life, creating just as great a spectacle as
it did even before Conversion. This is very
confusing to many Believers, even as it was
to Paul as outlined in Romans Chapter 7,
which caused him to seek God for the answer
to this dilemma, which was given in
this 6th Chapter.
So, it is not really the sin nature that is
the cause of our problems, and actually it
should do us no harm or cause any problem
whatsoever — that is, if we properly understand
our Place and Position in Christ.
The Lord allows this thing to remain in
our lives, for a disciplinary measure. The
modern Christian has the same problems as
the Jewish Believers of old. That problem is
pride. It is so easy for the Believer to get
lifted up in himself, with spiritual pride possibly
being the worst pride of all.
After a little bit, at least if we are honest
with ourselves, we begin to realize that to
maintain the victory that Jesus Christ has won
for us, and it is won totally and completely,
one has to remain on one’s face before God
continually, seeking Him for Guidance, Leading
and Strength. As stated, this is a disciplinary
measure which every Believer needs,
even one as close to God as the Apostle Paul
(II Cor. 12:1-12).
So, the potential danger of the “sin nature”
resident in all Believers, keeps the Believer
on his face before God, leaning on the
Lord, looking to Him for leading and guidance,
trusting Him, and knowing that we
must have His Strength and Power, if we are
to be the overcomer expected of us. As well,
as we learn the Leading and Guidance of the
Holy Spirit, and His Working within our lives,
little by little, we also learn how to give complete
control to Him in all that we do. These
things do not come easily, neither do they
come quickly, and most of the time sad to
say, they come about as a result of failure on
our part, and then us seeking the Lord as to
the reason why, etc. As stated, and which
we will later study, this is the exact manner
which Paul came to these Truths.
EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION
In this great victory given to us by Christ,
we have the Emancipation Proclamation issued
by God in which the Christian has been
released from slavery to the evil nature. But
like many slaves after the Civil War, who were
ignorant of Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation
Proclamation, and who continued in
the service of the slave-master, so Christians
who are ignorant of Romans Chapter 6 continue
to be slaves of the indwelling sinful
nature to the extent that they are not gaining
consistent victory over sin.
As we have already stated, Paul was in this
very situation before he came to know the
Truth of Chapter 6 which God gave to him,
and he gave to us. He says, “I am carnal,
sold under sin.
“For that which I do I allow not (I do not
understand), for what I would, that I do not;
but what I hate, that I do” (Rom. 7:14-15).
No! This is not an account of Paul before
Conversion as many Preachers claim. It
should be obvious that no unconverted person,
irrespective of how religious he may be,
would make such statements that we’ve just
quoted from Paul. To be frank, sinners love
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sin. While they may hate the results of sin, NOTES
they in no way hate the sin. That only comes
about after the new nature of Christ has been
placed in them.
Paul knew he was Saved, but he did not
understand his Christian experience. The very
thing he wished to do, namely, good, he did
not do, and the very thing he did not want to
do, namely, sin, he did do. The problem was,
even as with many of us, he was struggling in
his own strength to keep from sinning and to
do what was right. However, he found that
human endeavor was not equal to the task.
Many Christians are in a like situation.
The Truth in Romans Chapter 6 enables
the Believer to gain consistent victory over
the indwelling sinful nature. The first fact
that Paul brings out is that the sinful nature
has had its power over the Believer broken.
The Believer before Salvation was absolutely
the slave of the evil nature. But
since Grace has separated him from its power,
he need not obey it.
CHRISTIANS ARE DEAD TO SIN
Just what does that mean?
Sin here, we have established, actually refers
to the sin nature. So this means that
we are dead to the sinful nature, even though
it remains present within our lives — not
sin, but the sin nature. Death means separation,
but it does not mean extinction, and
here lies the answer.
Physical death is the separation of a person
from his body, while spiritual death, is
the separation of the person from God. Consequently,
we learn from this that the moment
the sinner accepts Christ, a cleavage is
consummated between the individual and his
evil nature, even though it does remain. In
other words, God uses His surgical knife to
cut the believing sinner loose from his evil
nature. This occurred potentially in the
Mind and Purpose of God when the believing
sinner, identified himself with the Lord
Jesus Christ and His Death on the Cross of
Calvary, which is the moment he placed his
Faith in Jesus as Saviour.
Now, while God separated the believing
sinner from the evil nature, He did not take
it out of him, but left it in his inner being.
John in his first letter (I Jn. 1:8) is most
careful to tell us that this evil nature remains
in the Christian throughout his earthly life
and is not eradicated until the Christian dies
or is Glorified in the Coming Resurrection.
John is actually saying in the Greek; “If
we say that sin (sin nature) we are not constantly
having, ourselves we are deceiving
(nobody else), and the Truth is not in us.”
John is not speaking here of a particular act
of sin, but the nature of sin. The Greek
brings this out:
First of all, John uses the word “sin” here
a little different than Paul used it in Romans
5:20. While they both mean the same
thing, Paul actually used the definite article
of the Greek which in effect said, “the sin,”
referring to the same thing of which John
was speaking.
However, the manner in which John uses
the word, does not require the definite article
of “the sin.” As with Paul, the Greek
here, even though it does not have the definite
article as it did with Paul, still emphasizes
the nature of sin, because the word is
used in the singular sense by John.
The word “ourselves” as John used it, is
in the emphatic position, meaning that John
was saying that any person who holds the
theory that the sinful nature is eradicated at
some point in the Christian’s experience, is
only deceiving himself. As well, he is also
saying, that others are not deceived in beholding
this individual, for they can see sin
failure sticking out all over his life.
Consequently, let us, therefore, hold to
this, that while there is a definite cleavage
between the Believer and the sinful nature,
yet that nature remains in him until he dies
or is Glorified.
THE SEPARATION OF THE SIN NATURE
FROM THE BELIEVER
When Paul said that we are dead to sin,
he was referring to the cleavage or separation
between the Believer and the sinful nature,
which is a permanent one, a once for
all disengagement of the person from the
evil nature. In other words, this surgical
operation spiritually speaking, is never repeated.
So far as God is concerned, He has
so thoroughly done His Work that the separation
is permanent.
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 6:2
NOTES
182
To use an illustration that will show the
definite cleavage between the Christian and
the evil nature, please allow me to use as
an example a floor lamp connected to a
wall outlet.
It derives its power to give light from the
electric outlet in the wall. Just so, a sinner
is connected to the evil nature, and derives
his incentive and energy to sin, from the
evil nature.
However, if one removes the connecting
plug from the wall outlet, and the light ceases
to function, this tells us its source of power
has been cut off. Cut the connection between
the sinner and the evil nature, and he
ceases to function as a sinner. His source of
sinful power has been cut off.
Upon no other basis can one explain the
instantaneous and radical change in the outlook
and actions of a sinner Saved by the
Power of God. His outlook and actions instantly
change from the life of gross sin he
has once lived.
However, connect the floor lamp with the
wall outlet again, and it will come to life
again. Likewise, connect the Christian with
the evil nature still in him, and he sins again.
But the point is, he is under no compulsion
to put himself back into the control of the
evil nature again as he once was, nor can he
do it habitually, nor frequently.
God has so adjusted things in the Believer’s
life, that, while he remains a free moral agent
capable of choosing between obeying the Divine
nature or the evil nature, yet, the preponderance
of his choices are Godward, where
they were once sinward (before Conversion).
Thus, Paul declares the impossibility of a
Christian habitually sustaining the same relationship
to the evil nature which he sustained
before he was Saved. In other words,
there is no such thing as “sinning a little bit
everyday religion,” or “the Believer has to
sin, he cannot help but sin,” etc. Such thinking
is not Scriptural, and probably shows that
the person claiming such, has really never
been Saved.
THE NEW NATURE
Even though the Christian at times will
yield to the evil nature and sin, the fact is
he doesn’t have to do so, and if he truly
understands his place and position in Christ,
he will learn not to do so. No, that does not
teach sinless perfection, for such cannot be
reached this side of the Resurrection. But it
does teach us victory over sin.
The point is, God has so constituted the
Believer, that he need not fail. He has imparted
the Divine Nature which gives the
Christian a hatred of sin and a Love for
Righteousness.
In addition to this, the Holy Spirit has
been caused to take up His permanent residence
in him and to aid him in this good
fight of Faith, and in his effort to live the
quality Christian Life which every Believer
can have.
So Paul says, “How is it possible for such
as we who have died off once for all with
respect to sin, any longer to live in it?” Or
to translate and interpret, “How is it possible
for such as we, Christians, to have been
separated once for all from the sinful nature,
any longer to live within its grip?”
The Christian, to use another example,
has the same power over the evil nature that
he has over, for instance, his radio or TV set.
When a program suddenly comes over the
air unfit for Christian ears or eyes, he can
shut the set off with a simple “you cannot
bring that smut into my life.”
Before Salvation, the evil nature had absolute
dominion over the sinner. Since Salvation
has wrought its beneficent work in
our inner being, we now have absolute dominion
over it. We must believe this, conducting
ourselves as a Child of God, which
we are, and then act upon it. The evil nature
is a dethroned monarch.
Paul personifies this evil nature as a king
reigning (Rom. 5:21). However, the Holy
Spirit at the time of the sinner’s Salvation,
enthroned the Lord Jesus in the Throneroom
of the Believer’s heart. He stays on that
Throne so long as the Believer keeps yielded
to the Spirit and rejects the behests of the
evil nature, actually letting Jesus live this
life through him (Gal 2:20).
When the Believer sins, the dethroned
king, the evil nature, mounts the throne,
with the consequent dethronement of the
Lord Jesus. These are cold, hard facts, yet,
nevertheless true to the Word of God in its
ROMANS 6:2 JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY
183
teaching on this subject. NOTES
However, such a procedure cannot go on
indefinitely nor often, for God puts a curb
upon such a thing by sending suffering and
chastening, and the Christian is made most
miserable by a guilty conscience and the
indwelling Holy Spirit Who is grieved at
such conduct.
(3) “KNOW YE NOT, THAT SO MANY
OF US AS WERE BAPTIZED INTO
JESUS CHRIST WERE BAPTIZED INTO
HIS DEATH?”
The beginning of the question, “Know
ye not, that so many of us as were Baptized
into Jesus Christ . . . ?”, plainly says that this
Baptism is into Christ and not Water (I Cor.
12:13; Gal. 3:28-29; Eph. 4:5; Col. 2:11-13).
“Baptism” in the Greek here is “baptisma,”
which is slightly different than the normal
word for Baptism, which is “baptizo.”
The word is used in the classics of a Smith
who dips a piece of hot iron into water, tempering
it, also of Greek soldiers placing the
points of their swords, and Barbarians, the
points of their spears in a bowl of blood.
In Leviticus 4:6, it says, “The Priest shall
dip his finger in blood seven times and
sprinkle of the blood seven times before the
Lord.” Where “dip” is used, it relates to
the word “baptizo,” and where “sprinkle” is
used, it relates to the word “rantizo,” which
refers to the action of placing the finger in
the blood.
All of it refers to the placing of a person
or thing into a new environment or into
union with something else so as to alter its
condition or its relationship to its previous
environment or condition.
It refers to the Act of God introducing a
believing sinner into vital union with Jesus
Christ, in order that Believer might have the
power of his sinful nature broken and the
Divine nature implanted through his identification
with Christ in His Death, Burial,
and Resurrection, thus altering the condition
and relationship of that sinner with regard
to his previous state and environment,
bringing him into a new environment, the
Kingdom of God.
The conclusion of the question, “Were
Baptized into His Death?”, refers to God placing
us in Christ when He died so that we
might share His Death and thus come into
the benefits of that identification with Him,
namely, to be separated from the evil nature
as part of the Salvation He gives us
when we believe.
We were then placed in a new environment,
Christ. The old one was the First
Adam in whom as our Federal Head we were
made sinners and came under condemnation.
In our new environment in Christ we
have Righteousness and Life. Our condition
is changed from that of a sinner to that of a
Saint, and instantly.
Whenever the sinner has Faith in what
Christ did at Calvary, in effect, the Father
places that sinner in Christ at the time of
the Death of the Son of God, and in the Mind
of God when Jesus paid the price, it was the
same as the sinner paying the price, although
in fact, it was no way for him to pay such
except through Christ.
Nevertheless, what Jesus did is awarded to
the believing sinner. The sin debt was completely
paid by the Blood of Jesus poured out
at Calvary, which meant that Satan has no
more claim over the sinner, such claim being
broken because the sin debt was once
and for all and forever paid. As stated, and
as we will continue to state, all of this comes
by simple Faith in Christ (Jn. 3:16).
(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 phrase, “Therefore we are buried with
Him by Baptism into death,” proclaims that
Baptism is always by burial, regardless of
what kind of Baptism it is (Acts 8:38),
whether Water or into Christ. That’s the
reason that it is necessary for the one being
Baptized, at least as it regards Water, to be
completely immersed under the water, instead
of sprinkling.
So, when Jesus died on Calvary and was
placed in the Tomb (a form of burial), in effect,
the believing sinner died with Him and
was buried with Him. Actually, that was the
entire purpose of Calvary. Jesus would take
our place, die and be buried in our stead, with
simple Faith in Him awarding the Believer
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 6:3-4
NOTES
184
what Jesus did. The Believer must always
understand, that the Lord did all of this exclusively
for sinners. In other words, nothing
in Heaven needed such a thing, and above
all, God certainly did not need such a thing.
However, His Love was so great for fallen humanity,
that He would become Man (Isa.
7:14), in effect being the Representative Man
of the human race, and then do for us what
we could not do for ourselves.
PERFECTION
Many people do not understand the perfection
that God demands, and in effect,
must demand. First of all, He demands a
perfect birth. In other words, being born in
original sin automatically doomed humanity,
which is what Satan knew. However, it
seems as if Satan never dreamed that God
would do what He did, literally become Man,
in order to Redeem man.
So, the Lord through the Power of the Holy
Spirit would decree that Mary would become
pregnant, which she did. Being a Virgin, consequently,
having never known man, there
was no taint of the Fall about Jesus’ Birth. In
fact, Mary only supplied a womb or house if
you will, for some nine months, in order for
that Holy Thing to be born. Consequently,
Jesus as would be obvious, had no traits of
Joseph whatsoever, but neither did He have
any traits of Mary either. In other words, this
biological Miracle did not use the sperm of
Joseph (or any other man) nor Mary’s egg.
Mary simply provided the house for this particular
period of time. Consequently, you and
I receive the benefit of His Virgin Birth, which
meant that God does not hold original sin
against the Believer.
As well, Jesus had to be born of the Virgin
Mary in the manner in which He did, in order
to be the perfect Sacrifice at Calvary, for
that alone was what God would accept.
For approximately 33 1/2 years He walked
perfectly never failing even once. Consequently,
the Believer is awarded His perfect
Walk, which again fulfills the perfection demanded
by God.
And then of course at Calvary, Jesus was
the perfect Sin-Offering which paid for man’s
terrible sin debt, and which we are here
discussing.
THE RESURRECTION
The phrase, “That like as Christ was raised
up from the dead by the Glory of the Father,”
presents the Resurrection which in
effect, ratified what was done at Calvary. In
other words, as should be obvious, if Jesus
had not been raised from the dead, Calvary
would have been in vain. So, Jesus not only
had to be the perfect Sin-Offering, which He
was, but God had to exhibit enough power
to raise Him from the dead.
This is not to be taken merely at the
weight of its face value. In fact, Jesus had
raised several people from the dead, and God
has the Power to raise any number of people
from the dead, as should be obvious. However,
what one must consider is this:
Satan did not mind Jesus dying at all. In
fact, he would do all he could to hasten the
process. Actually, he tried to kill Jesus in
the Garden of Gethsemane hours before the
Crucifixion (Lk. 22:39-45). I am sure that
Satan knew what Calvary meant, hence, his
efforts in the darkness of the Garden; however,
if he could keep Jesus from rising from
the dead, then Calvary would be of no consequence.
As a result, he used all of his power
respecting every single demon spirit in order
to stop the Resurrection, but to no avail.
“Jesus was raised up from the dead by the
Glory of the Father.”
The phrase, “Even so we also should walk
in Newness of Life,” once again concerns
the believing sinner as not only dying and
being buried with Christ, but as well Resurrected
with and in Him, and not that only,
even as grand as that should be, but “in
Newness of Life.”
