The Old Man Is Dead: Episode 2

Summary

Andrew Wommack explains Romans 6 as a response to a question raised by the message of salvation by grace: If God does not accept or reject people based on their performance, does it matter whether Christians sin?

His answer is that holy living is not a way to earn God’s favor or salvation. Christians are saved by grace through faith in Jesus, not by good behavior. But grace is not a reason to live in sin: sin harms people and obstructs their lives, even though it does not make God stop loving a genuinely born-again believer.

Main Ideas

• Grace, not performance, is the basis of salvation. Wommack says Paul’s teaching in Romans 1–5 rules out earning God’s favor through religious effort or moral achievement. Romans 6 then addresses the natural question this raises: whether people can continue sinning because they are under grace.

• “Dead in sin” is different from “dead to sin.”

  • Before salvation, people are “dead in” sin—Wommack interprets this as being separated from God.
  • In Christ, believers are made alive and are “dead to” sin. He presents this as a change that occurs when someone is born again.
  • He describes biblical death primarily as separation, rather than simply physical cessation. Adam, for example, died spiritually when separated from God, although he lived physically for many years afterward.

• A believer’s conduct does not determine whether God loves them. Wommack argues that people continue to fall short, including through failures to do good—not only through conspicuous or deliberate wrongdoing. He cites failures in prayer, love, respect, and care for others as examples. Therefore, he rejects the idea that God’s love or willingness to hear prayer rises and falls with a person’s performance.

• Sin still has serious consequences. In his account, sin can burden a Christian’s conscience, bring guilt and discouragement, undermine confidence, and give Satan an opportunity to harm them. He compares sin to weights carried in a race: a runner may still finish, but the weights make the race harder. He stresses that forgiveness is not permission or encouragement to sin.

• The speaker’s view of salvation: Wommack says salvation rests on receiving Jesus as Lord, not on being raised in a Christian home, infant baptism, church attendance, or being relatively “good.” He teaches that a believer’s sins have been paid for through Jesus and that God does not reject a genuinely born-again person on the basis of sin.

Invitation to Receive Salvation

Wommack offers a simple outline for someone seeking salvation:

1. Recognize the need for salvation: Acknowledge being a sinner who has fallen short, rather than relying on personal goodness.
2. Ask God for forgiveness and receive it as a gift.
3. Put faith in Jesus and what he has done, rather than trying to save yourself through good works.
4. Make Jesus Lord and believe that God raised him and that he comes to live within you.
5. Trust that you are saved and given a new nature.

He also mentions free teaching materials and prayer support, and promotes Charis Bible College. He says Romans 6 gives two reasons Christians should not sin, but this episode develops the first—being dead to sin—and indicates that the teaching will continue.

Speakers and Sources Featured

• Andrew Wommack — principal speaker and teacher.
• Unidentified announcer/voice-over — introduces Wommack after a break and provides program and contact information.
• Biblical passages cited or paraphrased: Romans 3 and 6; Ephesians 2; Colossians 2; Galatians; Genesis 2 and 5; James 4; 1 Thessalonians 5; Hebrews 12; John 10; and Exodus 20.
• Charis Bible College — mentioned as a ministry and educational program.