What It Means to Live Free in Jesus Christ
The Book of Romans
Romans 6:14-23
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Grayson Baptist Church - June 26, 2016
(Revised December 12, 2020)
BACKGROUND:
*Please open your Bibles to Romans 6:14. Remember that in the first 5 chapters, Paul made the most compelling case that all of us are guilty of sin, and we all deserve the righteous wrath of God. Thank God, Paul also explained the forgiveness and eternal life we can have through faith in Jesus Christ.
*Paul summed it up for Christians in Romans 5:6-10, and said:
6. For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
8. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
10. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
*The Lord Jesus Christ has given Christians everlasting victory over sin and death. And last week in vs. 1-14, God's Word showed us how to live in the victory Christ has provided for us.
*Tonight's Scripture focuses on the freedom we have in Jesus, so please think about our God-given freedom as we read vs. 14-23.
MESSAGE:
*Marilyn Murphree told about something that happened years ago at a farmer's market. A man saw some quail walking in circles around a pole. Each bird had a string attached to its leg, and they continued to walk around and around the pole for hours.
*The man felt sorry for the little birds, so he paid the price and bought them all. Then, he began to cut the strings off their legs. "What are you doing?" the seller asked in disbelief? "I'm setting them free," the new owner replied.
*But even though the strings were cut, the birds continued to walk around the pole in the same old circle. They didn't realize they were free to fly, until their new owner began to shoo them away from the pole that held them down. (1)
*Christians: Jesus Christ paid the highest price to set us free! But sometimes we don't feel like it, and sometimes we don't live like it. Sometimes we keep going around in the same old circles, but the Lord wants us to live in the freedom He has already given to us. Tonight's Scripture shows us what it means to live free in Christ.
1. FIRST, IT MEANS WE CAN BE RULED BY GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS.
*This is God's message for Christians in vs. 14-18:
14. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
15. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!
16. Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?
17. But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.
18. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
*As Christians, we have a new owner, a new Master. It's the Lord Jesus Christ! That's why vs. 14 tells us that "we are not under the law but under (God's) grace."
*Of course, the problem is never with God's law. Good rules are good for us. And God's rules are perfect! God gave His Law to us, so we won't hurt ourselves, so we won't hurt other people, and so we won't hurt Him. I say that because our sin grieves God.
*God's rules are good for us. Moses put it this way in Deuteronomy 10:12-13:
12. "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
13. and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today FOR YOUR GOOD?"
*God's rules are perfect. The only problem with His law is our total inability to obey it on our own. We were all born with a selfish, sinful nature. That's why we sin. And that's why vs. 17 tells us that before we got saved by the grace of God, we were all "slaves of sin."
*This is also why God's Word says things like Proverbs 22:15, ""Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction will drive it far from him."
-Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?"
-And Romans 3:9-12 says:
9. What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.
10. As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;
11. there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God.
12. They have all gone out of the way; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one.''
*Without Jesus Christ, we are all slaves of sin, even if we don't know it, and most people don't know it. That's why even good rules are hard to keep.
*Back when James Dobson's son was 5 years old, Dad had a hard time getting Paul to stay in bed at night. Most parents know what that's like: Up and down, up and down. Finally, one night, Jim laid down the law! Paul was "Paulie" back then. And Dad told Paulie there would be no more talk after they had said their prayers together, had the last glass of water, told each other "good-night," and turned off the light.
*Jim was certain he had everything under control. But 5 minutes later, Paulie started calling out for another glass of water. Dad went in, went back over the rules, and told Paulie he'd better go to sleep. But 5 minutes later, Paulie asked for water again. Dad told Paulie he would get a spanking if he asked for water one more time, and that settled that!
*But only minutes later, little Paulie said, "Daddy, when you come in here to spank me, would you please bring me a glass of water?" (2)
*Paulie got the water without the spanking. That was dad's grace. And thank God for His amazing grace! Thank God that vs. 14 tells Christians we "are not under the law but under grace."
*Thank God that Jesus Christ has set us free! And thank God that He was willing to take our punishment when He died on the cross for our sins! Now our Risen Savior offers real freedom to everyone who will put their trust in Him.
*That's what Paul is talking about in vs. 17-18, when he said, "But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness."
*The New Living Translations says: "Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you have obeyed with all your heart the new teaching God has given you. Now you are free from sin, your old master, and you have become slaves to your new master, righteousness."
*Living free in Jesus Christ means we can be ruled by God's righteousness.
