Romans 6:1-4.  The covenant of grace that is made through the blood of Christ is not a license to
sin.  I John 1:9 is not a license to sin.  Just because Jesus blood washes away our sins and Christ’s
blood is imputed in the place of our own, we do not have a license to sin.  Romans 6:6,7  We are
no longer the servants of sin.  We have been set free from sin.  Romans 6:9-11  Reckon can be
defined two ways one -- to determine by reference to a fixed basis and two -- to accept something
as certain: to place reliance upon as being so.  Our fixed basis is the victory that Jesus won on the
cross and His victory over the grave.  When He died He conquered sin.  Now sin no longer has no
more dominion over us.  We must accept this fact as certain and place our reliance on the Word
of God as this being so.  In order to be alive unto the Lord Jesus Christ we must be dead unto sin.
We cannot live to sin and God at the same time.  Romans 6:12,13  Either sin reigns or God reigns
in our body, but we cannot have both.  Once we are saved our bodies are temples of the Holy
Spirit.  When we sin we are turning our backs upon God and worshipping the flesh in His temple.
Who we yield our members to that is who we are serving.  The question we need to ask our we
serving God in our bodies or the lusts of the flesh?  Who are we serving?  If it isn’t God then we
need to repent of the sin and get right with Him.  Romans 6:14-16  Once saved we are the
servants of God.  We are not our own.  We are bought with a price, the blood of Jesus Christ.
Obedience is commanded once we are saved.  Even as an employee must obey his boss.  We must
obey our boss the Lord Jesus Christ.  Romans 6:18-22  We are free from sin and the servants of
righteousness.  As servants we are to be obedient to God and not abuse the love of God and His
forgiveness.  We are not to use I John 1:9 as a license to sin.

If we confess our sins, and we will be.  Christians cannot remain in sin, because it is against our
new nature.  We are new creations in Christ Jesus. Old things are passed away, behold all things
are become new.   Just as a cat would not want to remain in a mud puddle, we will not want to
remain in sin.  Thus, we will be confessing our sins as sins repenting of them and asking God’s
forgiveness.

He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (to dismiss our lawlessness) and cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.  First He is continuously faithful.  God remains faithful to us, even when we do
not remain faithful to Him.  He forgives us as we confess our sins and He continually cleanses us
from all unrighteousness.  The Greek alludes to a continual process.  Christians are not perfect
just forgiven.  He forgives us when we do mess up.  But as was noted earlier His faithfulness and
willingness to forgive is not to be used as a license to sin.

Psalm 51 is an example of a prayer of repentance.  Psalm 51:3,4 King David confesses his sin to
God.  Verses 1,2 He begs God for forgiveness.  He asks for cleansing from sin verse 7.  Notice
Verse 12 He asks for the restoration of the joy of his salvation.  He did not lose his salvation, yet
he did lose the joy of his salvation.  Sin places a cloud between us and God.  Our communion is
cut off.  He hears our prayer of repentance and then restores our standing with Him.  Verse 10 He
asks for spiritual renewal.  A right heart and a right spirit is necessary to serve God.  Humbling
ourselves and surrendering to God is the right heart and spirit.  Verse 17.

We need to resist sin and yield ourselves to God.  James 4:7,8,10  Submission to God is the key
to not falling into sin in the first place.  When we are totally surrendered to God we are in His will
and not following sin.

The Christian life is a progressive cleansing.  I John 1:7  relates here to Verse 9.  The blood of
Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin.  Not just the sins we committed prior to salvation.    When
we are walking in the light we are not fulfilling the lusts of the flesh.  But when we sin we are no
longer allowing God’s light to shine through us.  The blood of Christ washes away the dirt of sin,
so that His light may once again flow in and through us.  Alexander Maclaren states, “If the main
direction of our lives is towards the light; if we seek, by aspiration and by effort, and by deliberate
choice, to live in holiness, then, and not else, will the power of the life of Jesus Christ deliver us
from the power of sin and death.”   I John 2:1,2  corresponds.  We are first told that this is not a
license to sin.  And if we do sin, Jesus is our advocate with the Father.  When He sees us, He see
the blood of Jesus.  The offer of forgiveness is open to all, but it is only efficient for those who
use it.