Signs of Our Union

Amen.

And so our text this morning is not going to be Psalm 37.

If you read ahead, that's awesome.

You'll be very prepared for next week.

But this morning, our text is Romans chapter 6, verses 1 through 14.

Romans 6:1–14

And so please, if you would, take your Bibles.

Let's open them up to Romans chapter 6, verses 1 through 14.

Romans 6:1–14

And when you found that, let's stand in honor of the reading of God's word this morning.

Paul writes,

Now, if we have died with Christ,

we believe that we will also live with Him.

We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again.

Death no longer has dominion over Him.

For the death He died, He died to sin once for all.

But the life He lives, He lives to God.

So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passions.

Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness,

but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life,

and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.

For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law, but under grace.

The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever.

Would you pray with me once more?

Father, we have a tremendous gospel to unpack and to understand and to rejoice in this morning.

And so we pray, Father, would that gospel be clear?

And would you empower the preaching of your word by your spirit,

for the good of your people, and for the glory of your name?

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

You may be seated.

Next month, Amanda and I will get to celebrate 14 years of marriage.

That doesn't sound like a lot.

Maybe to some of you, maybe to others of you, it does sound like a lot.

Now, I know for Amanda, that's an incredible achievement.

But 14 years is coming up, and so about this time each year,

I start to think about this incredible gift of marriage.

And I remember the beginning and the walking down the aisle.

I remember the pronouncement of man and wife and the presence of many witnesses.

I remember that weird feeling of having a ring on my finger for the very first time.

And then I remember just kind of getting used to the fact that we are actually married.

It's not just my life anymore.

It's our life.

It's not just my plans.

Now we're bound up together.

It's our plans.

And as I consider all that God has done over 14 years,

I just marvel at the fact that I have this incredible union to celebrate with my wife.

You know, it's no accident that the Apostle Paul tells us in another book, Ephesians chapter 5,

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

that this marriage idea is actually a picture of the gospel.

John Murray says,

John Murray says it like this.

He says,

Union with Christ is the central truth of the whole doctrine of salvation.

It is not simply a step in the application of redemption.

Rather, it underlies every step.

Church, there are few doctrines as beautiful and as vital for us to understand as our union with Christ.

And it's to this union that Paul points us here in Romans chapter 6.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

And it's that union with Christ that the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper so beautifully represent to us.

And so this morning, we're going to examine this idea, this doctrine of our union with Christ.

And we'll look at it together in three stages this morning.

This will be our outline if you're taking notes.

First, think with me about entering the union.

Entering the union.

And Paul takes us back to the beginning of our union with Christ here in verses 1 through 11 as you look at Romans chapter 6.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

He spent the first five chapters of Romans exalting the grace of God in the gospel of Christ.

He delivered first the terribly bad news that all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

He delivered the bad news that all of us are by nature under His wrath.

And so all of us by nature are deserving of hell.

And all of us by nature are enemies of God.

Every last one of us, he says, whether Jew or Greek, rich or poor, Democrat or Republican,

all in all or Mount Pleasant, Clemson or South Carolina,

all of us by nature are under this curse of sin.

That's the bad news, Romans 1 through 5.

But then he gives us the glorious good news, he tells us,

that God has provided the way of salvation for sinners like us

in sending Jesus Christ.

That He has fulfilled the law by His own perfect life.

He has lived the life that we should have lived but failed.

He has died the death that we should have died in our place as a substitute for sinners.

And now He lives and reigns and rules and resurrection power over all the forces of sin and death and the devil.

This is the good news.

God has provided the way of salvation for sinners in His Son, Jesus Christ.

There is a way for sinners like us to be declared righteous in the sight of God.

Simply by putting our faith in Jesus.

That's Romans 1 through 5.

But now by the time we get to chapter 6, Paul, he senses an objection here.

If the gospel is all about magnifying God's grace, and it is.

If the gospel is all about the praise of His glorious grace towards sinners, and it is.

If you cannot earn your salvation by what you do.

If your righteousness matters not at all, and Christ's righteousness is all that matters.

Then here's a question, Paul.

Why does it matter how we live?

Why does it matter what we do?

Why not just keep on sinning?

