Please Tread on Me
Please Tread on Me
Romans 6:15-23
Christopher Gadsden, a South Carolina delegate to the Continental Congress and a brigadier general in the Continental Army, designed the “Dont Tread on Me” flag showing a rattlesnake coiled and poised to strike. Gadsden gave the flag to Esek Hopkins, the commander-in-chief of the Continental Navy, who unfurled the flag atop the mast of his ship. The flag, and its meaning, took on an even greater importance when Benjamin Franklin used the rattlesnake in a political cartoon in the Pennsylvania Gazette with the phrase ‘Join or Die.’ Franklin suggested that the rattlesnake was an appropriate symbol for the American spirit because it highlighted vigilance, assertiveness, and individualism. Franklin wrote,
There was painted a Rattle-Snake, with this modest motto under it, "Don't tread on me."...she has no eye-lids. She may therefore be esteemed an emblem of vigilance. She never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders…The Rattle-Snake is solitary, and associates with her kind only when it is necessary for their preservation…'Tis curious and amazing to observe how distinct and independent of each other the rattles of this animal are, and yet how firmly they are united together, so as never to be separated but by breaking them to pieces…The power of fascination attributed to her, by a generous construction, may be understood to mean, that those who consider the liberty and blessings which America affords, and once come over to her, never afterwards leave her, but spend their lives with her.
The flag and its slogan became the battle cry of the Revolutionary War and served as a warning to Great Britain. “Don’t Tread on Me” conveyed the message don’t step on us or there will be consequences.
The symbol of the American Revolution, the rattlesnake, was a symbol of vigilance, assertiveness, and individualism. Today, the flag lives on, often seen flying in Charleston where it was created, and even offered on license plates in more than ten US states. A miniature flag even flies in the office of the great American, Ron Swanson, of Pawnee Indiana. The spirit of the flag is alive and well as it permeates our American landscape. “Don’t Tread on Me.” America is free. The rattlesnake of freedom is ready to pounce when any of our rights are stripped away. The ‘fangs of freedom’ are ready to strike and sink into anyone who opposes our freedom. “Don’t tread on me.”
The rattlesnake is indeed a good picture of individual autonomy. In Genesis 3, the serpent entered the Garden of Eden and tempted Eve to reject her Creator and live ‘free’ apart from His rule.
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Genesis 3:4–6
The rattlesnake became the symbol of individual autonomy- a symbol of freedom from authority. A symbol that screams, “Don’t tread on me. I am in charge of my own life. I can do what I want, when I want.” But, sadly, that’s not true. The snake promised freedom and individual autonomy, but it could only deliver slavery. And it was not forced slavery, but a slavery of choice.
In Ancient Rome, a number of citizens chose to voluntarily sell themselves into slavery for food and shelter. Historian Peter Lampe makes a compelling case that,
The first Roman Christians belonged largely to the lower social classes and many lived in [Trastevere], a densely populated area on the west bank of the Tiber and the least desirable neighborhood in the city. Those who lived there tended to be leather workers and dock workers and would have been intimately familiar with slavery. Clement, writing from Rome a few decades after Paul’s time, says that many Christians there had ‘sold themselves into slavery, and with the price received for themselves have fed others”
(1 Clem. 55.2).
The Romans would have understood the concept of presenting one’s self to another as a slave. The Apostle Paul recognizes this knowledge and uses slavery to help the church understand the gravity of slavery and freedom. As Paul continues to teach the implications of justification by faith, I want to pose three questions from Romans 6:15-23.
Do you consider yourself a slave? (v. 15-16)
Most Americans do not consider themselves slaves. The chattel of slavery in our nation’s history was not voluntary but forced. Given no choice, people were kidnapped and sold as property into a life of slavery. But the slavery Paul addresses in Romans 6 is a slavery of choice in which a person voluntarily presents himself to another and chooses to obey.
What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? Romans 6:15–16
At the end of Romans 6, Paul continues to answer possible objections to the glorious Gospel laid out in Romans 5.
Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 5:12-21
Sin once reigned through Adam, but now grace reigns in the life of a believer through Jesus Christ our Lord.
After hearing the gospel and the full, complete, comprehensive forgiveness of Jesus Christ in his death and resurrection, Paul answers the question, “Are we free to sin because we are under grace?” It is a very similar question to the question he posed in Romans 6:1.
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace
may abound?
Paul is attacking the same premise from a different angle. He answers the first question with an illustration of death and life as symbolized in baptism. Here, he uses an illustration of slavery to answer the question and then explain it.
What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Romans 6:15
“By no means!” is one of the most emphatic ways Paul could have answered the question. It’s as if your 12-year old asks if he can take the car to his friend's house. Your answer would be, “Are you out of your mind? Absolutely not!” Paul goes on to explain, and just like he did in Romans 6:2, he begins with what is common knowledge and asks, “Do you not know?” It is a question, but it is a question that’s really a statement like when your wife asks, “Are you going to wear that?” Technically, it’s a question but, at the same time, it’s not really a question. It could easily be translated, “You’re not going to wear that.” Paul's question is really more of a statement.
Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? Romans 6:16
It could be translated,
You know, if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves to the one you obey, either to sin which leads to death, or in obedience to God, which leads to righteousness.
Do you see what Paul is saying? The question is not, “Are you a slave?” but rather “What kind of slave are you?” You are slaves to the one you choose to obey. In the garden, Adam and Eve chose not to obey sin rather than God. They chose to be slaves to sin. They voluntarily sold themselves into slavery because they wanted a life without authority. As they ate the fruit, they were saying to their Creator, “Don’t tread on me.” and they were saying to sin, “Yes, master, tread on me.” Don’t you know that you are slaves to the one you choose to obey?
Your heart may naturally recoil at the thought of considering yourself a slave. Some of that is the American Spirit that permeates the air we breathe; we have been taught to reject authority. In his book Authority, Jonathan Leeman points out that Americans love heroes who stand up to authority because those in authority are considered to be evil.
Luke Skywalker fights against the Empire in the Star Wars trilogy, Neo against the machines in the Matrix trilogy, Jason Bourne against the US CIA in the Bourne trilogy, Katniss Everdeen against the capitol and President Snow in the Hunger Games trilogy….
We celebrate those who stand up to evil authority. But our culture also celebrates those who stand up against good authorities like parents. Leeman continues,
Of course, the anti-authority catechizing begins in childhood with the Disney princess movies…The Little Mermaid sings, “Bet’cha on land they understand / they don’t reprimand their daughters”…And Moana…What’s beyond that line? / One day I’ll know / How far I’ll go.
Whether it's blockbuster movies or Disney princesses, American pop culture embodies and promotes the American spirit of individualism and a “Don’t Tread on Me,” mindset. We are trained to think in ways that defy authority because we live in a culture that despises authority.
We recoil at the thought of being slaves. Yet, Paul clearly states that we will be slaves to someone. We may not like the thought of that, but that doesn’t change the reality. You are slaves of the one you choose to obey.
What kind of slave are you? (v. 17-19)
Paul states that you are slaves, but the real question is, “What kind of slave are you?” He lays out two options: either we are slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness. Remember, Paul is speaking to Christians and rejoicing in what happens at conversion.
But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.
Romans 6:17–19
We should never forget who we were. We were once slaves to sin. We once presented our members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness. Impurity has undertones of sexual immorality, and lawlessness is more of a general term for all things that are against God’s standard in the law. Notice this is all past tense. We once presented our hands and our feet, our eyes and ears, our minds and our stomachs to serve sin. We were once slaves to sin, but God.
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:3–7
We were saved because God sent Jesus Christ as our penal substitutionary atonement on the cross. Jesus died for sin, once and for all, so that we could be forgiven. We were once slaves, and we have been saved, not because of our works of righteousness but according to His own mercy. Jesus Christ willingly laid down His life to pay for our sin. He died on the cross, taking God’s wrath for sin and, as He told his disciples before His death, three days after He was dead and buried, God raised Him from the dead. The resurrection is proof that Jesus is the Son of God and because He is the Son of God, He has the right to give salvation to anyone who turns to Him in faith.