To say it another way, we were not only
placed in Christ by God the Holy Spirit in
order that we might share His Death and thus
be separated from the evil nature, we were
also placed in Him in order that we might
share His Resurrection and thus have Divine
Life imparted to us.
NEWNESS OF LIFE
The Newness of Life here does not refer to
a new quality of experience or conduct but
to a new quality of life imparted to the individual.
Romans Chapter 6 does not actually
ROMANS 6:4 JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY
185
deal with the Christian’s experience or be- NOTES
havior. Paul treats that in Romans Chapters
12-16. In this 6th Chapter the key word
is “mechanics,” one might say, of the Spiritfilled
life. The Newness of Life, therefore,
refers, not to a new kind of life the Believer
is to live, but to a New Source of ethical and
spiritual energy imparted to him by God by
which he is enabled to live the life to which
Paul exhorts in Romans Chapters 12-16.
THE WALK — OUR SANCTIFICATION
“Walk” in the Greek is “peripateo,” and
means “to order one’s behavior, to conduct
oneself.”
The word “should” as in “even so we also
should walk in Newness of Life,” throws us
off track somewhat. Even though the translation
is correct, still, in our thinking respecting
English as a language, the word
“should” means that it is something that
ought to be done, but not necessarily that it
will be done. However, in Paul’s Statement,
it means for certain it shall be done. Consequently,
to help us understand it better, it
could be translated “Even so we also will
walk in Newness of Life,” or better yet, “Even
so we also walk in Newness of Life.”
In other words, even as the sinner once
walked in the oldness of death, brought on
by Adam, the Believer now walks in Newness
of Life, brought on by Jesus Christ.
Here we have the twofold result of the
major surgical operation God performs in
the inner being of the sinner when he places
his trust in the Saviour. He is disengaged
from the evil nature, separated from it, no
longer compelled to obey it. He has imparted
to him the Divine Nature (II Pet.
1:4) which becomes in him the new source
of ethical, moral, and spiritual life, which
causes him to hate sin and love Righteousness,
and which gives him both the desire
and the power to do God’s Will. In other
words, the Believer is a New Creature in
Christ Jesus.
Paul, speaking of the same thing in Philippians
2:12-13, says, “Carry to its ultimate
conclusion your own Salvation, . . . for God
is the One Who is constantly putting forth
energy in you, giving you both the desire
and the power to do His good pleasure.”
THE CHRISTIAN’S WILL
The Christian’s will has been made absolutely
free. Before Salvation it was not free
so far as choosing between good and evil was
concerned. It was enslaved to the evil nature.
But now, it stands poised between the
evil nature and the Divine Nature, with the
responsibility to reject the behests of the
former and obey the exhortations of the latter.
It is not so much as saying “No” to sin,
but rather to saying “Yes” to Jesus, which
becomes a habit, and then the victorious life
has been reached.
Consequently, Paul has answered the question,
“Shall we as a habit of life continue to
sustain the same relationship to the evil nature
that we sustained before Salvation?” By
showing that this is a literal impossibility
and for two reasons: A. The power of the
sinful nature has been broken and, therefore,
the Christian is not compelled to sin;
and, B. The Divine Nature is imparted, and
the Christian does not want to sin.
When a person does not have to do something
which he does not want to do, he simply
does not do it.
THE DIVINE NATURE IN
THE BELIEVER
In addition to breaking the power of the
evil nature (sin nature), God imparts His Own
Divine Nature to us, even as we have stated.
We have this Truth given us in Paul’s Words
in verse 4, “Even so we also should order our
behavior in the power of a new life imparted.”
This New Nature gives the Christian both
the desire and the power to do God’s Will,
and the desire and the power to refuse to
obey the evil nature.
Before Salvation, the sinner may have
come to the place, which many do, that he
hated the results of certain sins, and, therefore,
attempted to say “No” to them, but
found he was unable to do so. In fact, this is
the hellish bondage of sin. It is of such
power, fueled by Satan and death, that the
human will is not able to overcome its dread
demands. So, the Federal Government
spending hundreds of millions of dollars in
advertising displays, “Say No To Drugs,” despite
the vast expense, simply will not work.
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 6:4
NOTES
186
The addict is simply not able to say “No,” as
no person is able to say “No,” to that which
is stronger than he. In fact, man has no
power that enables him within himself to
overcome these impulses.
That’s the reason that all the “12-Step”
Programs in the world, cannot set the captive
free. They may in fact, help a person to
stop drinking, or taking drugs, or gambling,
etc., but in doing so they have only dealt
with the surface problem. The old nature
remains and, therefore, the emptiness and
loneliness. That’s the reason that alcoholics
in these programs, irrespective of how long
they have stopped drinking, must forever say
“I am a recovering alcoholic.” They are telling
the truth, in that they are still an alcoholic,
even though they do not now drink.
However, when the Lord saves the sinner,
He imparts into him the Divine Nature of
God, which gives him power which he had
not previously known. That power enables
him to say “Yes” to the admonitions and commands
of the Divine Nature. In fact, once
he begins to say “Yes” to Christ and that Divine
Nature, the easier it becomes to continue
to say “Yes,” until it becomes a habit
to do so.
Actually, one of the reasons that the unbeliever
is not able to overcome the power of
sin, is because he does not have Christ to
Whom he can say “Yes.” He can only say
“No” to these terrible vices, which he has no
power to uphold, which means that his “No”
is useless.
TWO SUPERNATURAL CHANGES
To which we have already alluded, upon
the acceptance of Christ, two supernatural
changes take place in the inner being of the
believing sinner at the moment he puts his
Faith in the Lord Jesus.
The first is that Jesus breaks the power of
indwelling sin.
The second is, that He imparts the Divine
Nature to the believing sinner. This is all
done by the believing sinner being Baptized
into Jesus Christ, which is What and Who
brings about this great Transformation.
The law of cause and effect requires that
every effect must have an adequate cause.
Since the breaking of the power of indwelling
sin and the impartation of the Divine Nature
are operations which only God can perform,
this Baptism must be, not Water Baptism,
but a literal Baptism into Jesus Christ,
which actually explains Salvation. In other
words, Jesus Christ is Salvation.
THE HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM
However, we would be remiss if we did not
speak of the Holy Spirit Baptism, which Paul
does not mention here, but addresses greatly
in Romans Chapter 8. It is actually the Holy
Spirit Who energizes this Divine Nature in
the Believer, actually affording its power.
The word “Baptize” is the English spelling
of the Greek word, not its translation.
The Greek word itself means “the introduction
or placing of a person or thing into a
new environment or into union with something
else so as to alter its condition or its
relationship to its previous environment or
condition.” It refers here to the act of the
Holy Spirit introducing or placing the believing
sinner into vital union with Jesus
Christ in order to alter that person’s condition
and environment.
While the Holy Spirit definitely comes into
the believing sinner at Salvation, which speaks
of the work of Regeneration, that within itself
is not the Baptism with the Holy Spirit,
as it took place on the Day of Pentecost.
As we have previously stated, if the believing
sinner who definitely does have the
Holy Spirit, however, stops there, and does
not go on and be Baptized with the Holy
Spirit according to Acts 2:4, the Holy Spirit
is pretty well stopped regarding the things
He can do in our hearts and lives.
In other words, even though the Believer
is definitely “born again,” therefore, regenerated,
which has been by the Holy Spirit, if
he remains there and does not go on and be
Baptized with the Holy Spirit, all of the attributes
of Regeneration can little be brought
about in the Believer’s life. The Baptism
with the Holy Spirit makes possible all the
qualities and attributes of what Regeneration
actually means, taking the Believer to
ever higher heights and deeper depths in
Christ Jesus. While being Baptized with the
Holy Spirit definitely does not make one
more Saved, that having been done by Faith
ROMANS 6:4 JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY
187
in what Jesus did at Calvary, still, all that NOTES
Salvation means, cannot be brought to bear
in its resultant Fruit in the Believer’s life,
without that Baptism.
THE POTENTIAL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Baptism with the Holy Spirit (Acts
2:4), is potential in nature.
By that I mean, that just because one has
been Baptized with the Holy Spirit, such does
not necessarily mean that all the wonderful
things the Holy Spirit does within our hearts
and lives are automatically done. In fact, very
little is automatic, with the Holy Spirit awaiting
the cooperation of the Believer. That’s
what I mean by being potential in nature.
In other words, the potential is there for
all of the great things promised by God to be
done, but they are not done without the
proper consecration on the part of the Believer.
Regrettably, it is only a few hearts
and lives which really allow the Holy Spirit
the latitude He desires, and actively cooperate
with Him in bringing about the great
qualities and attributes of Christlikeness in
Believers. Most, sadly and regrettably, little
advance beyond the speaking in Tongues
stage. However, that is not the fault of the
Holy Spirit, but of the Believer.
THE LAST ADAM, JESUS CHRIST
Before Salvation, the sinner stands in the
First Adam as his Federal Head. In that position,
he receives the position which the
First Adam had as the result of the Fall,
namely, guilty before God’s Law, possessing
a fallen nature, and unrighteous in his
thoughts, words, and deeds. His physical
body becomes subject to death. But all this
is changed when the Holy Spirit takes him
out of his first position, and places him in
the Last Adam, Jesus Christ. The result is
that this believing sinner stands now in his
New Federal Head, absolutely Righteous before
God’s Law, the power of indwelling sin
broken, and the Divine Nature imparted.
What a contrast this environment and
condition is to the previous one he occupied.
This introduction into Jesus Christ
occurred potentially in the Mind and Purpose
of God at the time the Lord Jesus hung
on the Cross of Calvary, the results of which
become operative in the life of the believing
sinner when he places his Faith in Jesus as
Saviour, and the Holy Spirit in answer to his
Faith, places him in the Lord Jesus.
THE HATING OF SIN AND THE
LOVING OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
In this new nature now possessed by the
Believer, everything about him changes. He
now loves Righteousness, where he once hated
this great attribute of God, and now hates
sin, which he once loved. As well, this new
Divine Nature gives the Christian the impelling
motive and the power to do God’s Will.
Thus, it is actually impossible for a Christian
to live a life of habitual sin as he did
before he was Saved.
CALVARY, THE ANSWER TO
EVERYTHING
Some Believers have been erroneously
taught that their Faith in what Jesus did at
Calvary and the Resurrection was necessary
in order to be Saved, but thereafter they are
told, it has no bearing on the Believer’s life
and walk before God. Nothing could be further
from the Truth.
Some of these Preachers then go on to
say that Calvary is little more than “past miseries.”
They claim that we are people of the
Resurrection, and as such, Calvary is of no
more consequence. Many of them even go
so far as to eliminate all songs about the
Cross, the Blood of Jesus, or anything of this
nature. As stated, they also deny the sin
nature, claiming that a Believer’s walk is determined
by his confession alone. Consequently,
all preaching against sin is banned,
claiming that any preaching of this nature
produces a sin consciousness. In other words,
they claim that preaching against sin causes
one to become conscious of sin, and then
desire to sin. So, there is little or no preaching
against sin in these particular Charismatic
circles.
The Truth is, as I trust we have amply
proved Scripturally, Faith in what Jesus did
at Calvary and the Resurrection is definitely
necessary for one to be Saved, but as well,
continued Faith in that Atoning Work, is
also necessary for one’s victorious walk before
God. In other words, Calvary is not only
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 6:4
NOTES
188
at the Core of our Salvation experience, but
as well, of our daily walk before God. Failure
to understand this, is simply to fail.
Faith in this Atoning Work regarding our
victorious walk, is necessary each and every
day of our lives, and is meant to be that way
by the Holy Spirit.
Why does the Believer think that all of
this teaching is given by Paul?
PAUL’S EXPERIENCE
As we will study in the 7th Chapter of
Romans, which incidentally refers to Paul’s
after Conversion experience, and not his before
Conversion experience, as many teach,
we will learn some things.
Paul having come to Christ in the great
Damascus Road experience, witnessed a radical
change within his heart and life, even
instantly as Jesus came in. As well, he was
Baptized with the Holy Spirit some three days
after his Conversion (Acts 9:8-9, 17).
Upon these twin great experiences of Salvation
from sin and the Baptism with the
Holy Spirit for power, Paul thought surely
he could now live the victorious life over all
the evil impulses of the flesh. To his chagrin,
he found that even though Salvation
was his, victory was alluding him, with him
actually doing the things he did not want to
do (Rom. 7:15).
At this stage, many Pentecostals make a
mistake, thinking that the Baptism with the
Holy Spirit provides all the power that one
needs in order to overcome all things. Acts
1:8 is cited as an example.
While the Holy Spirit is definitely necessary
in order for these great victories to be
brought about in our lives, even as we have
already spoken, still, the “power” spoken of
by Jesus in Acts 1:8, more so speaks of doing
what God wants rather than being what God
wants. In fact, the sin question was not
handled by the Holy Spirit, but by Jesus at
Calvary and the Resurrection. While the
Holy Spirit is the One, even as we have already
explained, Who makes all of this real
to our hearts and lives, still, it is that which
Jesus did at Calvary which satisfied the claims
of Heavenly Justice respecting sin, and,
thereby, broke the grip of this monster from
our hearts and lives. This is why Paul said,
“I determined not to know any thing among
you, save Jesus Christ, and Him Crucified”
(I Cor. 2:2).
So, Paul went to the Lord, seeking His
Face respecting the sin question, and the
manner in which the Believer can walk in
the Victory provided for him by Christ, and
was given this great Truth of Romans Chapters
6-8. To be sure, if Calvary was a once
situation, and no longer needed in the
Believer’s experience, then all of this teaching
given by the Holy Spirit to Paul, makes
no sense whatsoever.
No! Calvary is not a mere “once” situation,
but figures prominently in our everyday
walk before God, and will continue to do
so until the Trump sounds.
(5) “FOR IF WE HAVE BEEN PLANTED
TOGETHER IN THE LIKENESS OF HIS
DEATH, WE SHALL BE ALSO IN THE
LIKENESS OF HIS RESURRECTION:”
The phrase, “For if we have been planted
together in the likeness of His Death,” proclaims
that what Jesus did at Calvary, was
totally and completely for the sinner. In effect,
the believing sinner died in Him on the
Cross, and was buried in Him as well.
This means that the price was totally and
completely paid concerning the outstanding
debt of sin and sins, with simple Faith
all that is required on the part of the sinner,
in order for this Standing in Christ to
be freely given.
The phrase, “We shall be also in the likeness
of His Resurrection,” means that it is
impossible to have one (benefits of Calvary),
without having the benefits of the other
(Newness of Life).
To believe in Christ implies association
with Him in His Death and Resurrection.
His Death is called in verse 3 His Baptism.
He was Baptized into Death, and all His
members (sinners who have Faith in Him)
were associated with Him in that Baptism;
and His Death and Resurrection being inseparable
in their purpose and efficacy, union
with Him in the One carries with it participation
in the Other.
Actually, this is what He was talking about
in John 6, when He said, “Except ye eat the
Flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His Blood,
ye have no life in you” (Jn. 6:53).
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189
Jesus was not speaking of literally eating NOTES
His Flesh or drinking His Blood, but was using
that as a metaphor respecting Faith in
His Atoning Work (Jn. 3:16; 6:63).
TWO MAJOR FACTS
In verses 1-4, Paul has brought out two
major facts:
1. When God saves a sinner, He separates
him from the indwelling sinful nature,
which cleavage is so effective, that the
Believer is not compelled to sin anymore;
he has been permanently delivered from its
power; however, at the same time the Lord
has also left the sin nature in the Believer
permanently. As stated, this is done as a
disciplinary measure.
2. Also, the Lord at the same time has
imparted the Divine Nature, which gives the
Believer both the desire and the power to do
God’s Will.
Now, in verses 5-10, Paul repeats these
great Truths in the event that some of his
readers may not have caught their full implications
as presented in verses 2-4.
A FULFILLED CONDITION
Paul used the word “if” but it is the “if”
of a fulfilled condition. In effect, he is saying,
“In view of the fact,” or “Since such
and such a thing is so,” etc.
“Have been planted together” in the Greek
Text, speaks of a living, vital union of two
individuals growing up together. Actually,
the same word could be used of Siamese
twins whose bodies were connected at one
point, and whose bloodstream flowed
through two physical bodies as it does normally
through one. Actually, that is the
best way to explain this union, and represents
the close union between Christ and
the Believer. God actually places the believing
sinner into Christ at the Cross, to
share His Death and Resurrection. As
stated, this is done by Faith on the part of
the Believer.
