FROM DEATH TO LIFE
WE NEED TO REMEMBER AS WE START TODAY, THAT THE BOOK OF ROMANS IS A LETTER THAT ORIGINALLY HAD NO CHAPTER OR VERSE BREAKS. WHEN WE GET TO THE END OF CHAPTER FIVE, IT DOES NOT MEAN WE’VE REACHED THE END OF PAULS THOUGHT ON THIS ISSUE. LISTEN WHEN I READ THE LAST TWO VERSES OF CHAPTER FIVE, WITH THE FIRST TWO VERSES OF CHAPTER SIX AND SEE HOW THEY PRODUCE ONE THOUGHT.
ROMANS 5:20-6:2:
THE LAW WAS BROUGHT IN SO THAT THE TRESPASS MIGHT INCREASE. BUT WHERE SIN INCREASED, GRACE INCREASED ALL THE MORE, 21 SO THAT, JUST AS SIN REIGNED IN DEATH, SO ALSO GRACE MIGHT REIGN THROUGH RIGHTEOUSNESS TO BRING ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD. 6:1 WHAT SHALL WE SAY, THEN? SHALL WE GO ON SINNING SO THAT GRACE MAY INCREASE? 2 BY NO MEANS! WE ARE THOSE WHO HAVE DIED TO SIN; HOW CAN WE LIVE IN IT ANY LONGER?
CHAPTER FIVE WAS A TRANSITION CHAPTER FOR PAUL WHERE HE CHANGES HIS FOCUS FROM JUSTIFICATION, TO SANCTIFICATION. SANCTIFICATION IS HOW WE LIVE AND MATURE AFTER WE MAKE A DECISION FOR CHRIST.
PAUL USES THESE FIVE CONTRASTS BETWEEN THE FIRST AND THE LAST ADAM, TO SHOW US THAT THERE IS NO LIMIT TO THE LOVE OF GOD THROUGH HIS SON JESUS CHRIST. HE ALSO POINTS OUT TO US AN EVEN MORE IMPORTANT POINT THAT WE SEE AS WE ENTER CHAPTER SIX.
WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT AS WE ACCEPT THE GRACE AND LOVE OF THE SECOND ADAM, IT SHOULD NATURALLY LEAD TO THE REACTION OF A TRANSFORMED AND SANCTIFIED LIFE. THIS IS HIS MESSAGE TO US IN CHAPTER SIX.
PAUL CONTINUES HIS DEBATE WITH HIS IMAGINARY FOE, ANSWERING THIS QUESTION FOUND IN 6:1. SHALL WE CONTINUE SINNING THAT GRACE MAY ABOUND? YOU AND I MAY LOOK AT THIS AND SAY HOW FOOLISH TO ASK SUCH A QUESTION, BUT IN REALITY WE OFTEN FACE THIS SAME ISSUE IN OUR DAILY LIVES.
WHEN I WAS YOUNGER IF I DID SOMETHING WRONG I WOULD RECEIVE A WARNING FROM MY FATHER. HE WOULD TELL ME NOT TO DO THAT AGAIN OR ELSE. NOW IF I DID WHAT I WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO DO AGAIN, I HAD FELLOWSHIP WITH MY FATHER AGAIN. INTENSE FELLOWSHIP TO THE SEAT OF MY PANTS. IN SHORT, IF I CONTINUED IN SIN, GRACE DIDN’T ABOUND, DISCIPLINE AND PUNISHMENT DID.
IS THIS IDEA, TO CONTINUE SINNING SO THAT GRACE MAY ABOUND, NOT THE ROOT OF THE “BIGGER IS BETTER” THEORY OF LIFE. WE GO INTO OUR FAVORITE RESTAURANT AND ORDER A COMBO. HOW MANY TIMES TO WE UPGRADE THE FRIES BECAUSE WE LIKE THEM SO MUCH, AT THE SAME TIME KNOWING THEY ARE NOT GOOD FOR US.
