"A MATTER OF DEATH AND LIFE"
We’re here this morning really for two different but connected celebrations. But this
morning we will celebrate these two ceremonies in the reverse order of what they are
normally celebrated. In English, when something is very important we may use the saying,
"It’s a matter of life and death." This morning I just want to reverse that a little and say,
"It’s a matter of death and life." You see, when a baby is born, we often celebrate the new
life. After a few weeks or months we often bring the baby into the church and dedicate the
baby to God. And then many years later we celebrate, albeit with more sadness than joy,
the end of that life with a funeral. Well today, we’re here to celebrate first a funeral and
then a birth. Because you see today we’re having a baptism. What exactly does baptism
mean? Let’s look at what Paul says in
Romans 6:1-12 “1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may
abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you
not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His
death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as
Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in
newness of life. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death,
certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old
man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should
no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we
died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ,
having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.
10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He
lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive
to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body,
that you should obey it in its lusts.”
I. Paul says that baptism is a symbol of death, burial, and resurrection. And there are two
deaths that we can see in baptism.
A. The first death we can see in baptism is the death of Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus, who
was God in the flesh, came and lived the perfect life that we could never live. Then he died
a horrible, cruel death by execution on the cross. But
Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death”
Jesus died, even though he never sinned. That means he paid the penalty for something he
didn’t do. And because he paid that penalty, he won the ultimate victory over death. Now,
when we believe in him and accept him, we no longer have to pay the penalty. He paid it
for us. That’s why the second half of
Romans 6:23 says, “but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
You see Christ’s death was more than the death of a man. It wasn’t just his body that died
the day he hung on Calvary’s cross. That day a deathblow was dealt to the old system. The
old way of life in which man was hopelessly entangled in the cycle of sin was over. The
old day where man could find some, but never complete vindication, in following the
rituals of the Old Covenant were over. See, Hebrews says that the Old Covenant could
only cover up sin. And it had to be repeated every year. It wasn’t a solution. It could only
buy some time. It could only hold you over until a real solution came. But Jesus came and
put an end to all that ritual. When he died, all the ritual of the old covenant died with him
Colossians 2:14 “having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us,
which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the
cross.”
So this morning, we’re here to celebrate Christ’s death and it’s end to the reign of sin.
B. But the second funeral that we’re celebrating this morning is our own. Paul says that
when you are baptized, you partake in Christ’s death with him. Baptism isn’t simply
remembering and celebrating Christ’s death. Baptism is identifying with Christ in his death.
Baptism is celebrating the fact that you have died with Christ. And baptism is telling the
whole world, that’s why it’s public, it’s telling everybody, I AM IDENTIFIED WITH
CHRIST IN HIS DEATH!
Now, nobody actually gets drowned in baptism, so obviously this is not a physical death
we’re talking about, it’s a spiritual death. And it’s not the kind of spiritual death that we
talk about for a person who is not a believer. Paul demonstrates for us exactly what kind
of death he’s talking about in
Romans 6:6+7, “6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of
sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has
died has been freed from sin.”
It is our old man, our sin nature, that has died with Christ. The part of you that was
wicked, that was evil, is dead. And because this is dead, you are free from sin.
You see, when you identify with Christ’s death in baptism, everything about you dies.
Were you an alcoholic? That’s dead.
Were you bitter? That’s dead
Were you immoral? That’s dead.
Was there anything else sinful that controlled your life? It’s dead.
When we were sinners it was natural for us to sin. Indeed we were slaves to sin. Sin was
so deeply ingrained into the core of who were that we couldn’t help but sin. Sin was so
much a part of us, that were hopeless. There was no chance for rehabilitation. You know
there is some debate in our country about whether criminals can be rehabilitated or not.
Now that debate is about horrible criminals. But the question I have today is "Can any
sinner be ’rehabilitated’?" The answer is NO. There is no way you can make yourself
better. There aren’t 12 steps to overcoming sin. Even God himself didn’t try to rehab you.
Instead, he said there’s only one solution to this problem of sin. Kill it. Die. And there’s no
sin too big. There’s no sin too bad. There’s nothing that can’t be taken care of by the death
of the old man.
Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and
dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” (John 12:24)
Now he was talking about his own death on the cross when he said that, but I believe that
we can apply this principle to our lives. Unless sour flesh dies, we cannot bear good fruits.
Unless our flesh dies, we cannot bear the fruits of righteousness and holiness.
Make not mistake about it. You cannot overcome sin gradually. Your sin nature is not
weakened. Like I said before, the Gospel is not a 10-step or 12-step or even a 100-step
program on overcoming sin. Too often, were are satisfied in our Christian walk to
continue in sin and blame it on our "sin nature." We have a saying here in America, "Be
patient. God isn’t finished with me yet." But I have news for you. The old man isn’t sick.
