Sermon Central
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The Believer Is Not To Continue In Sin (Part 2) Series
Contributed by Mark Engler on Dec 7, 2004 (message contributor)
Summary: There are Christians who have drug and alcohol problems, who get divorces, who have affairs, who cheat on their taxes, who steal, cheat on test in school, who lie, and the list could go on and on and on. Paul knows of these problems, Paul knows of these
By: Mark Engler, Mt. Vernon Christian Church, Mt. Vernon, MO
Sermon done with help from The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible.
The Believer is Not to Continue in Sin (Part 2)
He is to Live Out His Position in Christ.
Intro: There is no doubt that as a believer we know that the title of this sermon series it true. “The believer is not to continue in sin,” but do we live that out? We know, as we talked about a couple weeks ago that we are dead to sin. That is, those who have died with Christ. Died in the likeness of Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection in true Christian baptism. We know that we are not to continue in sin, but what does it seem that we continually do? We are always having to go back to God, always having to ask and pray for the forgiveness of our sins, it seems at times that it never stops and that it’s never going to get better.
There are Christians who have drug and alcohol problems, who get divorces, who have affairs, who cheat on their taxes, who steal, cheat on test in school, who lie, and the list could go on and on and on. Paul knows of these problems, Paul knows of these struggles, all you have to do is read the next chapter in Romans (chapter 7) to see how he struggled with sin, and he knows that sin is something that we Christians struggle with and that it is something that we will struggle with all of our lives.
Once we become Christians, Satan starts his work on us, because he wants to take us down with him, he doesn’t want to see us victorious with Christ and therefore sin will be a problem and a struggle for us. In Romans chapter six, in these verses with which we are dealing with today Paul addresses the sin problem and how we can victorious over it.
The true believer does not continue in sin; he does not live in sin. He conquers and triumphs over sin. In very clear terms Paul tells us in this passage exactly what the believer must do to live in victory over sin.
1. He counts himself dead to sin, but alive to God (vs.11). 2. He resists sin (vs. 12). 3. He does not yield the parts of his body to sin (vs. 13).
1. He Counts Himself Dead to Sin, But Alive to God (Vs. 11)
The believer must count himself dead to sin, but alive to God. Now, what does Paul mean when to “count yourself dead to sin”? The word count gives the idea to credit; to set to ones account; to ascribe; it is an accounting word; it implies something put to a man’s credit. It is used many times throughout Romans, about eleven times in chapter 4 alone. It is an extremely important idea in Scripture.
Scripture says that righteousness in imputed, counted, or reckoned to the genuine believer by God. Look at Rom. 4:18 & 22-25, “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations…This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”
Scripture says that the genuine believer is immersed, imputed, counted, or reckoned as dead in Christ’s death; that is, his “old self” is reckoned as crucified in Christ’s death. Just look at the Scripture we had a few weeks ago in Romans, “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Rom. 6:3-4. And then look at Rom. 6:6, “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.”
Scripture says that a new life, a resurrected life is counted or put to the account of the believer through Christ’s resurrection. Again, back two weeks ago, Rom. 6:5 says, “If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.”
Very simply stated, God counts the believer righteous because of what Christ has done for us. Christ is seen to be “the Lord our righteousness,” and His righteousness is said to be put to a man’s account through faith.
