Servants of Righteousness
A Sermon on Romans 6:18
Originally preached Feb. 13, 1959
Scripture
18Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
Sermon Description
What does it mean to be a “slave to righteousness”? Paul explains in Romans 6:18 that Christians are no longer slaves to sin and sin has power no longer. Instead, Christians are now slaves to righteousness. In this sermon on Romans 6:18 titled “Servants of Righteousness,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones details several truths that can be drawn from this one verse. He is clear to point out that he is not saying that there is no sin left in the Christian or that they are free from sinful nature or temptations. There is no choice in this matter of sanctification because it starts the moment that the Christian believes. Once they believe, the soul yearns with jealous envy for righteousness because they are drawn to the realm of God instead of the realm of sin. Dr. Lloyd-Jones also warns that many people can have qualities of a Christian but not hold the same doctrines. He mentions that the Pharisees were people like this, creating their own righteousness instead of submitting to God’s righteousness. This practice is ignorant. One does not understand what morality is and needs to lean on the Lord for wisdom. Christians can rejoice that the Lord who began a good work in them will be faithful to complete this work.
Sermon Breakdown
- Moral teaching is not confined to the Bible. There is moral teaching outside of the Bible as well, like in ancient Greek philosophy.
- Some systems of thought have read the New Testament, admired its ethics, and incorporated them into their belief systems. They have tried to live by these ethics.
- However, you cannot hold onto Christian ethics without Christian doctrine. Christian ethics go beyond just being kind - they involve holiness, the Beatitudes, 1 Corinthians 13, and righteousness.
- Righteousness means living to please God, including in your motives and desires. It means being perfect like God.
- No one can attain perfect righteousness on their own - all have sinned and fall short of God's glory. Even following the law only leads to the knowledge of sin.
- Redemption is not antithetical to morality - it is essential for it. Men are slaves to sin by nature and need deliverance.
- Redemption provides the power for morality through the Holy Spirit, who gives us new desires and motives. It provides gratitude and love as motives to please God.
- Redemption does not produce lazy, irresponsible people. It produces the opposite - people who love righteousness like the saints and martyrs.
- We were once slaves to sin but now are slaves to righteousness through Christ, which is perfect freedom. Nothing brings more joy than understanding redemption.
Sermon Q&A
Understanding Freedom from Sin and Becoming Servants of Righteousness
What does Paul mean when he says Christians are "made free from sin" in Romans 6:18?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, when Paul says Christians are "freed from sin" in Romans 6:18, he does not mean sinless perfection or complete removal of the sinful nature. Rather, it means Christians are freed from sin as a power, from its tyranny, dominion, and bondage. Christians are no longer slaves to sin's ruling power, though they still experience temptations and the "motions of sin" in their mortal bodies. This freedom happens at the moment of regeneration when believers are delivered from sin's reign and authority over their lives.
How does Paul describe the Christian's new relationship to righteousness?
Paul describes Christians as "enslaved to righteousness." This is not merely admiring righteousness or attempting to practice it, but being under its control and influence. Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains this means "we have come under the power of righteousness. We are under the control of righteousness. We are under the influence of righteousness." Just as Christians were once tyrannized by sin, they are now governed by righteousness. This is a position every Christian is placed in at the moment of regeneration - there is no interval between being freed from sin and becoming enslaved to righteousness.
How does this new relationship to righteousness work in a Christian's life?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, this enslaving to righteousness works through the principle of new life put in believers at regeneration. He explains: "To be born again means that a principle of new life is put into us... that principle of new life is a principle of righteousness, because we are made partakers of the divine nature." This principle works as a power within believers. As Philippians 2:12-13 states, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God that worketh in you, both the will and to do." The Holy Spirit actively works within believers, "lusting" against the flesh (Galatians 5:17) and yearning for believers "even unto jealous envy" (James 4:5).
Can someone maintain Christian ethics without Christian doctrine?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones firmly rejects the idea that someone can maintain Christian ethics while abandoning Christian doctrine. He argues that true Christian ethics go far beyond mere kindness and philanthropy to include the beatitudes, love as described in 1 Corinthians 13, and holiness. These cannot be achieved without the power that comes through redemption in Christ. He states: "Not only is redemption not antithetical to morality, redemption is essential to morality... [because] man is, as this verse tells us, a slave to sin by nature." Without the doctrine of redemption, people have no power to overcome sin's slavery and live truly righteous lives.
What is the relationship between justification and sanctification according to this passage?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that justification and sanctification cannot be separated. From Romans 6:18, he states: "This, then, is something that is true of every one of us from the moment of our regeneration... from the moment we are regenerate, it is true to say of us, that we are no longer slaves of sin. We are the slaves of righteousness." He firmly rejects the idea that "a man can be justified without being sanctified, or... that a man can receive his justification and perhaps years later, go on and receive his sanctification." Sanctification begins at the moment of regeneration, and there is no interval between justification and sanctification.
The Book of Romans
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.