“There can be no hope without faith in Christ, for hope is rooted in Him alone. Faith without hope would, by itself, be empty and futile.”
E.T.A. Hoffmann
Passage
16Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?
17But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed,
18and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
19I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.
20For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
21Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death.
22But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.
23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:16–23 (NASB95)
Background
Quote-Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann, the German author, composer, and artist Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (1776-1822) is known chiefly for his short stories and novels. E. T. A. Hoffmann was born in Königsberg, Prussia On Jan. 24, 1776. He studied law at the University of Königsberg, and by 1800 he had become a court official with the Prussian government in Berlin.
Hoffmann continued to serve as judge until the year of his death, relatively unhampered by a capacity for alcohol that is thought to have been a source of some of his more striking literary inspirations. Hoffmann was the German romantic whose works were most enthusiastically read abroad. He died on June 25, 1822, in Berlin, of a spinal infection.
Passage- The book of Romans is a Pauline Epistle (letter from Paul). The Apostle Paul wrote it roughly about 56-57 A.D. He wrote it to give them a concrete theological foundation on which to construct their faith and to live for and serve God effectively.
The book of Romans reveals the answers to important questions and supplies information on many topics, such as salvation, the sovereignty of God, judgment, spiritual growth, and the righteousness of God. Many scholars also describe it as The Gospel and the Righteousness of God, which can be received only by faith in the atoning death of Jesus Christ.
Lesson Notes
Opening Statement
Our hope is based in the faith that Jesus Christ loves us. Questioning that faith can put us in a bad spot. Refocusing on Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit sometimes means we have to admit uncomfortable things and make uncomfortable changes in our lives.
Ask: The end is the beginning today.
Point: Please re-read verse 23 from Today’s Passage:
23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23 (NASB95)
Ask: Where is hope in that to focus on as the title of this week suggests?
Point: The gift is free and eternal. That has to be hopeful.
Ask: Hope is about something we want to have happen in the future. What are we hoping for in our future?
Point: As verse twenty-three says, eternal life.
Ask: How do we obtain that which we hope for as Christians?
Point: The answer lies in verse twenty-two from Today’s Passage. Please re-read verse 22 from Today’s Passage:
22But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.
Romans 6:22 (NASB95)
Ask: There is it again, eternal life but how do we get that “outcome?”
Point: The answer is also in verse twenty-two in that we are free fro sin and “enslaved to God.”
Ask: What does it mean to be “enslaved to God?”
Point: Backing up further, the answer is in verses nineteen through twenty-one. Please re-read verses 19-21 from Today’s Passage:
19I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.
20For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
21Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death.
Romans 6:19–21 (NASB95)
Ask: What is verse 19 really asking us to do?
Point: Paul puts it in plain terms for our lives in the World. While living as we see fit we put a lot of effort into doing what we thought was right. When the Holy Spirit gets involved and points out what God thinks is right, we should work just as hard to conform to that standard.
Ask: Verses nineteen and twenty sound a lot like finger pointing. How are they actually hopeful?
Point: Paul is speaking in past tense meaning this is not the current soul-state of a Christian who professes faith in Jesus Christ. Please re-read verses 16-18 of Today’s Passage:
16Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?
17But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed,
18and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
Romans 6:16–18 (NASB95)
Ask: How do I know those verses cover me?
Point: Please read the following:
25Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past,
26but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith;
27to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen.
Romans 16:25–27 (NASB95)
Ask: That doesn’t say I’m covered. It says obedience to faith so how does that mean I am covered for eternal life?
Point: The person who does the will of his or her master (v16 as we are slaves for obedience to God.) Please read the following:
14Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen.
15And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
16“He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
17“These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues;
18they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
19So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
20And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed. And they promptly reported all these instructions to Peter and his companions. And after that, Jesus Himself sent out through them from east to west the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.
Mark 16:14–20 (NASB95)
Closing Statement
What is there to say? We call ourselves Christian. What does that mean if it does not mean we serve the risen Christ, Jesus? If we say that we serve Him, then we should do what He commanded or we don’t actually serve Him, we serve His adversary, Satan. What does that mean then? It means obedience from the heart (v17). It means recognizing our weakness of the flesh and pursuing God’s commandments as vigorously as we pursued lawlessness when we didn’t know Him or His Spirit (v19). It means recognizing sin in its many forms and calling it wrong because we strive for righteousness (v20). It means recognizing remaining in the service of sin and death has a price, death but also carry hope in our hearts because Chrit’s freedom from sin also carries the reward of eternal life (v21).