During this period of time leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, we are focusing on the book of Romans. Romans is the longest, the deepest, the most penetrating explanation of what the death and resurrection of Jesus means for God’s people. So, it is fitting that we take a careful look at its message
The theme of this book is sounded in the very first chapter. Turn to Rom. 1:16. We find a wonderful truth here. Our salvation comes to us by faith, by putting our trust in God –not in ourselves, our good works, or in ceremonies, but in God. But that is not all. Let’s read 1:17.
We are not only saved by faith; we live by faith. That means that we depend on God for salvation AND we depend on his strength to live for him day after day. Depending on him becomes a way of life for us as individuals and as a congregation. We not only trust in Christ to save us, we trust in Him to sustain us. Is that trust a reality for you this morning?
Now turn to Romans 3:10. Here we see why we need to talk about salvation. It is because we don’t measure up to God’s standard. It is because we are separated from God. Our whole being is infected with the effects of sin.
But God has promised the possibility of a brand new life. He promised it long ago to Abraham. He promises that possibility to us. Paul mentions that promise in 4:13. Look at Romans 4:16. What does that promise depend on? “It depends on faith.” Again and again, Paul emphasizes the importance of faith. When we looked at chapter 4, we saw that the word FAITH is used ten times in that chapter.
And when we get to Romans 5:1, what does it say? It says that faith is the basis of our relationship with God. One way we can remember the meaning of faith is to use this acrostic: Forsaking All I Trust Him. True faith is casting oneself wholly on the Lord Jesus Christ as your only hope for salvation. God is so gracious, so compassionate, so kind, that he has poured his love into our hearts. He forgives, even though we have done nothing to deserve his generosity.
When we get to Romans 6:1, though, Paul raises a question. If God is so willing to forgive, does it matter how we live? In other words, if God can and will forgive that much, shouldn’t we sin some more so that he can exercise this gift of forgiveness more often?
Maybe an example will help. I have only been in front of a judge one time and that was when we lived in Japan as self-supporting missionaries for 15 years. Every foreigner has to have a permit to live in Japan and has to renew it every three years, a little task which, unfortunately, I forgot. As a result of my carelessness, I had to go through a lot of red tape. First, I had a lengthy interview with an official at the city office. Then I had to spend an hour explaining it all over again at the police station. Finally, I had to appear before the judge who accepted my apology and “forgave” me. That was his job. Needless to say, I was very relieved. Now, since the judge kindly forgave me for my transgression, should I have gone out and done it again to give him more opportunities to forgive? And you would answer, “How dumb can you be?”
That’s the way Paul answers. The answer he gives is a strongly worded one, “By no means!” Or “I should say not.” When I was a teenager, I sometimes asked my parents for things that were not reasonable. I can still hear my parents use the words “I should say not” when I made a preposterous request. For example, if I had asked “Can I dye my hair green?” One of them (or both!) would have said, “I should say not!” with a look that said, “Are you out of your mind?” That is the kind of answer Paul gives to this question. God is not just a dispenser of the milk of forgiveness. His willingness to forgive is not an excuse for us to do bad things.
When I still lived at home in Iowa, I knew a teenager who seemed to have that attitude about his dad. His dad was a forgiving man. One time when his dad had to be gone several days, he left a signed check at home in case the teenager needed money for an emergency on the farm. During his dad’s time away, the teenager spotted a car he wanted badly. Guess what? He filled in the amount for the price of the car and used the check to buy it! He knew his dad would forgive him.
Is that the way we should treat God? I should say not. The fact is, if you have declared your allegiance to Jesus, have been baptized, and are following him, your life has changed from what it was. You are no longer what you used to be.
Some of you have heard of St. Augustine who lived until 430 A.D. After he became a Christian, a woman he used to live with in his sin-filled days followed him around one day and called out to him, but he didn’t answer. She called and called, saying “It is I,” and finally he replied, “Yes. I know. But it is no longer I.” You see, his life was no longer identified with his evil ways; his life was identified with Jesus. He had changed. Some of you are struggling with that change right now. You are like a caterpillar, struggling to become a butterfly. And to do it, you need to get rid of the old cocoon that keeps you from spreading your wings and flying.
Paul uses language in an interesting way to explain what he means. How many of you kids know what a word prefix is? We use prefixes to add a meaning to a word. In English, the prefix syn means with or together. You recognize it in words like synchronize. Syn means together; chronize comes from the Greek word chronos meaning time. Synchronize means making something occur at the same time. The word symphony comes from syn plus phone, meaning to sound instruments together.
When Paul composed Romans, he wrote in the Greek language. Greek uses prefixes a lot. And in Romans 6, Paul uses a prefix to help us understand the way we are identified with Jesus, but some of those prefixes don’t show up in English.
