Why is it the case that Christians are exhorted not to live their lives responding favourably to self-forfeiture if they have been delivered away from divine condemnation by the Messiah? Paul teaches that Christians are ‘planted together with the Messiah so as to come forth the resemblance of His death’, (Romans 6 v 5). That is a deep and slightly obscure concept, but he explains it in the next verse. ‘…knowing this, that our old human appearance is crucified together with [Him], in order that the body of self-forfeiture and loss is rendered down to being idle and inactive. We are no longer devotedly enslaved to the self-forfeiture and loss’, (Romans 6 v 6). Sounds even deeper, so what does he mean? Our ‘old human appearance’, refers to what we all are within our earthy, sensuous human nature and constitution. When God’s brings forth those he has selected, this old form is crucified together with the Messiah. God brings Christians forth as a ‘new formation’ in order that their physical, fleshly body with its inherent tendencies towards self-forfeiture and loss is brought to an end and rendered idle. Their fleshly body cannot and will not enter into the heavenly realm. Paul is saying that Christians are no longer enslaved to self-forfeiture and loss.
He goes on to say, ‘Because he, [Jesus], died, he withered away the self-forfeiture and loss… in this manner you also, logically reason yourselves to indeed be dead and lifeless to self-forfeiture and loss… Nor be standing beside your members as implements of unjust self-forfeiture, but stand them beside God, from out of the dead as it were, alive, your members instruments of the judicial approval of God’, (Romans 6 v 10a, 11a, 13). It is clear that Paul is talking about living the Christian life day-by-day. He concludes his response to the first objection that Christians continue in self-forfeiture because God’s free gift super-abounds, by saying, ‘Because self-forfeiture and loss will not have authority over you, because you are absolutely not under law, but under favour’, (Romans 6 v 14). In the future, self-forfeiture and loss will not rule over Christians. Why? Because at this present time Christians are under God’s freely extended favour and are absolutely not under law. The Greek suggests the paraphrase, ‘You are now not placed under law but under a free gift’, with the idea not just of the Christian’s position or standing, but also of the transferring process. To be ‘under law’ is to be under its authority and requirement of entire obedience, and therefore to be under its curse for the slightest breach. To be ‘under law’ is to be enslaved under the inability of our fleshly constitution to keep it, the helpless slave of self-forfeiture, the law working down settled anger.
