Romans 6: Come as you are, but don't stay that way!

Romans 6: Come as you are, but don't stay that way!

The book of Romans is a beautiful book full of descriptions about God's free gifts of salvation and grace.  However, it is also possibly the most misinterpreted book as many verses are left out, especially from Romans 6, 8, and 12 (I will explore more from Romans 8 and 12 soon). 

Romans 6:1-2 is simply written by Paul, but often overlooked when he says, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"  The best way I would sum up these verses is this: You can come as you are to Jesus, but don't stay that way!

Even the preachers once on-fire for God who took a stand and preached against sin, are now leaving out the message of holiness and just preaching about salvation.  Yes, our walk with God absolutely starts with asking Jesus into our heart, but that is just the beginning.  It does not end with acknowledging Jesus died for your sins.  We need to do more than just realize Jesus loves us, we need to love Him in return by living only for Him, not for ourselves.  

The blog I wrote inspired by the book of John "Jesus, our Good Shepherd"  https://thankful-julie.blogspot.com/2025/02/jesus-our-good-shepherd.html  has to do with being lost, and allowing Jesus to find you so you can be saved.  However, once you have surrendered your heart, mind, and soul to Christ, you are not saved forever.  The theory of eternal security is a lie of the devil in order to put Christians to sleep.  When we think there is grace for everything no matter what we do, and that our actions suffer no consequences because our salvation is guaranteed with one simple prayer, we can easily slip into a life of sin and comfortably stay there.

It is very true that Christ accepts us as we are, and He freely gave His life on the cross for our sins so we can have eternal life.  Yet it is also very true that, though we may come just as we are with all our faults, God expects us to change.  Jesus is a loving Father who readily forgives our sins as long as our repentance is sincere, and we do not continue to live in sin. Because He is holy, it is His desire that we live holy lives if we are to follow Him.  That does not mean we have to be perfect, but we must seek out to destroy our sinful nature.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. " That means we are to put away the old creature/old nature of sin.  We don't stay living like the world.  If you are serious about following Christ, you need to give up worldly sins such as pornography, going to bars, getting drunk/high, sexual immorality, glorifying or participating in occult practices which includes wicca, yoga and astrology, watching ungodly movies/television, etc.

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;  as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;  but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,  because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;  knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,  but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.  1 Peter 1:13-19

 
If we cry out to God, He will hear our pleas.  He wants to protect us and save us. Man’s desire for independence corrupts him more and more.  The mentality of not wanting to be told what to do is only getting worse. It is up to you to surrender yourself to God as well as your independence.  It is up to you to choose to live right and separate yourself from this world.  

Humble yourself and admit you have done wrong.  Salvation begins with repentance and admittance of sin.  If you died right after you accepted Jesus into your heart, you would go to Heaven.  Although salvation is a free gift, we must treat it with respect in order to keep that gift. Don't use "Christianity" an excuse to live however you want. Have a desire to please your Creator and live a truly Christian lifestyle. Have frequent self-evaluation and repentance.  You cannot rebelliously continue in sin and expect God to turn a blind eye.  Not every sin leads to hell, of course, but refusing to do the right thing may cost your soul.

So do we wait until some crazy gunman is at our door (so to speak) before we choose to make the decision to live a holy life?  Of course not.  "There are no atheists in foxholes," so the saying goes.  And it is also true that God will have mercy on your soul if you wait until you are on your deathbed to call upon God and repent of your sins.  Yet, why would you wait until then?  If everyone died at the age of 99, most would wait until they were 98 ¾ to start living right.  But no one ever knows when their time on this world is coming to an end.  Nobody is invincible.  Age, race, wealth, none of it matters when you’re on a highway full of reckless drivers or the day you decide to go to the courthouse to renew your driver’s license just happens to be the same day a man with bombs storms in and blows the place up.    

For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. II Corinthians 6:2 

Jesus longs to hold each of us in His arms.  It is why He endured a horrible death on the cross for you and for me.

 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. II Peter 8:10

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life John 3:16.

I'll end with more from Romans chapter 6.

(Romans 6:1-7, 11-16, & 18-23) What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead [to his sinful nature] is freed from sin.

Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 

For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

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. 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.

But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.