Because, Paul, if I understand you rightly,

if I just keep on sinning, and then God shows me grace,

and then God gets the glory,

then we all win, right?

Right?

Paul says, by no means.

Why?

Because if you are a Christian,

then you are now united to Christ.

The moment you put your faith in Jesus,

you have now entered into this brand new reality.

You are no longer dead in sin.

Paul says, you are now alive to God in Christ.

To say it another way,

you are no longer alive towards sin and dead towards God.

You are now dead towards sin and alive towards God.

Why?

Because Jesus is dead to sin, and you're in Him.

And Jesus has risen and is now alive towards God,

and you are in Him.

And so now you are dead to sin and alive to God in Christ.

This is what it means to be a Christian.

It means you have now entered into this breathtaking union with King Jesus.

I am sure you realize,

and if you haven't realized this yet,

you will realize it soon enough.

It is a recipe for disaster when a married man keeps on living like he is single.

That will not last.

Not for long.

You have entered into a new reality,

a new union,

a new identity.

You're not single anymore,

so stop acting like it.

Paul says,

neither are you, Christian.

Keep on sinning?

What are you talking about?

You have entered into a new union with Christ.

Stop thinking,

and stop acting,

and stop living like you're still single and dead in your sin.

Spurgeon says it like this.

He says,

you are one with Christ.

The same blood that flows in His veins now flows in yours.

You are part of His body,

of His flesh,

and of His bones.

Here's what this means, church.

God has performed a miracle in you, Christian.

He has taken what was dead

and has now made it alive.

He has taken what was His enemy

and has now adopted you into His own family

as His own son or His own daughter.

He's taken what was separated from Him

and under His wrath

and now has united you to Himself

and placed you under infinite grace and blessing in Christ.

And that brand new reality, Paul says,

is pictured in baptism.

Now, I want you to notice just a few things here

that Paul shows us about this ordinance,

this sign of baptism.

For one, notice here,

baptism pictures our union with Christ.

Baptism portrays visibly our union with Christ.

This is what he says in verse 3.

Do you not know

that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus

were baptized into His death?

We were therefore buried with Him

by baptism into death

in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead

by the glory of the Father,

we too might walk in newness of life.

And the question is,

well, Paul,

what kind of baptism are you talking about here?

Are you talking about water baptism

like what we're about to do out here?

Or are you talking about spirit baptism,

meaning conversion?

And the answer is both.

Not because that water baptism saves you,

it doesn't,

but because that water baptism

is almost shorthand

for the entire reality of salvation.

Your baptism, water baptism,

is like the wedding ring on my finger.

This ring does not make me married.

A single man can go buy a wedding ring

and slip it onto his finger.

That does not make him married.

But this ring on my finger

is shorthand for the entire message of marriage.

It is shorthand for all the glorious benefits

of this union with my spouse.

And so you can say things like,

put a ring on it.

Beyonce, if you like it,

you should have put a ring on it.

And we know what you mean.

You're not just talking about the ring, are you?

Right?

You're talking about

all the glorious benefits of marriage.

Paul uses baptism in the same way.

Baptism is a visible sign,

shorthand,

for a believer's union with Christ.

You are buried with Him.

You are raised with Him.

The old is gone.

The new has come.

It visibly represents

what God has done

in the heart of a believer.

Which is why, notice,

this is why baptism is for believers only.

Baptism is not an engagement ring.

It is a wedding ring.

Baptism is not a symbol of promises made

that may or may not come true in time.

That have not yet come to pass.

Baptism is a symbol of promises realized.

This is where we take a different path

from our Presbyterian friends

who we love very much

and appreciate deeply.

But just think about Paul's argument here

in Romans 6 with me.

In what sense could any of this be said

of a non-believer

or an infant?

An infant has not yet died to sin.

They have not yet received

new resurrection life.

They are not yet freed from sin's power.

Not until by God's grace

they put their faith in Jesus

and are actually united to Him.

And then,

in obedience to Christ's command,

then,

we symbolize that union with Christ

in the waters of baptism.

In the Great Commission,

what does it say?

Jesus commands all His disciples,

go and make disciples of all nations,

baptizing them,

the disciples,

those who hear the Gospel

and respond in faith.

