Romans 6.1-14: The Christian life involves the constant remembrance of our state as being in Christ. The opposite is the old reality of being in sin. For Paul, sin in this sense is a brutal slave master who desires to bring harm. He can deceive us though into believing that his way is the best way and Christ’s path toward righteousness is undesirable. We must trust the shepherd, who will take us down roads that are hard, but it is for our sanctification and growth. We must not be fooled and move back under the ‘sin’ master, for he desires to take our joy.