Romans 6 is the basis for the believers to be freed from sin. God has prepared this kind of freedom for every believer; therefore, every one can receive it. We must emphasize that the freedom from the power of sin can be experienced at the very moment when a sinner receives the Lord Jesus as his Savior and is regenerated. He does not have to wait until he has been a believer for a period of time and has failed many times before he can receive this good news. Because many believers only have heard an incomplete gospel or are not willing to receive the gospel completely or obey it absolutely, they must wait a long time before they can receive the gospel of Romans 6. Actually, this is a common blessing to be shared by every newborn believer.
For the sake of many, let us review what we have received through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus.
Romans 6 begins by asking us to recall, not to hope. We are asked to pay attention to what we have received in the past. Verse 6 tells us, "Knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be annulled, that we should no longer serve sin as slaves." This verse shows us three persons: (1) "sin" (singular in the Greek), (2) the "old man," and (3) the "body."
There are great distinctions among these three. They each have a different share in the matter of committing sins. "Sin" here is commonly known as the root of sin. The Bible tells us that formerly we were the slaves of "sin," that is to say, "sin" was the master. Therefore, concerning the committing of sins, we know that "sin" first has its power, and then it enslaves us. This "sin" continuously exerts its power in order to hold us that we might obey our "old man" to commit sins. The old man is all that we received from Adam. If we want to know what the "old man" is, we only need to know what the new man is. Everything that is not of the new man belongs to the "old man." Our new man is all the things we received anew at the time of our regeneration. Therefore, the "old man" includes everything in our personality that does not belong to the new. It is our "person," our old personality, and everything that is old. Because of this "old man," we commit sins. He loves "sins" and is subject to the power of "sin."
The "body of sin" is our body which is necessary to be used as a puppet at the time of sinning. It is the physical part of man. The fact that it is called the "body of sin" means that it is in subjection to the power of "sin"; it is filled with the lusts of "sin," and "sin" is expressed through it. Otherwise, "sin" is merely an unseen power.
"Sin" is the power that drags us to commit sins. The "old man" is the mental part we received from Adam. The "body of sin" is the physical part we received from Adam.
Therefore, the experience of sinning is like this: sin is first, the old man is second, and the body is third. Sin exerts its power to attract, to compel, and to force man to commit sins. The old man loves sin, agrees with sin, inclines toward sin, and thus directs the body to commit sins. The body is the external puppet that actually carries out the sinning. Therefore, every time a person sins, it is the result of the collaboration of these three. There must be the oppression from the power of sin, the inclination of the old man, and the carrying out of the body.
Therefore, if anyone wants to be delivered from sin, what should he do? By their reasoning according to the above-mentioned experience, some have told us that if anyone wants to overcome sin, he must nullify sin at the root, since the cause of evil comes out of this sin. Therefore, there is the invention of the doctrine of the eradication of sin. They think that if the root of sin can be uprooted, man will no longer sin and will become holy. Others have told us that if anyone wants to overcome sin, it is sufficient to subdue the body, because the part in man that carries out the sinning is his body. As a result, there was a group of ascetics in the church who used all kinds of means to suppress themselves. They thought that if only they could overcome the desires of their body, they would be holy. Actually this is not God's way. Romans 6:6 shows us clearly the way of God. God does not intend to uproot the sin within, nor to suppress the body without. God deals with the old man in the middle.