Session 5
Romans 6:1-14
Memory Verse: Romans 6:11
I learned the value of freedom during a trip to a foreign land.
I was part of a group that went overseas to visit sites
related to our Christian faith.
We had a tour guide, but the guide never mentioned anything
about tension between Christians and members of another faith.
Unfortunately, our group T-shirt carried a symbol
that was considered offensive to some citizens in that place.
It never crossed our minds that such a symbol
would create chaos, hurt, and confusion.
We didn’t know, and we certainly meant no harm.
Shortly into our tour, though, armed guards separated our group
from the other tours.
They took our tour guide away for questioning
and later returned to interrogate me, just to be sure he
was telling the truth.
They wanted to know why he allowed our group to wear this symbol. For thirty long minutes, we were detained in a foreign country with no way of gaining our freedom. We felt helpless. Finally, the guards sent us on our way.
It’s easy to take our freedom for granted-
both physically and spiritually.
The words “debt free” make a happy sound in our hearts.
So do the words “cancer free.”
Each of these terms brings up different realities.
However, they share one word in common: free.
For a person drowning in debt, being liberated from it
would be a game changer.
Anyone who’s dealing with cancer would be ecstatic to
be told it was gone.
Of course, being freed from sin’s power brings the greatest joy. (PSG, p. 46)
Paul had already shown everyone needs a Savior
and Jesus is that Savior.
Summarize this content from page 47 of the PSG to highlight Paul’s next step:
“Paul reminded the Romans that they were not just forgiven of their sins-
they were dead to sin. When they accepted Jesus’s sacrifice,
they died to sin because all their sins were nailed to the cross.
Not only that, but as Jesus rose from the dead,
they had been raised to walk in newness of life.
They were to stop embracing the old ways
and embrace their Savior rather than their sin.”
New Life in Christ.
Today’s session focuses on the freedom believers
experience in Christ.
In a relationship with God, the natural progression is to move
from justification to sanctification.
Because we are right with God, our lives should reflect Him to others.
As we’ll see, that transformed behavior was Paul’s focus in Romans 6.