Romans 6:15-23
Continuing in chapter 6’s “freedom from sin’s tyranny”… The sentence that hit me most was verse 21: But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? Shame is a horrible thing. We talk about it occasionally at Freedom Road, when we dwell back on our past lives – things we have done, nice people we have hurt, misguided motivations, goals and ambitions that were horribly worldly… What were we thinking??!! Our life in Christ is so much better!!
It helps me to remember that many of the people to whom Paul is writing are Roman citizens – and that their past lives could have been very ugly indeed, with cruel slavery, the brutality of the Coliseum “games”, rampant homosexuality, temple prostitution… Yes, shameful things! Our past lives have different descriptors, but they were nevertheless drawing us further into the world and away from God. Even the good things (e.g., work, ambition, etc.) are less good if they are not drawing us closer to God.
A clarifying point here from my Study Bible… Paul refers to his listeners as “slaves” to impurity and to righteousness. The word “slaves” could well be appropriate in the sense of slaves to impurity, but a better translation of “slaves” to righteousness might be “willing servants”. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. (v. 19b) So where you see the word “slaves” reflecting obedience to God or to righteousness, try substituting “willing servant”.
Slava Bohu!