WE SET OUR EYES ON A BIGGER OR NEWER MODEL OF CAR, ONE THAT HAS ALL THE BELLS AND WHISTLES AND BUY IT KNOWING THAT IT WILL PLACE A GREAT FINANCIAL STRAIN ON US. WE DO THIS TO KEEP UP OUR IMAGE OR IT JUST FEELS A LITTLE BETTER.
OUR FINANCIAL AND HEALTH ISSUES WE FACE AS A RESULT PROVIDE A CONSTANT REMINDER OF THE MANY WAYS IS WHICH WE CAN PUT OURSELVES IN THE SAME POSITION AS PAUL’S IMAGINARY DEBATER HERE AND WE DON’T REALIZE IT.
HOW DOES PAUL RESPOND TO THE ISSUE? HE STRONGLY REJECTS IT “BY NO MEANS!!!!’. HE ASKS IF WE DO NOT REALIZE THAT WHEN WE ACCEPTED CHRIST WE DIED TO SIN.
DEATH OF SOME FORM WILL BE PRESENT IN OUR LIVES. PAUL TELLS US IN EPHESIANS 2 THAT BEFORE WE ACCEPT CHRIST WE ARE SPIRITUALLY DEAD IN OUR SINS.
EPHESIANS 2:1-3:
AS FOR YOU, YOU WERE DEAD IN YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS AND SINS, 2 IN WHICH YOU USED TO LIVE WHEN YOU FOLLOWED THE WAYS OF THIS WORLD AND OF THE RULER OF THE KINGDOM OF THE AIR, THE SPIRIT WHO IS NOW AT WORK IN THOSE WHO ARE DISOBEDIENT. 3 ALL OF US ALSO LIVED AMONG THEM AT ONE TIME, GRATIFYING THE CRAVINGS OF OUR FLESH M AND FOLLOWING ITS DESIRES AND THOUGHTS. LIKE THE REST, WE WERE BY NATURE DESERVING OF WRATH
THIS IS THE SPIRITUAL AND PHYSICAL DEATH OF THE OLD REALM, UNDER THE FIRST ADAM, THAT WILL LEAD TO ETERNAL SEPARATION FROM GOD. THERE IS SPIRITUAL DEATH IN THE NEW REALM AS WELL. THIS IS THE DEATH OF OUR OLD SELF AND THE BEGINNING OF OUR NEW SPIRITUAL LIFE.
2 CORINTHIANS 5:17: THEREFORE, IF ANYONE IS IN CHRIST, THE NEW CREATION HAS COME: THE OLD HAS GONE, THE NEW IS HERE!
PAUL TELLS US IN OUR PASSAGE, THAT WHEN WE ACCEPT CHRIST AS OUR SAVIOR, THAT WE INDEED DIE TO OUR OLD SELF. HE USES BAPTISM AS A PRACTICAL EXAMPLE OF THIS. HE REMINDS US OF OUR UNION WITH CHRIST IN HIS DEATH, BURIAL AND RESURRECTION THROUGH BAPTISM.
BAPTISM, AT THE TIME OF PAUL, FOLLOWED IMMEDIATELY AFTER A PERSON’S CONVERSION AND WAS TAUGHT ABOUT AFTER THE FACT. PAUL ASSUMED THAT SINCE THE CHURCH IN ROME WAS ALREADY ESTABLISHED THAT BAPTISM HAD ALREADY HAPPENED AND HE COULD USE IT AS AN EXAMPLE.
PAUL’S TEACHING ON BAPTISM BRINGS ABOUT THE QUESTION I ASKED YOU LAST WEEK. ARE WE UNITED WITH CHRIST IN BAPTISM, OR DO WE IDENTIFY WITH CHRIST IN BAPTISM? WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?
THE BASIC DIFFERENCE IS THIS. IT IS POSSIBLE TO IDENTIFY WITH SOMEONE OR SOMETHING, BUT NOT UNITE WITH IT. TO IDENTIFY SOMETHING MEANS THAT YOU CAN RECOGNIZE IT. YOU KNOW WHO OR WHAT IT IS AND YOU MAY EVEN KNOW HOW IT OR THEY WORK. IT IS POSSIBLE TO IDENTIFY SOMEONE OR SOMETHING BUT NOT UNITE WITH IT.