“Likeness” in the Greek Text is
“homioma,” and means “a likeness or resemblance
which amounts almost to the
same identity, as stated, even as close as
Siamese twins.”
The idea is, that the believing sinner and
the Lord Jesus were united in a Death at Calvary,
His Death, a vicarious one that had to
do with the Salvation of the believing sinner
from the guilt, penalty, and power of sin,
actually, the sinner’s death, one which he in
justice should have died as a result of that
sin, but which in the Grace of God was borne
or carried as to its guilt and penalty by God’s
Son. Both deaths had to do with sin, but
from different aspects — Jesus bearing the
sin which the sinner has given Him.
SANCTIFICATION, NOT
GLORIFICATION
The future aspect of the words “We shall
be” is not that of a predictive future so far as
time is concerned, but that of a logical future.
Paul says in his Greek, “For, in view of the
fact that we have become those permanently
united with Him with respect to the likeness
of His Death, certainly also (as a logical result)
we shall become those who have become
permanently united with Him with respect
to the likeness of His Resurrection.”
Consequently, the physical aspect of the
coming Resurrection of all of the Saints,
which will at that time result in the Glorification
of our bodies, is not in the Apostle’s
mind here, for he is writing in a context of
Sanctification as it speaks of our walk before
the Lord now, and not Glorification. To be
sure, the Glorification will come, but Paul’s
subject does not pertain to that now, but
rather the Believer’s daily walk respecting
overcoming victory.
So, the Saint in his new condition orders
his behavior in the power of a new life imparted,
namely, the Resurrection Life of our
Lord. The little word “also” in verse 4 tells
us all this. Our Lord’s Resurrection Life is
being lived in a new sphere, and so is that of
the Believer.
Then Paul develops his thesis. As a result
of the Believer having become united
with Christ in His Death, the power of the
sinful nature is broken, and this Paul treats
in verses 6 and 7. In view of the fact that we
have become united with Him in His Resurrection,
the Divine Nature has been imparted.
And this Paul speaks of in verses 8-10.
(6) “KNOWING THIS, THAT OUR OLD
MAN IS CRUCIFIED WITH HIM, THAT
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 6:6
NOTES
190
THE BODY OF SIN MIGHT BE DESTROYED,
THAT HENCEFORTH WE
SHOULD NOT SERVE SIN.”
The phrase, “Knowing this, that our old
man is crucified with Him,” refers to that
person the Believer was before he was Saved,
totally depraved, unregenerate, lacking the
Life of God.
There are two words in the Greek which
mean “man.” The first is “anthropos,” and
is a generic, racial term, which is used for a
male individual at times, but also has the
idea in it of mankind in general, and, therefore,
includes both men and women.
The other word is “aner,” and refers only
to a male person.
The word “anthropos” is the word used
by Paul, and refers, as stated, to an individual
man or woman.
As well, there are two words in the Greek
which mean “old.” The first is “archaios,”
and means “old in point of time.”
The other word is “palaios,” and means
“old in point of use.” This is the word that
Paul uses.
It describes something that is worn out,
useless, fit to be put on the scrap pile, to be
discarded. Consequently, that describes perfectly
the “old man” which pertains to what
we were before we were Saved, thereby
brought to Christ.
(Some claim that the “old man” is Satan.
However, as is obvious, there is nothing
in the Greek Text that even remotely
suggests such a thing. The idea altogether
speaks of the person before Salvation.)
The phrase, “That the body of sin might
be destroyed,” actually refers to the human
body. “Body” in the Greek is “soma,” and
means literally “the human body.”
The word “sin” as it is used here, speaks
of that monster possessing the human body,
at least before Salvation. The idea is, that
Satan uses the human body as the vehicle
for temptation and, thereby, the carrying out
of sinful desires.
The reference is, therefore, to the Believer’s
physical body before Salvation, possessed by,
dominated and controlled by the sinful nature.
The person the Believer was before he
was Saved was crucified with Christ in order
that his physical body which before Salvation
was dominated by the evil nature, might be
spiritually destroyed — that is, destroying
the power of sin in the physical body.
“Destroyed” in the Greek is “katargeo,”
and means “to render idle, inactive, inoperative,
to cause to cease.”
The phrase, “That henceforth we should
not serve sin,” contains the following idea:
“Knowing this, that our old man, that
person we were before we were Saved, was
crucified with Him, in order that our physical
body which at that time was dominated
by the sinful nature, might be rendered inoperative
in that respect, namely, that of
being controlled by the sinful nature, in order
that no longer are we rendering a slave’s
habitual obedience to the sinful nature.”
As a result, the Believer no longer renders
a slave’s obedience to the evil nature
habitually as he did before God Saved him.
In other words, he has been set free from
that bondage.
(7) “FOR HE THAT IS DEAD IS FREED
FROM SIN.”
The phrase, “For he that is dead,” is not
speaking of physical death, but rather to the
historic fact of a believing sinner being identified
with Christ in His Death on the Cross.
The words “is dead” in the Greek Text have
reference to a past action, which in effect is a
once for all action. Thus, we have, “The one
who died off once for all,” that is, off from
the evil nature, this being a separation from
that nature. It speaks of an action so complete
and so final, that the Holy Spirit through
the Apostle used the word “dead.” If something
is dead, that means it has no life in it,
is not effective, carries no weight, can do nothing,
with no danger from that source.
DEAD TO A CERTAIN THING
The Text as stated, is not meaning that
the Believer is physically dead, or will be
physically dead in the future, but is rather
dead to a certain thing, in this case sin. As
we will study in a moment, sin is not dead as
is painfully obvious, but the Believer is dead
to sin. The Believer in his past, which was
an unbelieving state, was very much alive
unto sin. All of this is now changed. However,
due to the way it has been done, which
pertains to being dead in Christ, the issue
ROMANS 6:6-7 JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY
191
very quickly can become confusing. NOTES
IN CHRIST
Paul has laboriously defined this death,
its type, and the manner in which it was done.
It is all in Christ when He died on Calvary,
and the believing sinner gains this status not
by doing anything, but simply by having
Faith in something that has already been
done. However, here is the problem area:
If the Believer at any point in time steps
outside of Christ, and I speak of the Believer’s
Faith in that Atoning Work at Calvary, in
other words trusting in himself or others
other than Christ exclusively, he will quickly
find himself in serious consequences. This
great position in Christ is so defined by the
Holy Spirit, that one must remain constantly
in Christ, and more particularly in that Finished
Work, or one will quickly find that he
is no longer dead to sin.
A CONTINUED FAITH
This means that the Faith which got us
in, must continue to operate even on a daily
basis, in order that we stay in. And this is
where the trouble comes in. (We are not
speaking here of Salvation, but rather of dominion
over sin.)
The sinner under conviction by the Holy
Spirit is quickly made to know how helpless
he really is, and that he must be totally dependent
upon Christ for Salvation. At that
moment he throws himself on the Mercy and
Grace of God, with his Faith in that Mercy
and Grace instantly bringing Salvation. In
fact, he knows very little about all the rudiments
of that of which we speak, but exhibiting
simple Faith guarantees him Salvation.
However, once this is done, the Believer
begins to study the Bible, enjoying the Blessings
of the Lord, even going on to be Baptized
with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4). In respect
to this, God begins to bless, as He always
does. Now the danger flags begin to fly.
At this stage, and in fact all through the
Christian experience, it is so easy for one to
drift over into a position of spiritual elitism,
in other words dependence on self. Inasmuch
as self at times is so subtle, especially
religious self, the transition is made without
the Believer at times really realizing that
such is being done. Spiritual pride has that
propensity.
The phrase, “Is freed from sin,” presents
the Believer as being cut loose from the
sin nature.
“Freed” in the Greek is “dikaioo,” and
means “to Justify, to declare Righteous, to
render or make Righteous, acquit of a
charge, to absolve.” It is a term having to
do with the Law and the Courts of Law.
Consequently, it deals with the Doctrine of
Justification, which is a legal term. However,
in this instance, Paul is not dealing
with Justification, but rather with the Doctrine
of Sanctification. Therefore, the idea
of being “set free” growing out of the idea
that a justified person is set free from the
penalty of the Law, is used.
The one, Paul says, who died off once for
all from the sinful nature, has been set free
completely from it, with the present result
that he is in a state of permanent freedom
from it, permanent in the sense that God
has set him free permanently from it, and it
is his responsibility to maintain that freedom
from it moment by moment.
GRACE
This which is taught by Paul and one
might quickly add given to him by the Holy
Spirit, is little accepted by the majority of
Christianity. In fact, the vast majority of
mankind accepts the human Doctrine of
Salvation by merit; a very small minority
believes the Divine Doctrine of Salvation by
Grace. As the Lord Jesus Himself said, few
tread that narrow way. The reason being, it
is abhorrent to human pride.
As we have already stated, the Believer in
Christ, trusting in what He did at Calvary
and the Resurrection, is now dead to the
monster of sin — in other words, dead to
the sin nature. He is cut loose or freed from
that monster. However, that does not mean
that sin or the sin nature is dead, with both
continuing to be very much alive and just
as much in existence as ever. And yet, to
the Believer sin or the sin nature need not
be any problem whatsoever, providing he
continues to have Faith moment by moment,
and Faith in the right thing, namely
in Christ.
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 6:7
NOTES
192
MAINTAINING THE DISCONNECTION
The Christian is exhorted to maintain that
relationship of disconnection which God has
brought about between him and the indwelling
sinful nature. However, God has not
taken away the Christian’s free will, and does
not treat him as a machine. It is possible for
the Christian by an act of his will to connect
himself again with the evil nature, thus
bringing sin back into his life.
However, he will not be able to do this
habitually, and for various reasons. In the
first place, it is not the Christian’s nature to
sin. He has been made a partaker of the Divine
Nature which impels him to hate sin
and to love Holiness.
In the second place, the minute a Christian
sins, the Holy Spirit is grieved, and that
makes the Believer decidedly uncomfortable,
spiritually, and so much so that if Repentance
is not enjoined quickly, the situation
becomes intolerable.
At the same time, the Lord will also send
suffering and chastening into the Believer’s
life as a curb to sin. All these things taken
together, preclude any possibility of the Christian
taking advantage of Divine Grace — in
other words, the “sinning a little bit everyday”
Doctrine, taught and practiced by some.
Thus, Paul has answered his hearer’s question
again, namely, that the believing sinner’s
death with Christ has disengaged that person
from any connection with his indwelling
sinful nature, resulting in that person’s
body being rendered inoperative so far as any
control which the evil nature might exercise
over it, is concerned.
(8) “NOW IF WE BE DEAD WITH
CHRIST, WE BELIEVE THAT WE SHALL
ALSO LIVE WITH HIM:”
The phrase, “Now if we be dead with
Christ,” proclaims the result of this spiritual
operation.
The word “if” would have probably been
better translated “since,” thus reading, “Now
since we be (are) dead with Christ.” In other
words, it is a settled, guaranteed disposition,
which will accrue into very positive results.
The phrase, “We believe that we shall also
live with Him,” presents the result of the
surgical operation (spiritually speaking) of
being freed from sin.
In other words, there was a purpose behind
the Believer dying with Christ on Calvary
and being buried with Him. Had it
stopped there, the work would have only been
half done. The purpose is not only to free
one from sin, with the debt justly paid, even
though that is an absolute necessity, but the
end result of the “New Life in Christ” to
which the Spirit is pointing.
Consequently, this shoots down the theory
that the only difference in the Believer and
the unbeliever, is the Blood of Christ. In
other words, those who contend for that particular
Doctrine are actually claiming that
Believers sin just as much as unbelievers, but
the difference is that one trusts Christ while
the other doesn’t. Nothing could be further
from the Truth.
While the Blood of Jesus definitely is applied
to the believing sinner, with all its wonderful,
attendant results, still, there is a purpose
in all of this, and it is to live the Resurrection
Life free from sin’s dominion.
WE BELIEVE
This latter phrase by the use of the words
“we believe” proclaims the necessity of the
continued use of Faith, respecting our continued
victory over sin. This is absolutely
imperative!
We are to simply believe that not only were
our sins handled at Calvary, but as well, the
Resurrection of Christ guaranteed our victorious
walk over and above the dominion of
sin. No, this does not mean sinless perfection.
That will not come about until the
First Resurrection of Life, when corruption
will put on incorruption and mortality will
put on immortality (I Cor. 15:51-57; I Thess.
4:13-18). It does mean though, that the
Believer is now free from sin’s dominion.
LIVE WITH HIM
“With Him” is a personal pronoun, and
means that we live with respect to Him. That
is, the Believer’s New Life imparted to him
at the moment of believing, is Life derived
from Christ. We live by means of Him. The
Believer derives his Spiritual Life from Christ
in that sense.
Paul is not speaking here of the Believer’s
ROMANS 6:8 JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY
193
fellowship with Christ here or in Eternity. NOTES
He is speaking of what Christ did for us and
our appropriation of that great victory within
our hearts and lives.
How long does the Believer derive his Spiritual
Life from the Lord Jesus? As long as
Christ lives! Paul says He died once for all,
and that death over Him will never again
exercise lordship, thus, the Believer is sustained
in his spiritual life for time and eternity,
since Christ is in his life. In other words,
as long as Christ lives, the Believer lives!
This great Divine Fact is to be believed,
reckoned to be true, because it is true, and,
as a consequence, the members of one’s personal
physical body are to be yielded to God
as Weapons of Righteousness.
(9) “KNOWING THAT CHRIST BEING
RAISED FROM THE DEAD DIETH NO
MORE; DEATH HATH NO MORE DOMINION
OVER HIM.”
The phrase, “Knowing that Christ being
raised from the dead dieth no more,” tells us
several things:
1. All of this, His Death at Calvary and
His Resurrection, actually the entirety of all
that was done in the Incarnation, was done
exclusively, totally, and absolutely for the
human family, in other words, sinners. So,
if He did all of this for us, and He did, then
He surely wants us to have these great victories
He has won.
2. In that He does not have to die anymore,
tells us that His Work is a Finished
Work, and in every capacity. In other words,
nothing was left hanging. That’s the reason
it is so bad for anyone to add anything to the
Finished Work of Christ.
3. “Dieth no more” has two meanings:
A. He doesn’t need to die again, as we said,
because He paid it all the first time; and, B.
All the powers of sin were broken, and that
means broken in the heart and life of the
Believer, for we are the ones for whom He
died and rose from the dead.
The phrase, “Death hath no more dominion
over Him,” presents “dominion” as the
key word.
“Dominion” in the Greek Text is
“kurieuo,” and means “to rule, to be lord of,
to exercise lordship over.”
“Death” in the Greek is “thanatos,” and
means “deadly, or to be death.” In other
words, it is a state of being or supremacy.
Death is here spoken of as it relates to sin,
for the wages of sin is death. It speaks of the
entirety of the hold over the human race,
with all of its by-products of bondage, darkness,
absence of life, and, in this case, an
absence of spiritual life.
The idea is, that Jesus’ Death, which
speaks of His poured-out Life, relative to His
poured-out Blood, satisfied the claims of
Heavenly Justice. In that the sin debt was
satisfied in this Act, Satan now has no more
hold on the human family, at least those who
believe in what Christ did. Therefore, the
“dominion” of death with all of its attendant
results is broken in the life of the Believer
who accepts what Christ did. As death
holds no more dominion over Jesus, it holds
no more dominion over the Believer, and
that refers to sin.
As we have repeatedly stated, the idea of all
of this which Paul teaches is that sin no longer
has dominion over the Believer. In fact, death
and sin are both still a reality and very much
in force, and will continue to be until the
resolution of all things (I Cor. 15:24-28).
However, the force of both death and sin
have no more hold in the Believer’s life, with
its dominion totally and completely broken.
This is the Miracle and Wonder of the New
Birth, and why Jesus is the only Answer for
suffering, dying humanity. Every philosophy
or religion pales into insignificance, actually
into nothingness, in comparison to
Jesus Christ and what He did at Calvary and
the Resurrection.
(10) “FOR IN THAT HE DIED, HE DIED
UNTO SIN ONCE: BUT IN THAT HE
LIVETH, HE LIVETH UNTO GOD.”
The phrase, “For in that He died, He died
unto sin once,” actually means, “He died unto
sin once for all.”
The “sin” here of which Paul speaks, does
not refer to particular acts of sin. That aspect
of the death of our Lord, namely, that
of paying the penalty for our sins, Paul took
care of in 3:21-5:11.