2. IT ALSO MEANS WE GET A BRAND-NEW BEGINNING.
*And we can see our new beginning in vs. 19. Here Paul said, "I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members (or parts of your body) as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness."
*When we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, as far as God is concerned, the slate is wiped clean. We also get a new beginning in life because we are born again by the Holy Spirit of God, and now we can truly present our bodies, our lives to the righteous and holy ways of God.
*This is what Paul was talking about in 2 Corinthians 5:17 when he said, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."
*Jesus Christ gives us a brand-new life, so now we are able to present ourselves to the righteous and holy ways of God. I am not saying that we will be perfect. None of us are. But with Jesus Christ, we can start heading in the direction of perfection. And God promises that one day we will make it!
*But we surely can’t do it without Jesus! As Eddie Snipes once said, "Any dead fish can float downstream. But it takes life to swim against the strong current of the world we live in. Only the Hand of God holding me up will make it possible to fulfill my purpose in this life.
*The first step is a relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. Without a relationship with God, you are struggling by your own strength. God’s desire is to transform us from the inside out. When we surrender our lives to Christ, the Bible tells us that God literally puts His Spirit inside us, and we are born as a new creation.
*God calls me to go where I don’t have the strength to go, do what I cannot do, and be what I cannot be. We are called to become like our Heavenly Father. His goodness is so far from our ability that we can’t make it with our own strength. But with Jesus we can!" (3)
*Living free in Jesus Christ means we get a brand-new beginning.
3. CHURCH: IT ALSO MEANS WE GET HOLY SHAME FOR OUR SINS.
*We see this truth in vs. 20-21, where Paul said:
20. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
21. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
*Now, this new shame we have as Christians is not a bad thing. It's a good thing. Yes, it may be painful. But holy shame is a good thing for a couple of reasons.
[1] FIRST OF ALL: HOLY SHAME GIVES US EVIDENCE.
*Holy shame gives evidence of our new outlook on life as Christians. Because of our salvation, we have a new attitude and new feelings toward sin. We begin to see sin for the ugly, deadly thing that it is. We want nothing to do with it. And when we sin, it causes us pain.
*Edwin Turnage told me about something that happened at a Lay Renewal Weekend many years ago. The men were all gathered together in a group, and the leader took them through an exercise to help them confess their sins.
*He gave them all a piece of paper, and told them to tear it if they wanted to confess a sin. First he called out something like pride. And rip, rip, rip, rip, rip, you could hear paper tearing all over the room. Then maybe dishonesty. Again rip, rip, rip, rip, rip, you could hear paper tearing all over the room.
*But then the leader called out the sin of lust, and there was total silence in the room. There was some mighty quiet paper tearing going on in there! Why? -- Because they were ashamed, and they should have been.
*But by the way: Shouldn't we also be ashamed of pride and dishonesty? -- Yes, of course. And here's the point: If you a true believer in Jesus Christ, one of the best proofs is shame for known sin. If you can knowingly sin without shame, that's pretty strong evidence that you are not saved.
[2] HOLY SHAME GIVES US EVIDENCE. IT ALSO GIVES US ASSISTANCE.
*Holy shame helps us turn away from sin. 2 Corinthians 7:7-11 calls this "godly sorrow." It comes from the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. And the Apostle Paul tells us that this godly sorrow is a good thing. Why? -- Because it leads us to turn away from sin, and turn toward our Savior Jesus Christ.
*Sometimes we feel guilty, because we are guilty, and it hurts. But Psalm 34:18 talks about this kind of hurt, and says: "The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit."
*And as King David confessed his sins in Psalm 51:15-17, David prayed, "O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise. For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart These, O God, You will not despise."
*Holy shame helps us turn away from sin. That's why it is a good thing. And living free in Jesus means we get holy shame for our sins.
4. CHURCH: IT ALSO MEANS WE GET A HOLY HARVEST.
*Verse 22 reminds us of the holy harvest God wants in our lives. Here the Apostle Paul said, "But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your FRUIT to holiness, and the end, everlasting life."
*God wants us to have fruitful lives. He wants us to overflow with the fruit of His Spirit in our lives. In Galatians 5:22-23 that's love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.
*The Lord wants us to have fruitful lives, being a positive influence for the Kingdom of God, and helping more people come to Jesus Christ!
*This kind of spiritual fruit was on Paul's heart when he opened this letter to the Christians in Rome. And in Romans 1:11-17, Paul said:
11. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established
12. that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.
13. Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some FRUIT among you also, just as among the other Gentiles.
14. I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise.
15. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.
16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
17. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith.''
*God wants us to have fruitful lives! This is also why in 2 Corinthians 9:10, Paul lifted up this prayer: "Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and INCREASE THE FRUITS OF YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."
*Living free in Jesus Christ means we get a holy harvest.
5. IT ALSO MEANS WE HAVE GOD'S GREATEST GIFT.
*As Christians, we already have God's greatest gift! We see it in vs. 23, where Paul said: "The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
[1] FIRST IN THIS VERSE, GOD SHOWS US WHAT WE DESERVE.
*"The wages of sin is death," not just physical death, but spiritual death, eternal death, eternal separation from God, spending all eternity in hell. That is what we all deserve because all of us are guilty of sin.
[2] BUT IN VS. 23, GOD ALSO SHOWS US WHAT HE DESIRES.
*God wants everyone to receive His gift of eternal life. We could never earn eternal life. It must be received as a gift, so Paul said, "The wages of sin is death, but the GIFT of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." And in 1 John 5:11, John told Christians: "This is the testimony: that God has GIVEN us eternal life, and this life is in His Son."
*Eternal life is a free gift for all who will receive it, but it came at the highest possible price: The death of God's only begotten Son on the cross for our sins.
*Stop and think about what Jesus really did for us on the cross. Over the years I have counseled many couples before they got married. One of my favorite memories comes from a meeting with an older couple. We were just talking about odds and ends, when out of the blue I asked him, "Do you love her?"
*Without missing a beat, he said, "I love her so much that I would take a bullet for her." And I know that's an unusual way to put it, but what a great expression of love!
*If someone shot at you and I jumped in the way, and took a bullet for you, that would be a wonderful thing. But Jesus Christ did so much more for us! He didn't just take our physical death. We faced everlasting torment and destruction in hell! It was coming straight for us, and there was nothing we could do to get out of the way.
*But Jesus stepped in front. He took all of the suffering that belonged to us, so that we wouldn't have to. Jesus Christ took our death, so that we could have God's gift of eternal life, by placing our trust in Him.
*The gift of eternal life can only be received by believing in Jesus Christ. Other Scriptures make this truth clear, like John 3:36: "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." And in John 6:47 Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life."
*Everybody needs to believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. But what does it mean to believe? What does it mean to have saving faith? Well, since eternal life is a gift from God, then believing is like receiving a gift from someone who loves you.
*Imagine that it's your birthday, and I stop by for a visit. I love you very much, and I also happen to be very rich. In my hand is a little wrapped-up box, and inside the box is a key. Maybe it's the key to a $75,000 Bass Cat PUMA Bass Boat, or a $71,000 Ford F-150 Limited, or a million-dollar home!
*I tell you how much I love you. I tell you about the gift, and I leave the box on the table for you. The key is in the box, and it's yours for the taking. But you never take the wrapping paper off. You never open the box. You never do what you can do with the gift. I really gave it to you, but did you really receive it? -- NO.
*God's gift of eternal life is something like that. Jesus Christ paid the highest price for your gift when He died on the cross for you. And now the Risen Savior freely offers the gift to you. But you have to receive it.
*In order to receive God's gift of eternal life, you don't open a box, you open your heart. And you don't take something out. You let someone in. By faith, you let Jesus Christ into your heart. By faith, you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
*We see this in John 1:12, where God's Word says: "As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name." Have you believed in Jesus? Have you trusted in the Lord to give you His eternal life? You can surely trust Jesus Christ to give you His abundant, eternal life.
*And this new spiritual life is the reality that becomes ours the moment we trust in Jesus Christ. Eternal life doesn't start when you die. It starts when you believe in Jesus! That's why John 3:36 tells us that "He who believes in the Son HAS everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
CONCLUSION:
*Eternal life doesn't start when you die. It starts when you believe, and it lasts forever! So put your trust in the Lord, receive His gift of eternal life, and begin to live in the freedom that only Jesus can give.
(1) SermonCentral sermon "Free Indeed" by Marilyn Murphree - John 8:31-36
(2) PARENTING ISN'T FOR COWARDS by James Dobson, 1987, p. 114-115 - Source Raymond McHenry CD - Topics: Family, Perseverance, Paulie's
(3) SermonCentral sermon "Step One: Our Relationship with God" by Eddie Snipes - Psalm 36:7-10
