Lesson Four: We Died to Sin

LESSON FOUR

WE DIED TO SIN

Chapter 4 of The Discipline of Grace

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

ROMANS 6:1-2

CENTRAL IDEA

There is no such thing as salvation from sin’s penalty without an accompanying deliverance from sin’s dominion. This obviously does not mean we no longer sin, but that sin no longer reigns in our lives.

DEVELOPING THE DISCIPLINE OF GRACE

What do you think of this statement: “The death of Christ secured for us not only freedom from the penalty of sin, but also deliverance from the dominion of sin”?

___ That statement sounds unbelievable, compounding the situation for someone who is struggling with one or more sinful habits.
___ I’ve begun to experience that freedom from sin’s dominion in my own life.
___ Such a message of free and total forgiveness through Christ will cause Christians to treat sin lightly.
___ I wish such a statement were true in my own experience.
___ I do not understand how God delivers from the power of sin, short of finally throwing Satan into the “lake of fire,” which won’t happen until the end-time events of Revelation 19-20.
___ Hallelujah! What a Savior we have who can do more than we could ever ask or think.

How would you explain in your own words what it means to say we have “died to sin”?

Adam was like a king who involved his nation in a war, whether his subjects wanted the war or not. Do you feel it was unfair of God to let Adam make choices on your behalf that have had such devastating consequences for you? Why do you feel that way?

Christ is like a liberator who has freed anyone oppressed by sin who wants to join His side. How do you feel about getting free from sin just by trusting in Christ?

a. How would you explain what it’s like to be united with Christ in a living way, as a branch is united with a vine?

b. Do you experience this branch–vine connection on a day-to-day basis? If so, describe that experience. If not, why do you suppose you don’t?

The common objection arises: “If we died to sin’s dominion, why do we still struggle with sin in our daily lives?” How do you account for this continuing struggle?

Bridges says a cavalier attitude toward sin indicates that the person is not a true believer, however much he or she professes to have trusted in Christ for salvation. Do you agree? Why, or why not?

a. We died to sin; it is an accomplished fact. But Paul still says, “Count yourselves dead to sin and alive to God.” What does it mean, in practical terms, to count yourself dead to sin and alive to God?

b. Give an example of a time when you have had to simply believe that sin no longer had a right to control you. (Perhaps you have never done this. Can you think of a current situation in which you need to believe this?)

Think about the Soviet pilot who gained a new identity as a citizen of a free country but had to learn how to live out that new identity. How has your experience of becoming a citizen of God’s Kingdom been similar?

Close in prayer by thanking God for your union with Christ that frees you from both the penalty and the dominion of sin.

WHAT’S THE POINT OF ALL THIS?

We have seen in Romans 6 that salvation includes both deliverance from the penalty of sin and freedom from the dominion of sin. We have seen that our legal union with Christ in His death and resurrection secures our vital union with Him by which we participate in His divine nature and receive the power to live the Christian life.

We will begin to address the practical aspects of sanctification in the next lesson. Meditate on Titus 2:11-12 and read chapter 5 of The Discipline of Grace in preparation for the next lesson.

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