ROMANS 6 — LIVING DEAD AND RISEN WITH CHRIST
- Douglas Vandergraph
- 2 hours ago
- 9 min read
There comes a point in every believer’s life when the biggest question is no longer whether God can save them, but whether they are willing to live like someone who has already been saved. Romans 6 stands at that crossroads. It is raw, powerful, confronting, and freeing all at once. It looks you in the eyes and asks: If you died with Christ, why are you still living like you're alive to the old world? If you were raised with Him, why not walk like someone resurrected?
This chapter is not polite theology. It is a declaration of independence from the tyranny of sin, and it reads like a spiritual emancipation document written with the blood of Jesus. It is Paul standing in the ruins of the old life and shouting into eternity that believers are no longer slaves. And for anyone who is tired, worn out, tired of wrestling the same demons, tired of circling the same mountains, tired of repenting for the same habits, tired of the guilt that sticks to the skin—Romans 6 becomes the doorway out.
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When Paul opens Romans 6 with that famous question, “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” he is not just responding to a theoretical argument. He is calling out the silent justification that believers whisper to themselves when they feel tired, lonely, discouraged, unseen, overwhelmed, or defeated. That quiet little lie: God will forgive me… it’s okay. Paul stops the whisper and puts a spotlight on it. Not because God’s grace is fragile, but because our freedom is precious.
Grace is not an excuse to fall back into chains. Grace is the key that opens the cell door so you can walk out forever.
And when Paul says, “God forbid,” he is not denying forgiveness. He is denying slavery. He is denying the lie that sin is the only option. He is saying you are more than what tries to pull you backward. You are not the same person you used to be, and sin doesn’t get to claim ownership over someone who died, was buried, and rose again.
Romans 6 is the place in Scripture where the gospel becomes a mirror. You don’t just read what Jesus did—you see what happened to you.
Most believers understand salvation in terms of forgiveness, but Romans 6 pushes much deeper. Forgiveness cleans the record, but crucifixion kills the old nature. Resurrection introduces an entirely new kind of life. Paul’s argument is relentless because he wants you to understand that when Christ died, something in you died with Him—not metaphorically, not symbolically, but spiritually and absolutely.
“Don’t you know,” Paul insists, “that all of us who were baptized into Christ were baptized into His death?” He is not making baptism the savior; he is calling it the marker of what spiritually occurred. When you came to Christ, you didn’t bring your old self into a new season—you left your old self in a tomb.
The problem is that many believers keep trying to resurrect what God already buried. Memories, habits, identities, fears, labels, shame—the old life feels familiar, and sometimes familiarity masquerades as comfort. But comfort is not freedom. Familiarity is not life. And Romans 6 calls you to make peace with one truth that changes everything: the old you is not sick, not struggling, not improving. The old you is dead.
When you finally accept that, a weight lifts. You stop negotiating with sin like it's a roommate you’re stuck with. You stop arguing with your past self as if you owe it something. You stop feeling obligated to old patterns because resurrection life cannot be managed—it can only be lived.
Paul says we were buried with Christ “so that we might walk in newness of life.” Not crawl. Not limp. Not exist. Walk. There is a holy confidence implied in that word. The old chains were not loosened—they were broken. The old prison was not renovated—it was destroyed. The old identity was not cleaned up—it was crucified.
And when Paul says that we were “united with Him in a death like His,” he means that your spiritual DNA changed the moment you came to Jesus. You don’t belong to sin anymore. You can stumble, but stumbling is not slavery. You can fall, but falling is not bondage. You can be tempted, but temptation is not lordship.
Sin only controls what is alive to it.
And the old you is not.
One of the most life-changing truths in Romans 6 is this: You don’t defeat sin by fighting it—you defeat sin by agreeing with God about what already died. The more you focus on fighting sin, the more alive it feels. But the more you focus on being alive to God, the more powerless sin becomes.
Paul says, “Consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God through Jesus Christ.” This is not self-hypnosis. It is spiritual alignment. It is reminding your mind of what is already true in your spirit. It is choosing to stand on the side of resurrection instead of the side of memory.
You can’t win a battle God already ended. You can only step into the victory that has already been written into your identity.
There is another side to Romans 6—one that confronts the human heart with sharp honesty. Paul says that whatever you present yourself to obey becomes your master. This means slavery is always self-inflicted. It is not that sin has chains; it is that we sometimes hand it the keys.
But Paul’s point is not to condemn you—it is to remind you that you always have a choice. Every moment you choose obedience, you are exercising the freedom Jesus died to give you. Every time you choose righteousness, you are walking in the dignity of someone who has been raised from the dead.
Righteousness is not about perfection. It is about direction. It is about alignment. It is about identity. It is about saying, “I belong to the One who freed me, so I will walk like someone free.”
Paul’s words get even deeper when he begins to contrast the two outcomes: sin leads to death, but obedience leads to righteousness. This is not mechanical. It is relational. Sin always pulls you toward separation, numbness, heaviness, spiritual fatigue, and shame. Righteousness always pulls you toward God, clarity, peace, strength, and intimacy.
One path drains you. One path restores you.
One path leads you back into the prison you were freed from. The other path leads you into the life you were resurrected for.
In one of the most beautiful lines in the chapter, Paul says, “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” That phrase can sound strange until you realize that biblical slavery to righteousness is not about bondage—it is about belonging. It is a poetic way of saying your life is anchored to Someone who will never destroy you. You now belong to the One who restores, heals, lifts, transforms, and loves without measure.
