The Regular Guys Bible Study
The Regular Guys Bible Study podcast -- RGBS -- is a podcast for regular guys by regular guys (not theologians) studying the Bible together. It's brought to you by a couple of goofy guys who just want to study the Bible together and show you that anyone can read and study the Bible. In fact, you SHOULD read and study the Bible yourself. We're here to show you how we do it, and, hopefully, we can have some fun along the way.
The Regular Guys Bible Study
Romans 6
Ken and Steve explore Romans 6, examining how Paul dismantles the misinterpretation that grace gives license to sin and explains why Christians who have "died to sin" cannot continue living in it.
• Baptism symbolizes our participation in Christ's death and resurrection
• Our spiritual union with Jesus means we share in both his death and resurrection
• Sin's power to enslave believers has been broken through Christ
• Paul uses slavery as a metaphor to explain our relationship with sin
• We are now "slaves to God" rather than "slaves to sin"
• Ken shares a personal testimony about overcoming addiction through God's grace
• We must choose who we will serve - righteousness or sin
• The wages of sin is death, but God's gift is eternal life
Next week we'll be continuing our study with Romans chapter 7.
You are listening to the Regular Guys Bible Study Podcast, the Bible study for regular guys by regular guys. We are your hosts, ken and Steve, and we are just regular guys studying the Bible together not theologians.
Speaker 2:Hey Steve, hey Ken, I'm glad you could make it today. You know what?
Speaker 1:I've had. I had I think I had the flu, but uh, it really kicked my butt for about 12 days yeah about 12 days and you still sound a little congested oh okay. Well, I'm not congested, but I do. You know how, after you've been sick, you have this cough and you cough. I'm probably talking in a lower register because I'm afraid that I'm gonna start hacking so could also be from like dust and ash from the recent fires.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's true. Dripping, that's true, but I have had.
Speaker 1:I've had horrible coughs. My wife then caught it three days after me and she's three days behind me in recovery.
Speaker 2:So you got everybody sick yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think I got some people sick at work because I went in one day. You know they don't call me typhoid Ken for nothing.
Speaker 2:Was that the day you met the new CEO?
Speaker 1:Yes, it is. You know, to be fair, I did feel a whole lot better in the morning, but it's one of those things where I didn't realize I was faking it all day, and as soon as I walked in from work, when I got home from work, I like every bit of energy in my body was suddenly just gone and I laid down and slept until the next morning.
Speaker 2:So Well, I don't know about everyone else, but if they've been reading Romans 6 this entire past three weeks, they are really tired of it, romans 6?.
Speaker 1:I've been reading Romans 5.
Speaker 2:That's funny.
Speaker 1:I saw the look on your face. At first you thought I was serious, I wouldn't put it past you. So yeah, how many weeks have we skipped? We skipped two weeks or three.
Speaker 2:You were on a ski trip, and then you came back and it was game night, yeah, and then you were sick, so it's three weeks. It's at least three weeks.
Speaker 1:Oh, my goodness, Okay, Well, we you know I apologize to all of our listeners. We do have lives, though, guys.
Speaker 2:We do Sort of.
Speaker 1:And our life is not producing a podcast. It's part of a very small part of our life very small part yeah, so, anyway, I apologize, I do apologize and, um, we are going to try to. Um, I actually have another trip coming up and, uh, we're I'm trying to make sure we don't skip another one because of the trip. So we'll see. But let's get started with Romans, chapter 6.
Speaker 2:Before we go there. I'm glad to hear you've been reading chapter 5, because I was going to ask you to do a recap of everything before this.
Speaker 1:Well, I haven't been reading chapter 5.
Speaker 2:You said you, are you saying that you were lying?
Speaker 1:yes, I was lying, that was a.
Speaker 2:That was a that makes you a liar I'm a liar steve.
Speaker 1:I am a liar um you know I don't remember steve. You don't remember me. I don't. Who are you? No, I don't remember what. What happened in five are?
Speaker 2:they were.