LET ME ILLUSTRATE:
WHEN I WAS YOUNGER I WAS A GREAT FAN OF THE ORIGINAL SIX TEAMS OF HOCKEY. I KNEW THE NAMES OF AT LEAST TWO LINES FROM EACH TEAM. I WOULD SPEND HOURS PLAYING IN THE DRIVEWAY, MAKING BELIEVE THAT I WAS PLAYING HOCKEY GAMES.
STRANGLY ENOUGH MY FAVORITE TEAMS ALWAYS WON.
I IDENTIFIED WITH THE TEAMS. I WORE THE SWEATER OF MY FAVORITE HOCKEY TEAM, JUST LIKE MILLIONS OF KIDS IN OUR COUNTRY WOULD.
JUST KNOWING THE NAMES OF THE PLAYERS THOUGH, AND WEARING THE SWEATER DOESN’T MEAN THAT I UNITED WITH THEM.
I DID NOT PLAY WITH THEM, I DID NOT LIVE WITH THEM, I DID NOT SHARE THEIR PAIN OF LOSS OR JOY OF VICTORY. I WAS NOT IN THE DRESSING ROOM. TO BE UNITED WITH THE TEAM MEANT TO BE A PART OF THE TEAM, WHICH I WAS NOT. YOU CAN IDENTIFY WITH SOMETHING BUT NOT BE A PART OF IT.
THE SAME IS TRUE WITH CHURCH. IT IS POSSIBLE TO IDENTIFY WITH WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES, BUT NOT BE UNITED WITH CHRIST.
JAMES TEACHES:
JAMES 2:19: YOU BELIEVE THAT THERE IS ONE GOD. GOOD! EVEN THE DEMONS BELIEVE THAT—AND SHUDDER.
CAN SATAN’S FOLLOWERS IDENTIFY WITH GOD. YES THEY CAN IN THAT THEY CAN READILY ACKNOWLEDGE THE EXISTANCE OF GOD. CAN THEY UNITE WITH GOD? NO, THEY SHUDDER IN FEAR WHEN THEY COME INTO THE PRESENCE OF HOLINESS.
THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THE CHURCH TODAY WHO CAN IDENTIFY WITH GOD, BUT HAVE NEVER BEEN UNITED WITH HIM. THEY KNOW WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS, THEY KNOW THE MEANING OF SALVATION, AND CAN IDENTIFY WITH IT, BUT THEY HAVE NEVER UNITED WITH CHRIST IN HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION. THEY WILL SAY “THEY HAVE A FAITH”, OR “YES I KNOW THERE’S A GOD”, BUT THEY ARE NOT UNITED WITH HIM IN A RELATIONSHIP.
ROMANS 6:3-7:
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. 5 FOR IF WE HAVE BEEN UNITED WITH HIM IN A DEATH LIKE HIS, WE WILL CERTAINLY ALSO BE UNITED WITH HIM IN A RESURRECTION LIKE HIS. 6 FOR WE KNOW THAT OUR OLD SELF WAS CRUCIFIED WITH HIM SO THAT THE BODY RULED BY SIN MIGHT BE DONE AWAY WITH, THAT WE SHOULD NO LONGER BE SLAVES TO SIN—
WHEN WE UNITE WITH CHRIST IN WATER BAPTISM THE SYMBOLISM IS NOT SAYING THAT WE WISH TO IDENTIFY WITH CHRIST, BUT THAT WE WISH TO JOIN WITH HIM, TO UNITE WITH HIM, IN HIS DEATH, BURIAL AND RESURRECTION. IT IS A REALIZATION THAT WE HAVE DIES TO OUR OLD SELF, THAT THAT OLD SELF IS BURIED WITH CHRIST, AND WE HAVE BEEN RESURRECTED AS CHRIST WAS TO A NEW WAY OF LIFE. IT BEGS THE QUESTION IF WE ARE WALKING IN A NEW WAY OF LIFE, WHY WOULD WE EVER WANT TO BACK TO THE OLD WAY WE HAD.