And so,

when we baptize someone,

as we're preparing to do today,

we're not saying,

gee,

I hope that God saves you.

we are saying,

we believe that He has.

And we believe that

you are united to Christ by faith.

We believe that

you have been buried with Him

and now you have been raised with Him.

And so,

we're going to represent that visibly

through the waters of baptism.

And notice here,

final point before we move on.

You notice I say we.

We.

We are doing this.

Who is the we?

One more key here.

Notice that He instinctively connects

baptism with the local church.

Remember who He's talking to here

in this book of Romans?

He is not just talking to

disconnected,

isolated,

lone ranger Christian

who happens to be passing through Rome

at the time.

Who is He talking to?

He is talking to

an organized,

recognizable,

local church

of Jesus Christ.

One that has elders

and deacons

and members

and they know

who is the church

and who is just passing through.

Why?

Because the normal assumption

of the New Testament

is that

if you have been united

to Christ,

then you will have

that vertical union

recognized

and affirmed

horizontally

by Christ's people,

the church.

This is what we,

together,

church,

do in baptism.

In baptism,

the individual says,

I'm a Christian

and the church says,

yes you are,

we agree.

We affirm that.

The individual says,

I want to walk with Jesus

and the church

collectively says,

yes,

we're going to do that with you.

We're going to link arms with you.

We're going to do that together.

To be baptized

is to say,

I am a part of the body

and then for the body

to say,

yes you are,

you're a part of us.

And again,

church,

I am so excited this morning

that we get to hear

the testimonies

from Carl

and then from Savannah

and then we go outside

and we get to symbolize

their entrance

into this union

with Jesus

but then we don't just

send them off

to go figure it out

on their own.

At the very same time,

we get to welcome them

formally,

officially

into membership

of this local body

of Christ.

What a gift that is.

Baptism,

like a wedding ceremony

is the one time

initial pronouncement

of your union

with Christ

in the presence

of many witnesses.

But of course,

we also need

regular reminders

of this union.

So the second stage here

that we'll consider,

second,

Paul says,

consider the union.

Second is,

considering the union.

And it's just amazing to me

how Paul does this.

And this is,

this is the hardest part

of preaching.

He lays out

all of this

glorious,

big picture,

gospel truth

of our union

with Christ.

He gives the church

in Rome

all of the gospel doctrine

that they could possibly handle.

And then,

he gives these specific,

clear to the point,

practical commands.

These aren't just ideas.

These ideas are meant

to shape our lives.

Right doctrine

ought to produce

right living.

And so he says,

by way of inference,

remember the objection,

don't keep on sinning

that grace may abound.

Christian,

live as you are

in Christ.

Consider this union

with Him.

And he gives us

a couple of images

to help us

understand what that means.

The first image here

is,

it's death to life.

He says,

we have been baptized,

buried with Him

in baptism,

raised to walk

in newness of life.

That's a command.

He says,

walk as someone

who has been raised

to new life.

And so the first image here

is death to life.

He gives us a second here

in verses 5 through 11.

And here,

the image is

slavery to freedom.

Look there at verse 5.

He says,

for if we have been

united with Him

in a death like His,

we shall certainly

be united with Him

in a resurrection like His.

We know that our old self

was crucified with Him

in order that the body

of sin might be brought

to nothing

so that we would

no longer be enslaved

to sin.

For one who has died

has been set free

from sin.

See,

the bad news is

you were dead.

The good news is

Christ has died

in your place.

And you've died in Him.

The bad news is

you were enslaved to sin.

But the good news is

Christ has now shattered

those chains of sin

for all who are united

to Him by faith.

If you are in Christ

by faith,

if you are united

to Him,

Christian,

you are free

from slavery to sin.

This is almost unbelievable,

isn't it?

Do you understand

non-believer

that you are not free?

That you are

enslaved

to the powers of sin?

And do you understand,

believer,

Christian,

that you are now

free

from the power of sin?

Yes,

of course,

you will still wrestle

with the presence of sin

in and around you.

You will wrestle

with indwelling sin

in you.

All of us do.

You will feel the pain

that sin causes

and brings against you

in your life.

We all do.

But the difference now

is you are no longer

enslaved

to the power

of sin

over you.

