The way we live our lives as Christians should not be governed by the question, “What do we have the freedom to do?” But rather, “What do we have the freedom not to do? Paul explains in Romans 6:5-14

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

So often we think of freedom as that right which allows us to perform whatever action we would like to perform. The trick is that Satan gets us to think that we want to do what he wants us to do, namely, to sin. The irony is that in our sinning we think that we are free; we think that we are performing that which we want to do, or that which will bring us the most happiness. Actually, sin is doing exactly as Satan desires, it does not satisfy us, and it brings us death. Paul explains it like this: “you are slaves to the one whom you give your members to obey.” Therefore, the one sinning is not “exercising freedom” as he or she might think; actually the one sinning is putting him or herself deeper and deeper into slavery. So what can we do about this enslavement? The only way to freedom is death.

The first point Paul develops is that we can be united with Christ in His death. This happens through faith, and we proclaim it publicly through baptism. Paul then mentions one of the main reasons for this unity in Christ’s death: “in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing.” The point is that one cannot tame, reform, or counsel a sinner. The body of sin cannot be remedied, it must be killed along with the death of Christ. If this does not happen through repentant faith, then the sinner remains a sinner enslaved to sin.

The second point Paul develops is that the one who has died with Christ is free. The irony is amazing, often people see religion as “chains” or “bonds” as Psalm 2 mentions, but in fact it is the opposite. Notice however, exactly what this freedom means. The practical implication is found in verse 12, “let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body.” Why? Because the death Christ died was to set us free from sin. The freedom we have in Christ is freedom to not sin. Before faith, before unity with the death of Christ, we do not have this option. However, once we die with Christ, and experience the power of His resurrection, we don’t have to sin anymore.

The difficult part for the Christian, where the rubber meets the road so to speak, is when we do sin. We have been given freedom not to sin, but we still do it? Why is this the case? Well, the interesting part is that God has given us this indefinite period of time between His first coming and His second coming. At His second coming, we will be made like Him, and the eternal kingdom will be established. At that point, we will no longer be able to sin. However, we are not there yet. Every day, we have a chance to exercise our freedom to not sin. And the comforting part is in verse 14, “you are not under law, but under grace.”

That comfort should be our foundation for living. It should motivate us to exercise our freedom in Christ more and more. When the temptation comes we should say, “I don’t have to do that, I have been set free from this, and not only that, but My Lord is gracious.” Let’s also consider what we are saying when we do sin. If we have been set free with the ability not to sin, when we do sin we are in effect saying “I don’t want my freedom anymore, I would rather not have what Christ offers me. I don’t want to be Christ’s slave, but the slave of sin.” Now, thank the Lord He is gracious, and we can be forgiven for these moments, but let’s think about what we are proclaiming when we sin. Do we really want to be enslaved again? Then let’s fight against sin. And remember, it is a fight, and it is serious. This is why Paul uses the terms, “weapons of righteousness,” and “weapons of unrighteousness.” Who are we fighting for?