THE SYMBOLISM OF BAPTISM THEN IS NOT TO IDENTIFY WITH CHRIST IN OUR DEATH, BURIAL, AND RESURRECTION, BUT RATHER TO UNITE WITH HIM IN HIS DEATH, BURIAL, AND RESURRECTION. IT IS FOR US TO JOIN HIM ON THE CROSS AS WE DIE TO OUR OLD SELF, AND TO JOIN HIM IN THE TOMB IN BURIAL TO OUR OLD WAYS, AND TO RISE AGAIN TO A NEW LIFE IN CHRIST.
PAUL DOES NOT TEACH THAT THE BELIEVER IS REMOVED FROM ALL CONTACT OR INFLUENCE OF THE OLD REALM OF SIN. HE TEACHES THAT BECAUSE WE ARE LIVING UNDER THE NEW REALM OF CHRIST, THAT WE ARE NO LONGER SLAVES TO SIN. HE MAKES STATEMENTS LIKE:
SIN WILL NOT RULE OVER YOU (6:13)
DO NOT LET SIN REIGN (6:14)
YOU ARE NOT IN THE FLESH (8:9)
DO NOT LIVE ACCORDING TO THE FLESH (8:9,12)
WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT FALLING INTO SIN AFTER WE ARE SAVED IS A MATTER OF CONSCIOUS CHOICE. WE CHOOSE TO BE THERE.
PAUL BELIEVES THAT THIS NEW LIFE IS SO GREAT THAT HE ASKS WHY ANYONE WOULD EVEN CONSIDER LIVING IN SIN THAT GRACE MAY ABOUND. HE BELIEVES THAT WE WILL BE SO CAUGHT UP IN THE GRACE OF THE NEW SELF, THAT ANY POSSIBILITY OF GOING BACK TO THE OLD WAY OF LIFE WOULD BE SO REPULSIVE AND REVILING TO THE BELIEVER IS ABSURD.
SOME OF YOU HAVE BEEN MARRIED FOR MANY YEARS. LIKE ME HUSBANDS, YOUR WIFE MEANS MORE TO YOU THAN ANYTHING AND THE LAST THING WE WOULD WANT TO DO WOULD BE GO BACK TO THE SINGLE LIFE AGAIN. NOTHING CAN MAKE US GIVE UP OR EVEN CONSIDER GIVING UP ON THAT RELATIONSHIP.
DR. MOO WRITES:
“FIRST, IT IS CLEAR THAT PAUL REFERS IN VV.3-4 TO WATER BAPTISM, BUT BAPTISM IS NOT THE THEME OF THE PARAGRAGH NOR IS IT PAUL’S PURPOSE TO EXPLOIT HIS THEOLOGY OF BAPTISM. BAPTISM, RATHER, FUNCTIONS AS SHORTHAND FOR THE CONVERSION EXPERIENCE AS A WHOLE. AS, SUCH, IT IS THE INSTRUMENT BY WHICH WE ARE PUT IN RELATIONSHIP WITH THE DEATH AND BURIAL OF CHRIST. IT IS NOT, THEN, THAT BAPTISM IS A SYMBOL OF DYING AND RISING WITH CHRIST, NOR IS IT THAT BAPTISM IS THE PLACE AT WHICH WE DIE AND RISE WITH CHRIST. DYING AND RISING WITH CHRIST REFERS TO THE PARTICIPATION OF THE BELIEVER IN THE REDEMPTIVE EVENTS THEMSELVES; AND THE ULTIMATE BASIS FOR PAUL’S APPEAL IN THIS CHAPTER IS NOT WHAT HAPPENED WHEN WE WERE BAPTIZED, BUT WHAT HAPPENED WHEN CHRIST DIED AND ROSE AGAIN. THAT DEATH OF HIS TO SIN IS ALSO OUR DEATH TO SIN; AND THE RESURRECTION OF HIS TO NEW LIFE, IN WHICH WE WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE FUTURE IS EVEN NOW WORKING TO ENABLE US TO “WALK IN THE NEWNESS OF LIFE.”