Here he speaks of the relation of Christ’s
Death to the sinful nature of the individual.
Our Lord’s Death not only paid the penalty
of human sin, but it was used of God to break
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 6:9-10
NOTES
194
the power of indwelling sin in the Believer’s
life. This is what the songwriter meant when
he wrote concerning the Blood of Christ, “Be
of sin the double cure, save from wrath and
make me pure.”
Even though this is very simple, it is something
that many Believers have never heard,
or else they have not thought of it in this
sense. Considering how important that it
really is, please allow us to say it again:
When Jesus died on Calvary, the terrible
sin debt of man was then paid in full. And
as we have said it so many times, Heavenly
Justice was then satisfied.
That particular aspect of His Death did
not really involve the sinner except in a distant
way. In other words, all the sinner has
to do is simply believe that, and Salvation
is afforded.
However, Jesus also died not only that
the great sin debt be paid, which it was, but
also, that the believing sinner might be free
from the dominion of sin and its effects
thereafter. So as the song said, it was a
“double cure.”
Now this last aspect of His Death takes on
a much more personal nature, even as Paul
grandly explains in this 6th Chapter of Romans.
Not only is the sin debt paid, but as
well, its dominion is broken in the heart and
life of the Believer.
It is brought about in relationship to the
Believer literally dying with Him, and in effect,
literally in Him, being buried in Him,
and then Resurrected in Him. In this manner
the dominion of sin was broken in the
life of the Believer. But the Believer must
continue to exercise Faith in this respect,
and on a never-ending basis.
So, Christ’s Death was twofold:
1. To pay the terrible sin debt.
2. To break the dominion of sin in the
life of the Believer.
The phrase, “But in that He liveth, He
liveth unto God,” concerns the very opposite
of the first phrase.
The first phrase spoke of Jesus dying unto
sin once, and that is all that would be necessary,
and now it speaks of Him living, which
is Life derived from God.
The phrase, “He liveth unto God,” tells
us that all of this was instituted by God and
not by man.
As well, it speaks of Jesus doing all of this
as the Representative Man, in effect, for us.
So, in essence, the gist of this statement
as made by Paul, is that the only way this
great victory can break down, is for God to
die. Of course, we know that is impossible,
and, therefore, it is impossible that the dominion
of sin not be broken, respecting Believers
who trust Christ.
One is not living according to one’s own
strength or ability or power, but rather that
of God, i.e., “unto God.”
The word “liveth” has a triple meaning:
1. It speaks of our daily walk and, consequently,
daily victory over sin.
2. It speaks of more abundant life (Jn.
10:10).
3. It speaks of life sustained by God, and,
consequently, infallible.
(11) “LIKEWISE RECKON YE ALSO
YOURSELVES TO BE DEAD INDEED UNTO
SIN, BUT ALIVE UNTO GOD THROUGH
JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.”
The phrase, “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves
to be dead indeed unto sin,” probably
comes closer to a formula than anything else
found in the Word of God.
We come now to Knowledge and Faith.
In verses 1-10, Paul has presented two main
facts: A. The Believer stands in the position
of a permanent relationship of freedom
to the sinful nature, and need not obey it;
and, B. The Divine Nature is imparted by
which he is given both the desire and the
power to do God’s Will.
This is the inner spiritual machinery God
has installed whereby the Believer lives his
Christian life. But, like an automobile engine,
this machinery works best when it is
serviced regularly.
There is always a change for the good in a
new Convert’s life. But if he does not understand
this inner change and adjust himself
properly to it, he lives a mediocre Christian
life. This adjustment Paul speaks of in verses
11-13, namely, that which the Believer must
do if he expects the best results from this inner
change God has already wrought in him.
TWO THINGS THE BELIEVER MUST DO
A. The Believer is to reckon himself dead
ROMANS 6:11 JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY
195
to sin; and, B. Reckon himself alive to God. NOTES
The word “reckon” in the Greek is
“logizomai,” and means “to reckon, count,
compute, to take into account.” Here Paul
is exhorting the Saints that in their endeavor
to live a life in accordance with the Word of
God, they should take into account the fact
that they are dead to sin, that they have been
disengaged from the evil nature, that it has
no power over them anymore, that they are
scot free from it and can live a victorious
Christian life. This is the “knowledge” of
which we have spoken, which comes about
through the teaching given by Paul in this
6th Chapter of Romans. The Believer is to
also have Faith in this knowledge.
The Believer is also to take into account
the fact that he is alive to God, that is, that
the Divine Nature has been imparted with
the result that this nature gives him both
the desire and the power to regulate his life
in accordance with the Word of God.
Now, reckoning oneself dead to sin and
alive to God does not make one so. In other
words, the mere fact of saying this, or even
repeating it over and over, effects no positive
results within itself.
One must have a working knowledge of
what Jesus has done for us, understanding
that a part of that great work was to give us
dominion over sin in our everyday lives, having
Faith in that, and a continuing everyday
working Faith at that. That is what brings
the victory. A reckoning in this manner becomes
very profitable.
AN EXAMPLE
There is a game in which a blindfolded
person is brought into a room, and made to
stand on a table-board which rests on some
books on the floor. Two young men lift the
board about a foot, and warn the young man
not to bump his head against the ceiling.
Thinking that he is near the ceiling, he loses
his balance and falls off. He lost his balance
and fell because he reckoned himself to be
where he was not.
Just so, a Christian who fails to count upon
the fact that the power of the sinful nature
is broken in his life, fails to get consistent
victory over it, with the result that he lives a
mediocre Christian life. He reckons himself
where he was not.
Another young man is blindfolded and
stood on the board. He knows the game.
When the board is lifted and he is warned
not to bump his head against the ceiling, he
remains perfectly straight and maintains his
equilibrium, because he rightly reckoned
himself where he was.
And so it is with the Christian who counts
upon the fact that the power of the sinful
nature is broken. He knows that he does
not have to obey it, and that in fact, he has
the power to ignore it in the sense of fear,
etc., saying “Yes” to Jesus Christ, and saying
“Yes” constantly, deliberately, totally, completely,
and absolutely on a daily basis.
The phrase, “But alive unto God through
Jesus Christ our Lord,” proclaims the Believer
living this life in the strength of our
Lord. The Christian who does not count
upon the fact that the Divine Nature is implanted
in his inner being, goes on living
his Christian life as best he can, more or less
in the energy of his own strength, with the
result that he exhibits an up-and-down, even
failing experience. But the Believer who
counts upon the fact that he is a possessor of
the Divine Nature, ceases from his own
struggles at living a Christian life, and avails
himself of the Life of God supplied in the
Divine Nature. That is the secret of the victorious,
overcoming Christian Life.
So the first adjustment the Christian
should make is that of counting upon the
fact that the power of the indwelling sinful
nature is broken and the Divine Nature imparted,
and order his life on that principle.
So, several things are said here:
1. Upon the fact of what Jesus has done
for us at Calvary and the Resurrection, and
the Believer’s knowledge of this glorious
work, and Faith in that work, the Believer
should “reckon” himself as in a certain victorious
position. This is a concrete fact, with
the Believer proclaiming its veracity in his
own life.
2. He should reckon first of all that he is
dead indeed unto sin. It has no more hold
on him, with the sinful nature broken. As
stated, sin no longer has dominion over him,
with the Believer understanding that and proclaiming
that.
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3. He must reckon himself as well to be
alive unto God, which pertains to all the
things that God is. He must order his life
accordingly. He has now been brought from
darkness to light, and should act like it,
talk like it, and in fact be what the Bible
says he is.
4. All of this is “through Jesus Christ our
Lord,” meaning, that He has done it all, with
nothing left for us to do, except simply believe
Him. Jesus is everything!
VICTORY AND OVERCOMING POWER
The Believer, consequently, is to never
talk about trying to get victory over something,
or trying to be an overcomer, etc.
That is wrong terminology, and proclaims
that the Believer does not fully understand
what Jesus has done for him relative to dominion
over sin. In fact and Truth, the
Believer, even the weakest Believer, is already
victorious in Christ and is already an
overcomer as well. However, there are several
problems with that — to be sure, not
in the Finished Work of Christ, but in the
Believer’s position in Christ.
First of all, it is very difficult for the sinner
to admit that there is nothing he can
personally do to effect his Salvation. But
that he must depend totally upon Christ.
That is what keeps many if not most people
from being Saved. They keep thinking they
can effect their own Salvation in some way.
However, once the sinner comes to Jesus,
that problem of self-sufficiency is still in the
Believer, at least to a certain extent. All of it
is a carry-over from the Fall in the Garden of
Eden. As a result, the Believer begins to
think that he can do something toward effecting
his victory in Christ, or else he needs
to do something, etc.
He then begins this round of self efforts,
which negates the Grace of God, and only
produces failure, as fail it must. To him,
the Christian Life is a great struggle, which
demands great effort on the part of the Believer.
He finds himself fighting Satan,
which is a battle he cannot win, and in fact
does not need to win, considering that Jesus
has already won that conflict.
So, it is very difficult for the Believer to
fully rely on what Jesus has already done, or
else, he is blind to the fact of what the
Atonement actually means in Christ. As
we have already stated, he knows full well
that Jesus has paid the penalty for sin, but
he doesn’t quite understand that He also
broke sin’s dominion. Of course, Satan always
takes advantage of Biblical ignorance.
In Jesus he already has the victory and is
already an overcomer.
FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH
There is only one fight that the Christian
is to engage, and that is the “good fight of
Faith” (I Tim. 6:12).
The Believer is not to fight the Devil, for
Jesus has already fought him and won. The
Believer is not to fight Demon Spirits, for they
were fought and defeated at Calvary as well.
He is to merely resist the Devil and Evil Spirits
by using the Word of God and the Name of
Jesus (Mk. 16:17; Eph. 6:13-17).
Every Believer must understand that the
battle has already been fought and won and
in every capacity, and by the Lord Jesus
Christ. That is the reason Paul said,
“Through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Whenever we try to fight these battles all
over again, whether we realize it or not, we
are in essence saying that what Jesus did was
not enough, and our little part has to be
added to His effort. But Paul also said, that
Jesus “died unto sin once,” and as stated, it
means “once for all.” His victory was complete,
and needs nothing added. In fact,
whenever we begin to attempt to fight these
battles all over again, which we do not need
to fight, at the same time we stop the Grace
of God from working on our behalf, which
means we are doomed to failure. So, that
effort is a losing operation all the way around.
While the Believer does fight the good fight
of Faith, it is from a position of maintaining
the Victory, and not trying to gain the
Victory. As well, we do not try to become an
Overcomer, in fact, we are already an Overcomer,
in Christ.
Every Believer must know and understand,
that if it was possible for us to overcome in
our own strength and power, then Jesus
wasted His time by coming down here and
dying on Calvary. No! There was no way
that we in ourselves could effect this great
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work, it had to be done for us, and was done NOTES
by our Saviour.
THE REST THAT THE BELIEVER
HAS IN CHRIST
Jesus said, “Come unto Me, all ye that
labour and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest” (Mat. 11:28).
If one is to notice, He did not say that
He would give us another conflict, or another
battle, but rather “rest.” That means
“rest” from the struggle! “Rest” from selfefforts!
“Rest” from the labor of trying to
attain these things in Christ, which has already
been done for us.
When Jesus came the first time, Israel
was laboring under the heavy load of the
Law, made even heavier by the added laws
(hundreds of them) imposed by the Pharisees.
Consequently, living for God had become
a terrible chore, which was not the
Plan of God. Hence, Jesus invited Israel,
and the whole world for that matter and for
all time, to come to Him, and that He would
give us “rest.”
With many Believers, living for Jesus is a
battle of immense proportions, in fact, a
battle they are always losing. The simple
reason is, it is a battle that has already been
fought and won. We do not need to take the
land again, it has already been taken. We do
not have to defeat the giants again, they have
already been defeated. Actually, that is at
least a part of what Calvary is all about.
OPPOSITION TO THE WORK OF GOD
Many Believers misunderstand or mistake
one’s Christian life in respect to one’s Christian
work. They are two different things altogether.
Respecting our life in Christ, it is to be
one that is struggle free. As stated over and
over again, the power of the sin nature has
been broken once and for all. Sin no longer
has dominion over the Believer. Consequently,
living for God is supposed to be, and
in fact is, the most delightful, glorious, wonderful,
exciting, thrilling, heavenly, abundant
life that anyone could ever think or contemplate,
or comprehend. It is all in Jesus.
However, when it comes to our work for
God, that is something else altogether. Satan
opposes that work in every conceivable way
possible, with Paul as an excellent example.
One would have to know and understand,
that Paul had total victory in the realm of
living for God. In other words, I think that
he could certainly be an example, of course,
with Christ as the Perfect Example. Nevertheless,
Satan fought this Apostle, as he fought
all the Apostles, and continues to do so unto
this very hour, concerning Paul’s work for God,
and the work of all others as well.
Paul faced prison, beatings, stoning, in
fact, about every negative thing that one
could think, in his efforts to take the Gospel
of Jesus Christ to a dying world. However,
that is altogether different than one’s life in
Christ. So, the Believer must distinguish
between the two, one’s life and living in
Christ, and one’s work for Christ.
However, having said that, despite the
hardships and difficulties which always come
to one who is truly working for God, victory
in that as well is ours, as we believe the Lord.
Nevertheless, one must not think that this
part of our Christian experience, our working
for God, is uneventful, for it is not. Some
have tried to claim it as such, but they found
out to their dismay very shortly that what
they were saying was not correct, or else they
really were not working for the Lord to start
with. The secret is this:
Even when Paul was in prison, his personal
victory was complete. Even when they were
stoning him, his victory and life in Christ were
strong and powerful. In fact, these hardships
and difficulties, could not take away from his
personal victory, because he knew in “Whom
he had believed, and was persuaded that the
Lord was able to keep that which he had committed
unto Him against that day” (II Cor.
Chpt. 4; II Tim. 1:12).
THE HOLY SPIRIT
On top of this, and even as we have previously
stated, but about which we could not
say too much or too often, in all of this, our
knowledge of what Christ has done for us,
our Faith in that Finished Work, and our
reckoning it as such, must be reinforced and
strengthened constantly by the Holy Spirit.
In fact, He Alone imparts this knowledge
correctly to us, and He Alone energizes our
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 6:11
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Faith. He is the One Who makes our “reckoning”
a reality instead of a mere empty boast.
That’s the reason that Paul spoke of Him so
strongly in the 8th Chapter of Romans.
I personally believe, that none of these
great Truths, or the victories presented in
these Truths, can be made a reality in the
lives of Believers, without the Baptism with
the Holy Spirit according to Acts 2:4. I realize
that many would take exception to what
I am saying, claiming that the Believer does
receive the Holy Spirit at conversion, which
within itself is correct.
But yet, even though the Spirit definitely
does continue to perform a work in the
Believer’s heart and life even though they do
not go on and be Baptized with the Holy Spirit,
which incidentally does not come automatically
at conversion, still, the full realization
and reality of what He can do in the Believer’s
life can never be realized, without the Baptism
with the Holy Spirit. That’s the reason
that Jesus commanded all Believers to be filled
with the Spirit (Acts 1:4). That’s the reason
that the Twelve Apostles were changed men
after the Day of Pentecost.
That is the reason the Baptism with the
Holy Spirit is given such prominence in the
Book of Acts (Chpts. 2, 8-10, 19). That’s
the reason that Paul gave such preeminence
to the Spirit in the great 8th Chapter of this
Book we are now studying.
All that Jesus did is made real only by the
Holy Spirit. To exclude Him, to figure Him
out, or even to misunderstand this great
Work of Grace, greatly short-changes the
Believer and cuts short all that Christ can be
and do in one’s life.
So, from now on, irrespective how one
feels, one should always claim the victory,
because in fact, in Jesus, one does always have
the Victory, regardless of feelings. It was all
done by Christ, and is just as valid today as
when He did it some 2,000 years ago. Confess
that! Shout that! Proclaim that! And
believe it with all of your heart.
(12) “LET NOT SIN THEREFORE
REIGN IN YOUR MORTAL BODY, THAT
YE SHOULD OBEY IT IN THE LUSTS
THEREOF.”
The phrase, “Let not sin therefore reign
in your mortal body,” presents sin or the
sin nature, as a principle of evil which dwells
in the Christian’s mortal body; however, it is
not to reign there. This tells us several things.
