SHOULD ROMANS 6:23 BE USED IN EVANGELISM?
March 22, 2019
Here’s a great question. Should Romans 6:23 be used in evangelism?
I know I’m shocking some of you with this question. You’re probably thinking, “Of course it should be used in evangelism.” Most people haven’t looked at this verse in context.
Let’s look at this verse in its context.
The point Paul is making in Romans 6 is that the believer has been set free from both the penalty and power of sin and that he should no longer behave as if he is a slave of sin. Romans 6:22 assures the believer that he has been set free from sin and has received everlasting life. Romans 6:23 then serves as a summary statement (note the explanatory “for”) contrasting the unavoidable consequence for those who are still in positional bondage to sin with the gracious end that awaits those who have received the “gift of God,” namely, “eternal life in Christ Jesus.”
While death for non-Christians becomes eternal when they die physically, it also includes a present experience of death. Paul believes that Christians, though eternally secure (cf. 8:28–39), can face this present experience of death if they do not obey God’s commands (vv 12–13, 19; 8:12–13).
If believers present themselves voluntarily to God in obedience, they will experience the fruit (i.e., benefit) of righteousness, undergo progressive sanctification, and enjoy the fullness of eternal life (cf. John 10:10: 17:3; Rom 5:21; Gal 6:8; 1 Tim 6:12, 19). Everlasting life does not begin when a believer dies, but when he first believes, and some of the benefits and blessings of everlasting life can be enjoyed and experienced now by the believer who obeys God.
So, the primary application of this verse is toward believers, but a secondary application can be made toward unbelievers in evangelism.
Also, see Charlie Bing’s GraceNotes #36 (http://www.gracelife.org/resources/gracenotes/pdf/gracenotes36.pdf). My friend Dr. Bing has an excellent article here on this verse.
SOURCES USED
Hixson, Whitmire, Zuck. Freely by His Grace: Classical Grace Theology. Gospel Press, Chapter 3 footnote 10.
Lopez, René A. “The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans.” The Grace New Testament Commentary. Ed. Robert N. Wilkin. Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2010. 655-656.