The old man isn’t weak. The old man isn’t dying slowly. If that was what Christianity was
all about, we wouldn’t be able to call it the Good News. If Christianity was all about us
trying to overcome sin on our own, I would be ashamed to stand up here today and call it
Good News. The Good News is not that we can overcome sin. The Good News is that
God knows we cannot overcome. And because he knows that, He came to earth and
overcame for us, so that when we believe in him and identify with him in his death, the old
man dies. We don’t have to try to overcome an enemy that’s dead. The Good News is that
the Old Man, that which compels us, and even forces us, to sin is DEAD.
Now some may say that this idea sounds fine and good but it just doesn’t work in real life.
But I’ve got news for you. That mentality is the problem. Somehow the devil has
convinced Christians in these days that it’s impossible to be holy. See, the devil can’t undo
the victory that Christ has given to you, but he doesn’t have to. All he has to do is
convince you that he has taken the victory away. If he can convince you that you can’t do
it, then you won’t do it. You see
Hebrews 11:25 says, “choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than
to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.”
Sin is fun. Sin is pleasant. The end of it is death, but for now it’s enjoyable. Sin sometimes
has temporary rewards. So even though we are dead to sin, and no longer have to sin, we
still have a choice. We can still choose to sin if we want to. And we often use the excuse
that we can’t overcome anyway, so we might as well given in now. I know in the past I
used that excuse for sin so many times: I’m going to given in eventually anyway so I might
as well given in now and have my fun. That’s a lie from the pit of hell. When the devil tries
to convince you that you can’t have victory over sin, just remember that the old man is
dead. You can have victory. You can live a holy life. This is a whole other sermon, and I
could talk about it all day, but I’ll move on now.
I want to make sure to say now that this holiness I’m talking about isn’t some form of
legalistic following of a list of does and don’ts.
Colossians 2:14-23 says, “14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was
against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it
to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of
them, triumphing over them in it.
16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or
sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. 18 Let
no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels,
intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19
and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by
joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God. 20 Therefore, if you died
with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do
you subject yourselves to regulations-- 21 "Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle," 22
which all concern things which perish with the using--according to the commandments and
doctrines of men? 23 These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed
religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence
of the flesh.”
As I already mentioned the old ritualistic system died with Christ. Do you know why it
failed? Because all it could change was the outside. All ritual can change is your actions.
They cannot change your heart. The Pharisees followed all the rituals of the Law, but in
their hearts they were just as wicked as, no more wicked than, everybody else. Jesus said
they were like "whitewashed tombs." They were beautifully decorated on the outside, but
full of death and decay on the inside. God is not interested in adding ritual to a wicked and
rebellious heart. Instead God wants to change the heart. That’s why
Jeremiah 31:31+33 says, “31 "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will
make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah-- 33 But this is
the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I
will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and
they shall be My people.”
Do you hear God talking about a new covenant? This was hundred s of years before
Christ came, but it was already in hi plan, because God already knew that the old way
wasn’t good enough.
F.F. Bruce said,, "Paul’s own experience had taught him that all the law-keeping in the
world could not bring the assurance of pardon and peace with God, whereas faith in Christ
did so at once. He could never consider legalism the remedy for libertinism; he knew a
more excellent way. When men and women yielded their lives to the risen Christ and the
power of his Spirit, their inward being was radically transformed: a new creation took
place. They received a new nature which delighted to produce spontaneously the fruit of
the Spirit."
So this refusal to accept mere conformity to the Law is not to say "anything goes." It’s not
saying, like some do, that all of our sins have been forgiven by Christ so it doesn’t matter if
we sin. It goes much deeper than that. It is refusing to make changes that are only surface,
but making the deep rooted changes that are necessary. It is not that we say, we don’t
have to follow God’s commandments anymore, it is that our hearts change so that we
desire to do what is right. So instead of saying, "Oh it’s Sunday morning, I have to go to
church." Instead we wake up saying, "Hallelujah! It’s Sunday morning! I can go worship
God together with other believers." It’s not simply refraining from killing, or at least
getting back at, someone who had hurt you, but it’s genuinely loving that person from
your heart. It’s not staying faithful to your husband or wife because you have to while in
your mind and heart you’re thinking about what you’d like to do. It is having a heart with
such love for God and your husband/wife that you don’t even consider such things. That’s
why Christ said,
John 14:15, “"If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
He wasn’t trying to manipulate us like so many people do, by saying “if you really loved
me you’d would do this." Instead, he was saying that a genuine love for him naturally
extends to us desiring to do what is right. Because his laws haven’t been written down in
some rule book somewhere, but they have been written on our hearts.
II. The second thing we are celebrating today is a new birth. And there two new births that
we celebrate today, just as there were two funerals.