First of all, this tells us that sin is not
dead, nor is the Believer completely free
from sin, even though he is free from its
dominion.
“Reign” in the Greek is “basileuo,” and
means “to exercise kingly power.” In the
Believer’s heart and life, even though the sin
nature is still there, it is a dethroned monarch.
Consequently, the Believer has the responsibility
of keeping it from mounting the
throne of his heart, the place which the Lord
Jesus Alone should occupy.
The Believer is well able to do this. His
will is now free. Also, he has the Divine Nature
and the Holy Spirit to urge him on,
and give him the desire and the power to
refuse this sinful nature and obey the Word.
Paul says, “Order your behavior in the sphere
of, by means of, the Spirit, and you will
positively not fulfill the desires of the flesh”
(Gal. 5:16).
The Apostle is also saying, “Stop allowing
the sinful nature to reign as king in your
mortal body with a view to obeying it in the
sphere of its passionate cravings.”
The phrase, “That ye should obey it in
the lusts thereof,” tells us emphatically that
the sin nature is still there, but that we do
not have to obey it anymore.
Now to what does the word “it” refer, to
the sinful Nation or the body?
Logic would lead us to relate this pronoun
to the sinful nature; however, the
Greek Text refers it back to our physical
body. It is true that sinful desires originate
with the evil nature, not with the physical
body. But why does Paul in this instance
relate them to the body?
The answer is found in the fact that the
sinful nature is an intangible, invisible entity,
and in fact, cannot be watched, as should
be obvious. It is an unseen enemy whose
tactics cannot be observed and, therefore,
cannot be guarded against. However, the
Saint is able to keep watch over the members
of his physical body, what his eyes see,
what his ears hear, what his mind thinks
about, what his hands do, and where his feet
carry him. Due to the Divine Nature in the
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Believer, he now has the power to guide the NOTES
actions of the physical body, which means
exactly as Paul said, that he does not have to
“obey it in the lusts thereof.”
In fact, it is through the physical body
that Satan hooks the individual. While sin
definitely originates in the heart, it cannot
be brought to full fruition, unless the physical
body is engaged in some way. Therefore,
the Believer finds that it is the physical body
which is constantly giving him trouble respecting
ungodly passions, etc. This is what
Paul is talking about.
SINLESS PERFECTION?
I think it should be obvious from this 12th
verse and related verses, that Sinless Perfection
is not possible in the heart and the life
of the Believer at present. In fact, and as
stated, Paul is saying that the sin nature remains
in the Believer. However, it does not
“reign” or have dominion anymore over the
Believer. That bondage is broken and forever.
Nevertheless, the Believer, even the
holiest among us, is continuing to “come
short of the Glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).
The coming short of the Glory of God is
not something that pertains only to the unbeliever
as some think, but it pertains to the
Believer as well, and speaks of something that
is taking place constantly, and will continue
to do so until the Resurrection. In fact, any
person who is close to God to any degree,
fully understands this. He realizes his shortcomings,
flaws, and even occasional failures.
It is not right, and the Believer is not forced
to do such, but nevertheless it happens.
In fact, the degree of perfection demanded
by God is so far beyond our understanding of
such, that there is really no way to compare
man’s definition of perfection with that
which God demands. In Truth, the Believer
can only come up to that level in Christ;
however, the Holy Spirit, nevertheless, is
constantly working with us in these areas.
Also, even though all are constantly coming
short of the Glory of God, the Blood of Jesus
at the same time, is constantly “cleansing
us from all sin,” i.e., from coming short of
His Glory.
No, this does not mean that the Lord automatically
forgives sin when it is committed
by the Believer. When sin is purposefully
committed, it must be purposely repented
of before God (I Jn. 1:9). The coming short
of the Glory, simply pertains to our everyday
life and living, without any acts of sin, be
they overt or covert, being purposefully committed.
As stated, if one is close to the Lord
at all, this reality will quickly become obvious
in one’s life. Actually, that is one of the
things Jesus said in what we refer to as the
Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our debts (trespasses),
as we forgive our debtors (those who
trespass against us)” (Mat. 6:12). While this
pertains to known sins committed, it also
pertains to things of which we are not at
times fully aware.
As we have stated several times in the past,
the sin nature is allowed to remain in the
Believer as a disciplinary measure. To be sure
it works well, helping the Believer to understand
that within himself he is weak and
unable to do what needs to be done, and must
constantly depend on Christ.
(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 phrase, “Neither yield ye your members
as instruments of unrighteousness unto
sin,” may seem somewhat like a contradiction,
even as the previous verse, considering
that the “old man was crucified with
Christ,” and in effect “the body of sin was
destroyed” (Rom. 6:6). However, it is not a
contradiction.
It is explained in the presence of the sin
nature remaining within our lives, and will
remain until the Resurrection. The old
man being crucified with Christ, and the
body of sin being destroyed, has to do with
Salvation and the power of the sin nature
being broken in our lives, even though it
does remain. The Believer is no longer
under its dominion, even though its potential
is still there.
Not only will the Saint who counts upon
the fact that the power of the sinful nature is
broken, stop allowing it to reign as king over
him, he will also obey Paul’s exhortation,
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 6:13
NOTES
200
“Neither yield ye your members as instruments
of unrighteousness unto sin.” The
Reader is to note, the Believer now has that
power which he did not have before conversion,
he can yield or not yield. In fact, there
are three powerful words which figure prominently
in this scenario of the Believer’s Victory.
Those words are: “believe” (vs. 8),
“reckon” (vs. 11), and “yield” (vs. 13). These
express the three energies of the Christian
mind which secure and make real a life of
Scriptural Sanctification.
In effect, Paul is saying “Stop yielding,”
simply because the Believer now has the
power to do that. We are to stop putting the
members of our body at the disposal of, at
the service of the sinful nature.
“Instruments” in the Greek is “hopla,” and
refers to the weapons of a Greek soldier. Consequently,
Paul thinks of the members
(hands, eyes, ears, tongue, etc.,) of the
Christian’s body, as weapons to be used in
the Christian warfare against evil. The Saint,
counting upon the fact that he has been disengaged
from the evil nature, does two
things, he refuses to allow it to reign as king
in his life, and he stops putting his members
at its disposal to be used as weapons of
unrighteousness.
The phrase, “But yield yourselves unto
God,” refers to yielding one’s will to God. As
stated, the Believer now has the power to do
this. In Christ, he can yield or not yield.
IS IT POSSIBLE FOR SATAN TO FORCE
THE WILL OF A BELIEVER?
We will deal with this subject more
broadly in the 7th Chapter, because it is there
that Paul directly addresses this very important
issue. However, simply because this
question is of such great significance, I think
it would be proper for us to look at the situation
at least briefly.
Yes, Satan, contrary to the beliefs of most
Christians, can override the will of a Christian,
forcing the Christian to do something
he does not want to do, and in fact is fighting
with all his strength not to do, providing
the Christian does not follow the path
laid out by the Lord. As stated, that statement
flies in the face of most teaching, but
it happens to be true. And to be sure, it is a
frightening prospect (Rom. 7:18).
Naturally, if this is so, and it is, then we
certainly want to know the safeguards
against such action, especially considering
how so very important all of this is. In fact,
this situation is far more common than
most realize.
HOW CAN SATAN DO SUCH A THING?
First of all, and to which we have briefly
alluded, if the Believer steps outside of the
prescribed path laid down by the Lord, which
in fact at times most do, then the Believer is
left with nothing but his willpower to overcome
Satan, which is woefully inadequate.
In other words, irrespective of how strong
the will of a Christian may be, within itself
it is no match for Satan.
Paul said it very dogmatically in Romans
7:15, “For that which I do I allow not: for
what I would, that do I not; but what I hate,
that do I.” No, this is not the account of
Paul before his conversion, but rather after
his conversion and even after being Baptized
with the Holy Spirit. The Truth is, while
the unsaved may hate the results of sin, they
do not hate sin. In fact, they love sin, which
is the reason many sinners do not want to
give their hearts to Christ. They simply do
not want to give up their sins. So, this statement,
as well as others in Romans Chapter 7
proclaim the experience of the Apostle in
trying with all his strength to do that which
was right, and failing.
As well, in the 18th verse of that same
Chapter he directly addressed the will of man
and its inadequacy by saying, “For to will is
present with me; but how to perform that
which is good I find not” (Rom. 7:18).
So Paul here plainly says, that the will is
not strong enough within itself to overcome
Satan.
He also told us in his Epistle to the Galatians
how to live the overcoming life. He then
made the statement, “I do not frustrate the
Grace of God,” simply meaning that it is possible
to do such a thing (Gal. 2:20-21).
The idea is this: If we do not follow the
Lord’s prescribed path of victory, we will definitely
frustrate the Grace of God, which means
that God’s Grace cannot function within us
to bring about the holiness required, if we at
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201
the same time are attempting to do so within NOTES
our own strength. Our own personal efforts
in the wrong direction, cancel out the Grace
of God, which invites Satan to ply his wares,
making it impossible for us to obey. The
Christian can only do what is right, by the
enabling Grace of God, and if that is lacking
he fails, irrespective of how hard he is trying
to do otherwise.
WHAT IS THE PRESCRIBED PATH?
As I hope by now is obvious, this all-important
answer is found in Romans Chapters
6 and 8 of this very Epistle. As well,
Romans Chapter 7 is extremely significant
as well, showing us as we shall see, the futility
of the flesh.
The problem is self-will which translates
into the flesh, in other words, attempting to
solve the problem in our own strength. What
makes this thing so subtle is that most of
the time we think that our efforts in the
flesh are really in the Spirit, when they aren’t.
Especially considering how religious our personal
efforts are, we are easily fooled it seems.
The simple Truth is, if we follow God’s
glorious, prescribed methods, paid for by
Jesus Christ and freely given unto any and
all Believers, we cannot fail. If we follow
other methods, irrespective of how well
meaning and sincere we may be, we cannot
help but fail. One must consider that if
this problem is so severe (and severe it is)
that Jesus had to die on Calvary in our place
and be Resurrected from the dead, then we
should realize that there is simply no other
way for this great thing to be brought about,
this continuous victory within our hearts
and lives, except by that which He has done
for us.
The trouble is, and which we have stated
several times, Believers thinking they are
walking after the Spirit, when in reality they
aren’t. To be frank, most Believers do not
even know or realize, that Jesus won a twofold
victory at Calvary. He paid the sin debt,
which most Believers know and understand.
However, He also broke the dominion of sin
over us. Most Believers would claim knowledge
of that, but the Truth is, most have
little understanding of this great part of what
Christ did at Calvary and the Resurrection.
Consequently, they are prime targets for Satan,
irrespective as to how dedicated to the
Lord they may attempt to be.
The phrase, “As those that are alive from
the dead,” refers to Believers who were dead
to God before their conversion, and, consequently,
had no power to yield the members
of their physical body to that which was
right, but rather were at the mercy of Satan.
But now, after coming to Christ, with the
power of the sin nature broken and with the
Divine Nature imparted, the Believer, is now
“alive” in the sense of being alive unto God,
and has the power to do what he once could
not do — “yield unto God.”
POWER AVAILABLE NOW!
The phrase, “And your members as instruments
of Righteousness unto God,” proclaims
this power now available to the Believer,
but only as he knows and understands
what Jesus has done for him in breaking the
dominion of sin in his life. Irrespective of
Satan’s power, and he does have power, the
Believer can now yield himself as he should,
and there is nothing that Satan can do.
As I trust we have properly explained, as
Paul speaks of “your members,” he is speaking
of our physical bodies, concerning our
eyes, ears, tongue, feet, hands, in fact every
member of our physical bodies. This is so
important, and as previously stated, because
it is in the physical body that Satan causes
our problems. While sin definitely begins in
the heart, it cannot actually come to fruition
as stated, except through body members.
This is where every evil impulse is carried
out. However, the Believer now has the
power to do the very opposite with the members
of his physical body.
He does not have to use his eyes to look at
filth over Television or anywhere else for that
matter. He can yield his eyes to that only
which is Holy and Righteous. The same goes
for what he hears and for what he says. He
does not have to hear gossip, neither does he
have to peddle it with his tongue. He has
the power now to yield his ears and tongue
to that which is Righteous. As well, he now
has the power to bring “into captivity every
thought to the obedience of Christ” (II Cor.
10:5). Placing oneself in Christ at Calvary
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 6:13
NOTES
202
and the Resurrection, and understanding
what it means, and allowing the Holy Spirit
to help us in regard to energizing these great
Truths to our hearts and lives, that which
was formerly impossible now becomes not
only possible, but easy. In other words, the
struggle and the fight is gone, because Jesus
has already fought and won that fight.
(14) “FOR SIN SHALL NOT HAVE DOMINION
OVER YOU: FOR YE ARE NOT
UNDER THE LAW, BUT UNDER GRACE.”
The phrase, “For sin shall not have dominion
over you,” tells us several great and
glorious things:
1. This Passage tells us that sin is still
alive and as powerful as ever, but is not a
danger to the Child of God who follows the
prescribed pattern laid out by Christ.
2. The dominion of sin is broken respecting
the Child of God. Actually, this happens
at the very moment the person comes to
Christ. But to maintain this victory, the
Believer must understand what Christ has
done for him in this respect, and have Faith
that the Holy Spirit will energize this great
Truth in his life.
3. The statement as given by the Holy
Spirit through the Apostle, is dogmatic in
that it is impossible for sin to have dominion
over the Believer, as long as the Believer
is abiding by the Word of God. The Saint
should live his life everyday with the consciousness
of that fact in his mind.
To say it again, and because it is so very
important, when the Saint obeys the instructions
laid down in these verses relative to his
adjustment to the evil nature and the Divine
Nature, Paul says, “The sinful nature
will not exercise lordship over you,” and now
he gives the reason:
The phrase, “For ye are not under the
Law, but under Grace,” refers to the New
Covenant, and the glorious provisions in that
Covenant which guarantee the Believer the
victory of Christ.
If Sanctification (and Sanctification is actually
what we are talking about) were based
upon the principle of Law-Obedience, i.e.,
upon works, it would be impossible to escape
from the lawful dominion of sin, because
a perfect obedience to Divine Law on
the part of man is impossible. Consequently,
there is no victory in Law-keeping.
But being based upon the opposite principle
of Grace, liberation from the power and
dominion of sin, as a master, is secured and
may be enjoyed every single day of our lives.
Under Law, sin has a dominion, but it has
no dominion under Grace. These are two
totally independent realms.
To be under Law refers to a person who
attempts to live in obedience to the Law of
God in his own strength. To be under Grace
is to be a person who has been the subject of
a surgical operation, so to speak, in which
the power of the sinful nature has been broken
and the Divine Nature implanted.
The poet says, “Do this and live, the Law
commands, but gives me neither feet nor
hands. A better word the Gospel brings. It
bids me fly and gives me wings.” Wings in
Scripture, speak of supernatural power.
WHY DID PAUL MENTION LAW HERE?
Paul is speaking of the Law of Moses and
for the simple reason this Law is the Crown
Prince of all Law, simply because it was given
by God, and, was consequently perfect. However,
it also refers to any type of Law which
the Believer makes up, whatever it may be,
or even Churches for that matter, with the
intention of bringing about a righteous life.
The idea is this: whenever the Believer
faces sin and fails, almost automatically, at
least if he does not properly know the Word of
God, he will institute a series of laws of his
own making, or the making of someone else,
thinking that by keeping these laws he will
have victory. In other words, he will pray so
much each day, or read so many Scriptures
each day, or witness to so many people about
Christ, etc. The list is almost endless.
While these things mentioned are very
good within themselves and in fact, should
be done and done constantly, but to use them
to gain victory over sin, or victory in any
capacity simply will not work. And there are
two great reasons why they will not work:
1. Law cannot set anyone free, even as
the Law of Moses never effected any type of
Salvation or Victory for anyone. It was not
designed by God for that purpose, nor intended
to be used in that fashion. It was
very valuable for that which it was intended,
ROMANS 6:14 JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY
203
but only for that which it was intended. NOTES
2. By doing these things, even as good as
they may be, we are at the same time saying
that what Jesus did at Calvary and the Resurrection
is not enough. In other words, it
needs our little contribution to make it effective.
While we may not mean it in that
fashion, such thinking is an insult to the
Finished Work of Christ.
To be sure, Jesus paid the full price for
sin, and as well, He paid the full price that
sin may not have dominion over us.