Look at vv. 3,4. “Buried with him” in v.4 is all one word in Greek meaning “co-buried.” The idea, as Paul says, is that we are united with him in death. Now how could that be? Paul says it is through baptism. When you are immersed in the water in baptism, it is like being buried. In fact, if you don’t come up, you will end up in a watery grave. When you come up out of the water it is like rising from death. Baptism symbolizes dying to the old life and coming up into a new life. So, Paul says, you are co-buried with Christ. And because of your baptism, not only are you co-buried with Christ, you are co-crucified with Christ, you are co-vivified with him (made alive), and you will co-live with him. (J.C. Wenger, A Lay Guide to Romans. Herald Press. 1983.)
Allow me to go back to my experience in Japan for a moment. I didn’t say anything about Sue or our two children. Their ability to stay in Japan depended on me. They were linked to me. In a sense, they were co-conspirators in my crime. If I had been kicked out from Japan; they would have been kicked out. As it was, since I was forgiven, they were co-forgiven. And because of that forgiveness, the crime that I committed no longer had any power or influence over any of us.
So, the first thing to remember about living by faith is that because Christ has died and we have died with him, sin no longer has the power to do us in. The Message translation says “we are no longer at sin’s every beck and call.” In v. 6, we read that the body of sin was destroyed, not like a car gets destroyed when a suicide bomber loads it with explosives. We all know good and well that sin is still with us. Martin Luther warned that the “old man,” though drowned in baptism, can nevertheless swim quite well!
What has happened is that Satan no longer has the power to enslave those who have been co-crucified with Christ. Sin no longer has the power to do us in. It is no longer our master.
Max Lucado tells the story of a boy who was shooting rocks with a slingshot. He was not a good shot. In his grandma’s backyard one day, he spied her pet duck. On impulse he took aim at the duck. The stone hit, killing the duck. The boy panicked and hid the bird in the woodpile, only to look up and see his sister watching. After lunch that day, Grandma told Sally to help with the dishes. Sally responded, “Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen today. Didn’t you Johnny?” And she whispered to him, “Remember the duck!” So, Johnny did the dishes. What choice did he have? For the next several weeks he was at the sink often. When he objected, Sally would whisper, “Remember the duck.” Eventually, weary of washing dishes, he decided that any punishment would be better than washing more dishes, so he confessed to killing the duck. "I know, Johnny," his Grandma said, giving him a hug. "I was standing at the window and saw the whole thing. Because I love you, I forgave you. I wondered how long you would let Sally make a slave out of you.” He’d been pardoned, but he thought he was guilty. (Max Lucado, In The Grip of Grace)
Romans 6 says that when you were baptized, you were linked to Jesus Christ. An invisible rope was tied between you and Jesus, and now you are connected to everything he did. You were buried with him and now you are dead to sin and alive to God. Sin no longer controls you.
What does that mean for you? In 6:12 we read, “Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your bodies, to make you obey their passions.” Or as The Message says, That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don’t give it the time of day. Sin can’t tell you how to live.
But if you give it opportunity, it will mess up your life. One writer says that ”For the Christian the evil propensities in human nature are like a tiger locked up in a cage. If we open the door, the tiger can be quite disruptive.” (Wenger)
Last week in Dallas, a gorilla escaped from its cage at the Dallas Zoo and injured three or four people with bites and scratches. Police had to kill the animal. Even wild animals which their owners think are tame have sometimes attacked their trainers. When Cain got angry with his brother Abel, God warned him that “Sin is lurking or crouching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.” And so it is for us. Sin is crouching, ready to attack.
So the second thing to remember about living by faith is that we need to be on guard, because if we open the door to sin, it can still hurt us.
How can we gain victory over sin?
1. Don’t open the door. If you know your weakness, stay away from places and people that will trigger it. In some cases that means finding new friends and new places to go or taking other drastic measures. I know a man who wants drugs every time he gets money in his hands. He has put someone else in charge of his money.
2. Fortify yourself with a greater devotion to Jesus. When Sue and I go on long hikes or bike rides, we make sure we get enough sleep and we try to keep our bodies in good condition. And we take plenty of water and something to eat on the way. For Christians, that means feeding on the Word of God. Memorize it. Meditate on it. Learn from it. Allow it to guide your life. Be ready to obey when God speaks.
3. Surround yourself with like-minded people. God does not expect you to live a victorious Christian life alone or even to worship God alone. That is why you are born into the family of God. You wouldn’t get very far as a baby physically. Neither can you make progress alone spiritually. Later in Romans 15:5,6, we read Paul’s prayer to live in harmony with one another and to glorify God with one voice -together.
Finally, Paul does not say that because we have died with Christ we will be free of sin in our life time. But, there will come a day when we’ll die to sin finally and irreversibly just as Christ has done. That is, on the day we die physically, finally and irreversibly. And having died we’ll be raised again, at Christ’s return, to eternal life, with a new body no longer subject to temptation and sin.
So the past reality is Christ’s death and resurrection on our behalf, the future reality is our own resurrection, and in the meantime we stand in between, in a place between two realms, the realm of sin and the realm of righteousness in Christ. How are you dealing with the tension between the two? Have you claimed Christ’s victory over sin for our life? Are you taking steps to remain victorious?