THE QUESTION THEN IS NOT WHAT OUR BAPTISM MEANS TO US, BUT WHAT WAS ACCOMPLISHED IN THE DEATH AND BURIAL OF CHRIST? WE DO NOT IDENTIFY WITH HIS DEATH AND BURIAL, WE UNITE WITH IT. THEREFORE WHAT CHRIST’S DEATH AND BURIAL MEANT TO HIM IS WHAT IT MUST ALSO MEAN TO US!!
AS WE GO ALONG AND LOOK AT VERSE 4, WE SEE THAT PAUL DRAWS A CONCLUSION FROM THE BELIEVERS INCORPORATION INTO THE DEATH OF CHRIST. PAUL REASONS THAT SINCE WE SHARED IN JESUS DEATH, TO OUR OLD SELF, THAT THIS OLD SELF IS ALSO BURIED WITH HIM. WE ARE NO LONGER LED BY IT.
THIS BURIAL NOT ONLY MARKS THE END OF OUR OLD LIFE, BUT IT ALSO BEGINS THE TRANSITION TO OUR NEW LIFE.
BURIAL IS OFTEN SEEN AS THE FINAL ACT OF LIFE. I WALK WITH FAMILIES IN THE CEMETARY, AND THE STRESS OF THIS MOMENT IS OVERWEALMING. MANY FEEL THAT THIS IS THE LAST FAREWELL, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE NOT CHRISTIANS.
CHARLES PRICE SPOKE OF BURIAL AND REMINDED US THAT OFTEN WE’VE HEARD THE EXPRESSION “DEAD AND BURIED” MEANING THE ISSUE IS DONE, IT IS SETTLED.
OUR GRAVE MARKS THE FINAL RESTING PLACE FOR OUR OLD SELF. WHEN OUR BODY IS RESURRECTED A NEW BODY WILL EMERGE THAT IS FREE FROM SIN.
THUS WE UNITE WITH CHRIST IN HIS GRAVE. JUST AS JESUS WAS BURIED, SEALING HIS DEATH TO THE OLD AGE, SO WE MUST BE BURIED SEALING OUR DEATH TO THE OLD AGE. TO BE UNITED WITH CHRIST MEANS THAT WE JOIN WITH HIM IN HIS GRAVE. IT IS NOT THAT WE ARE BURIED LIKE JESUS WAS IN OUR BAPTISM, IT IS THE FACT THAT WE ARE “BURIED WITH CHRIST”, IT IS THROUGH OUR BAPTISM THAT WE ARE LAID ALONGSIDE CHRIST JESUS IN HIS.
BY RELATING OUR BAPTISM EXPERIENCE BACK TO CALVARY PAUL IS SAYING THAT JUST AS CHRIST DIED AND WAS BURIED, AND ROSE IN A TRANSFORMED BODY, THE SAME IS TRUE FOR THE CHRISTIAN.
IN OUR UNITY WITH CHRIST IN HIS TOMB WE DIE TO OUR OLD SELF, THAT OLD SELF IS BURIED, AND WE ARE RAISED TO A NEWNESS OF LIFE.
JOHN STOTT SAID:
“WHAT WAS CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST WAS NOT A PART OF ME CALLED MY OLD NATURE, BUT THE WHOLE OF ME AS I WAS BEFORE I WAS CONVERTED.”
ROMANS 6:7: BECAUSE ANYONE WHO HAS DIED HAS BEEN SET FREE FROM SIN.
PAUL IS TELLING US VERY PLAINLY THAT THE ONE WHO HAS DIED TO HIS OLD WAY OF LIFE, IS FREE FROM THE SKACKLES OF HIS OLD WAY OF LIFE. SIN WILL NOT BE ALLURING COMPARED TO THE RELATIONSHIP YOU HAVE WITH CHRIST. THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN “JUSTIFIED WITH CHRIST, ARE FREE FROM THE POWER OF SIN.