WHY DO BELIEVERS RESORT TO LAW
OR SELF EFFORT SO OFTEN?
There are two main reasons why this error
is committed:
1. There is something in man, even Godly
Believers, that wants to do something to effect
our Salvation or Victory. It is a bleedover
from the Fall. Sinner man thinks he is
self-sufficient, and his biggest problem is a
failure to humble himself before God. As
stated, this carries over into the Believer.
Somehow, it makes us feel good to think
that we have contributed something toward
whatever it is that we are seeking, even
though in reality we have actually contributed
nothing, and in fact are hindering what
the Lord has already done.
But still, we continue to try to bring about
these qualities and attributes in our hearts
and lives by whatever methods are at our disposal,
which makes us feel very religious and
very worthy, when in reality, all we have done
is hinder the Grace of God in our lives.
2. That many Believers attempt to do for
themselves what in reality, Christ has already
done, is simply because of an ignorance of
the Scripture. They simply do not know what
the Word of God says about the matter.
To be frank, I do not recall in all of my
life ever hearing a Sermon preached respecting
the subject we are presently engaging.
Now I am certain that it has been preached
many times in the past by some Preachers,
but not often respecting the totality of the
Church, etc.
The main reason it is not preached, which
means that the people do not hear or know,
at least for the most part, is simply because
most Preachers, I think, do not know or
realize, even as we have already said, that
what Jesus did at Calvary and the Resurrection
was in effect, a double cure.
He paid the sin debt, and He also broke
the power of sin over the lives of Believers.
This is a twofold work. Most readily understand
the first part about Jesus paying the
debt at Calvary, but they little understand
the second part.
THAT WHICH JESUS DID
Once again as we have already stated, regarding
the sin debt which Jesus paid, all
one has to do is simply believe that He did
it, and Salvation instantly comes to the believing
sinner. However, if he stops there,
even though Saved, he will have tremendous
problems in his attempting to live the life of
Holiness and Righteousness which he knows
he must live. The latter part, which in reality
is our Sanctification, can only come about
as one knows and understands what Paul is
teaching in Romans Chapters 6-8. These
Chapters exclusively pertain to what Jesus
did in the breaking of the dominion of sin
in our lives, and how we may continue to
walk in Victory according to the Divine Nature
which is in us.
The gist of what Paul is saying in verse 14
is, that if we attempt to gain Victory under
Law, sin definitely will have dominion over
us. However, if we understand what Christ
did, and that it was for us, and that in effect
we were in Him when He did these great
things, and accept all what He did by Faith,
which guarantees us the Grace of God, the
sin bondage will be forever broken. That is
the Grace of God, which is opposed to the
Law, which Law could never bring any type
of victory.
(15) “WHAT THEN? SHALL WE SIN,
BECAUSE WE ARE NOT UNDER THE LAW,
BUT UNDER GRACE? GOD FORBID.”
The question, “What then?”, presents
Paul going back to the first question he
asked in this Chapter. Due to the fact that
the carnal mind, and especially the carnal
religious mind, will “read it wrong,” Paul
addresses the subject again, because it is so
very important.
The question, “Shall we sin, because we
are not under the Law, but under Grace?”,
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 6:15
NOTES
204
proclaims some Believers once again thinking
that if Grace is of such magnitude, we
should not be concerned that much about sin.
In verses 2-14, Paul has answered the
question regarding the proposed habitual
yieldedness of the Believer to the evil nature,
by showing that was a mechanical impossibility
considering the way the Believer’s
inner spiritual set-up is arranged by God, the
power of indwelling sin broken and the Divine
Nature implanted.
Quite possibly another question could be
asked in this fashion, “Since Grace makes it
impossible for the Believer to sin habitually
like he did before he was Saved, cannot Christians
live a life of planned, occasional sin,
since they are not under the uncompromising
rule of Law, but under the lenient scepter
of Grace?”
Actually, this is the question that is asked!
The answer is, that those who would ask
such a question simply do not know Grace.
While Law is uncompromising, Grace is never
lenient. Actually, it is far stricter than Law
could ever be. It is a far greater deterrent of
evil than Law ever was. For instance, a half
dozen motorcycle policemen with their motors
tuned up, are a far greater deterrent to
speeding, than any number of signboards
along the road indicating the speed limit.
The Holy Spirit, indwelling the Believer,
takes notice of the slightest sin and convicts
him of it, whereas the Law could act only
generally and then only when the conscience
of the individual cooperated with it. Consequently,
Grace not only forgives, but teaches
(Titus 3:11-14).
Just because the Believer is dead to the Law,
does not mean that the Law itself is dead, or
that the Believer can sin with impunity. Actually,
it is the very opposite! There is a new
propelling and compelling deterrent to sin,
Divine Love, produced in the Believer’s being
which causes him to hate sin and obey the
Word of God (Jn. 14:21-24; Gal. 5:13).
The two words, “God forbid,” is Paul’s answer
to such a preposterous question. It
must be our answer as well.
Grace is never a license to sin, but rather
the very opposite, actually, the liberty to live
a Holy Life.
(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 beginning of the question “Know ye
not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants
to obey, his servants ye are to whom
ye obey?”, presents Paul answering the question
even to a greater degree by showing that
the Believer has changed masters.
“Servants” in the Greek Text is “doulos,”
and means “the most abject, servile term for
a slave in the Greek language.” So, instead
of being translated “servants” it should have
been translated “slaves.”
The Believer was a slave of Satan before
Salvation, but since he has been Saved, he is
now a slave of the Lord Jesus. He has changed
masters because he has a new nature, the
Divine, and the evil nature which formerly
compelled him to serve the Devil has had its
power over him broken.
In the various meanings of this word
“doulos,” we will trace Paul’s argument to
the effect that it is an impossibility for the
Believer to live a life of planned occasional
sin. While the Believer does occasionally
sin, he does not provide in his life’s plan for
occasional acts of sin of any nature. He
hates sin and endeavors to keep it out of his
life, and in the event that he does commit
an act of sin, he deals with it in confession
to the Lord Jesus, putting it out of his life
and receiving the cleansing the Blood of our
Lord offers (I Jn. 1:9).
BORN INTO A CONDITION OF SLAVERY
The word “doulos” refers to one who is
born into a condition of slavery. As we were
born by natural generation, we inherited a
totally depraved nature through our parents
from Adam, a nature which made us love
sin and compelled us to serve it habitually.
Now, being born again by the act of Regeneration
through the Agency of the Holy
Spirit, we are given a new nature, the Divine,
which gives us both the desire and
the power to do God’s Will. With our liberation
from the compelling power of the
evil nature and our acquisition of the Divine
Nature, we have changed masters,
ROMANS 6:16 JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY
205
from Satan to our Lord. NOTES
Paul argues that the Believer does not
want to live even a life of occasional sin because,
in the first place he does not have to,
since the power of the evil nature over him
is broken, and in the second place, he does
not desire to do so, since his New Nature
causes him to hate sin and love Righteousness,
and when a person does not have to
do what he does not want to do, he simply
does not do it. As stated, the Believer has
changed masters.
IN THE WILL OF GOD
Again, “doulos” means “one whose will is
swallowed up in the will of another.”
Paul argues that before Salvation, the
person’s will was swallowed up in the will of
Satan, but since he has been Saved, his will
is swallowed up in the sweet Will of God.
And since that is so, he does not desire to
live a life of occasional sin, in other words,
he takes sin very seriously and never passes it
off lightly.
BOUND TO ANOTHER
Again, “doulos” refers to one who is
bound to another in bands so strong that
only death can break them. The Believer’s
identification with the Lord Jesus in His
Death, broke the bands which bound him
to Satan. Now, he is bound to the Lord
Jesus as His bondslave in bands so strong
that only death can break them.
Since Christ is the Believer’s life and He
will never die again, the Believer is bound to
Him forever. The only way he could live a
life of planned occasional sin is to become
again the slave of the evil nature and Satan.
But his bands binding him to the Lord Jesus
are unbreakable, at least as long as his desire
is to serve God and, therefore, a return to
Satan and his slavery is an impossibility under
those circumstances.
IN DISREGARD OF HIS
OWN INTERESTS
“Doulos” also means, “one who serves another
to the disregard of his own interests.”
The sinner serves Satan to the disregard of
his own best interest. He does so because he
is compelled to do so. He gets sin and death,
sorrow and suffering.
The Believer, with his own will and accord,
serves the Lord Jesus with an abandon
that says; “Nothing matters about me, just
so long as the Lord Jesus is Glorified.”
Now, Paul argues, a person who does that,
who disregards himself for the sake of the
Lord Jesus, does not want to live a life of sin
in any form.
The conclusion of the question, “Whether
of sin unto death, or of obedience unto Righteousness?”,
presents two masters here contrasted
— sin and Righteousness. A man
must be the servant of one or the other, for
no man can serve two masters.
(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.”
The phrase, “But God be thanked, that
ye were the servants of sin,” speaks of a past
tense. In other words, the Believer is no
more a slave of sin, and because of the Power
of God resident within Christ, and conveyed
to the Believer by the Holy Spirit.
The phrase, “But ye have obeyed from the
heart that form of Doctrine which was delivered
you,” declares the Christian Faith to
have been once for all delivered to the Church
as fixed and complete, and, therefore, neither
needing nor accepting additions. Into
that form, as into a mould, the Roman Believers,
and all others for that matter, were
poured or “delivered,” and the two sides of
that mould being “Justification” and “Sanctification,”
it was manifest that anyone leading
a sinful life had not been poured into
the mould, or else are ignorant of the Word
of God.
For as the subject of verse 1 to verse 11 is
God declaring a sinner Righteous, i.e., Justification,
so the theme of Romans 6:12 to
Romans 8:39 is God making the Believer
Righteous, i.e., Sanctification.
To better explain this statement by Paul,
the word “delivered” in the Greek Text is
somewhat different than normally used. Consequently,
it would have been better translated,
“the form of Doctrine into which you
were delivered.” While it is true that the
Doctrines of Salvation were delivered to us,
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 6:17
NOTES
206
and we by the Grace of God believed them.
However, that is not what Paul is saying here
in the Greek. He is actually saying that the
Believer was delivered into “the form of Doctrine,”
that is, in Salvation, God constituted
the Believer inwardly so that he would react
to the Doctrines of Grace by nature (the Divine
Nature) in such a way as to receive and
obey them.
We were delivered into the teaching (Doctrine)
in that we were constituted in Salvation
so that we would obey it.
Paul thanks God that whereas before Salvation
we were slaves of the evil nature, we
were in Salvation delivered (handed over) to
the teachings of Grace so that we become
slaves of Righteousness (Wuest).
Consequently, the idea is, that the manner
in which this thing is done respecting
the life of the Believer, makes it impossible
not to have Victory, that is, if the Believer
knows and understands his place and
position in Christ according to Romans
Chapters 6-8.
To say it another way, the manner in
which the Holy Spirit has described this Finished
Work of Christ to the Believer, makes
it impossible for the Believer to fail, that is
if he obeys this Word. As stated, all it takes
is knowing and understanding what has been
done and having Faith in what has been done.
Considering that the Holy Spirit will help
us to do both, none of us have any excuse.
(18) “BEING THEN MADE FREE FROM
SIN, YE BECAME THE SERVANTS OF
RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
The phrase, “Being then made free from
sin,” actually means being free from the sin
nature in that it has no more power over
the Believer.
The phrase, “Ye became the servants of
Righteousness,” actually says, that having
been set free from the evil nature, and a slave
to that nature, the Believer is now constituted
a slave of Righteousness.
I realize that the word “slave” sounds very
strong to the Believer, actually unappetizing.
However, a slave of Jesus Christ is 180
degrees from being a slave of Satan. Jesus
alluded to such when He said, “Take My yoke
(slave yoke) upon you, and learn of Me; for I
am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall
find rest unto your souls.
“For My yoke (slave yoke) is easy, and My
burden (demands) is light” (Mat. 11:29-30).
Being a slave of Christ is totally unlike the
use of the word in any other capacity. While
the meaning of the word is the same respecting
Christ, the actual condition is altogether
different — actually such a difference that it
is impossible to even compare such.
To serve Christ is a pleasure. To give one’s
very life to and for Him is a privilege. He is
so good to the Believer, so generous, so kind,
so literally giving of Himself, that once one
has served Him for any length of time, one
delights in being His slave. To be frank, I
would a thousand times rather be His slave,
than to be Satan’s king.
(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.”
The phrase, “I speak after the manner of
men because of the infirmity of your flesh,”
actually has Paul apologizing for using the
illustration drawn from human relations,
that of a slave. But he says that he was forced
to do so because of the frailties of the flesh.
The idea is, that these Romans to whom
he was writing, plus all of the human family
and for all time, had been slaves to the passions
of sin before their conversion. The
“flesh” being what it is, is very quickly enslaved
to evil passions. I speak of alcohol,
drugs, gambling, lust, hate, anger, greed,
jealousy, etc.
The phrase, “For as ye have yielded your
members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity
unto iniquity,” details their lives, as
well as all others, before coming to Christ.
“Uncleanness” speaks of moral impurity,
which plagues the human race. This is the
very opposite of Righteousness, which speaks
of moral perfection, and which only God has
and can give.
The manner in which Paul uses the phrase,
“And to iniquity unto iniquity,” speaks of
the destructive power of sin. In other words,
one iniquity leads to another, consequently,
ROMANS 6:18-19 JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY
207
making it impossible for one to break out of NOTES
such a bondage, at least within their own
capabilities. It just cannot be! Only the
Power of God can set the captive free.
A proper illustration would be that of
quicksand. The more that one struggles in
that mixture, it tends to have the very opposite
effect than that desired. The person actually
gets deeper into the quagmire, and
thus, is sin. That is why David said, “I waited
patiently for the Lord; and He inclined unto
me, and heard my cry.
“He brought me up also out of an horrible
pit, out of the miry clay, and set my
feet upon a rock, and established my goings”
(Ps. 40:1-2).
EVER UPWARD
The phrase, “Even so now yield your
members servants to Righteousness unto
Holiness,” presents the same principle as “iniquity
unto iniquity,” but in the very opposite
direction.
First of all, Paul is telling the Believer
that since the power of the sin nature is
broken, he no longer has to yield his physical
members to unrighteousness, but can
now yield them as slaves to Righteousness
unto Holiness.
As well, as “iniquity unto iniquity”
dragged the person down, even ever downward,
and despite all he can do otherwise irrespective
of what it might be, now the direction
totally changes. Everything is ever
upward. In other words, the Righteousness
goes into Holiness, i.e., a holy life, and is a
guarantee as the Believer follows the Divine
Nature which is now within him and controlling
him.
What we are now seeing, and what Paul is
now explaining, is so beautiful as to defy description.
It presents that which automatically
comes with the born-again experience,
providing the Believer understands his proper
place in Christ, and what Christ did for him
at Calvary and the Resurrection. The whole
wicked process of the Fall is now reversed.
The tragedy about the Fall is, that the
Falling never reaches a stopping place. In
other words, despite all the centuries of education,
technological advancement and
higher learning, the Fall continues even unto
this hour, and will continue to continue.
The actual Truth is that man is experiencing
the very opposite of the erroneous teaching
of evolution. He is not gradually getting
better, but getting worse, and that despite
all he can do otherwise.
As we have already stated, the 20th Century,
which has been the century of the greatest
education and advancement ever known
to humanity, at the same time has seen the
greatest bloodletting of any century in history.
In stark reality, the ever-deepening horror
of the Fall is made obvious to all who
care to see, and I state again, that it is not
possible for man to stop this downward slide
within his own power or ability. That’s the
reason that man must be born again. Only
God can stop this process, only God can reverse
the direction, and He does it exclusively
through His Son, The Lord Jesus Christ. Any
other hope is a fool’s hope and any other way
is a fool’s way.
(20) “FOR WHEN YE WERE THE SERVANTS
OF SIN, YE WERE FREE FROM
RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
The phrase, “For when ye were the servants
of sin,” should have been translated,
even as we have stated, “For when ye were the
slaves of sin.” There could be no state worse
than the state of one as a slave to sin. The
pain and suffering which accompanies such
bondage is actually beyond comprehension.
Beginning in the late Fall of 1991, we began
to have two prayer meetings a day. One
each morning and each night, minus Service
times. I did this because the Lord instructed
me to do so, and to be sure, it has
been one of, if not the greatest thing, that
has ever happened to my Christian experience.
