Commentators aren’t sure if Paul was mainly concerned about libertines who really thought God’s grace meant they could do whatever they pleased, or legalists who made fun of his teaching about grace. Perhaps the Christian community in Rome had both types of people in it! Regardless, Paul insisted that accepting Jesus as Savior changes your life for the better. Being a disciple means giving control of your life to the Lord who can give you life.

• Pastor Stuart Briscoe said being free from sin means “adopting the attitude that sin, as a lifestyle, is no longer normative… [Christians do] not have to go on sinning, and treating righteous living as something that is good if you can get around to it.” In what ways has your loyalty to Christ given you the freedom to change your life for the better?
• We don’t usually think much about slavery (though by some estimates there are as many as 27 million slaves in today’s world), so Paul’s image may startle us. Sin, he says, turns all who submit to it into slaves. What actions, feelings or thoughts have, at some point in your life, held you in their grip? How did (or will) Jesus’ love free you from them?