ROMANS 6:8-11:
NOW IF WE DIED WITH CHRIST, WE BELIEVE THAT WE WILL ALSO LIVE WITH HIM. 9 FOR WE KNOW THAT SINCE CHRIST WAS RAISED FROM THE DEAD, HE CANNOT DIE AGAIN; DEATH NO LONGER HAS MASTERY OVER HIM. 10 THE DEATH HE DIED, HE DIED TO SIN ONCE FOR ALL; BUT THE LIFE HE LIVES, HE LIVES TO GOD.
PAUL IS REMINDING US IN THESE VERSES OF THE POWER THAT WE HAVE IN CHRIST. CHRIST AROSE FROM THE DEAD. THE POWER OF SIN HAS BEEN CONQUERED IN THE RESURRECTION.
BECAUSE WE UNITED WITH CHRIST IN HIS DEATH AND BURIAL, THAT SAME RESURRECTION POWER IS AVAILABLE TO US. DEATH HOLDS NO PERMANENT POWER OVER US.
YES WE MOST LIKELY WILL SEE PHYSICAL DEATH AT THE END OF OUR LIVES. WHEN THIS OCCURS THOUGH WE WILL BE USHERED DIRECTLY INTO THE PRESENCE OF CHRIST.
I HAVE A HARD TIME BEING ON TIME FOR APPOINTMENTS AND MEETINGS. I’VE HAD SOMEONE SAY TO ME THAT I’LL BE LATE FOR MY OWN FUNERAL. THEY ARE PARTIALLY RIGHT. I WILL BE LATE FOR MY OWN FUNERAL, IN FACT, I WON’T BE THERE AT ALL. MY BODY YES, BUT MY SPIRIT WILL BE UNITED WITH JESUS FOR ETERNITY.
ROMANS 6:11-14:
IN THE SAME WAY, COUNT YOURSELVES DEAD TO SIN BUT ALIVE TO GOD IN CHRIST JESUS. 12 THEREFORE DO NOT LET SIN REIGN IN YOUR MORTAL BODY SO THAT YOU OBEY ITS EVIL DESIRES. 13 DO NOT OFFER ANY PART OF YOURSELF TO SIN AS AN INSTRUMENT OF WICKEDNESS, BUT RATHER OFFER YOURSELVES TO GOD AS THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN BROUGHT FROM DEATH TO LIFE; AND OFFER EVERY PART OF YOURSELF TO HIM AS AN INSTRUMENT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. 14 FOR SIN SHALL NO LONGER BE YOUR MASTER, BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT UNDER THE LAW, BUT UNDER GRACE.
WHAT A GREAT PROMISE TO CONCLUDE WITH. PAUL MAKES THE PROMISE THAT IS VALID FOR EVERY BELIEVER TODAY. “SIN SHALL CERTAINLY NOT BE YOUR LORD – NOW OR EVER!”
TO PUT A STOP TO THE REIGN OF SIN IS A DAUNTING RESPONSIBILITY. WE FEEL THAT WE MUST FAIL, WE CANNOT HELP BUT FAIL. PAUL REMINDS OF JUST WHAT WE HAVE BECOME TO JESUS CHRIST, “DEAD TO SIN AND ALIVE TO GOD.” THERE HAS ALREADY TAKEN PLACE IN THE LIFE OF THE BELIEVER A CHANGE IN LORDSHIP, AND IT IS IN THE ASSURANCE OF THIS CONTINUANCE IN THE NEW STATE THAT THE BELIEVER CAN GO FORTH BOLDLY AND CONFIDENTLY TO WAGE WAR AGAINST SIN.
MY QUESTION TO YOU TODAY IS SIMPLY THIS. DO YOU HAVE THAT ASSURANCE IN YOUR LIFE. IF NOT YOU CAN GAIN VICTORY OVER SIN BY ACCEPTING CHRIST AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR.