Each time occupies about an hour.
INTERCESSION AND TRAVAIL
During these times, the Lord has helped
me to enter into Intercession, even into Travail
for the lost, and in a way that I have
never previously known. It is almost as if I
can feel their pain and helplessness. They
are locked in a prison in which the doors
cannot be opened except by the Power of God.
To be frank, sinners love sin, but precious
few of them if any, fully understand the implications
of sin. It is a lark at the beginning,
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 6:20
NOTES
208
but swiftly goes into bondage. Most meet that
bondage with denial, but the bondage is there
just the same. And as Paul has stated, the
situation does not get better, only worse.
After a while, the sinner wants out, but
finds that he is trapped, and trapped so powerfully
that he is unable to break the emotional
and darkened spiritual chains which
bind him.
In my spirit, even time and time again, I
have seen these people, and as stated, I have
felt their pain. To be sure, we have seen
literal thousands instantly and gloriously set
free by the Power of God, either through our
Telecast, or in Crusades. But yet, the Spirit
of God has moved upon me mightily, that I
seek the Face of the Lord that He give us a
greater enduement of Power from on High,
that the Holy Spirit may work through us in
order to bring conviction to these lost souls,
and to help them to know and realize that
the terrible bondages can be broken. The
Lord is beginning to do that, even in a
greater way than we’ve ever known before.
It is being done for the “slaves of sin,” for it
is for them for whom Jesus died!
The phrase, “Ye were free from Righteousness,”
actually means that it was not possible
in that state to have any Righteousness.
Being a slave to sin, precludes all Righteousness.
Of course, the type of “Righteousness”
of which Paul speaks, is the Righteousness
of God.
Man has forever attempted to bring about
his own Righteousness. It is called self-righteousness.
Man honors it and so does most of
the Church, but not God. In fact, Isaiah referred
to such by saying, “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” (Isa. 64:6).
Upon one’s confession of Faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ, Righteousness is freely and instantly
imputed by God to the believing sinner.
It comes only by Faith and Trust in
Christ. It is given even to the worst of sinners,
that is if they properly believe Christ
(Eph. 2:7-8).
However, if man attempts in any way to
offer to God that which is of his own efforts,
it will be every time rejected. Only
the Righteousness of Christ is acceptable!
(21) “WHAT FRUIT HAD YE THEN IN
THOSE THINGS WHEREOF YE ARE NOW
ASHAMED? FOR THE END OF THOSE
THINGS IS DEATH.”
The question, “What fruit had ye then in
those things whereof ye are now ashamed?”,
presents a very interesting spectacle.
The idea is, that there is absolutely nothing
of any value which can come out of the
sinful experience. There is “fruit” alright,
but it is evil fruit! Irrespective of the efforts,
irrespective of the amount of money spent,
irrespective of the education, or anything else
one might name, other than Christ there is
no proper fruit. That means zero!
To be “ashamed” is the right description.
To be frank, the shame of such activity is always
awful. Without God, it is a world of
immorality, lying, cheating, stealing, war, hurt,
pain, loneliness, sickness, suffering, and every
imaginable evil thing. Any satisfaction
that one gets in that world, is fleeting and,
consequently, soon gone. There is absolutely
nothing that is positive or of any consequence
in the world of sin, which is a world without
Christ. It is only shame and disgrace.
The phrase, “For the end of those things
is death,” proclaims again the ever-deepening
of the destructive power of “iniquity unto
iniquity.” The end result is always death,
that is if one could speak of this horror as
having an end, which one really cannot. The
final result is the Lake of Fire, which will
never end.
(22) “BUT NOW BEING MADE FREE
FROM SIN, AND BECOME SERVANTS TO
GOD, YE HAVE YOUR FRUIT UNTO HOLINESS,
AND THE END EVERLASTING LIFE.”
The phrase, “But now being made free
from sin,” tells us two things:
1. Paul is saying here that this great work
has been carried out and finished in totality
by Christ, and is now a fact respecting all
Believers. It is somewhat like the price that
Jesus has paid to satisfy the sin question respecting
unbelievers.
When Jesus died on Calvary for the lost,
He did so for every single human being who
had ever lived, who was alive at the time,
and who would live in the future. Of course,
only those who had trusted Christ before
ROMANS 6:21-22 JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY
209
Calvary are included as should be obvious. NOTES
Nevertheless, when Jesus died, He died for
the entirety of the world. Consequently, in
the Mind of God Salvation is available to all.
They only have to come and partake of this
Water of Life. In fact, the great invitation
to all of humanity is “Come” (Isa. 55:1; Jn.
7:37; Rev. 22:17).
Likewise respecting every single Believer.
As we have stated over and over, when Jesus
died on Calvary, He not only satisfied the sin
debt, but, as well, He broke the dominion of
sin over the Believer. Consequently, every
single Believer in the world can be free from
all sin dominion, and in the Mind of God is
in fact free — in other words, a present tense
action. Regrettably, as most of the world
does not take advantage of God’s Salvation
Plan, likewise, most Christians do not take
advantage of God’s Victory Plan.
2. The Believer can be free now, and without
having to go through a long regimen
of religious works, etc. In other words, the
terrible struggle that many Believers are
having with sin at this present time, can be
ended instantly, once for all, exactly as Paul
said, “now!” Jesus meant what He said,
when He invited all to come to Him and
“rest” (Mat. 11:28).
He was speaking of “rest” from this
struggle against sin.
The phrase, “And become servants to
God,” in essence means “slaves to God, and
not slaves to sin.”
Allow me to say it again, and because Paul
did, it is a privilege and a pleasure to be a
slave of the Lord. Perhaps the word “slave”
is an unfortunate metaphor, for the simple
reason that the term denotes a terrible state.
However, where that is true with man, it is
not true at all with God.
It is typified in the Old Testament by a
slave who was given his freedom, but loved
his master so much, and felt that he was
treated so grandly and so kindly, that he actually
did not want his freedom. In all Truth,
he felt he had far more freedom serving his
master, than he would have had otherwise.
He was granted protection, security, given
Love, blessed constantly, so why would he
want to leave that!
When he made this decision, “He shall
bring him to the door, or unto the door post;
and his master shall bore his ear through
with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever”
(Ex. 21:6; Deut. 15:17).
Spiritually speaking, I want both my ears
pierced with an aul and for the simple reason,
that it is a privilege and an honor to
serve and worship the Lord of Glory — to be
His servant, i.e., “slave.”
The phrase, “Ye have your fruit unto Holiness,”
i.e., a holy life, proclaims what God
gives, versus the “fruit” of the world.
HOLINESS
Believers in every age have been called
by God to be holy. There is no contradiction
between the Old Testament and the
New Testament concepts of Holiness, but
there is a change in emphasis on what Holiness
now involves.
HOLINESS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
The root of the Hebrew words translated
“holy” and “holiness” is “qadas.” It means
“to be consecrated, to be dedicated, to be
holy.” Anything that is “holy” is “set apart.”
It is removed from the realm of the common
and moved to the sphere of the Sacred.
In the Old Testament the focus of the Sacred
realm is God Himself, Israel’s Holy One
(II Ki. 19:22; Job 6:10; Ps. 16:10; 22:3; 71:22;
78:41; 89:18; Prov. 9:10; 30:3; Isa. 1:4; 5:19,
24; 10:17, 20; 12:6; 17:7; 29:23; Jer. 50:29;
51:5; Ezek. 39:7; etc.)
PLACES AND THINGS
“Holy” becomes a technical term used of
persons, places, times, and things that were
considered Sacred because they were associated
with and consecrated to God.
For instance, the seventh day was holy, to
be reserved for worship and rest (Gen. 2:3;
Ex. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12). Mt. Sinai was holy,
for God appeared there in fire to give the
Ten Commandments (Ex. 19:23).
The Priests of Israel were holy (Lev. 21:7),
and everything associated with Worship and
Sacrifice was to be considered holy. In a
very significant sense Israel itself was considered
holy, for this people was chosen by
God to be His Own Special Possession (Deut.
7:6; 14:2, 21).
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 6:22
NOTES
210
THE SACRED AND THE SECULAR
It is important to realize that great stress
is placed in the Old Testament on maintaining
the distinction between what is Sacred
and what is secular. The holy must never be
used in a common or profane way. That
which was consecrated to God must be for
His use alone — forever.
RITUAL HOLINESS
Israel’s worship of God and service to God
were both cultic (ritual) and moral. The
cultic element established rituals and many
aspects of the lifestyle of God’s people.
A person was in a state of Holiness when
he observed cultic restrictions. It was a responsibility
of the Priests to “distinguish between
the holy and the common, between
the unclean and the clean, and (they were
required to) teach the Israelites all the Decrees
the Lord (had) given them through
Moses” (Lev. 10:10-11).
As an example, essential nonmoral (that
had nothing to do with morality) practices,
such as not cooking a young goat and its
mother’s milk (Ex. 34:26), and religious ceremonies
were aspects of ritual holiness. This
is what is meant by the cultic or ritual.
MORAL HOLINESS
Two aspects of God’s Nature are associated
with Holiness in the Old Testament.
One is His essential Power and Splendor.
When two of Aaron’s sons violated the ritual
regulations governing worship, God, as
quoted by Moses, announced: “Among
those who approach Me I will shew Myself
Holy; in the sight of all the people I will be
honoured” (Lev. 10:3).
Fire flared from the Lord on that occasion
and consumed the men who had treated
Him with contempt by ignoring His Commands.
God’s Holiness was displayed in this
exercise of awesome power.
Leviticus 19:2 displays a moral dimension
to God’s Holiness. “Speak to the entire Assembly
of Israel,” the Lord told Moses, “And
say to them: ‘Be Holy because I, the Lord
your God, am Holy.’”
The Commands that follow this statement
are not ritual but are moral in character.
They deal with idolatry, theft, lying, fraud,
slander, revenge, etc., and include the Command
to Love one’s neighbor. These Commands
are punctuated regularly by the reminder,
“I am the Lord.”
HOLINESS AND GOD’S
MORAL CHARACTER
In this Old Testament Passage and many
others, God’s Holiness is directly linked with
His Own Moral Character. Holiness is displayed
in His Moral Perfection and Faithful
Commitment to Good and in His Judgment
on those who desert the way of goodness for
sin. As Isaiah says: “The Lord Almighty
will be exalted by His Justice, and the Holy
God will show Himself Holy by His Righteousness”
(Isa. 5:16).
When Israel was set apart to God by God’s
Sovereign Choice, both the ritual and moral
aspects of obedience to God were essential in
their life of Holiness.
THE NEW TESTAMENT
CONCEPT OF HOLINESS
Several words in Greek culture were associated
with the idea of the Holy:
“Hieros” reflected the Old Testament emphasis
on the ritually Holy. This word is
rarely used in the New Testament (found only
twice — I Cor. 9:13; II Tim. 3:15).
“Hagios” reflected the Law’s expression of
the Divine Will and human obligation to God.
It had a strong moral overtone. It is this
word that is the dominant one in the New
Testament.
“Hosios” reflected piety or devoutness. It
is used eight times in the New Testament —
Acts 2:27; 13:34-35; I Tim. 2:8; Tit. 1:8;
Heb. 7:26; Rev. 15:4; 16:5 — four of them
in quotations from the Old Testament.
In addition, “hosiotes” is used twice in
the New Testament (Lk. 1:75; Eph. 4:24),
and “osme” is used once (I Thess. 2:10).
In the New Testament the most frequent
use of “Holy” is in the designation of God’s
Spirit as the Holy Spirit. It is also used often
in reference to Believers as God’s “Saints.”
In the Gospels and Acts “Holy” may have
either a ritual or a moral emphasis, just as
“qadas” words do in the Old Testament.
It is in the New Testament, however, that
we see a dramatic shift in the concept of the
ROMANS 6:22 JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY
211
nature of practical Holiness. NOTES
THE HOLY LIFE
In the Old Testament, Holiness is expressed
in strict separation. The clean were
not permitted to come in contact with the
unclean. Israel had to fiercely guard its differences
from the surrounding Nations.
Cultic commitments were, in part, designed
to underline the uniqueness of Israel as a
people set apart from all others to God.
The New Testament also has an emphasis
on separation. But Christians do not live in a
separate Nation. The Church is scattered as
tiny Communities planted in every kind of
human society. Paul wrote to Corinth: “I
have written you in my letter not to associate
with sexually immoral people — however
I am not speaking of the sinners of this world
who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers,
or idolaters. In that case you would
have to leave this world” (I Cor. 5:9-10).
So, Paul is not preaching isolation, but
rather separation. However, if we misunderstand
separation and think that it speaks of
a lack of contact between the clean and the
unclean, the Sacred and the common, such
thinking is incorrect. The New Testament presents
a dynamic concept of Holiness as moral
purity expressed in contact with the common
and profane! Believers are to separate
themselves from evil, but not from the people
who remain uncommitted to the Divine Standards.
In this way our Light is to shine.
THE CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE
This is an extremely important reorientation.
In Christian experience the Holy is
not kept rigorously distinct from ordinary
life. Instead, the essence of Holiness in the
Believer, is a dynamic expression of the Divine
within the normal processes of daily life.
In other words, the Lord has not called us to
isolate ourselves from the public, or in fact
to separate ourselves from sinners, but to
definitely separate ourselves from their sin.
We see this emphasis in nearly all of the
Epistles. Peter expresses God’s Call to Holiness
in these words: “Just as He Who called
you is Holy, so be Holy in all you do; for it
is written, ‘Be Holy, because I am Holy’”
(I Pet. 1:15-16).
Peter goes on to explain this Holiness “in
all you do” in the Second Chapter of the
same Letter: “You are a chosen people, a
Royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation, a People
belonging to God, that you may declare the
Praises of Him Who called you out of darkness
into His wonderful Light . . . Dear
Friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers
in the world, to abstain from sinful desires,
which war against your soul. Live such good
lives among the Pagans that, though they
accuse you of doing wrong, they may see
your good deeds and glorify God on the day
He visits us” (I Pet. 2:9, 11-12).
It is as God’s obedient Children, living by
His Will as strangers within our cultures, that
we fulfill the Call to Holiness.
JESUS AS THE CENTER
OF OUR LIVES
This theme is developed in many of Paul’s
Epistles. Colossians is a good example. After
presenting Jesus as the Center of our lives
and our Christian experience, Paul looks at
empty avenues to spiritual achievement. He
dismisses ritualistic and ascetic religious practices
as lacking any value (Col. 2:20-23).
Instead, he describes the Holy Life as one
involving an inner separation from those passions
that bubble up from our sinful natures
(Col. 3:5-11). What marks Believers as “God’s
Chosen People, Holy and dearly Loved” (Col.
3:12) is their commitment to compassion,
kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
It is these things, with mutual forgiveness
and deepening Love, that expresses the reality
of Holiness (Col. 3:12-14).
In the New Testament, God’s People are
called “Saints” — His Holy Ones. This reflects
our standing as those who have been
set aside by God’s Actions in Christ to be His
Own Personal Possessions. But the term is
also to reflect our experience.
We are daily to live out that moral Holiness
and active Love that is revealed so beautifully
in God’s Own Character. The Call to
Holiness in the New Testament is a Call to let
our Father be seen and Glorified in our lives.
THE HOLY SPIRIT
Most New Testament uses of “Holy,” as
we have stated, are in the title “Holy Spirit.”
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 6:22
NOTES
212
In the New Testament the Father and Son
are sometimes also called “Holy” (Lk. 1:35;
Jn. 17:11), but almost every mention of the
Spirit includes the word “Holy,” thus, “Holy
Spirit.” This title is more than a reference
to the Spirit’s Deity; it is more specifically a
reference to the nature of His Work.
Old Testament Cultic Holiness focused attention
on Holy persons (Priests), places (the
Temple, Jerusalem), and things (the Altar,
the Temple Furniture, etc.). In the New Testament
the Sacred is no longer seen in places
or things. The focus of the Holy shifts dramatically
to persons. “Don’t you know,”
Paul writes emotionally, “that you yourselves
are God’s Temple and that God’s Spirit dwells
in you?” (I Cor. 3:16).
In the New Testament, Holiness is linked
with the Spirit’s Working and with the product
of His Work within human beings.
The Spirit is the Holy Spirit because He
Himself is the Source of the Holy. Thus, New
Testament Holiness is always rooted in a relationship
with Jesus, Whom the Holy Spirit
came to Glorify, and with the Spirit, Whom
Jesus sends to be within every Believer.
