Romans 6:1-14 Questions
Ideas and questions to help group members and leaders prepare to study and teach the text. Some questions are appropriate to use during the group study time.
Warm up question in pairs: If you have been baptized, where were you baptized and by whom?
Romans 6:1-7
- What does the question in 6:1 refer to? It refers back to chapter 5:20 where Paul said sin increased grace abounded.
- Which baptism is he referring to? Most commentators say it was water baptism, while a few say it was the work of the Holy Spirit joining believers to the body of Christ. Either way, the meaning is the same. In both the Old and New Testament, baptism meant to be identified with.
- What does it mean to be dead to something? Barnes says that it no longer has influence over us.
- Do we gain any insight by examining the tense of the verb “died”? Very much so. The tense of the verb refers to a single past action as opposed to the prolonged or continued action. The change in a man’s life-from sin to righteousness, from bondage to freedom, from death to life-is summed up in one definite act of the past. (J. B. Lightfoot)
- What mode of baptism does 6:4 portray-sprinkling or immersion? Immersion because it portrays our being identified with the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.
- What are we to walk in after we are baptized into Christ? Newness of life. See how Paul describes the life of the new believer in II Corinthians 5:17.
- Since we have been raised up with Christ, what does Paul teach us in Colossians 3:1-2? We should keep seeking and setting our minds on things above.
- To help us fully appreciate the slavery metaphor in 6:6-7, is it important to have some understanding of slavery in that era? Most definitely. Of the 60 million who lived under the Roman Empire, 15 million were slaves. Some sold themselves into slavery to pay down debt while others were forced into. It was not like slavery in America in the 1800’s when those enslaved could not purchase their freedom. Roman slaves could purchase their freedom. (LifeWay Leader’s guide, p.56)
- What does the old self refer to? Our life before Jesus.
Romans 6:8-11
- What is one difference between Jesus’ death and resurrection and those he raised from the dead, i.e. Lazarus? Jesus did not and will not die again, but those he raised did die again.
- What is the meaning behind the word “reckon” or “consider”? It is an accounting term.
- What difference would it make in our lives if we considered ourselves as dead to sin and alive to God? We would be better Christians if we did. Ask group members to respond.
Romans 6:12-14
- Is there as good illustration for these verses? There is one from Campus Crusade for Christ now called Cru. Group leader, draw a large circle on the board and put a stick figure of a throne in the middle. Write the “sin” on the throne. When sin is on the throne, it reigns every area of your life. The word self could also be substituted for sin. When a person receives Jesus, sin and self are removed from the throne, and Jesus goes there. The problem is that sometimes we want to put self back on the throne. Jesus never leaves us and is still in the circle, but he is no longer on the throne. THAT IS WHY PAUL SAID TO NOT LET SIN REIGN IN YOUR MORTAL BODY.
- Is Colossians 3:5 a good commentary on Romans 6: `13? Yes, it is. Paul gives specific examples sins that we are not to offer members of our body to since we are dead to sin.
- Since we are not to offer the members of our body to sin, who or what are we to offer them to? God
- Is Paul saying that a Christian does not sin? Of course he is not. Chapter 16 is basically a response to those who were saying that since we are under grace that it was okay to sin, and even went so far to say that it was not necessary to keep the (ten) commandments. That group was called antinomians. Anti means against and nomos means law.
- Would Galatians 2:20 that Paul also wrote be a good summary statement for Romans 6? Very much so. Ask a group member that is comfortable reading aloud to do so.