Speaker 1:I don't know I was gonna ask you to repeat it. Um, you know I don't remember stuff happened. Um, you know I remember he was talking about how we have we're justified through faith. Um, and you know before that he was talking about jew, jews and who's a Jew, and all of that and how Abraham was. Let's see, he was justified by faith and not by the circumcision right that came later. So he was counted righteous by his faith and belief.
Speaker 2:And then we wrapped up with you know, just as sin came through one man, life comes through one man, right, so sin came through Adam and life comes through Christ.
Speaker 1:Yeah, adam and life comes through Christ, yeah and so. But he has been talking consistently about faith, right, and grace, grace through faith, and that's where we start. He's been talking about how we are saved by grace not by our works, but by grace and that's important, actually, because of what he's talking about now.
Speaker 2:I know a few people named Grace. Yeah, I bet they have a lot on their shoulders.
Speaker 1:Yes, and my daughter, one of my daughter's middle names. One of my daughter's middle names is Faith. I'm trying to say that the way it was coming out, it sounds like one of my daughters has a bunch of middle names and one of her names is Faith, and one of my daughters has a middle name of Grace. Oh, how about that? What's the other one? And one of my daughters?
Speaker 2:has a middle name of Grace. Oh, how about that? Yeah, what's the other one?
Speaker 1:I have another daughter with a middle name of Paige. And another daughter with a middle name of Joy.
Speaker 2:And the other guy, andrew, andrew. Two of those just don't fit. Joy, faith and Grace fit.
Speaker 1:Yes, okay, paige is my wife's middle name and Andrew is my middle name, steve, all right, anyway, that's you know. That's really while. That's really interesting in everything. I think we should go on.
Speaker 2:No, it's not.
Speaker 1:And, as always, guys, if you haven't read Romans chapter 6 because you've been thinking, well, these guys are never actually going to do it, just pause it now. Go read Romans chapter 6 so you can follow along and have a better understanding of what we're talking about. So are you ready, Steve?
Speaker 2:I'm ready, all right. Am I doing the first and you're the second? Yeah, all right. What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means.
Speaker 2:We are those who have died to sin. How can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him, through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we will certainly also be united with Him in a resurrection like His, for we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with that.
Speaker 2:We should no longer be slaves to sin, because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Now, if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him, for we know that, since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again. Death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and offer every part of yourself to Him as an instrument of righteousness, for sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law but under grace.
Speaker 1:All right, thank you, steve. Grace, all right, thank you, steve. So you know, while you're reading this for the first time, I've read this chapter, I don't even know how many times. A lot, at least twice, at least twice. I've read it a lot of times. While you're reading, I saw something that I had never really seen before in this verse. What did you see? Verse 7 says Because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
Speaker 2:What does that mean? That is a good question. Does it mean that those people that like die in the hospital and then they bring them back are incapable of sinning?
Speaker 1:No, what I mean is I don't think those people really died, um, but what I mean is when, when a sinner dies, I mean it doesn't say people who you know have accepted christ, or blah, blah, blah it just says you're focusing on the anyone, anyone.
Speaker 1:It says for we know, okay, let me do six and seven. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body, so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin, because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. I think what that means when I read that again with 6,. I think what that means when I read that again with 6, because it says so that the body ruled by sin, sin, are done away with, but that once we're dead, we're not sinning anymore in our body. We don't have the body to sin anymore. It does not mean that we might not be in eternal damnation because of our sin.
Speaker 2:What do you think about that, Steve Right? I think if you're dead, you're not capable of sinning.
Speaker 1:Right and sorry. It just kind of threw me that I never noticed that. But now that I see it again it makes sense.
Speaker 2:But just a little. Public service announcement.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:If you're trying to stop sinning. While death is an answer, we are not encouraging anyone to go there sooner than when God takes them.
Speaker 1:That's true. Did it sound like I was?
Speaker 2:I don't think I was saying that, no, but someone might interpret it that way.
