What shall we say then?  Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?  Certainly not!  How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?  Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Romans 6:1-4

What question is Paul answering?  He is answering the question which he had posed in verse one, ‘Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?’  He answers his own question with ‘certainly not!  How can we who died to sin live any longer in it?’ We want to consider his reasoning as it relates to the spiritual baptism by the Spirit of all who are members of the Body of Christ.  In this section, Paul is beginning to explain sanctification; the work of God’s free grace wherein He renews us in the whole person after the image of God and enables us to die more and more unto sin and to live unto righteousness.  When the Holy Spirit baptizes us into Christ, He baptizes us ‘into His death.’  The whole of the Christian life is an increasing identification with Christ.  Our baptism by the Holy Spirit is the inauguration or initiation.  That identification is so thorough, that as Paul puts it, ‘we were buried with Him through baptism into death.’ The results in real time in our life is, ‘that we should walk in newness of life.’  This is how Paul is answering the question of whether we should continue in sin.  We are new creatures, have been baptized by the Spirit, are identified thoroughly with Christ and now no longer live in sin.

Our Good and Wise God,
we rejoice that You have done what was necessary
to bring us to identify with Christ.
We praise You that Your sanctifying work
will continue to go on until you have made us like Christ.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning