Christianity 101:
The Secret to Victory
Romans 6:1-14
Englewood Baptist Church
Sunday morning, April 20, 2008
For those of you who were here last Sunday, you know that we have entered into a challenging portion of Romans. I warned you last week that we are now swimming in the deep end of the pool. And while today’s lesson may be easier to grasp than last week’s, I want to encourage you to be disciplined this morning and be extra attentive as we study together. You need to hear and understand these 14 verses in the Bible, Romans 6:1-14. The title of my message: The Secret to Victory.
Well, the warm weather is upon us and spring training is over. Baseball season is in full swing. As a boy, I loved Little League baseball. I remember one game in particular. It was an especially frustrating game and let me explain why. We were playing in the end-of-the-season tournament and I was out in centerfield. The scoreboard said that we were winning by several runs. And a boy from the opposing team had come to the plate. He looked at the 3rd base coach, received a signal, and it was clear that he was to lay down a bunt.
Well, as this boy held his bat out, our pitcher got frazzled and threw a wild pitch. And the runners advanced. So the boy showed a bunt again, and this time, the pitcher threw a ball that was about 6 ft. high. And this went on and on and on. Four batters later, we were still playing this same ridiculous game. And I was now standing in the outfield with my mitt tucked under my arm. There was nothing I could do. This team had figured out the secret to victory. And we were going home losers that day.
Now, I believe that there are many Christians on the planet today that have received eternal life, but they do not live in the abundant life. They are winners through the cross, but they go home feeling like losers every day. They have been raised to walk in the newness of life but they still have the same old struggles. And they wonder, is there kind of secret to victory?
How do I avoid the depression of defeat? How do I stop feeling like a loser? Maybe you are here today and you feel defeated.
You feel defeated by:
• an addiction that controls your life
• a marriage that has crumbled
• a critical spirit that brings you and others down
• your tongue and your inability to control it under pressure
• an old habit that lingers on in secret. Nobody knows you still do that.
In all these areas, you want to have victory, but it has come to the point where you have just tucked your mitt under your arm and accepted a mediocre walk with Jesus. You have given up.
The Apostle Paul is about to explain the secret of victorious living.
Read Romans 6:1-14.
Christian, you can have victory over every single sin in your life. You don’t have to live in defeat. You can stop beating yourself up. Here’s how. According to this passage, there are three instructions for victory over the flesh.
How To Have Victory Over Sin
1. Know the facts. (Vv.1-10)
It has been said that if Satan can keep you ignorant, then he can keep you impotent. You are powerless outside of the truth. Jesus said that it is the truth that will set you free! There are some things you must know. Notice how many times Paul uses the word “know” in this chapter. Look at v.3, 6, 9, and 16…
Over and over again, Paul says, “You need to know who you are in Christ.”
Warren Wiersbe says this:
Satan wants to keep us in the dark when it comes to the spiritual truths we should know, and this is why many Christians are living beneath their privileged station. –Warren Wiersbe
If you are here this morning and you feel like sin is beating you down like a prize fighter, then Paul says, “You ought to know better.” So in these verses, Paul is going to focus in on the knowledge that you must have in order to win. Now, if you notice in v.1, this chapter begins with an interesting question. Shall we go on sinning so that grace might increase? Look how Paul responds, “By no means!” The KJV says, “God forbid.” Today, Paul might say it this way, “Are you NUTS? Have you lost your mind?”
Do you actually think that God is honored by your sin? Do you really believe that God wants you to berate your wife, and curse your son, and steal from your boss just so that He can spread more grace around the world? Do you think that God smiles upon your gossip, your laziness, your temper problem, your dirty movies? By no means! God forbid. You ought to know better.
Now what is it that you should know? It’s very simple. Paul wants you to know that the old sinful man has died. You died. Let me say that again. If you are a Christian, then you have already died once. Look at vv. 2-3…baptized into his death.
This book right here is one of the best sellers of the past year. It is called 90 minutes in heaven and it’s about a Baptist preacher that had an extraordinary experience. Let me read to you the prologue…
This is the story of Don Piper’s death. He was pronounced dead. 90 minutes later, he was breathing and singing. He passed from death to life. A story like that will pique a person’s interest. And Paul uses the same attention-getting device here. Paul says when Jesus Christ died, you died. What has happened to him has now happened to you. The old you has kicked the bucket; we just didn’t gather and have a funeral and eat potato salad. But you can be confident—the old man is gone. And this is why you can be victorious…because the old man is not coming back.
You have probably heard the name Augustine. He is one of the most important men in church history, a brilliant man that had deep understanding of theology. Early in his life, though, the guy was a scoundrel—selfish, dirty, and impure. He had a mother who was praying for him. Her name was Monica and eventually her prayers were answered. Augustein turned from his rotten ways and became a new creature in Christ. One day he was walking down the street and a prostitute saw him. It happened to be a woman that he had consorted with in the past. She represented his old life so he walked on the other side of the street and did his best to duck his head and hide from her. But she recognized him and she called out, “Augustine, Augustine, it is I!” And he looked up and said, “Yes, but it is not I.”
