NO CONDEMNATION: FOR SIN SHALL NOT HAVE DOMINION OVER YOU -

1) INTRODUCTION
Repeatedly, I have encountered preachers who quote Romans 6:14: “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” These theologies emphasize:

1.1) UNDER GRACE, NOT UNDER LAW:
The emphasis is on the believer’s position under grace rather than under the law. This theological viewpoint stresses that because believers are under grace, they are liberated from the dominion of sin. The law, which condemns and highlights sin, is seen as no longer having authority over those who are in Christ.

1.2) AUTHORITY AND PROCLAMATION:
In the Word of Faith Movement and similar teachings, believers are encouraged to engage in the practice of proclaiming or declaring their authority in Christ. This practice is rooted in a theological understanding that through Christ’s work on the cross, believers have been granted authority and victory over sin and its effects.

1.3) POSITIONING OR RECKONING:
The terms “positioning” or “reckoning” (often used interchangeably in this context) refer to believers actively aligning themselves with the truth of their new identity in Christ. It’s about recognizing and affirming that through Christ’s death and resurrection, the Believers are freed from sin’s power and have a new position in God’s kingdom.

1.4) IMMUNITY FROM SINFUL LIFESTYLES:
This theology teaches that living in Christ and under grace provides immunity or protection against falling into sinful lifestyles. It emphasizes the transformative power of grace to enable believers to live holy lives and resist sin effectively.

1.5) FALLING FROM GRACE:
If believers are found living in sin, these teachings often attribute it to them not fully embracing or living under God’s grace. This is seen as a departure from their position of strength and authority in Christ, returning instead to a legalistic or living under the law.

Overall, based on Romans 6:14, most of the teachings highlight a strong emphasis on the believer’s identity in Christ and the transformative power of grace over sin.

2) INTERPRETING WITHIN ITS CONTEXT
Armed with these teachings and amidst various conflicting theologies, I intend to thoroughly investigate its context. Engaging in a meticulous study of the Bible verse by verse is a commendable method for gaining a deep understanding of its message and avoiding misinterpretation. Particularly, Romans 6:11-16 delves into themes of sin, grace, and obedience. Let’s examine this passage in several translations to achieve a clearer understanding. Because of limited space, only the AMPC translation is provided below:

Romans 6:11-16 (AMPC)
11 Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin and your relation to it broken, but alive to God [living in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus. 12 LET NOT SIN THEREFORE RULE AS KING IN YOUR MORTAL (short-lived, perishable) bodies, to make you yield to its cravings and be subject to its lusts and evil passions. 13 Do not CONTINUE offering or YIELDING your bodily members [and faculties] to sin as instruments (tools) of wickedness. But offer and YIELD yourselves to God as though you have been raised from the dead to [perpetual] life, and your bodily members [and faculties] to God, presenting them as implements of righteousness. 14 For sin shall not [any longer] exert dominion over you, since now you are not under Law [as slaves], but under grace [as subjects of God’s favor and mercy]. 15 What then [are we to conclude]? Shall we sin because we live not under Law but under God’s favor and mercy? Certainly not!
16 Do you not know that IF YOU CONTINUALLY SURRENDER YOURSELVES TO ANYONE TO DO HIS WILL, YOU ARE THE SLAVES OF HIM WHOM YOU OBEY, whether that be to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience which leads to righteousness (right doing and right standing with God)? Romans 6:11-16

In considering Romans 5 and Romans 6 together, Paul teaches the following:

Through Adam’s sin, all humanity became powerless to live righteously, known as “Original Sin.”
Consequently, as non-believers, no one can meet God’s standards and live righteously.
Accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior frees believers from the grip of Adam’s Original Sin, enabling them to live beyond its power and slavery.
Believers are called to consider themselves dead to sin and to refrain from yielding to it.
Since believers are now in the era of Christ’s freedom, they should not revert to the slavery of Adam’s sin.
Having been liberated from the powerless life of Adam’s sin, Christians can choose to obey Christ and live righteously or return to their old sinful ways.
The focus is on walking with Christ after being freed from the powerless Adamic lifestyle, where believers have the choice and power to live righteously or succumb to sin.
Verse 16 warns that returning to the old Adamic lifestyle leads to death.
Salvation is not a guarantee of eternal security but requires believers to continue their journey with the Lord.
Ultimately, the evidence of true faith lies in the fruits of believers’ lives.
Believers have a responsibility; persisting in sin transforms it from “Original Sin” to “Personal Sin,” which leads to death and bondage to sin.