Speaker 1:That's true. Yeah, that is not an answer. So, yeah, that's what we, you know it actually does talk about us dying to self right, just as Christ died. That's what our baptism represents, is, and and this is straight where some of the when I see baptismal services, a lot of people quote this or at least highly paraphrase it, so it's almost a quote. But, you know, with Christ, buried with Christ and then raised in Christ to new life, and this is a lot where that comes from when we see baptismal services.
Speaker 2:When we see baptismal services, so you know Paul often refers to the flesh as the source of our sin. Yeah, and when we're dead and buried or cremated whatever, our souls are no longer in that flesh.
Speaker 1:That's true. In our resurrection we will have new bodies, but just in case, I'm thinking about, instead of burial and not being cremated, I'm thinking about being skinned.
Speaker 2:So I won't be in the flesh anymore. Oh okay, end. So I won't be in the flesh anymore. Oh, okay. So I was thinking about getting put on one of those hills where the crows and carrion come down and feast. They can just peck on my, so that my body is spread throughout the world via bird droppings so you would still be a peckerhead is that crude?
Speaker 1:is that crude? That's not crude, is it a little bit really? I don't even know what that means I'm not sure either, okay I guess I shouldn't Nobody look it up, just in case. All right, what else?
Speaker 2:do you see in here, Steve? All right, so in 14, For sin shall no longer be your master because you are not under the law but under grace. So I have a note here that says is this a pep talk, Because I don't feel like I'm free from temptation, and is it up to us to not sin? My answer to this is the rest of this chapter kind of goes on to explain some of that.
Speaker 1:Right? I mean, in fact, and I think it's, romans 8. We're on 6 now, romans 8. Isn't that where Paul says I do what I don't want to do and I don't?
Speaker 2:it's actually Romans. Seven.
Speaker 1:Okay, so it's the next chapter.
Speaker 2:I did read ahead.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, we will, we will see. Um, you're reading that one. Okay, I can read that one, but um, yeah, I don't. I wouldn't call it a pep talk. You know, it's really. I'm trying to decide the whole purpose of this. Who is he writing this to? Is he writing because he says what shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning, that grace may increase? Is he writing to Christians here and saying are there Christians out there? This is my question. Are there Christians that are acting like oh, I'm saved by grace, so not by work, so I can just woohoo, party time.
Speaker 2:Do whatever I want. It's time to do whatever I want. I think that's exactly who he's talking to.
Speaker 1:I think that's exactly who he's talking to. Or the other option is that he's being that Christianity is being ridiculed by the Jews as saying oh, they're saying Paul is saying you don't. You're saying by grace and not by works. Therefore, he's saying that you can do whatever you want to do, and so he's saying that's not what we're saying as believers. And maybe he's saying that in both of these, maybe he's talking to Jews. How is that different? Well, one is he's talking to Christians and saying don't act like this.
Speaker 2:The other, he's telling Jews that is not what we're teaching. Yeah, it could be some of both.
Speaker 1:Yeah, maybe so, but regardless that is, you know, just because we are saved by grace does not mean we should go on sinning. Now I'm going to talk to you, Steve, about a sin I had many years ago and I had trouble getting out of this sin, and that sin was porn. Okay, I used to struggle with that and and it really is a long ago sin that I struggled with. And the truth is, you know, I did not feel grace from us, from you know. I did not feel this grace from God as being saying you're, you know, I forgive you, blah, blah, blah. I never felt it and somebody told me what's that?
Speaker 1:Go ahead? You hadn't repented yet. So you know what I felt like I had. And somebody talked to me what's that? Go ahead? You hadn't repented yet. You know what I felt like I had. Every time I felt shame and guilt and saying I'll never do it again. God, I'm sorry, but I don't remember if somebody talked to me personally about this, I think, or if I just learned it from a message, and it's just that long ago. I just don't remember, but it talked about. I can tell you this if it was a message, a sermon or something, I felt like somebody was talking directly to me, me but it talked about accepting that grace that God gives and that sometimes we hold on to knees and said God, I take your, I accept the grace and I accept this forgiveness. And do you know? This is a true story. By the way, I am not exaggerating. I have never had a problem with porn since that day. Okay, wow. And all it had to do was me accepting the grace of God for that and the forgiveness of that sin.