Friend, if you have never trusted in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, do it today. As Christians, we can say we were once slaves to sin, but we have been brought to God through Jesus Christ. As we will see in the rest of this text, there are really only two options: you are either a slave to God, which leads to eternal life or a slave to sin, which leads to eternal death. Friend, choose wisely. Do not continue to give yourself over to sin. It is a road that leads to disaster. Repent of your sins and trust in Christ. He is willing and able to save you from your sins. Give your life to Him and live.
Beloved, we were once slaves to sin, but now, Paul writes, we have become obedient. We willingly and joyfully serve God as His obedient slaves. He does not force us, but we offer our hands and our feet for His glory. We have been set free from sin to be slaves of righteousness. The slavery imagery may be hard for you to grasp. Paul himself admits that it is limited as an analogy when he says in verse 19, “I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations.” Sometimes the only way we, as limited humans, can understand God is by way of an imperfect analogy. But even though it is imperfect, it is useful. Paul believes it is useful for us to think of ourselves as voluntary slaves to God.
Remember, indicatives come before imperatives. Facts come before commands. Our motivation for obedience is not to try and earn God’s favor. We cannot earn our righteousness by works. We are not justified by works of the law. It is all of grace. Jesus was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. It is all of grace. You were dead in your trespasses and fallen from the glory of God, but you have now been justified as a gift through redemption by Jesus Christ our Lord. He has paid your ransom to buy you out of slavery to sin and make you a slave to righteousness. Notice Paul says that we, “have become obedient from the heart.” It is a happy, joyful submission. We serve the Lord, not under compulsion but willingly. As we think of all that God has done for us in Christ Jesus, saving us from sin and death and hell, on the basis of His death and resurrection alone, let’s listen to the second half of verse 19 again.
For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. Romans 6:19
Do you see the level of commitment the Gospel demands?Paul writes “present your members as slaves to righteousness”. If you once used your hands for violence, now you use them to serve by clearing plates at the end of a meal. If you once used your lips to gossip and slander, now you use them to encourage someone who is growing in Christ. If you once used your feet to go to places where sin reigned, now you let your feet lead you to the gathering of the saints. If you were once consumed with an idolatry to sport, now you give your time to knowing God by studying His word.
Look at your life. Does it look like you are a committed slave to righteousness? Again, this is willful, joyful, happy, glad, submission as a slave. It is not forced. It is not a response out of guilt or legalism. It is a joyful response to the sacrifice of Christ. Christ laid his life down for you, so you happily lay your life down for Him. This is the call of the Christian. Jesus demands radical obedience. Nominal Christianity is dangerous.
In Mark 8, just after Peter makes the good confession saying to Jesus, “You are the Christ.”, Jesus begins to share about His coming death.
And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly.
Mark 8:31–32a,
Jesus made His death and resurrection plain. He was willing and happy to suffer for the sake of sinners. He spoke it clearly and plainly, but Peter rejected this idea of the Messiah suffering.
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
Mark 8:32b-33
Peter rebuked Jesus for His willingness to suffer. Jesus confronted Peter for having a theology of suffering like Satan. It was wordly, carnal, and demonic. He goes on to say,
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Mark 8:34b–38
Your life is not your own. You were bought with a price. You belong to Jesus Christ so deny yourself, pick up your cross, and follow Him. Present your members to God.
Beloved, I do not want to guilt you into serving God. I could do that from Mark 8 or Romans 6. I could put a weight on you, and it could cause you to cripple. I do not want to guilt you into following and serving God, but if you understand your sin and what Jesus suffered for you, how could you not want to present your members to His service? Are you living like Jesus Christ is your Master, your King, your God? Take a hard look at how you spend your minutes and hours. What does your time reveal about your priorities? What does your money reveal about what you value?
