Charles Ellicott Commentary Romans 6:1

"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?" — Romans 6:1 (ASV)

Shall we continue in sin?—Again the Apostle is drawn into one of those subtle casuistical questions that had such a great attraction for him. But he soon returns to the root ideas of his own system. In previous chapters, he had dealt with one of the two great root ideas, justification by faith; he now passes to the second, union with Christ.

The one might be described as the juridical, the other as the mystical, theory of salvation. The connecting link that unites them is faith. Faith in Christ, and especially in the death of Christ, is the instrument of justification. Carried a degree further, it involves an actual identification with the Redeemer Himself.

This, no doubt, is mystical language. When strictly compared with the facts of the religious consciousness, it must be admitted that all such terms as union, oneness, fellowship, identification, pass into the domain of metaphor. They are taken to express the highest conceivable degree of attachment and devotion. In this sense, they are now consecrated by the use of centuries, and any other phrases substituted for them, though gaining perhaps somewhat in precision, would only seem poor and cold. (See Excursus G: On the Doctrine of Union with Christ.)

On verses 1-5:

These considerations might seem to lead to an Antinomian conclusion. If the increase of sin has only led to a larger measure of forgiveness, it might be thought well to continue in sin and so to enhance the measure and glory of forgiving grace. But to the Christian, this is impossible. In regard to sin, he is, in theory and principle, dead.

When he was converted from heathenism and received Christian baptism, he gave himself up unreservedly to Christ. He professed commitment to Christ, and especially to His death; he pledged himself to adopt that death as his own. He entered into fellowship with it so that he might also enjoy the fellowship of the resurrection of Christ. This fellowship or participation is both physical and ethical.