Romans (Youth) 6B

What Voice Will You Obey?

Scripture: Romans 6:15-23

Exposure to Exposition & Exploring the Scriptures: (15-20 mins)

• Bible Drills (Memorization of OT & NT Book order)

• Guide the children to Romans 6:15-23 in the Bible. (Help them as needed, NT vs OT)

• Say: We are going to continue through Paul's letter to the church of Rome.

• We will learn that the gospel is God’s power to save everyone who believes, and we should never be ashamed of Jesus.

• Read aloud. (Ask kids to start their pointer fingers on V15 and follow along)

Opening Question

“Have you ever tried to listen to two people talking to you at once? Whose voice do you follow?”
→ We all have two voices trying to lead us — one that says “do what’s wrong,” and one that says “follow God.”

Notes:
When we believe in Jesus, our old, sinful self dies with Him, and we are given new life through His Spirit!

• Romans 6 explains what it means to live a new life in Jesus. If we’ve been saved, how should we live?

• Paul will continue: Let’s learn how to live for Him in our body and with our life.

Romans 6:15-23 NLT
15 Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.
19 Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.
20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. 21 And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. 22 But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Notes:
When you believe in Jesus, your old life of sin dies, and you are raised to a brand-new life in Him. You don’t have to live for sin anymore — you live for Jesus now!

Romans 6:15-16 Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.

• V15-16 Paul asks another big question: “Since God forgives us, can we do whatever we want?”

  • Before we knew Jesus, we obeyed sinful desire — it was like a boss we couldn’t say no to. We were slaves to sin.

  • But now that we know Jesus, we belong to Him. We should obey our new Master — the One who loves us, becoming a slave to righteousness.

  • Every choice we make shows who we are serving: sin (flesh) or God (Spirit).

  • Kid Point: I can choose to obey God because He set me free from sin!

• Reminder- The war of Spirit vs Flesh:

  • We have two parts — our spirit and our body.

  • Before we believed in Jesus, our spirit was dead because of Adam’s sin.

  • But when we believed in Jesus, God made our spirit alive again!

  • Even though our spirit is alive, our body still wants to do wrong things - 100% sinful.

  • That’s because our bodies came from the dust, and when Adam sinned, God said the ground (the dirt) would be cursed (Genesis 3:17–19).

  • So now, we live in a sinful body, but we have a spirit that belongs to Jesus and wants to please God.

Romans 6:17-18 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.

• V17-18 Thank God — we aren’t slaves to sin anymore!

  • When we believed the Gospel, God stamped His truth on our hearts (Romans 6:17).

  • The Holy Spirit now teaches us from the inside how to live for God.

  • We’re free from sin, but we’re not free to do whatever we want — we’re free to serve God!

  • Just like we used to obey sin, now we obey Jesus by how we live.

  • Kid Point: God set me free from sin so I can serve Him with my whole heart and life.

Romans 6:19 Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.

• V19 Slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness? You can’t serve both!

  • Paul uses an example we can understand: being a “slave” means you belong to and obey someone.

  • Before we knew Jesus, we were slaves to sin — we obeyed wrong desires without even thinking.

  • Now we belong to God, so we should obey Him instead!

  • The more we practice following God, the stronger we grow in holiness (that’s what sanctification means — becoming more like Jesus).

  • Just like muscles get stronger when we use them, our spirit grows stronger when we choose to obey God.

  • Kid Point: The more I obey God, the stronger my faith becomes.

Romans 6:20-21 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. 21 And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom.

• V20-21 Before we knew Jesus, we followed sin, but it only brought shame and led to death.

  • Before we knew Jesus, we didn’t care about doing what’s right.

  • But those choices didn’t help us — they only hurt us and others.

  • Sin always brings sadness, guilt, and eventually death (being separated from God).

  • Now that we know Jesus, those old things should make us ashamed, not proud.

  • Kid Point: Sin seems fun, but it always brings sadness in the end.

Romans 6:22-23 But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

• V22-23 Freed from the power of sin by Jesus!

  • Sin used to be our master, and its payment (or “wages”) was death.

  • But Jesus freed us by making the payment for us! Now we can freely serve God, and His gift is life forever!

  • We can’t earn this gift — it’s free because Jesus already paid for it.

  • Our new Master gives us purpose, peace, and eternal joy.

  • Which master would you rather serve — one that destroys you or one that gives you life?

  • Kid Point: God’s free gift is eternal life through Jesus — that’s the best gift ever!

Observation Questions (What did it say?)

1. What question does Paul ask in verse 15? (“Should we keep on sinning because we are no longer under the law but under grace? — and answers, “Of course not! v.15)

2. How does Paul use the picture of a slave in this teaching to help us understand flesh and Spirit in ourselves? (We become slaves to whom we serve— either slaves to sin, which leads to death, or slaves to obedience, which leads to righteousness. v.16)

3. What gift does God give instead of the wages of sin (Jesus paid the wages)? (The free gift of eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. v.23)

Understanding Questions (What does it mean?)

1. What does it mean to be a “slave to sin”? (It means letting sin control our choices — doing what’s wrong instead of what pleases God. v.16, 20)

2. How does being a “slave to God” change our lives? (Serving God builds our faith and leads to serving Him with our lives: Sanctification)

3. Why can’t grace be used as an excuse to sin? (Because God’s grace sets us free from sin’s power— it’s not permission to keep doing wrong. v.15–16)

Application Questions (What should I do?)

1. Who are you choosing to obey each day — sin or God?

2. How can we strengthen our Spirit each day? (Reading God’s word, prayer, serving God, and not our flesh)

3. What should I always remember when I mess up or sin? (That the payment for sin was paid- I’m forgiven. God’s grace and forgiveness are enough.v.23)

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For Older Kids

Romans (Youth) — Romans (Youth) 6B

What is the Gospel?

Jesus’ perfect life paid for the sins of all who believe. Jesus died on the cross as the punishment for sin. But Jesus did not stay dead, three days later He rose to life (resurrection) defeating the power of death. Believe, and you will be saved!

• We are all sinful. We all deserve the consequence of sin- death.

• Jesus is what saves us from the sin we all have in our bodies. And one day, he’ll even give us a new body.

Supporting Truths Kids Can Grasp:

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• Grace doesn’t give us permission to sin — it gives us power to obey God. (Romans 6:15)

• Whatever we obey becomes our master — so we should follow God, not sin. (Romans 6:16)

• When we trust Jesus, we become free from sin and belong to God. (Romans 6:18, 22)

• Doing wrong leads to shame and death, but obeying God brings joy and life. (Romans 6:21–22)

• Sin pays with death, but God gives eternal life as a free gift through Jesus. (Romans 6:23)

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.