A New Life In Christ–what Does It Mean? Series

Sermon Brief

Date Written: February 23, 2012

Date Preached: February 26, 2012

Where Preached: OPBC (AM)

Sermon Details:

Series Title: A Journey thru Romans

Sermon Title: A New Life In Christ–What Does It Mean?

Sermon Text: Romans 6:1-14 [ESV]

Introduction:

Now over the past several weeks we have looked at how thru faith in Christ, believers are justified and declared not guilty by God! The penalty of sin removed AND by the grace of God Himself we have received an eternal hope and life!

What this means is that we who have faith in Christ… our old self has died… the old self where we lived as an enemy of God and fought against Him.

In Christ we enter into a new relationship… a relationship of service and obedience to Christ! When that happens, what is the result? The immediate benefit is that we are saved from the wrath of God by His justification!

So preacher, what does this mean for me? Does it mean that because I am no longer held guilty or responsible for the penalty of my sin that I can live my life anyway I choose? If not, then just what is Paul saying here? Many believe Paul is saying that we have been freed from sin and because of that we can live as we please, but this is NOT what Paul is saying here…

When Paul speaks of our soul’s justification it changes things from your perspective and from God’s perspective… I literally means EVERYTHING as it pertains to your eternal soul!

We are justified by declaration of God! We are promised that God has delivered us and that we are NOT guilty! This means that all the penalty of our sin (no matter how big or small) has been removed from our record… wiped clean

Sanctification of our soul is NOT separate from Justification! They happen at the same time… but it is different in that Justification removes the penalty of sin from our lives…and sanctification removes the POWER of sin from our lives!

From chapter 1 to chapter 3 Paul describes this unbreakable and unshakable hold that sin has on humanity as we are all ‘in Adam’! We all fail, we all stumble, and we cannot do anything to please God!

However, that hold is broken when we come ‘into Christ’ and He changes us… In this chapter in Romans 6 we find the entire chapter set aside speaking about the Christian’s freedom from the dark tyranny of sin in their lives. Paul makes the argument that reminds us that while we were sinners… Christ died for us and we can be delivered!

When we look at the passage this morning, we can take notice that we will be reviewing the first 14 verses of our reading.

Today, I want us to see the perspective that Paul is painting by using the language he uses… we find that in v.1-14 Paul is describing this change from a negative perspective…how the believer is delivered FROM sin, and that is the main thing we are going to focus in upon this morning… OUR DELIVERANCE FROM SIN!

1What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.