And this is where you are very, very wrong. When scripture says we are servants to sin, it is not saying that you are irresistibly compelled to sin. It is saying you BELONG to sin, like a slave did in the ancient markets. The moment you sin, you are SOLD under sin (Rom 7:14). Sin (personified) now owns you and you cannot escape him except through DEATH.
It doesn't mean you have to sin. A slave can disobey his master, a slave can run away from his master, but the master will call the authorities and they will send out men to capture you and bring you back. The only way you are getting out of this situation is to die.
And that is exactly what happens when we trust Jesus. When we trust Jesus we are baptized into this body and we literally died WITH HIM on the cross to sin. We are DEAD to sin.
So... we're enslaved to sin and in bondage to sin and the
only way to escape sin is to die... yet we aren't compelled to sin? Do you not see how contradictory that is? Also, is there any evidence, anywhere that enslaved sinners seek to escape the bondage of sin? I can't think of any off the top of my head. (Then again I haven't had my caffeine yet either
) All I can think of is that men love darkness (sin) rather than light (righteousness).
Rom 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
You are dead to sin now, he no longer holds power or authority over you.
Fortunately, we are also raised to new life in Jesus. We are risen WITH HIM. We are no longer under the law of sin, but grace.
But just as we were not compelled to sin when we were servants of sin, neither are we compelled to do righteousness when we belong to righteousness. We can still sin, and often do.
I have no problem with this per se. Though I would say you need to go back a few verses to see the
basis for this. It is our union with Christ in his death and resurrection that enables us to walk in "newness of life" (v4). We are released from the body of sin because it has "been done away with" (NASB v6) and therefore we are freed from our slavery to sin. What follows is this "newness of life" verse 4 speaks of.
Regarding your last bit there. Yes we still sin. However this is talking about who is our master. A slave to sin will have a life consistent with living in sin since it is their master. A slave to God will live a life of obedience to God. Not
perfect obedience, but a pattern of obedience rather than sin.
Scripture shows we can obey the gospel while we were yet sinners.
Rom 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
Note that we are servants to whom we "yield" ourselves, "whether" (option) of sin to death, "or" (option) of obedience to righteousness.
We can choose to yield ourselves to sin or righteousness. We are not compelled by our nature to sin as many falsely teach.
This new way of living is only possible with believers as it is grounded in our personal identification with our murdered and risen Savior. Only the believer can "yield" himself to obedience. Paul is not saying, in v 16 that the believer can still yield himself to sin unto death, if that's so then eternal security/perseverance of the saints goes right out the window! He is pointing out that whatever you obey as your master, sin or righteousness, has it's own, appropriate, final result. If you live as a slave (better translation than servant BTW) to sin, you will die; if you live as a slave to obedience (to God) you will live in righteousness.
Verses 17 and 18 really make this obvious:
[Rom 6:17-18 NASB] 17 But thanks be to God that though
you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and having been
freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
Believers were, that is formerly - in the past- slaves to sin. But no longer. We have obeyed the gospel and become slaves of righteousness. We are first freed from sin and then become God's slaves.
This passage really doesn't support Calvinism or Arminianism over the other since this is all talking about how things work from our perspective, both Calvinism and Arminianism deal with the "behind the scenes" actions, if you will. Also this passage is primarily about sanctification, not justification.
[Rom 6:19 NASB] 19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so
now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.
Regardless, this is a great passage showing the indicative/imperative relationship.
These things are already facts in the Christians life (indicative):
We have died to sin (Rom 6:1)
We have been united with Christ (v3-5)
Our old self was crucified with Christ (v6)
We are under grace not law (v14)
We are now slaves of righteousness and of God (v18, 22)
Based on these established facts, we do the following (imperatives):
We consider ourselves dead to sin and alive in Christ (v11)
We do not let sin rule us (v12)
We turn from sin and turn to righteousness (v13)
We present ourselves as slaves to righteousness (v19)
In other words, Paul is saying you
are dead to sin, so
put sin to death. You
are free from sin, so
be free from sin.
This topic alone is worthy of it's own thread, IMO.
Now note importantly, Paul says we WERE the servants of sin, but we have obeyed the gospel from our hearts.
But here is the most important part, verse 18, were it says "being THEN made free from sin" we "became" the servants of righteousness.
Read that again carefully. It was AFTER we obeyed the gospel while we "WERE" servants of sin, it was AFTERWARD that we were "THEN" made free from sin.
You WERE the servants of sin ----> you obeyed the gospel -----> being THEN made free from sin -----> you BECAME the servants of righteousness.
Do you see that? That is HUGE.
This scripture here completely and utterly refutes the doctrine of Total Inability.
Unsurprisingly, I disagree, for several reasons.
First, both sides say that we are freed from sin when we obey the gospel. That's not up for debate.
Second, you are building your entire doctrine here off the translation of a single word in the KJV. Every other translation I looked at says "having been freed from sin" or something similar. This could be understood several ways (so can the KJV really), either that we were made free from sin before, after or simultaneously with obedience to the gospel.
I think simultaneously makes the most sense.
Slave of sin ---> Obeys the gospel/Made free from sin ---> Slave of righteousness
Third, Paul is not discussing our ability or inability to receive the gospel in 17 and 18. He simply presents the believer's obedience to the gospel as a fact. He does not explain how one comes to believe the gospel, whether through some innate ability we have or through a supernatural work of God. That's not the purpose of the passage.
Though I would say that the language of enslavement to either sin or God and the necessity of being freed from sin (not freeing yourself) supports the inability of man to do this on his own. But again, it would be improper I think to be dogmatic here either way.
