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.
So when we read this passage where does it put the believer? Let me answer that question… it places the believer who has expressed a faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord… Paul tells us that we have been SAVED by Christ!
We are saved FROM:
Eternal punishment and torment
Eternal death and separation from God
Eternal punishment and penalty of our sin!
We are saved FROM that and we are saved TO this…
God has pronounced us to be NOT GUILTY in His court of law because of what Jesus Christ has done!
God has removed the penalty and guilt of our sinful lives and we are made FREE from sin!
It is just as Paul states in Rom 5:21 where he says,
“…so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life thru Jesus Christ our Lord…”
Just as we are condemned by sin…
Just as we are held captive and in bondage to sin...and
Just as the sin within our live leads only to death and destruction…
We are JUSTIFIED by God through our faith in Jesus Christ and that:
Has saved us from eternal hell fire and God’s wrath…
Has set us free from the fear and dominion of sin and death in our lives…
Has not only given us an abundant life here in this world but promises to bring us eternal life thru Jesus Christ our Lord!
Paul then poses a question that follows up a thought from chapter 3… Paul says in v. 1 of our passage this morning. “…Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?...”
If grace comes to us from the sin in our lives, should we keep sinning so that we can receive more and more of God’s grace? After all, let’s remember, we have been FREED FROM SIN… we have been DECLARED NOT GUILTY and instructed that God’s grace reigns over our live and cancels out our sin… so the logical thought could be that the more we sin… the more grace we receive…
This was not a problem that was stated in any letter to Paul, but it was a heretical idea being taught by some within the structure of the church in the 1st century… and this is the reason I see Paul addressing this issue!
So what does Paul say to his question? READ v.2 here Well let’s look at the responses… in many of the translations!
ESV – By no means!
KJV – God forbid.
NASB – May it never be!
NIV – By no means!
NKJV – Certainly not!
NLT – Of course not!
Now I want us to understand that Paul is not merely saying no here… this is not a simple ‘no’ as an answer! This is, in fact, a very ENPHATIC no! It is a ‘no’ with very strong emphasis! NEVER! NO WAY JOSE! NOT A CHANCE!
The notion of doing evil to obtain the holy and righteous grace and mercy of God is simply MIND BLOWING to Paul, and we then find Paul using the net 12 ½ verses [or the rest of the paragraph for this text] to let his readers know WHY this was such a ridiculous and unrealistic stance…
We find Paul asking 2 very distinct questions at this point…
READ v.2b-3
“…How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?...”
The 1st question READ v.2b‘how can one die to sin and still live in it?’ is like Paul comparing the believer to one who was a citizen of a certain country and when they died in the flesh… they were DEAD and they could no longer claim citizenship within that country! To claim that they are still a citizen would be preposterous… Paul is using the absurd to prove his point here!
The 2nd question he asks,READ v.3 “…or do you know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?...”
Baptism here IS a reference to the actual water immersion of a new believer! But the greater picture that Paul wants us to see here is the full and complete ‘baptism’ of a person’s soul IN CHRIST! We become FULLY immersed in Him!
We accept Christ for who He was as a teacher and human being…
We accept and know that Christ gave His life for us and we are baptized into His death WITH HIM when we come to faith and trust in Jesus…
In other words, you have moved from the realm of the old age under Adam into the realm of the New Covenant under Christ! Adam’s sin condemned you to the point you could do nothing to help yourself… and then Jesus came and His righteousness unlocked a pathway for you to know God and to gain forgiveness and justification!
Then Paul switched from the actual act of being baptized to what that baptism means for the believer! Paul is saying, BECAUSE you have been baptized into Christ and His death…
Just as Christ died… we died as well! So just as Christ conquered death and sin, we also receive justification and deliverance from sin and death in our hearts!
We are dead to our sins, and Christ reached out and rescued us by His actions on the Cross of Calvary… we are united with Him in His resurrection… just as we died to sin, we are raised in Christ to live a new life!
We died to sin and in v.7 READ v.7 Paul tells us that our death to sin brought us FREEDOM FROM SIN! We now have a new life in Him… a life that is free from sin!
What does that phrase ‘free from sin mean?’… Well let me first tell you what it does NOT mean! When Paul tells us in Rom 6:7 “…for one who has died has been set free from sin…” It does NOT mean that we all of a sudden become sinless beings… It also does NOT mean that we can begin to learn how to become a SINLESS believer here in this world!