The old master used you. The new Master frees you.
The old master left you empty. The new Master fills you.
The old master stole your dignity. The new Master gives it back.
The old master demanded everything and gave nothing. The new Master gave everything so you could live in freedom forever.
Romans 6 reaches its peak when Paul reveals the fruit of the two paths. The outcome of sin is shame and death. The outcome of righteousness is holiness and life. It’s not about rules—it’s about harvest. It’s about what grows in you. Sin always plants decay. Holiness always plants joy.
And the ultimate harvest of sin is death—not just physical death, but spiritual death, relational death, emotional death. Everything sin touches begins to fade. But the gift of God, Paul says, is eternal life. Eternal life is not just a future promise but a present reality. It begins now. It means the life of God flows through your spirit every single day.
When Paul ends the chapter with the iconic line, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord,” he is not making a moral argument. He is revealing a spiritual truth: sin always pays what it owes, and God always gives what He promises.
Sin pays in wages—earned, deserved, predictable.
God gives gifts—unearned, undeserved, miraculous.
Death is earned. Life is given.
One you work for. The other you receive.
Romans 6 is not just doctrine—it is identity formation. It calls you to see yourself the way heaven sees you. Not as a struggling sinner working hard to be holy, but as a resurrected son or daughter learning how to walk in the life Jesus already provided.
Your story is not about trying to become free. Your story is about learning how free you already are.
Your battle is not about becoming dead to sin. Your battle is about remembering that you already died.
Your hope is not in becoming better over time. Your hope is in being raised with Christ once and for all.
There are moments when you feel the pull of the old life. There are moments when temptation feels familiar, when old wounds whisper, when old patterns try to resurrect themselves. But Romans 6 stands like a lighthouse in the fog reminding you: This is not who you are anymore.
And the more you grow in Christ, the more you discover that holiness is not about gritting your teeth—it’s about breathing in grace. Obedience is not about pressure—it’s about alignment. Freedom is not about distance from sin—it’s about closeness to your Savior.
Romans 6 is not asking you to become something impossible. It is inviting you to live something finished.
When you finally understand Romans 6, you stop asking, “How do I try harder?” and start asking, “How do I stay closer?” You stop asking, “Why do I keep failing?” and start asking, “What lie am I believing about who I am?” You stop saying, “I hope God is not disappointed in me,” and start saying, “Thank You, Jesus, for the life You already placed within me.”
You stop living like someone running from an old master and start living like someone following a new King.
A King who doesn’t just save you—He changes you.
A King who doesn’t just forgive you—He resurrects you.
A King who doesn’t just free you—He adopts you.
Romans 6 is the chapter you return to when you feel weak. It is the chapter you read when you feel stuck. It is the chapter you cling to when the enemy tries to convince you that your past has authority over your future. Paul wrote this chapter for believers who feel the tension between the old nature and the new one. And his message is simple: the new one wins. Not because you are strong, but because Jesus already wrote the ending.
You are not trying to crucify your old self. That was done.
You are not trying to earn righteousness. That was given.
You are not trying to become alive. That already happened.
Romans 6 frees you by telling you the truth about you. The enemy lies about who you are to keep you acting like someone you no longer are. But truth breaks the illusion. Truth breaks the cycle. Truth breaks the whisper. Truth breaks the weight.
And when the truth sets you free, you stay free.
There is something profoundly comforting and wildly empowering in knowing that the battle is not about becoming dead to sin but staying alive to Christ. It shifts the entire focus. Instead of focusing on what you don’t want to do, you begin to focus on the One you want to draw near to. Worship becomes strength. Prayer becomes clarity. Scripture becomes nourishment. Obedience becomes joy.
Holiness becomes the natural overflow of belonging.
Romans 6 is the believer’s declaration of independence, but it is also the believer’s invitation to intimacy. Because what you choose to obey, you draw close to. And when you draw close to righteousness, you begin to feel the presence of God more consistently, more quietly, more powerfully. You begin to feel the dignity of someone restored. You begin to feel the freedom of someone loved. You begin to feel the courage of someone risen.
You begin to walk in newness of life not because you’re pressured to—but because your soul finally recognizes the sound of home.
When you walk through the world alive to God, something changes in the way you perceive yourself. Shame loses its argument. Fear loses its grip. Condemnation loses its authority. You no longer walk through life waiting to fail—you walk through life knowing that even when you stumble, resurrection life keeps rising in you.
Romans 6 gives you the permission to stop apologizing to your past and start stepping into your future with confidence.
And for the believer who feels tired, who feels worn, who feels like the old habits are stronger than the new life, Romans 6 is the reminder that the resurrection power of Jesus is not symbolic—it is in you right now, breathing strength where you feel weak, breathing truth where you feel confused, breathing life where you feel stuck.
The old life ends in death.
The new life ends in everlasting joy.
And in between is your daily choice: present yourself to the One who gave everything for you. When you present your heart, your mind, your habits, your desires, your decisions to God, you are living Romans 6 in real time.
You are walking out of the grave every single day.
Not because you’re trying harder.
But because Jesus is alive—and so are you.
You are dead to sin.
You are alive to God.
You are raised.
You are free.
Walk in it.
— Douglas Vandergraph
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