08/27/2026
Romans 6:1-4 - Paul pauses his letter to confront a lie that infected many churches of his day - that the message of the Gospel rooted in grace freely gave permission for people to sin. Paul knew there would indeed be people coming out of pagan backgrounds who might actually believe that their sin really didn't matter and that they did have license to sin.
In order for the lie to be truth, either the grace of God through Jesus really isn't powerful enough to overthrow the reign of sin and death or sin really doesn't matter. Either possibility undermines the promises God fulfilled through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
The way Paul helps the Church combat these lies is by anchoring believers in baptism. Our water baptism is a core reminder of our spiritual baptism. We died with Jesus. We are also resurrected with Jesus. All the promises and truths of the Gospel are tied to these two statements.
We can battle Satan and his lies about grace and the ensuing temptation to sin by proclaiming, as Martin Luther did, "Get away from me! I'm baptized!"
