FENCES TO FREEDOM

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Roman 6:1

In Paul's day Christian didn't wrestle with questions about dancing or going to movies. They wrestled with whether or not they should eat meat that had been offered to idols. In pagan worship, portion of meat were sacrificed to idols, and the part of the animal that was left over was sold to a meat market. Many Christians had reservation about eating the leftovers from these pagan rituals especially those who had just converted to Christianity.
  How did Paul handle this situation? Did he ice up the harbor with a lot of rigid, Pharisaical instruction? No. He broke open a breathing hole. He said they are free to eat (vv.25-27). The only time he limited that freedom was when there was a risk of violating someone else's conscience (vv. 28-29, 32-33).
    God has given His children a wonderful freedom in Christ, which includes not only freedom from sin and shame but also freedom from living a legalistic lifestyle imposed by other Christians Yet that doesn't imply that we are to run footloose and fancy-free, trampling over the garden in someone else's backyard. No. There are some fences that limit our freedom And two of those fences are found in Roman 6, erected in the form of questions.
First fences to freedom.
Earlier in Romans 5:20 Paul said, "Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. "Roman 6:1 poses the question that would logically flow from that assertion. What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? The people who would raise this question are those who have failed to live in freedom. They live their lives overly sensitive to sin. As a result, sin dominates their lives and a sense if shame binds them. Paul answers their question with the good news that they've been set free from their old master. All they have to do is step out of the shackles that Christ has already unlocked. Talk about opening up breathing holes! With words of grace like that. We should be out in the expansive ocean, swimming free and unhindered.
Second fence to freedom.
The second question looks the same as the first, but on closer inspection this fence us really quite different. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! (V.15).
  In other words if there are no policemen lurking behind the speed limit sign, why not rev up the RPMs and go full throttle?
But that would be abusing grace, and it really wouldn't be living in freedom either. Liberty without limits is like an elementary school parking lot without speed bumps. If we live by grace, we should not be drag racing in wanton disregard of the safety of school children. We should drive conscientiously, always having our foot ready to the brakes should a pedestrian step into our way.