https://youtu.be/20VV-tCQu3M
In our verse by verse study of Romans last time we were on the last phrase of Rom 6:20; "you were free from righteousness."
The imperfect active indicative of "eimi" (you were) is in the imperfect tense that says as long as you were slaves to the old sin nature you were constantly in a status quo of lawlessness so they were excluded from or free from God's righteousness
The word "eleutheroi" (free) is translated "free" in the NASB but it refers to exclusion or to being excluded. The active voice tells us that the believer produces the action of the verb, looking back at their being slaves to the old sin nature before they were saved.
The indicative mood expresses the reality of the fact that spiritual death is excluded from the principle of God's righteousness. No one in spiritual death can ever be blessed directly from God because they do not have God's righteousness that is required for the grace pipeline that connects to God's justice to be hooked up. It's like having a hose that can't be hooked up because there is no faucet to connect it to.
It's in the plural because all spiritual blessings flow through the grace pipeline including temporal blessings, blessing by association, historical impact blessings, and eventually dying grace.
The plural is used to indicate exclusion from all five categories of grace blessing from God. No unbeliever ever receives direct blessing from God. Unbelievers only receive indirect blessing by association from believers.
Then the dative of reference singular from the definite article "ho" (the) and "dikaiosune" (righteousness) so we have "the righteousness" referring to God's righteousness that is imputed at salvation.
Expanded Translation Rom 6:20; "For as long as you were the slaves of the sin nature you were excluded from the righteousness (of God)."
This means no grace pipeline means no potential or reality of grace blessing from God's justice. The righteousness of God is used here as the principle or predicate that is required for receiving direct blessing from God's justice that glorifies God. As unbelievers under the rule of the old sin nature we were slaves to the old sin nature and its trends toward sin, good, and evil.
In this status there is no possibility of direct blessing from God's justice through the encapsulated grace pipeline that is established by God's integrity. This is because God's righteousness must be on the receiving end of the pipeline and God's righteousness is not imputed to us until we adjust to God's justice by believing in Jesus Christ.
This means that the unbeliever is excluded from the benefits related to the imputation of God's righteousness. The benefits of imputation or justification include not only immediate salvation but also the potential for greater blessings from God in time and eternity.
Slavery to the sovereignty of the old sin nature that rules human life through spiritual death excludes any possibility of fulfilling the equation that states that potential from imputed righteousness plus capacity from metabolized doctrine equals the reality of blessing in time
This means that the unbeliever is excluded from the potential that is established by God's imputed righteousness so the equation only applies to the believers in Jesus Christ.
Salvation adjustment to God's justice of God through faith in Christ changes everything. The imputation of God's righteousness at salvation provides the potential for great blessing from God's justice and even greater blessing from God's justice in eternity.
All believers have equal opportunity in time to place the members of their physical body under orders to God as slaves to God's righteousness from their PMA of God's Word of truth under the teaching ministry of God the Holy Spirit that results in experiential sanctification.
This means that there are two fundamental approaches to life in time. The first is that man is inherently good, and the second is that man is inherently bad. The concept that man is good leads to a greater intensity of evil, and leads to more historical problems and disasters. We see this occurring in our country and the world today.
Then there is the attitude that man is not to be trusted because he is inherently bad and devious so there must be some safeguards in place.
The laws of divine establishment take cognizance of the principle of the fact that we are born with an old sin nature and that sin is pervasive, and that the old sin nature has inherent trends toward sin, toward human good, and evil.
The laws of divine establishment are designed with that in mind. Legitimate authority is the system that recognizes that the doctrine of total depravity is a reality but lawful authority converts most totally depraved people into fairly nice people who are mostly good and honest people most of the time.
That is why we must have the enforcement of the laws of divine establishment in order to have a functional client nation. This is the issue that we face in our country at this time and who we elect to office will determine whither or not we will continue as a client nation to God.
Rom 6:21; "What benefit did you have then from what you are now ashamed?" The nominative neuter plural from the interrogative pronoun "tis" (what) is used for a direct inquiry, especially when it is followed with the inferential conjunction "oun" (then).
This is an inferential conjunction that explains that what is being introduced is predicated on what previously occurred. Plus the accusative singular direct object from "karpos" (fruit or production) that refers to the benefit or profit from something.
In this verse "karpos" means benefit. The previous verse tells us that before we were saved we were excluded from the benefits of having God's imputed righteousness. Plus the imperfect active indicative of the verb "echo" (did you have). So we have "what benefit did you have."
The progressive imperfect tense describes what was going on in past time when we were slaves of the old sin nature from physical birth to salvation in spiritual death. The active voice: the spiritually dead unbeliever enslaved to the old sin nature produces the action of the verb.
This is an interrogative indicative where the viewpoint of reality is implied as a fact and inquired about when the indicative is used as a basis for asking a question.
Then the correlative adverb "tote" (then or at that time), referring to the previous situation, "at that time," the time as an unbeliever between physical birth and salvation.