Speaker 2:Well, I can relate to your story. I used to have a problem as well. With yeah yeah, with porn. Yeah, and you know. Finally, I don't. I have a horrible memory, so I don't remember a fall on my knees moment, but I know it was only through God's grace and help that I stopped.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. But the point is, the point I'm making is I did not. But the point is, the point I'm making is I did not. It's not about just grace so you can keep sinning, because that does not feel, that's not grace. You don't feel the grace when you do that. You feel the grace. Grace, I'm saying, is grace not only forgives your sin, it also removes it from you.
Speaker 2:That's what I'm saying. Removes that desire.
Speaker 1:Yeah, removes that desire. I'm not saying I'll never sin because I do, but all right, that's my story.
Speaker 2:Thanks for opening up, Ken.
Speaker 1:You know, sure, because I bet there are a lot of people listening that may not even realize you think a lot of people are listening, steve, I'm going to pretend like there's a lot of people listening.
Speaker 2:Okay, that don't even. They might not even realize that porn is a sin because it's so ubiquitous in our society now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's so easy to get to.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know it, but yeah, I have a lot of regret for stuff I've seen. I think it broke me in some ways.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, it can.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I no. Longer, I no longer feel that I can.
Speaker 1:Yes, all right. Anything else from this upper section? Steve, nope, all right, let's move on. Pardon me, oh.
Speaker 2:He's sick again. Nope, I'm good Glad we're not in the same room.
Speaker 1:All right. So the second, the rest, this is 15 through the end of chapter 6, 15 through 23. What then? It kind of starts off the same way as the section you just started. What then?
Speaker 1:Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means. Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness. But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
Speaker 1:I am using an example from everyday life. Because of your human limitations, just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. When you are slaves to sin, you are free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness and the result is eternal life, for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord. You know, I think it's funny how he's talking about slaves and he says that. You know, I'm doing this because I'm using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations.
Speaker 1:But and it doesn't really fit anymore uh, it doesn't fit for our everyday life, does it? Um, in fact, that that whole? I mean we have uh in in our line of work, we have pins that are master and slave, and we've been told to rename these things because we don't even want to use those words anymore. But I think that's changing back actually.
Speaker 2:Well, some of it's changing back.
Speaker 1:Customers don't expect, they know the words.
Speaker 2:Right. Yes, we had to change it as well, and it was dumb. The words have meanings that are useful. The actions of the past were bad, yes, but they happened. It doesn't mean you get rid of the word.
Speaker 1:Right, but at any rate I think it's. You know, if we were to use an example from everyday life, what would we say? What's an example? We would use Steve instead of slavery Example we would use Steve instead of slavery Only thing that comes to mind is employment.
Speaker 2:Oh, I don't like that one, but we do choose.
Speaker 1:Okay, what did you have? Okay, what I?
Speaker 2:thought of was endless scrolling on social media. Well, but Do you struggle with that?
Speaker 1:Not very often. Every now and then I'll just like.
Speaker 2:So I'm more likely to struggle with YouTube videos because I'll go from one to the next. Oh, that one looks interesting Reels, not even. I mean. Sometimes it's the short ones, but those, it's usually the 30 minute ones that are interesting. Wow, and I'll put.
Speaker 1:I'll put, I'll play them at like 1.25 or one and a half speed, all right, but I don't know we don't deal with slavery?
Speaker 2:we don't. But you choose who you work for and you go and do that job.
Speaker 1:But that doesn't fit the actually analogy very well it kind of does right because it says, just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity, so it's offering um, and and a lot of this was slaves to what was the um? If you had a debt to pay, um, you could not pay. You would become their slave Indentured servitude. Yeah, you could choose that option. Or maybe if you got, a judge might decree that you have to be Jerry's butler.
