Giving gifts to others is such a joy! Especially when it is something they really needed and could not afford themselves. What is not a joy is when those gifts are misused. No parent wants to see the baseball bat they bought for their little man being used to destroy objects around the house. No scholarship committee wants to see their scholarship squandered over a student who decides not to go to class anymore.

By grace God has given us an eternally greater gift than a bat or a scholarship; He has given us freedom from sin’s penalty and power. Unfortunately, God’s grace can be misunderstood and even misused. The thought in Paul’s day was something like, “so then, the more I sin, the more God’s grace increases and covers that!” “Well according to that logic, I will just keep on sinning so the gift of grace is actualized even more.” Paul writes in Romans 6 that receiving grace is not a license to sin, but rather a union with Jesus that frees us from sin in order to serve God. Therefore, we learn the power that sin had over us is completely broken. Sin cannot force us to do anything it says or wants. And this is true because of our union with Jesus! For being united into Christ is being united into His reality of overcoming sin and living for God (6:3–10). Being united to Jesus by faith gives us not only a new position before God, but a new quality of life with God. We are not just forgiven of sin’s penalty, but we are free from sin’s power.

Our union with Jesus now calls us to be certain of our freed state from sin’s power and our new life towards God (6:11). And in this freed state we no longer allow sin to be the boss.

We go so far as to not even position our bodies to be weapons (or tools) of unrighteousness to sin. How could we possibly live such a life aiming ourselves at the target of sin when Jesus has made us new creatures by His sacrifice? Do we really want to turn our bodies into weapons to hurt other people? Absolutely not! Instead we present ourselves to God as a weapon (or tool) for His righteous purposes. I think this is key to overcoming the temptation to sin and to honor God; by focusing our energies and bodies in this direction. As such we will steer away from sin and live under grace.

Here are two ways to apply Romans 6 this week. First, be certain of your freed state from sin’s power. Your life doesn’t have to be dominated and pulled around by sin. You are a new creation in Christ. Second, aim your thoughts, body, and heart at serving God's purposes. It may be helpful to think of one sinful desire that comes up on a continual basis for you, and then ask, “How can I present myself to God and serve Him instead of giving into that desire?”