3) ADDITIONAL EXPLANATION
We must understand that Romans 6:14 cannot be understood in isolation. Context cannot be derived from a single verse or sentence alone. To grasp the message fully, we need to consider Romans 5 and 6 in their entirety.

Paul’s message is that since Adam’s fall, humanity has been unable to meet God’s standards; all have fallen as Adam did. This concept is what we refer to as ‘ORIGINAL SIN.’

However, through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, believers are liberated from the bondage of darkness caused by Adam’s sin, from ‘ORIGINAL SIN.’ Now, believers have a choice: they can either continue in the spiritual darkness of ‘ORIGINAL SIN’ or live in righteousness.”

Based on verse 11, believers are instructed to “reckon” themselves as dead to sin (specifically Original Sin). Mere proclamation without genuinely positioning oneself away from sin makes it difficult to progress to the subsequent verse.

Verse 12 is direct: believers must not allow sin to rule over their bodies and satisfy their fleshly desires. Paul then emphasizes in the following verse that Christians should not offer themselves to unrighteousness but rather to righteousness.

The AMPC translation underscores the term “YIELDING,” which the English dictionary defines as:-
– inclined to give in;
– submissive;
– compliant etc

The synonym of the word “Yielding” is:
– Surrender
– Capitulate
– Submit etc

4) FURTHER EXPOSITION
Some translations such as GNT, NTL, AMPC, and others for verses 13 and 16 convey the same message. After their salvation, believers have the option to either yield to or surrender to (Adam’s Original) sin or to live righteously.

This underscores the freedom of choice that Christians possess. They can choose to surrender or yield themselves to a life enslaved to sin, or they can live for Christ and His glory.

The phrase ‘YOKE OF SLAVERY FOR SIN’ implies being bound or enslaved to Adam’s original sin.

In contrast to theological viewpoints that imply Christians cannot lead and live truly righteous lives, contemporary teachings often emphasize that only Jesus can live a righteous life. However, this viewpoint contradicts Paul’s message in Romans chapters 5 and 6.

The message of Romans suggests that after accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, believers not only have a choice but are obligated to live according to His standards. However, the context does not imply that believers, under the grace of God, are automatically immune to sin.

We currently find ourselves in an era where preaching often presents conflicting messages. On one hand, sermons proclaim that God grants mankind ‘FREE CHOICE,’ implying Adam and Eve had the freedom to choose from any tree, and humans have the choice to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. On the other hand, these same pulpits sometimes convey that Christians cannot choose to live a righteous life. Is this not contradictory?”

In Romans 5 and 6, Paul discusses how through Adam’s disobedience, sin entered the world, affecting all humanity. This introduced a state of spiritual darkness and bondage to sin

Hence, believers were once in the grip and influence of darkness due to Adam’s actions. However, Christ has liberated believers, granting them the freedom to live fully.

5) OPENING VERSES
Furthermore, Romans 6:1-4 explicitly admonishes that believers cannot persist in their former way of life. These verses state: –

Romans 6:1-4 AMPC
1 What shall we say [to all this]?
Are we to remain in sin in order that God’s grace (favor and mercy) may multiply and overflow?
2 Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer?
3 Are you ignorant of the fact that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
4 We were buried therefore with Him by the baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious [power] of the Father, so we too might [habitually] live and behave in newness of life. Romans 6:1-4

6) CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Paul urges and exhorts believers to embrace this freedom rather than persisting in Adam’s original sin, as they are no longer bound by the era of Adam and the Mosaic Law. They now live under grace, liberated to choose a new way of life and live life in the newness. The believers can not continue to live in the spiritual darkness of the act of Adam and Eve; the original sin.

Regrettably, the current era sees selective bible verses preaching prevailing within the Christian community. Often, grace teaching is reduced to mere snippets or partial verses, devoid of their full context.

If we were to claim that believers, through living in grace, are free from sin, a more detailed analysis of adjacent verses would uncover inconsistencies. Amenbible

It is good to recap and continue to read Romans chapter 8 on:-
NO CONDEMNATION

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