Why Christians Do Not Continue In Sin (3 Of 3)

As Christians, we must be aware that we not only have been given the “new nature” from God, but that the old Adamic nature that we were born with, lies there ready to rise up at any time.

HOW CAN WE LIVE A VICTORIOUS LIFE OVER SIN?

As chapters 1-5 have taught us, we, who are saved by faith, now have to exercise the same faith that provided salvation in Christ, to give us victory over sin in our daily lives.

Illus: Many people have the idea that Christ saves us from our sins initially, but after salvation He then puts us on our own.

If we could not save ourselves initially, how can we expect that we can keep ourselves SAVED from sin, when we are tempted day by day?

If that is the case, then Christ would not have had to die for us, because we could be our own Savior.

The fact is, we did the SINNING, and Christ does the SAVING.

When we confess our sin, He is the One who CLEANSES US FROM ALL OUR unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Let’s see how He goes about doing that in this passage of scripture: Look first at-

I. OUR RECKONING

Look at verses 11-12, we read, “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.”

Notice the word, “Reckon” in verse 11. There are two definitions.

(1) The contemporary meaning is to: “Count or calculate, consider, rely (on).” We may answer a question by saying, “I reckon that is true.”

That is, while we consider the statement to be true we are not positive it is.

(2) The ancient definition, from “logizomai”, means we KNOW something is true, and day after day we live by that thing we consider to be true.

One thing we know as Christians, according to the scriptures we are dead to sin, and alive unto Christ.

Our old nature was buried in Joseph’s tomb almost two thousand years ago, because we are all in Christ, and when Christ died for sin, so did we.

We must KNOW this in order to live a victorious life over sin.

The reason many professing Christians have sin in their lives, is because they are living their Christian life by the modern definition of the word “reckon,” (I think so, hope so) instead of the ancient definition that we are supposed to live by, KNOWING we are dead in Christ.

Let us examine what is implied by this “RECKON” more closely, to see what it entails for us. First, we must consider-

A. OUR DEATH

Look at verse 11, “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be DEAD indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

This verse says two things about us.

1. IT IS OUR OBITUARY

We read, “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed to sin….”

One day, if the Lord does not return first, our names will appear in the obituary column of the local newspaper. This will be the official public notice that we are dead.

But many Christians are not aware that their spiritual obituary has already been written.

Illus: In the national news on television, in January of 2001, they announced that a lady that was believed to have died was taken to the local funeral home. They had her on a cart, covered, and the undertaker heard a noise, and walked over and uncovered her, and found out she was alive. They carried her to the hospital, and she survived the whole ordeal.

She was suppose to be dead but she wasn’t!

Illus: One evening, Dr. Odell Belger was called to a home where someone had died, who had visited his church. He had a fellow from his church with him when he received the call, and he asked him if he would like to go with him. The man stated he would, and they went to the home. When they arrived, the house was full of people. Dr. Belger greeted the grieving wife. As the group of people stood in the kitchen area, the door bell rang. A man came in, and when he did, a man behind the kitchen table jumped up suddenly and said a curse word, and ran into the bedroom.

Dr. Belger, and the fellow that came with him, had no idea what would cause this man to do this. The man came out in a few minutes, and apologized for saying the curse word, and explained why he ran to the bedroom.

He said that the man who entered the house was his daddy. He then explained that when he got a call to come, he was told his daddy had died. That is why he was grieving as he was. But actually when he got the call, they told him “Eddie” had died. He thought they said “Daddy,” and when his daddy walked in, he thought he was seeing a ghost.