There are many who preach that you can achieve a sinless state by living a righteous life… BUT that is NOT what Scripture tells us! What Paul was saying here was NOT that we would NEVER sin again… what Paul said was that we were ‘free from sin’
Free from sin means that we are no longer bound under its bondage and captivity! Let me put it this way… Imagine a man came to the South in the 1850’s and he purchased a slave for the express purpose of setting him free in the north.
This slave is purchased and moves to another home and is set free, never to be under slavery again… never to be bound by its bondage! Do you think that former slave would want to THEN begin to travel back to the South and begin to dabble in his old slave ways? Living his old slave life?
Even IF the slave knew that his former master could NEVER ever get him back… would he still go there and begin to dabble in that lifestyle again? What do you think? I believe he would life a life that kept him as far away from his former life as he possibly could…
Well that is the picture of our lives! Before Christ we are in bondage to the power of sin and we are suffering under the heavy burden of sin in our lives! But in Christ…we have One who came forward and purchase our freedom thru His actions on the Cross of Calvary and rising from the dead on the 3rd day! Christ frees us from sin’s bondage and rule over our lives…
So, Paul is asking WHY IN THE WORLD would you want to return to that and dabble in it? Paul then goes on to share a 2nd reason… We have a NEW LIFE in Christ!
We are delivered from sin’s bondage and because of that we have a new life in Christ! Our old life is now dead to us… sin is dead to us… as sure as Christ DID die on the Cross, we have died to sin! Our old self has been put to death!
Finally, Paul states that it stands to reason that if we are dead to sin and fully immersed into Christ – that BECAUSE of His resurrection we can now LIVE thru Him! We are delivered from sin and death and sin is no longer our master…
Paul then begins in v.10 to conclude this section by telling us, “…for the death He died, He died to sin, ONCE FOR ALL, but the life He lives, He lives for God…” this revealing the complete atoning nature of Christ on the Cross… it covers ALL sin, for ALL time, never needed again!
And in His obedience to die, he was raised and now lives and lives FOR the will of the Father! Because of His resurrection and victory over sin we also are not just dead to sin BUT we also have VICTORY over sin and the power of that sin…Show v.14 now
So because of this, in v.12-14 Paul tells his readers to NOT allow their bodies to be instruments of unrighteousness… do allow sin to reign within your body… you have been delivered FROM the power and penalty of sin… but we still have to endure the PRESENCE of sin in this world!
So Paul is speaking practically here when he says to not allow your body to be an instrument of unrighteousness… or don’t allow yourself into compromising situations and circumstances where temptation will lead to sin!
We all know that we have a tendency to place ourselves in those types of situations… we believe we can handle it and resist, but when we put ourselves there… we ultimately fail and falter in our walk and sin enters in once again!
This does not mean we FALL from salvation, because Paul also states that we have Jesus Christ as our Advocate and Savior and we can receive forgiveness if we will confess that sin…
Paul is challenging these believers to NOT allow what God has declared to be justified and righteous to be used for something UN-godly or UN-righteous! Don’t do things that will reduce the visibility of Christ in your life with Him!
Paul says that INSTEAD… we should proclaim our victory in Christ by living our lives FOR God and using our lives as instruments [not of evil or unrighteousness] but as instruments of righteousness by allowing Christ to shine forth in your life!
What Paul is telling the believer here in these verses is a very simple message! Paul is telling believers that once they profess Christ as Savior, that Sin is NOT your master any longer!
This is NOT because of anything you have done… it is NOT because of your own self-righteousness or godly living or efforts on your part to live the right life! But it is all because of the grace and mercy of God that we obtain salvation and justification from the God of heaven!
Today you have heard about the wonderful grace of Christ Jesus in saving our souls… in making a way for us to know God by dying on the Cross of Calvary.
Today Jesus is calling you to come and be saved… come and turn your life over to Him this morning. Come and let me pray with you and allow God to wash over you with a sweet sweet spirit that will cleanse you, and forgive your sin… and then declare you NOT guilty before God!
I call on you to come and join our fellowship… God is calling you to be a part of our faith community here and He needs you to step out and be obedient and submit to Him! Come and we will pray about it and I will tell you how it can happen!
I call on you to come today and pray that God will help you to be ALL of who He wants you to be… to be the believer that will share his/her faith when the HS provides the opportunity! Come seek His forgiveness where you have failed Him and allow Him to cleanse you and fully forgive you!
Come now as we enter into this time of invitation and prayer… come as Bro Ken comes to lead us… step out as the music begins to play and COME!