The presence

and the pain

and the persistence

of sin

are all there,

but His power

over you

is no more.

You are,

as He says

in 2 Corinthians 5.17,

you are a new creation

in Christ.

The old is gone,

behold,

the new has come.

Christ is alive,

you are alive

in Him.

Christ is victorious

over sin,

you are victorious

over sin

in Him.

This is what He says

in verse 8.

If we have died

with Christ,

we believe

we also will live

with Him.

And we know

that Christ,

being raised from the dead,

will never die again.

Death no longer

has dominion over Him.

For the death

He died to sin

once for all,

but the life He lives,

He lives to God.

Friend,

this is what it means

to be united

to Jesus.

When you get married,

it's no longer

just your wife's problems.

Guess what?

Now they're your problems too.

Amen!

It's no longer

just your debt.

Now this is our debt.

This is our balance sheet

together.

There's this blending

of lives

that happens

in a healthy marriage.

Paul says

this is exactly

what happens

when you're united

with Christ

by faith.

His death,

guess what?

That's yours.

His life,

guess what?

That's yours.

His freedom,

guess what?

That's yours,

Christian.

His victory

over sin,

guess what?

It is yours.

apart from Him

before you were

united to Him,

you were a slave

to sin,

but now,

praise God,

sin has no more power

over you,

Christian,

than it does

over Christ,

Jesus Himself.

So Christian,

live as you are

in Christ.

Christ.

This is what Paul

calls us to.

Our problem

is that we're so quick

to forget this

reality-shaping union

with King Jesus.

And we're just saying,

didn't we,

prone to wonder,

Lord,

I feel it,

prone to leave

the God I love.

So what do we need

to do,

church?

Paul commands us

in verse 11.

So you also

must consider yourselves

dead to sin

and alive to God

in Christ Jesus.

Jesus.

Consider yourself

dead

and consider yourself

alive.

Consider the union

and consider

what it means.

Consider yourself,

reckon yourself

to be who you are

in Christ.

Consider yourself

to be dead to sin.

Consider yourself

to be alive in Christ.

Consider yourself

to be free

from sin's enslavement

and consider yourself

to be victorious

over it in Christ.

And this isn't just

think about it,

although that's part of it.

This is,

let this truth

shape your very identity.

Drop your maiden name.

Wear your ring proudly.

Consider yourself

united to King Jesus.

Stop living as a slave.

Start living as a free man

in Christ.

A free woman

in Christ.

Christian,

do you understand

if you're in Christ

by faith,

this is objectively

true of you.

It means you are now

spirit indwelt,

reborn,

made new,

set free.

This is good news.

Paul says,

let this gospel

shape your very identity.

Would you consider yourself

dead to sin

and alive to God

in Christ?

In church,

there is more application

here than we have time

in the week

to apply to us,

but we'll give you a few.

Consider yourself

dead to sin

and alive to God.

How?

By saturating your mind

with God's word,

not with the world.

Do not be conformed

to the patterns

of this world,

he tells us

in chapter 12,

but be transformed

by the renewal

of your mind.

How?

Saturate your mind

with God's word

in Holy Scripture.

Consider yourself

dead to sin

and alive to God.

How?

By praying

without ceasing

and enjoying

this union

with your God.

Abide in me,

he says.

He invites you,

Christian.

Come to him.

Speak to him.

Bear your soul to him.

You'll be heard

and received in Christ.

Consider yourself

dead to sin

by killing

any lingering sin

in your heart.

Put off the old man

and put on the new man

in Christ.

Be killing sin

or sin will be killing you,

John Owen tells us.

Consider yourself

alive to God

by seeking to satisfy

your heart in him,

by treasuring him

above all else,

by feasting

on the abundance

of his steadfast love.

for you in Christ,

by fixing your mind's eye

on his return

and the promise

of eternal joy

with him

in that time,

in that day

when sin's presence,

sin's pain,

sin's persistence

and sin's power

are gone.

Consider yourself

dead to sin

and alive to God

by joining yourself

meaningfully

with your local church

community

in pursuit of Christ

together.

but you know

one way

that we

consider

this glorious

union together

as a church?

We consider

ourselves

dead to sin

and alive

to God

by partaking

of communion

together.

