The apostle Paul taught a truth we often overlook. He said that, although God will not fully rule over all creation until Christ’s return, God already fully counts us as citizens of God’s Kingdom in Christ. Even with our ongoing struggles, in Christ we can consider ourselves “dead to sin” and live in a status Paul called “newness of life.” We do not grow toward something we hope to be someday, but toward living out the life of who we already are in Christ.

• Paul’s rhetorical question in Romans 6:1 was not imaginary. People have asked it through the centuries. For instance, the Russian monk Rasputin defended his immoral lifestyle by claiming that God’s grace needed to have something to forgive. If God is gracious and forgiving, then why should God or I care how I live? For what reasons would you choose a life free from “sin” (i.e. attitudes and actions that ruin your relationship with God, others and even yourself) over a life of slavery to sin?
• Some Christians read Paul’s teaching as meaning that if you were a REAL Christian, you wouldn’t have any more moral struggles or flaws—so if you have any you must not be a REAL Christian. But, as Romans 7:21-25 makes plain, the apostle was describing the direction our status in Christ gives our lives, not every act we do as human beings who need grace. If God gives me “newness of life,” why do I still need grace and forgiveness? How can I still have flaws and struggles without being in “slavery” to sin?