Paul is reacting against the Law of Moses. The Law of Moses kept reminding the worshiper he was sinning, thus bringing condemnation on him. He could not come to grips with sin successfully because the Law held him in captivity. Everywhere he turned he was defeated. If he hadn't broken one part of the Law he had broken another and thus was guilty of all.

In Jesus Christ we can look up with confidence to God because guilt is not being held over our head. We have died with Christ on the cross. Period! We now are alive before God without condemnation of any sort.

So far so good. However something happened in the early centuries that changed the goal of salvation from conformity to the image of Christ and participation in His Kingdom to eternal residence in the spirit Paradise. It probably was the influence of Gnosticism that produced this change in the goal.

Because we view eternal residence in Heaven as the goal of salvation we cannot properly proceed with the plan of salvation.

We have died to sin with Christ on the cross. Right!

We now are alive to God through Christ. Right!

If we then view the goal as going to Heaven to reside forever we cannot relate our basic position in Christ to our daily life. What are we to do? If we are dead to sin, alive to God, have Heaven as our goal, and don't have to do anything to ensure our entrance to Heaven, then we wander in moral confusion. Our efforts to please God are unrelated to any clearly defined program and goal. We are saved. That is all there is to it. We stand in grace. We ought to try to do good and serve God, but if we don't we still go to Heaven.

It is this understanding of salvation, I believe, that prevents today's teachers from seeing what actually is written in the sixth chapter of Romans. I think their preconceived model of grace-heaven blocks their perception of what Paul is saying.

Let us change the goal and see what happens. Suppose our goal is not eternal residence in Heaven but transformation into the image of Christ and rest in the Person and will of God. Let us say further that the attainment of the goal has nothing to do with Heaven but has to do with our service to Christ in His Kingdom on the earth. Let us add that until we have been transformed we are not fully competent to serve Christ as a royal priest in that our character still contains unbelief and disobedience to God.

Now let us apply the foundation and see where it goes.

The foundation is that we have died with Christ on the cross and are living with Him in resurrection Life just as He lives in and by the Father. We are to reckon these things are so.

To be continued.