Have you ever

thought about it

this way?

What is communion?

Communion

is a

visible,

tangible

reminder

of the gospel

of Christ.

It shows us

visibly before our eyes.

We hold it

in our very hands

what Christ has done

in shedding

his blood

and breaking

of his flesh.

And it's a sign

of our unity

both to Christ

vertically

and also

horizontally

to Christ's people.

Paul says

in 1 Corinthians 10

because there is

one bread

we who are many

are one body

for we all

partake of the

one bread.

Church this is

a family meal

for those

who have been

united to Christ

and to one

another.

Baptism

is the one

time entrance

and communion

is the ongoing

reminder

of our union

with Christ.

Baptism

is putting

on the

team jersey

and communion

is the regular

team practice.

Baptism

is the wedding

ceremony

and communion

is the anniversary

getaway

or the weekend

date night.

It is a

regular

ongoing

reminder

of our union

with Christ

and our unity

together

as a body

which is why

again

these two signs

are so

interconnected.

Baptism

looks back

at the beginning

of our union

but communion

feeds us

along the way.

It's a family

meal

where every

baptized believer

gets to come

and remember

and feast

on what God

has done

for us

in Christ.

Christian

when you

come to

the table

you feed

on Christ

by faith

and you

remember

you remember

his body

broken for you

and his

blood shed

for you

the blood

of the new

covenant

shed for the

forgiveness

of your sins

you eat

and you

drink

in faith

and you

consider

yourself

in him

dead

to sin

and alive

to God

and again

what a gift

church

and we get

to celebrate

this together

this morning

if you're a

baptized believer

you're welcome

to come

and remember

what God

has done

in bringing

you from

death to life

and freeing

you from

slavery to

sin

would you

come

this morning

and consider

yourself

dead to

sin

and alive

to God

in Christ

praise God

but then

church

we see

third

Paul directs

us

to living

in the

union

living

in the

union

the big

moment

of the

wedding

ceremony

and the

honeymoon

is over

and then

what happens

you come

back home

and what

then

the

anniversary

celebration

is great

you get

to reflect

on your

love for

one another

express

your love

to one

another

but what's

next

what's

after that

what's

next

is daily

faithfulness

daily

enjoyment

of living

faithfully

in the

union

God

has given

you

and this

is what

Paul shows

us in

verses 12

through 14

now we're

about to

go and

eat and

drink

symbolically

the body

and the

blood of

Christ

we're about

to go

and feast

on the

promises

of the

gospel

by faith

but then

we're

going to

leave

and we're

going to

start a

new week

we're

going to

go

baptize

Carl

and Savannah

but then

they're

going to

dry off

and they're

going to

change their

clothes

they're going

to drive

back home

and then

normal life

starts again

Monday is

right around

the corner

what does

all of this

mean when you

get up and

go to work

tomorrow

everything has

changed but at

the same time

it all just

looks the

same

what does

it look

like

to live

every day

in this

union

with Christ

Paul tells

us in

verse 12

let not

sin

therefore

reign

in your

mortal body

to make

you obey

its passions

let not

sin

therefore

reign

in your

mortal body

to make

you obey

its passions

what does it

look like

tomorrow

church

it looks

like

war

Paul says

refuse it

do not

let it

reign

it wants

to

there is

now and

will be

until the

day you

die or

Christ

returns

a battle

for your

heart

a battle

for the

throne

sin has

been

effectively

dethroned

but it

constantly

is trying

to sneak

its way

back

on

Paul says

don't

let it

reign

Christian

don't

let it

make you

obey

its

passions

Christian

don't

go eat

this bread

and drink

this cup

and go

into the

water

and come

up out

of the

water

and then

go out

of here

and live

like you're

still enslaved

to sin

don't

present your

members

he says

in verse

13

to sin

as instruments

for unrighteousness

but present

yourselves to

God as

those who

have been

brought from

death to

life

and your

members to

God as

instruments

for righteousness

for sin

will have

no dominion

over you

since you

are not

under law

but under

grace

here we go

back to this

grace again

this grace

remember the

keep on

sinning

objection

Paul says

this grace