CONSECRATION TO GOD
The idea of Holiness in Both Testaments
is one of Consecration to God. In the Old
Testament, and as we have stated, Holiness
involves keeping both ritual and moral Commandments.
Places and things and even
persons were set aside as Sacred, to have no
contact with the common or ordinary.
But the Old Testament consistently reminds
us that the key to understanding Holiness
is found in the Character of God. Holiness
is expressed in His Power and His Own
Moral Character. So True Holiness in His
People will necessarily have a strong moral
component.
HOLINESS IS AN EXPRESSION
OF OUR INNER BEING
In the New Testament the ritual of the
Old Testament is set aside. The emphasis in
New Testament Teaching about Holiness is
squarely on the moral. There is another shift
in emphasis as well.
The Old Testament maintains strict separation
between the Holy and the profane. In
the New Testament, Holiness is true goodness
woven through the lifestyle of the Believer
and expressed in every daily activity and
in every relationship.
In the Old Testament, God’s People consecrated
persons, places, and things solely
for God’s use. In the New Testament, God’s
Spirit Himself acts in Salvation to set us
apart to God. In addition, the Holy Spirit
continues to act in our lives to infuse us
with Christ’s Own Likeness and to enable
us by His Power to express Christlikeness
in our daily lives.
It is here that we find the True Holiness
of the New Testament, all made possible by
Jesus Christ, Who is the Example of True
Holiness, and carried out by the Holy Spirit.
It is all a joyous commitment to God and
to the truly good, expressed in everything
we say and do.
(The thoughts on Holiness were provided
by Dr. Lawrence Richards.)
The phrase, “And the end Everlasting
Life,” presents the very opposite of sin which
is death.
WHAT IS EVERLASTING LIFE?
Everlasting Life or Eternal Life is the opposite
of eternal death. Eternal Life is eternal
union with God by the cancellation of
the eternal death penalty. It is God’s Life
infused in the Believer. It is never our life if
we are not dwelling in God. It is ours only
when we get into Christ and it is ours only
as long as we abide in Him (I Jn. 2:24; 5:11-
12). It is, therefore, something separate and
apart from us and is imparted to us only when
we are Saved and as long as we are Saved.
Christ is our Life and we have it as long as
we have Him (Jn. 15:1-7; Col. 2:6-7; 3:4).
THE CONDITIONS
The conditions which Jesus lays down for
entering into this Life are Faith in Himself
as the One Mediator of the Life, and the following
of Him in a life of obedience. He
Alone knows the Father and can reveal Him
to others (Mat. 11:27). He Alone can give
true rest and can teach men how to live, and
give them the power to live that which He
teaches (Mat. 11:28). The sure way to this
Life is: “Follow Me.”
ROMANS 6:22 JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY
213
His whole Ministry was virtually a pro- NOTES
longed effort to win confidence in Himself
as Son and Mediator, to win obedience, and
hence, bring men unto the spiritual relationships
and activities which constitute the
True Life.
In other words, Jesus is not only the Bearer
of Everlasting Life, but as well, its Source.
LIFE
The fullest and richest teachings regarding
Life are found in John’s Gospel. Actually,
the greatest word of this Gospel is “Life.”
John says he wrote the Gospel in order that
“Ye may have Life” (Jn. 20:31).
Most of the teachings of Jesus recorded,
circle around this great word “Life.” This
teaching is in no way distinctive and different
from that of the other Gospels, but is
supplementary, and completes the teaching
of Jesus on the subject. The use of the word
is not as varied, being concentrated on the
one supreme subject.
John’s Gospel represents Jesus the Logos as
the Origin and Means of all Life to the world.
As the Preincarnate Logos He was, and is, the
Source of Life not only to mankind, but, as
well, to the Universe (Jn. 1:4). As the Incarnate
Logos He said His Life had been derived
originally from the Father (Jn. 5:26; 6:57;
10:18). He then was and is the Means of Life
to men (Jn. 3:15-16; 4:14; 5:21, 39-40); and
this was the purpose for which He came into
the world (Jn. 6:33-34, 51; 10:10).
The nearest approach to the definition of
Eternal Life is found in John 17:3, and is in
a prayer of Jesus, “And this is Life Eternal,
that they might know Thee the only True
God, and Jesus Christ Whom Thou hast sent.”
(23) “FOR THE WAGES OF SIN IS
DEATH; BUT THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL
LIFE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST
OUR LORD.”
The phrase, “For the wages of sin is
death,” speaks of spiritual death which is
separation from God, and is the lot of those
who follow this precarious path. On that
broad way, there are no exceptions.
“Wages” in the Greek is “opsoniom,” and
means “whatever is bought or purchased to
be eaten with bread, such as fish, etc.” It
actually had reference to a Roman soldier,
and him being paid partially in money and
partially in foodstuff. So, Paul is saying that
sin does pay, but its wages is “death.” It is
not a very pleasant prospect!
The phrase, “But the Gift of God is Eternal
Life through Jesus Christ our Lord,” portrays
the totality of all things in this one
verse. The former is “death,” while the latter
is “Life.”
However, the “Life” which is “Eternal” is
found only “through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
In all of this, Paul speaks of servants of
iniquity who lead a life of uncleanness, up
beside the servants of Righteousness, who
lead a life of Sanctification. So long, therefore,
as a man is the servant of the one he
cannot obey the other. The one service is
shameful and ends in death; the other is pure
and ends in Life.
This Life is consciously Eternal and this
Death is also consciously Eternal, the one
being set over against the other. To be dead
is horrible. To be consciously dead is more
horrible. To be conscious that one is dead
eternally, and to be eternally conscious of
the fact, is most horrible.
The sinner earns his wages, but the Believer
does not earn Eternal Life. It is a Free
Gift, even as Paul says in this 23rd verse, and
is from God. Its Channel is Christ and His
Atoning Work.
God reckons the Believer in Christ to have
died with Him. The Believer is to reckon
this to be true. He is, therefore, dead to sin,
to self, and to the world, and cannot, therefore,
live in that to which he has died.
He is associated with Christ in His Death,
and so freed from the dominion of sin, and
he is associated with Christ in His Risen Life
and consequently becomes the bondslave of
Righteousness.
In the Death and Resurrection of Christ
he is liberated from the one master, sin, in
order to be handed over to the other Master,
Righteousness. It is in that Risen Life that
the Believer really knows Christ, and experimentally
proves His Power to Sanctify him
wholly (Williams).
“Oh let your soul now be filled with
gladness, your heart redeemed, rejoice
indeed!
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 6:23
NOTES
214
“Oh may the thought banish all your
sadness that in His Blood you have
been freed.”
“It is a good, every good transcending,
that Christ has died for you and me!
“It is a gladness that has no ending
there in God’s wondrous love to see.”
CHAPTER 7
(1) “KNOW YE NOT, BRETHREN, (FOR I
SPEAK TO THEM THAT KNOW THE LAW,)
HOW THAT THE LAW HATH DOMINION
OVER A MAN AS LONG AS HE LIVETH?”
Romans Chapter 7 is at least one of the
most important Chapters in the entirety of
the Word of God, respecting the Christian
walk and its Victory. And yet, most Believers
pay scant attention to its contents, and
for a variety of reasons.
Many simply don’t understand it and,
therefore, ignore it, or else just scan it
when they come to its place in the order
of Scripture.
I would pray that the Lord would help us,
at least in some measure, to open up this
Text, which is of such tremendous significance
to any and all Believers.
Others give it little credence because they
have been taught that it pertains to Paul’s
before-Conversion experience, of which they
have little interest. However, that is error.
I pray we will be able to properly expose
that error and portray the Truth of this
great Chapter.
That which makes the teaching in this
Chapter so important to the Believer, is because
Paul had some of the same problems
that all of us have had. He thought surely
after he was Saved and Baptized with the Holy
Spirit, that he could live a victorious, overcoming
Christian life, but to his dismay,
found that he could not, at least with the
Light he then had. That terrible situation
caused him to exclaim, “O wretched man
that I am! Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death?” (vs. 24).
In that frame of mind Paul went to the
Lord seeking an answer. The answer was
gloriously and wondrously provided, and
given to us in these three Chapters, 6, 7,
and 8 of Romans.
In this 7th Chapter, the Holy Spirit
through the Apostle outlines the reason for
the failure of the Believer. Sin is not to have
dominion over us, but yet sin does have dominion
in the lives of many Christians.
Romans Chapter 7 tells us why, and if that is
correct, and it is, then we are made to understand
how vitally significant this Chapter
really is.
The phrase, “Know ye not, Brethren, (for
I speak to them that know the Law,)” presents
Paul addressing himself to the Law
of Moses.
Verses 1-6 reveal the Divine method of
Sanctification, and sets out its impossibility
under the bondage of Law and its certainty
under the Freedom of Grace.
First of all, Paul is addressing his information
to “Brethren,” meaning that he is
speaking to Believers, as should be obvious.
These were Believers who were having difficulties
and problems with the sin question,
and were seeking answers, exactly as Paul had
sought such answers and which had been
given unto him by the Holy Spirit.
As well, Paul is writing to Romans who
are Gentiles, so why does he bring up the
Law of Moses, when that in effect was strictly
and more particularly a foundation of Judaism?
The Law of Moses was totally fulfilled
in Christ, and is not binding on Believers in
the New Covenant, at least in a strict sense.
To portray the reason for the Believer’s
lack of Victory in his personal life, the Holy
Spirit had Paul to address this Law, because
in effect this figures into the dilemma that
Believers find themselves, even though they
are really not conscious of that fact.
Paul is now addressing his remarks to
Gentiles who have gained some knowledge
of the Law of Moses after coming to Christ.
Inasmuch as this was a great controversy in
the times of the Early Church, most Gentile
Believers probably became at least somewhat
acquainted with this Old Testament
Foundation. So they knew what Paul was
talking about.
Considering all the things that Paul says
about the Law, and which some were apt to
ROMANS 7:1 JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY
215
take wrongly, which he will address later, one NOTES
is apt to think that the Law of Moses was
evil, etc. However, nothing could be further
from the Truth. In fact, the Law of Moses,
which was really the Law of God, was Holy
and Righteous, actually perfect in every respect.
The giving of the Law by God to the
Children of Israel, placed them in a position
of a far greater advantage over all other Nations.
While others had laws, they were all
man-devised. But Israel’s Law had come from
God, and, consequently, gave these people a
tremendous advantage in every respect.
SO, WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM
WITH THE LAW?
First of all, the problem was not the Law,
but rather Israel. Instead of accepting and
using the Law of Moses as it was intended
by God, they attempted to make Salvation
out of its Commandments, which God never
intended.
The Law of Moses, among many other
things, was intended to point out and define
sin. As well, it was to portray to man his
total inadequacy and inability to keep the
simple Commandments which God laid down
(the Ten Commandments). He was then to
throw himself on the Mercy and Grace of God
for help and Redemption. While some few
did exactly that, most did not.
Most of Israel became puffed up in their
own self-righteousness, and despite the fact
that they couldn’t even keep the few Commandments
that God had given, multiplied
hundreds of others to go along with what was
already there. Consequently, by the time that
Jesus came, Who in effect was the Giver and
Keeper of the Law, actually the only Man Who
ever lived Who did such, they would not accept
Him. Not only would they reject His
Message, but in their evil they felt they had to
destroy the Messenger, which they did by crucifying
Him. Again we state, the Law of Moses
was not the cause or fault of this, but rather
the evil, wicked hearts of these people.
SO, HOW DOES THAT
AFFECT GENTILES?
Whether it is the Law of Moses, or a Law
of our own devising, man seeks to try to
satisfy his spiritual needs by his own efforts.
He tries to do it with laws of one kind or
the other, exactly as Israel did with the
Mosaic Law. There is an innate spirit in
man, even Believers, which is loathe to admit
to himself or God that he cannot solve
his own spiritual problems. All of this is a
result of the Fall.
Among all the other reasons that the
Holy Spirit had the Apostle to use the Law
of Moses as an example, is that if man could
not gain Righteousness by his attempts to
keep the Law of Moses, considering it was
from God and perfect in every respect, how
in the world does he think he can bring
about the same results through some pitiful
laws of his own making? But yet, I think
all of us have fallen into this trap in one
way or the other.
Our trust is in our own laws, or efforts,
etc., rather than in Christ. That in a nutshell,
spells out our failure.
Man’s self-sufficiency is his greatest enemy.
In other words, we have met the enemy
and he is us!
It is strange, Believers will look at the
world and chide them for refusing to admit
that they need Jesus, while we are at the same
time doing the same thing. Too often we
claim that we are leaning on Jesus, when in
reality we are leaning on our own arm of
flesh. All of it is so subtle and religious,
and, consequently, deceives so many people.
SATAN AND LAW
The Evil One is quite content to allow us
to struggle and strive in efforts of our own
making, instead of trusting Christ. He knows
that not only are we not going to get Victory
in that manner, but that our situation is going
to become progressively worse. For all
attempts to bring about Victory in this way,
can only lead to defeat, with each defeat becoming
worse than the one preceding.
Satan is very content for man to be religious,
even very religious, and for the simple
reason that he knows that there is no Victory
or Salvation in that sector. Actually, he
even encourages these efforts. But the moment
the Believer begins to depend totally
on Christ, then the war begins as well.
Strangely enough, most of the opposition
will come from fellow Christians. That is
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 7:1
NOTES
216
sad, but true!
In this Chapter, Paul is going to open his
soul as few Preachers ever have. He is going
to portray his own failures, and the reason
for those failures. While we are studying this,
do not forget that the reason for his failures,
is the reason for our failures as well! If the
great Apostle could not bring about Victory
by his own efforts, do any of us seriously
think that we can succeed where he failed?
VICTORY AND THE LAW
The conclusion of the question, “How
that the Law hath dominion over a man as
long as he liveth?”, describes the person who
is attempting to gain Victory by the Law,
whether of Moses, or of his own making,
which is more generally the case.
If a person attempts to gain Victory by
using Law, in other words in his own strength
and power, he will find that the Law has dominion
over him. He will not obtain that of
which he is seeking, Victory over the flesh,
but rather the very opposite. So, Paul is
now going to press home the point that the
Believer is not under Law anymore, and that
a Christian putting himself under Law and
thus failing to avail himself of the resources
of Grace is a defeated Christian, which was
Paul’s own experience after his Conversion,
before he came into the knowledge given to
him by Christ, and to which He gave us in
Romans Chapter 6.
However, even though the Law will incite
the Christian to more sin, which is the very
opposite of what he wants, yet the Law is
not responsible for that sin, but rather, the
Sin Nature which is in the Believer, and
which the Law excites, which it is actually
intended to do.
The idea is, that as good as the Law of
Moses was in itself and in the Divine intention,
nevertheless, owing to the corruption
of man’s nature, which God knew all along,
instead of the Law helping to make him good,
actually did the very opposite. That sounds
strange to the Bible Student.
One would quickly ask, if the Law of Moses
stimulated sin in God’s people, how could it
be called good?
Once again, the problem was not in the
Law, but in the corrupt nature of man. The
Lord desired to show man just how corrupt
he really was, and this was the best way to
portray this fact.
It is somewhat like placing a certain type
of medicine over a boil on the human body,
which has a tendency to draw the corruption
to the surface. The medicine has not
caused the boil, nor is it the reason for the
corruption. It just merely portrays the fact
that the corruption is already there, by drawing
it to the surface. So, if man attempts to
gain Victory by attempting to keep the Law,
he will have no more success than all who
preceded him. The reason is simple.
Man has no power or ability to keep the
Law.
IF GOD DEMANDED THAT IT BE KEPT,
WHICH HE DID, WHY DID HE NOT GIVE
MAN THE POWER TO DO SO?
To the natural mind it seems unfair, that
God would give Law, demanding that man
keep it, all the time knowing he could not.
It becomes even more serious, when we realize
that there is a severe penalty attached to
not keeping the Law. Of course, for Law to
truly be Law, there must be a penalty attached
for disobedience.
While it is true that God did not give
man any power to keep the Law, He did this
for a purpose.
Man’s problem has always been Pride,
which was actually the cause of the Fall in
the Garden of Eden. So, if God had given
man the power to keep the Law, he would
have only been lifted up further in his Pride,
seeing less need of God than more, which
was the intention to begin with. The Law,
as stated, was intended to show man his inability,
not to increase his problem with even
more Pride.