Do you wonder whether you can truly have victory over sin? Perhaps you are comforted by the fact the penalty of sin has been paid by Christ, but you are unsure whether the power of sin can be overcome. Some in Paul’s day were even saying that it did not matter if followers of Jesus sinned. After all, they said, grace is bigger than sin, and that means that the more sin there is, the more grace there will be! But Paul rejects this kind of thinking in the strongest terms, reminding us that if we have believed on Christ, we are united to Him: united in His death, united in His resurrection, and therefore united in His life. Jesus Christ lived and died and rose again not just so that we would be free from the penalty of sin, but so that we would be no longer enslaved to sin, no longer under its power. To be free from the dominion of sin, we must remember and realize that we are “United with Christ” (Romans 6:1-7).

I. An Important Question
A. Objections Raised
B. Answer Given

II. United to Christ
A. Into His Death
B. Into His Life

III. Result of Union with Christ
A. No More Old Self
B. No More Dominion of Sin

Questions for consideration: (1) Why might you be tempted to ask the question in verse 1? What truth keeps you from falling into that trap? (2) Does this passage tell us something about baptism that we might otherwise miss? Why would that be important? (3) What is the practical effect for you to know that the old self is crucified? That you are no longer enslaved to sin?