What did he mean by that? He meant that the old man was dead. He was crucified and buried and he no longer exists. This is what Paul meant in Galatians 2:20,
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Gal. 2:20
I have been crucified. The old “I” is no longer here…and he isn’t coming back.
Now let me deal with an important question: why do we practice water baptism here in this church? Why did we spend thousands of dollars on a big bath tub over our choir and even more, why do we get so excited about dunking people in it?
Look what Paul says in his analogy from water baptism. These are critical verses that you need to know. Look what they say…
That baptistry up there is a liquid tomb. And when you give your heart to Jesus Christ, we bury you in it. Not because we like to make you plug your nose and hold your breath, but because it identifies you with the burial of Christ. That’s why we don’t baptize by sprinkling. You can’t bury a man with a few drops of water any more than you can bury him with a few grains of sand. Suppose you died today from your wife’s cooking. It finally did you in. And they take you out to the cemetery and I am asked to say a few words. And when I am done, we all sprinkled a few grains of sand over your forehead and leave you there in that state. That would be disgraceful. That’s not a burial. The Bible says that we have been buried with Christ and raised to new life and that is why we baptize by immersion. It is a picture of the gospel message.
Now suppose someone says, “But aren’t we making a mountain out of a molehill here? It pictures Jesus. Just any old picture will do. It doesn’t matter what kind. Well, imagine that you have never seen a picture of my wife and you say, “Ben, do you have a picture of your wife?” And I say, “As a matter of fact, I do. Here she is.” [Show a few pictures of random objects. Hanging by a cord, sitting on a porch, with some strings wrapped around. Doesn’t she look nice?].
And you say, “Well that doesn’t look like your wife.” And I respond, “Hey, any old picture will do.” No, that image does not do my wife justice. The same is true with baptism by sprinkling. It does not adequately picture the gospel message.
Question: What one message would Satan love to take out of the church? If he could just take one, what would it be? The gospel message. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ! That is why every time a person gets saved, we put him in that water, bury them, and raise them up. We do it over and over and over because it is the only message we have to stand on. It is the most important thing for you to know.
When we distort the mode of baptism, we distort the message. So this is why in your bulletin, it says that to join this church, you must be Scripturally baptized. As you do that, you proclaim that you have died, you have been buried, and you’re a new person. If you are going to experience victory in your life, you’ve gotta know that.
Now, there is more to victory than this. There are more instructions. The first is to know the facts.
2. Count on the truth rather than emotions. (v.11)
Look at v. 11. The Bible says that you should “count yourself dead to sin.”
That word “count” is translated “reckon” in the KJV. It means “consider it done.” If you came to me today and said, “Ben, I need you to write a letter for my son recommending that he be rewarded with a scholarship for college. I need you to do that.” And I responded quickly, “No problem. Count on it.” What do I mean? I mean, “Consider it done. Do not worry about it any longer. It is accomplished and this is one burden that you can release.” And if you believe me, then you feel at rest.
And the Bible says that if you are going live a victorious life, then must learn to rest on the fact that Christ died for you and your old sin nature is gone. You don’t base it on a feeling, you base it on the truth.
Now here is where it gets sticky. You come to church, you hear a powerful sermon from Romans from your preacher. You leave this place with a bounce in your step; you are energized. You go home today, you get a nap, and enjoy some rest. You throw the ball around with your son and you tell your wife how pretty she looks. What a great day… but then the alarm clock goes off Monday morning. You don’t feel peppy. You are quite irritable, your wife prefers the word “grouchy.” You stumble into work, which you normally enjoy but today it feels like drudgery. You are short with your co-workers, borderline rude. You are easily annoyed. Even the coffee breath around you is getting on your nerves. Finally, the day is over, you punch out, and you get home, only to initiate an argument with your spouse over a trivial matter. It’s just one of those days and there you are lying in bed, 10 o’clock at night—feeling, let me say it again, feeling like you are a total disappointment to God. You feel defeated. And somewhere in the secret place of your soul, a question is lingering, “Are you really a Christian? Look at yourself. You’re no different than anybody else. You are no child of God. You don’t have victory over nothin’.”
And Paul says, on days like that, and you will have them, “count yourselves dead to sin.” It is accomplished. It is over. To use the words of Christ, it is finished.
I don’t know what kind of week you have had, but you need to hear this, believer: God could not love you any more than he does at that moment. Likewise, He could not love you any less. You can rest in that.
John MacArthur puts it this way in his commentary on Romans:
Until a believer accepts the truth that Christ has broken the power of sin over his life, he cannot live victoriously, because in his innermost being he does not think it is possible.
–John MacArthur
I can tell you today. It is possible. Consider it done. You are alive in Christ.
Now, why is this so important?
Why is it important to consider yourself dead to sin?
Let me suggest to you a few reasons. When you count yourself dead to sin, but alive to God…
• You can have confidence in the midst of temptation.
… God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear…(1 Cor. 10:13).