"Therefore what benefit did you have at that time?" Plus the prepositional phrase "eis" (on) plus the dative plural from the relative pronoun "hos" (which) so we have "on which".
In the Greek there are no words to translate as "those things" but because of the elliptical nature of the text in the English something must be inserted for clarity so in our translation we will add "from the trends" instead of "those things" in the NASB.
So we have "from the trends on which." Plus the present active indicative from the verb "epaischynoma" (are ashamed) in both passive and middle voice it means to be ashamed.
With it an adverb of time, "nun" (now) "you are now ashamed." The present tense is a descriptive present of "epaischynomai" to indicate what is occurring right now. They are embarrassed and ashamed of their past.
The passive voice: the believer receives the action of the verb, shame, so he receives the shame from acquiring an understanding of doctrine. The indicative mood is a potential indicative of obligation.
The potential indicative means that everyone doesn't understand this doctrine, but it could mean that they are in the process of learning it. The implied answer the question is that there is "no benefit."
"for the outcome of those things is death" this is not referring to physical death. The postpositive explanatory particle "gar" (for), plus the nominative singular subject "telos" (end, conclusion, result or outcome) plus the descriptive genitive plural from "ekainos" (of those).
"ekainos" implies that the Roman believers have had enough spiritual growth from metabolized doctrine so they have some experiential victory over the old sin nature's rule over physical human life.
Plus the predicate nominative singular from "thanatos" (death) referring to spiritual death in time that left unresolved will be parlayed into the second death in eternity. This is a reference to the great white throne judgment of Rev 20:12-15.
Since all personal sins were imputed to Jesus Christ on the cross and judged this implies the judgment of human good and evil. There is no sin to be judged at the last judgment because Jesus took on Himself the judgment for all of the personal sins of the entire human race.
A spiritually dead person that is described Eph 2:1; can only produce the dead works of Heb 6:1. Dead works do not ever please God. Not in time Rom 8:8; or in eternity Rev 20:14-15.
Expanded Translation Rom 6:21; "Therefore, what benefit were you having at that time from old sin nature trends over which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things (the OSN trends) is death."
Rom 6:22; describes the benefits of freedom from the old sin nature. "But now having been free from the sin" the identical phrase of verse 18 in the Greek.
The postpositive conjunctive particle "de" (but) is used as an adversative conjunction to emphasize a contrast with the previous phrase that emphasizes the second death as the outcome or result of the rulership of the old sin nature over physical human life.
So we have a contrast between the status of unsaved unbelievers and status of saved believers, the difference is a difference of lordship. The old sin nature is the lord of the unsaved person and the Lord Jesus Christ is the Lord of the saved person.
With this is an adverb of time "nuni" (now) with the aorist passive participle of "eleutheroo" (free, having been freed or having been set free). The aorist tense is a constantive aorist that views the action of the verb in its entirety.
Here it refers to the momentary action of salvation with emphasis on the baptism of the Spirit and the transfer of rulership from the sin nature to Jesus Christ. The passive voice: the believer receives the action of the verb instantaneously at the moment of salvation.
This is a circumstantial participle. A prepositional phrase follows, "apo" (from) plus the ablative of "hamartia" (sin) with the definite article "ho" (the) making it monadic so it refers to the sin nature. "But now, having been set free from the sin nature (the OSN's rule)."
This is positional deliverance that is accomplished through the baptism of the Holy Spirit combined with retroactive and current positional truth.
Positional freedom is separation from the old sin nature as slavemaster and this is accomplished through retroactive positional truth that first of all results in the rejection of the old sin nature's function of human good and evil that secondly results in separation from the production of human good and evil.
Retroactive positional truth identifies the believer with Jesus Christ in His spiritual death where non-imputation of good and evil signifies the rejection of human good and evil.
Being identified with Jesus Christ in His spiritual death means that positionally we have rejected satan's policy of good and evil and the function of the old sin nature as sovereign of physical human life.
Retroactive positional truth identifies the believer with Christ in His physical death and burial where God totally separated him from good and evil.
Being identified with Christ in His physical death and burial means that we are positionally separated from good and evil that is the policy of satan as the ruler of this world, and the function of the old sin nature as ruler of physical human life to produce human good and evil.
"and become slaves to the God" the postpositive conjunctive particle "de"(and), that is used this time to simply connect two clauses where a contrast is intended. Plus the aorist active participle of "douloo" (slaves).
The culminative aorist views the salvation action in its entirety but emphasizes the result, of the new relationship. The passive voice: the believer receives the action of the verb at salvation through the baptism of the Spirit that makes Jesus Christ Lord of every believer.
With this is the dative singular indirect object from the proper noun for God with the article "ho Theos" (the God).
The definite article is used to portray the fact that God the Father is a specific person separate from God the Son and God the Holy Spirit so it is monadic so we have "and having become slaves to the God (God the Father)."