Disciplined Freedom

Free to Live a New Life

Romans 6:1-14

Joke---A man left work one Friday afternoon. But instead of going home, he stayed out the entire weekend fishing with the boys and spending his entire paycheck.

When he finally appeared at home Sunday night, he was confronted by his very angry wife and was barraged for nearly 2 hours with a tirade of his actions.

Finally his wife stopped the nagging and simply said to him "How would you like it if you didn’t see me for 2 or 3 days?" To which he replied, "That would be fine with me!

Monday went by and he didn’t see his wife. Tuesday and Wednesday came and went with the same results.

On Thursday, the swelling went down just enough where he could see her a little out of the corner of his left eye.

Introduction

Have you ever heard someone say, ?I want to go to church, but I just have to get my life straight first.? Or, ?I will accept Jesus as my savior, when he leads me to.? Maybe you have heard someone say, ?Baptism doesn?t matter, its just a church thing.?

The only way we can live free of sin?s compulsions is by remembering that baptism has linked us to Jesus? death, grave and resurrection.

There once was a rookie pitcher who walked three batters in a row. The manager called time out and strolled up to the mound. ?Son,? he said, ?I think you have had enough.?

The pitcher replied, ?But coach, look who?s up to bat... I struck this guy out the last time he was up.? ?Yeah I know,? said the manager, ?But this is still the same inning.?

It is a hard fact of life that no matter our grit and determination, some things in life are just bigger, badder and tougher than we are. For instance, you could spend every moment of your life battling against your old sin nature. But it will not give way to prayers, fasting, sabbaticals in the desert, mortification of the flesh or obedience to the law.

That is the bad news

The good news is that you can be free from sin by remembering that baptism links you to Jesus? death, burial, and resurrection.

That is God?s promise to us found in Romans 6:1-14.

I. God?s grace is absolutely positively free.

1. It is a gift that is void of any kind of human works.

2. It has no hidden requirements.

3. It contains no need for personal reform. You can not get your life straight first.

4. In a nutshell, Grace not only frees us from sin?s penalty, but it also frees us from having to sin.

5. This may sound like I am preaching cheap grace, good. That is just what it is. If I didn?t tell you that it is completely free to you, I would be guilty of preaching a false gospel to you.

6. Grace is free, stewardship is costly. Paul wards off those who would compromise God?s grace by asserting that.

II. Baptism joins us to Jesus death, burial, and resurrection.

In verses 2-11, Paul conveys three basic truths:

1st Baptism identifies us with Jesus? death, which frees us from sin?s penalty.

2nd Baptism demonstrates our freedom from the power of sin.

3rd Baptism symbolically frees us to live a new life.

1. Accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior means we receive the gift that he died for our sins and that we are forgiven, but through baptism, we actually die with Jesus. Let me explain:

· Look at verses 2 and 3 (read). Baptism identifies us so closely with Jesus that God treats us as if we were the ones who had died on the cross.

· In Mark 10:39, Jesus told his disciples, ?You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with.? Jesus was speaking of his death, burial, and resurrection.

· Look at verses 4-11. Die to self... Going down into the water. Buried... Under the water... raised from the dead....brought back up out of the water into a new superior life, this is a practical example of our original commitment to him in which we become free from the mastery of sin.

· Baptism symbolizes our victory over death, both physical and spiritual.

· There are three kinds of people: the sayers, the doers, and the sayer doers. It is important that we be more than sayers, more than doers, we should be sayers and doers.

III. Baptism obliges us to live out our new life for God

· If you receive an invitation to a be in a Wedding and you go through the trouble of RSVP, you would put on old rags, then run out and wallow in the mud. You would not show up and jump around the altar during the ceremony.