Romans Chapter 6

2 Hearts

Chapter 6, Verses 17,18

Rom. 6:17 "But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness."   

There is something in the above for which God is to be thanked.  We thank God for the things that He has done.  God did not make us the servants of sin, but God did deliver to us something in the heart that caused us to desire to become the servants of righteousness.   

There are two hearts described to us in the scripture:  

1.  The heart of the flesh is described thusly: Jer. 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"

2.  The heart of the spirit is described in Heb. 10:22, "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water."   

When we were born of the Spirit, God wrote his laws in our heart (the true heart sprinkled from an evil conscience) and put them in our mind:                  

1.  Heb. 8:10, "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people." 

2.  Heb. 10:16, "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them."    

3.  2 Cor. 3:3, "Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart."                  

4.  Rom. 2:15, "Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another."

 Servants of Sin

Before we were born of the Spirit of God we were the servants of sin: Eph. 2:1 "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others."   

However, once we were born of the Spirit of God we had the laws of God written in our heart and these laws of God were the laws of God's love. These laws were delivered to us in the new birth.  Having these laws in our heart and mind, we began to obey from our heart that form of doctrine, which was delivered us (the laws of love).  As the elect born-again Gentiles did by nature the things contained in the law as Paul pointed out in chapter 2, so we also began to do by nature the things contained in God's laws of love.  In this manner, we became the servants of righteousness.  

Chapter 6, Verses 19-23 

Works of the Flesh

Rom. 6:19 "I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. 20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." 

"I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh."  Paul affirms that those who are born of the Spirit of God have a two fold nature.  The nature of the Old Man or man of the flesh and the nature of the new or inner man or spiritual inner man.  In the new birth our fleshly nature is not changed.  It is still totally depraved.  Having two natures sets up an internal warfare within every born again child of God.  Paul speaks of this warfare in Gal. 5:17: "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would."  Because of this dual competed natures of the child of God he is capable of following the flesh or following the Spirit.  Those who have not been born of the Spirit are only capable of following the flesh.   

The infirmity of the flesh is set forth for us in Rom. 3:9-19.  Furthermore, the works of the flesh are detailed to us in Gal. 5:19-21: "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."        All of the works of the flesh are evil works of sin.  Thus, to follow or walk after the flesh is to serve sin. 

"For as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.  For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death."  Before we were born of the Spirit of God we completely yielded our members as servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity.  This is also confirmed to us in Eph. 2:1-3: "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others."  We had no desire or choice but to yield ourselves at that time unto sin. 

New Heart, New Capability

Once we were born of the Spirit of God we then had the capability to yield our members as servants to righteousness unto holiness.  The covenant love of God greatly motivates us to yield our members as servants to righteousness unto holiness.  

The end of the fleshly lusts is death.  In Adam, we were condemned to an eternal death before a just and holy God.  Furthermore, we were dead in trespasses and sins.  Because of the covenant love of God, we were redeemed from the condemnation of an eternal death through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.  Also by the covenant love of God we are delivered from the bondage of the law of sin and death through the new birth.  Today, if we walk after the flesh we still suffer another death: the death of fellowship with God and the people of God who walk after the Spirit.  Furthermore, we are dead to the joys and blessings of a Spirit-led life when we walk after the flesh.   

"But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life."  We are free from the eternal condemnation of sin through the covenant work of Jesus Christ and in the inner man we have become servants to God through the covenant work of the Spirit in the new birth.  The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.  When we serve the Lord this is the fruit that we yield.  The end result of God's covenant love towards us that has made it possible for us to serve him is everlasting life.  Thanks be to God for his unsearchable gift. 

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."  Wages is something we work for and earn.  In the walk of the flesh we earn death.  It is something that we deserve.  Thanks unto God, however, that he has given us something we did not earn and that is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  From this, we conclude that it is far better to be the servants of God than the servants of sin.  The covenant love of God teaches us this principle and does not lead us into ungodly living.