A. The first is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We celebrate the Resurrection, because it
shows that Jesus Christ won the triumph over death. Remember Romans 6:23 says that
wages of sin of death. By dying Christ overcame sin. By rising again, Christ demonstrated
that he also overcame the result of sin: death.
Romans 6:5 says, “For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death,
certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection”
.
One of the biggest fears of humanity through the ages has been our mortality. We are
afraid of death. We are afraid of what happens at death. That’s why all throughout history,
we have sought ways to find immortality. We have looked for a fountain of youth. As
Christians, we know that we are not exempt. The death rate now is the same as it has
always been: one per person. Even Hebrews says,
"And as it is appointed for men to die once,” (9:27)
So then, if we were to stop there it would seem that Christianity fails to rectify one of
humanity’s most pressing concerns, that of mortality. However, we know that it doesn’t
end there. We know that God has promised eternal life to all of those who believe in his
Son Jesus Christ (John 3:16) And we don’t have just empty words. We have an example:
Jesus Christ. The Bible says that he is the firstfruits of the resurrection. (1 Corinthians
15:20) We can see that he died and God raised him from the dead. Now when we have
identified with him in his death and we are in him, we can be assured that we will die like
everyone else, but that won’t be the last chapter. You see, death will give way to victory
and you will be raised, incorruptible. You are assured by Christ’s Resurrection that if you
believe in him, you too will one day receive a glorified resurrection body. We don’t have to
worry about death, because we already know, through Christ’s example, that death is not
the end of defeat, but is the beginning of victory.
B. But how about the here and now? What does the resurrection mean for me now? That
is the second birth that we celebrate today. We celebrate our new life in Christ. For surely
if the old man is dead with Christ then a new man is raised to life. That is why the Bible
says,
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but
Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of
God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
You have died, now it is Christ who lives in you. And they life you live is by faith in God.
Paul says it here in Romans 6:11 like this: “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be
dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Let me tell you that you are not alive to sin. You probably already figured that out. But
lets’ look at what we are alive to.
I hear a lot of people say things like, “Religion is good, in moderation. Everything in
moderation.” I’m a pastor. My sister married a man who is going to become a pastor.
When my youngest brother also decided he wanted to go to Bible college to become a
pastor, someone told him something like, “You don’t all have to be pastors. There’s more
to life than the ministry.” While I do agree that not everyone has to become a pastor,
please don’t get that message this morning. But the fact is that when you become a
believer, your life is ALL about God. She thought that we were too focused on God. But
everything else in life, even the good things, are incidental. They don’t really matter at all
in relation to the eternal perspective. She thought we were too zealous. But I have news
for you this morning. You can’t be too zealous.
I’m not talking about being ridiculous. I’m not saying that you have to be someone who
offends everybody the second you meet them by telling them they’re going to Hell. I’m
not saying you have to go downtown with a bullhorn and tell everyone that the wrath of
God is coming. I’m not saying that you have to spend 6 hours a day in prayer. I’m not
saying you have to sit down for hours on end reading the Bible. If God wants you to do
that, then I’m all for it, but it’s not this kind of zealousness that I’m talking about.
What I’m talking about is something internal. Too many Christians are what we could call,
“Casual Christians.” They believe in Jesus. They go to church. They try their best to do
the right thing. They may even tell others about Christ. But Christianity is only a part of
their life. God is only a part of their life. He may even be an important part, but he’s still
just a part. I’m here to tell you that the old life was buried with Christ in baptism. The life
you live now is not your own. It is in Christ. God should not be a part of your life. God
should be your life.
I’m telling you, God is not interested in people giving themselves partially to him. Jesus
said,
Matthew 6:24, “"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love
the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God
and mammon.
God is a jealous God. He cannot share you. It’s 100% or nothing with God.
Recently, President Bush spoke and said, "Either you’re with us, or you’re with our
enemies." He didn’t make that idea up. God had that idea first. You are either 100% for
God or you’re 100% against God. Those are the only choices. There is no in-between.
Paul says you are "alive to God." That means that you are not alive to your job. You’re
not alive to your family: you parents, your husband, your wife, your kids. You’re not alive
to your own dreams and goals and desires. Jesus said,
Luke 14:26, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and
children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.”
Does this mean that these things are bad? NO. This doesn’t mean that God wants you to
literally hate your family. What it does mean is that God must be first in your life. He
won’t settle for less.
If something is more important to you then God, then that thing is your god. And you
can’t have two Gods.
Remember that your whole reason for existence now, your purpose-for-existence, is God.
That means that EVERYTHING else must be after God. That is the kind of commitment
that God requires. It is not optional. There is no secondary level of believer. Your life is in
Christ.
c. 2001