Speaker 2:Not Seinfeld oh okay.
Speaker 1:Anyway, I think it still works A little bit.
Speaker 2:It breaks down a little bit, because you can choose to work for somebody, and you can also choose to not do what they tell you to do. That's true, and they can't beat the crap out of you.
Speaker 1:They can fire you, they can fire you, and they can't, they can't beat the crap out of you, they can fire you, but they can't whip you until you obey. So but I, you know, I think, I think we know enough about slaves, even though it's not our normal everyday life or our life at all, ever um I think there's. We probably have enough knowledge of how slaves were treated and the things they did that you know. This analogy still holds water, even though it's just not.
Speaker 1:I am using an example from everyday life right right, so I think we can still draw what it means from it.
Speaker 2:But I do think his point is we have a choice to choose righteousness or sin.
Speaker 1:Right, and the thing is, you are going to be a slave to something.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:I mean you cannot choose to just be free. There is no free. You're either. I mean, we're free to choose what we will be a slave to, but whatever we do, we are a slave to something. That's what he's saying. I think you can either choose to be a slave to sin or you can be a slave to righteousness, and so, um, you know, I want to choose to be a slave to righteousness, for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Speaker 2:Which sin often has consequences.
Speaker 1:It has consequences on earth and beyond.
Speaker 2:Exactly so, choosing to not go the route of sin. You can get some of the gifts of God here on earth by choosing righteousness.
Speaker 1:But sometimes Steve choosing righteousness has negative consequences here on earth. It does, it can, it doesn't always I can no, but it can, it can, it can no, it can, yes, it can. Shh what?
Speaker 2:Say that again. It can Preface it with a sh.
Speaker 1:It scan.
Speaker 2:What it can. The shh is first.
Speaker 1:I don't know what you're saying.
Speaker 2:Say shh and then say what you were going to say. Shh Okay, Josh you are really an idiot sometimes, Steve.
Speaker 1:That sure took you a long time. It took me forever, and you almost made me have to call this explicit gosh. What are you doing anyway? Um, all right, anyway, the point is, you've got to. You've got to choose who you will serve, and that's another scripture somewhere else. Choose this day who you will serve.
Speaker 2:There's also that one verse that says you've got to fight for your right to party.
Speaker 1:No, that's not a Bible verse. That is a verse of a song, but it's not even a very good song. No, it's not, but it has a lot of fond memories though, believe it or not. All right, anything else here. Steve, do you have anything else in your notes? That's all I got.
Speaker 2:Oh, I do have something. Yeah, Verse 20. When you were slave to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. So when I read this I was thinking, huh, free from the control of righteousness, but self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, and so with self-control you can control the choice of righteousness.
Speaker 1:That's right, but you've got to have the fruit of the Spirit.
Speaker 2:That's right. Yeah, is that a fruit or a gift?
Speaker 1:No, it's a fruit. The gifts are tongues, prophecy, teaching, other things no.
Speaker 2:I think that's a fruit. It says it right there. But the gift of God is eternal life.
Speaker 1:Well, that's not a gift of the Spirit, that's just the gift of God. That's part of it, steve. All right, don't get me confused.
Speaker 1:Shh, stop it. All right. So anyway, basically, to summarize, just because we have grace, that doesn't mean you should sin. In fact, if you have grace, you won't want to sin. And you've got to choose if you're going to be a slave to righteousness or a slave to sin. And if you're a slave to sin, that leads to death and eternal separation from God. Choosing righteousness, being a slave to Christ, that is what leads to life. That's the whole impetus of this Impetus. Is that the right? Word of this passage.
Speaker 1:We'll go with it. Sure, as far as you know, that's good, all right. So next week we are going to be on chapter seven, right, and we are going to be able to do it right I think so okay yeah, all right, we'll try to do it. Uh make sure we don't skip another week, but uh really appreciate you guys listening. Thanks a lot, the Regular Guys. Bible Study is a Chasm LLC production. All rights reserved.