What is the end of your slavery? (v. 20-23)
We are slaves to who we choose to obey. The question isn't if we are slaves but whose slaves we are? Paul ends this section by revealing the end to which both sides of slavery lead.
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:20–23
Paul is reminding the Romans not to forget the fruit of their past sins. We are prone to forget. We often go back to those things that hurt us. When we were slaves to sin, we were free from righteousness, meaning we did not desire to follow righteousness. We wanted to follow our desires, but remember where that desire took us? It took us to shame.
Sin is blinding. It is deceitful. It promises life but delivers death. Paul is saying, “Remember!! Don’t forget the reality of sin and the destruction it caused. Remember those things that you are ashamed of!!” The end of those things is death. You have been set free from those sins and have become slaves to God. The path of sin leads to death, but the path of God leads to eternal life. Eternal life or eternal death? There really isn't a choice. It is like choosing between getting a million dollars or owing a million dollars. It’s like the CapitalOne commercial series, “It's the easiest decision in the history of decisions.” Choosing between God and sin is like that. It’s the easiest decision in the history of decisions and, yet, as our own history teaches us, we often still make the wrong choice.
Let me say a word to our young people. We love you. We want you to have the best life imaginable. We really, really do.Many people in this room, myself included, want you to live a life without the shame we have experienced. We have lived with regret and shame because we chose to live of sin, a life that leads to death. This week, I received the following text message from one of our members who had been meditating on this passage.
My prayer, more than anything else this week, is that the young people of our church would understand and believe in the truth of verses 20-23. That the Lord would spare them much shame and fruitless pursuits, and grant them joy, satisfaction, and eternal fruit in pursuit of Him. I promise that He, and a life of serving Him, is worth more than the whole world.
We want that for you. We want to spare you the shame and pain that come from listening to the lies of the world. Do not follow the path of the serpent that promises individual freedom but only leads to death and pain, shame and regret. I have come to know personally what the Psalmist says in Psalm 84.
For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
the LORD bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
O LORD of hosts,
blessed is the one who trusts in you! Psalm 84:10–12
Friends, choose to be a slave of God rather than king of the world. Choose to be a servant of Christ rather than a servant of sin. One leads to life, and the other leads to death.
As if we needed any more motivation, Paul gives us a great summary verse of the Gospel in Romans 6:23,
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We deserve, we rightly earn, death because of our sin. We voluntarily followed it. We serve it. We obeyed it. We were mastered by it, agbnd because we were slaves to sin, we deserve death. We deserve eternal death. But oh dear saint, how glorious is that comma. For the wages of sin is death[comma], but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. God freely and lavishly offers a gift to all who will repent of their sins and trust in Christ. He offers us eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Saint, have you thought lately about how far the Lord has brought you? Have you meditated on how much work He has done in your life? I am reminded of the words of John Newton,
I am not the man I ought to be, I am not the man I wish to be, and I am not the man I hope to be, but, by the grace of God, I am not the man I
used to be.
It is my prayer today that you will remember that you were once a slave to sin, but you have been washed, you have been justified, you have been sanctified by the Spirit of God. Press on weary saints. We are not home yet, but we are on the way. Let’s keep going and let’s keep going together. Sanctification is a community project. As we look to Christ individually, we also look to Christ together. Newton could have written that about the church,
We aren’t the church we ought to be, we aren’t the church we wish to be, and we aren’t the church we hope to be, but by the grace of God, we aren’t the church we used to be.
We are on the road to glory. We have turned away from sin and its shame and death, and we have turned toward God to receive joy and life.
This is the easiest decision in the history of decisions. What about you? What will you choose? Will you choose the snake or the Son? The serpent or the Savior? We must choose one or the other. Neutrality is not an option.
We can hear the word “slavery” and recoil, saying “Don’t tread on me.” Or we can embrace our identity as slaves of God and present our members, our hands and feet, for His good pleasure.
He is no fool to give up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. You are not a fool to give up shame, guilt, worldly pleasures, and comfort to gain Christ. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.