You have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you. That Spirit has power. The same power that raised Jesus Christ from the tomb now lives in your body. It is like Kryptonite in your pocket. And every single time that Superman called sin comes flying into your life—when temptation knocks on you door—all you have to do is call on the Holy Spirit. God has handed you power over sin. So when you are tempted to take that drink, or stop by that woman’s house, or watch that movie, or click on that pop-up window…when you are tempted, you can succeed. You can have confidence. You can count on it.
• You can have confidence in eternal security.
You cannot sin your way out of grace. I urge you to visit a graveyard and stand over a man’s grave. It doesn’t matter which one. Just choose one. And start screaming at the top of your lungs, encouraging him to wake up. I can assure you. The only thing that is going to happen is that your family will admit you into a mental institution. You can’t wake what is dead. The same is true of your sin nature. That old nature is dead, and it has no power over you any longer. It cannot come back to life. Jesus had the power to save you; he has the power to keep you saved.
• You can have confidence in the face of death.
“I am the resurrection and the life,” our Lord said; “he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies…” (John 11:25).
Your heart might stop beating. Your brain might shut down. Your blood might stop flowing. But you will never stop living if you are in Christ. You can count on it. Even when your feelings tell you otherwise, you must rest in the truth. Beware of your feelings. They are not always trustworthy. The Bible says,
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? Jer. 17:9
There will be days as a Christian that your emotions are beyond cure. Don’t put your faith in emotions. Can you imagine if your marriage was based on emotions rather than a promise? I can tell you my wife would have left me 30 days in to this deal. I know that she loves me, but I also know that her heart isn’t always overflowing with romantic thoughts for me. Every day in the Mandrell household is not marked by candlelit dinners, walks in the rain, and soul-to-soul conversation. There are days when our love for one another seems to be as dormant. That is normal. That is the ebb and flow of human emotions. They go up and down like a roller coaster, but that doesn’t change the promise.
And what is true of my relationship with my wife is also true with my relationship with Christ. There are moments when I feel like I am standing on the Mountain of Transfiguration and the glory of the Lord is shining upon me. But there are also moments when sin crouching at my door and I think, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me.” My emotions are low. But I do not count on my emotions. I count on the finished work of Christ. I died with him, and I have been raised. Consider it done.
3. Do not let sin boss you around. (vv.12-14)
Look what he says in these verses.
Paul says, “You no longer serve the master of sin. So stop listening to him. Offer your service to God, who is your rightful master.”
Do we have any business owners here today? (Find a volunteer and discover what kind of business he owns.)
Let’s pretend that this man, Dale, comes up after the service and says, “Ben, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. We’ve got a lot to get done this week. We’re swamped, so if you could plan on putting in 50 hours this week and coming in tomorrow morning at 6 AM, I would appreciate it. Thanks.
And just as he begins to walk away, I say, “Dale, I’m sorry. There must be some misunderstanding. I don’t work for you. You are not my boss, and so with all due respect, I don’t have to listen to you. You have no power over me.” And I would be telling the truth.
The same is true with your sinful nature. It doesn’t rule over you any more. The cross has cancelled it’s power and it no longer rules. So you don’t have to put up with it any more. You don’t have to give in to temptation. It has been said this way…
Christians who deliberately sin are people who have yielded themselves to the old nature instead of to the Holy Spirit. They are living beneath their exalted position in Christ. They are living like slaves when they could be reigning like kings.
–Warren Wiersbe
So many Christians walk on this earth, eating scraps from the trash, when they could be feasting from the table. They have yielded to sin, they have given up, they have put their mitt under their arm, and surrendered to the wrong master.
This week, I met a guy named Jeff. Jeff came to my office to interview me for a radio program promoting the mayor’s prayer breakfast. He came to listen to me talk, but as it turned out, I was the one doing the listening because I asked a simple question, “Jeff, tell me your story.” And this is what he told me.
Jeff was saved at age 10, but became a heavy drug and alcohol user in high school. He knew it wasn’t right, but he made a decision to serve the master of sin. And he lived under conviction for almost 10 years—following his own flesh to ruin. Then one night he went to a concert. Hank Williams, Jr., Confederate Railroad, and Shenandoah, three big names in country music were playing nearby. He was completely drunk and stumbled out of that concert with the girl he had been living with, and when he came out of the concert, one of the buses for the bands was parked right there. He decided to wait and see if any of the stars came by. Just then, the lead singer for Shenandoah came up to him and said, “Can I ask you a question?” Jeff nodded. The man went on, “Do you know Jesus?”
Jeff said the question completely shocked him and through beer-soaked breath, he said, “Yes, I do.”
And that was the beginning of a process where Jeff made a choice: "Do I live my life for God or do I live my life for me?" God has put this man’s life back together because Jeff made a choice. He could be an instrument of wickedness or an instrument of righteousness.
The same choice is yours today. You must make a decision daily. Are you going to live like a slave or reign like a king? If you are here today, and you are playing around with sin, then you are missing out on victory and you will live every day feeling like a loser. But if you will offer your life to God, you will reign like a king.