being under

grace

if you truly

understand it

it should not

lead you to

give yourself

over to sin

but rather to

freely

and fully

give yourself

to God

and there is

no in between

how do I live

in this union

with Christ

what does it

look like

it looks like

love the Lord

your God

with all

your heart

and all

your soul

and all

your mind

and all

your strength

and love

your neighbor

as yourself

as Jesus

did

it looks like

all the

members of

your body

your mind

your eyes

your ears

your mouth

your hands

and your feet

your heart

and your soul

all of it

has now been

set free

from sin

and made

alive by the

spirit

so Paul

says don't

offer any

of them up

as instruments

to sin

rather give

yourself

wholly

to God

this

is the

daily

life

in union

with Christ

as you abide

in him

and bear much

fruit each

and every day

you're asking

God

God how can I

use my lips

to glorify you

today

God how can I

let what comes

into my ears

be honoring

to you today

God would you

guide my thoughts

and lead them

to be honoring

to you today

I don't want

to set my mind

on anything

that's false

I want to set

my mind

above where

Christ is

seated at the

right hand

of God

God would you

allow me to

set my hands

and my feet

today in ways

that are honoring

and pleasing

to you

not to tear

down but to

build up

God would you

would you allow

me to treasure

you above all

else in my

heart today

would you remove

any false joy

any false

treasure

any false

delight far

from me

and satisfy

my heart

this morning

in your

unfailing love

God would you

do that

this is what

it looks like

to live

daily in your

union with

Christ

the ordinances

of baptism

and the

Lord's Supper

church

they are

beautiful

pictures

of our

union

with Christ

but I want

to make it

clear to you

as we close

they are not

just empty

religious

rituals

they both

demonstrate

and demand

new life

in Christ

do not

partake

of these

elements

if you have

no intention

of living out

what they

represent

if you have

been baptized

and if you

take communion

what you're

saying

church

is I

am in

Christ

sin has

no dominion

over me

how can

we who

have died

to sin

still live

in it

Paul gives

this exact

warning

clearly in

Romans

in 1st

Corinthians

chapter 10

he warns

the Corinthians

that simply

partaking

of these

signs

apart from

genuine

faith

and genuine

repentance

it means

absolutely

nothing

for you

in fact

it may

be

it may

mean

trouble

for you

listen to

this warning

from 1st

Corinthians

10

he says

for I do

not want

you to be

unaware

brothers

that our

fathers

were all

under the

cloud

and all

passed

through the

sea

all were

baptized

into

Moses

in the

cloud

and in

the

sea

do you

hear

there

a

picture

of

baptism

all

of them

were

baptized

as it

were

rescued

out of

slavery

in

Egypt

brought

into

freedom

through

the

waters

of

the

red

sea

do you

see

an

image

of

baptism

he

goes

on

and all

ate

the

same

spiritual

food

and all

drank

the

same

spiritual

drink

for

they

drank

from

the

spiritual

rock

that

followed

them

and the

rock

was

Christ

there's

a

sermon

for

another

day

do you

hear

there

a

picture

of

communion

this

redeemed

!

community

who

all

of

them

brought

out of

slavery

all

of

them

baptized

as it

were

through

the

waters

all

of

them

now

called

to be

God's

people

God

sustained

them

with

this

spiritual

food

on

their

way

to

the

promised

land

does that

sound

like

us?

He

reminded

them

constantly

of

his

care

and

his

provision

for

them

he

reminded

them

constantly

of

his

faithfulness

to

them

that

they

were

his

people

and

he

was

his

God

and

yet

he

goes

on

nevertheless

with

most

of

them

God

was

not

pleased

for

they

were

overthrown

in

the

wilderness

here's

the

point

these

ordinances

are

incredible

signs of

God's

gift of

grace

in the

gospel

of

Christ

they

are

visible

and

tangible

expressions

of our

union

with

Jesus

but

again

church

apart

from

real

repentance

and

apart

from

real

faith

they

are

empty

so

Paul

says

these

things

took

place

as

examples

for

us

that

we

might

not

desire

evil

as

they

did

do

not

be

idolaters

as

some

of

them

were

as

it

is

written

the

people

sat

down

to

eat

and

drink

and

rose

up

to

play

so

we

must

not

indulge

in

sexual

immorality

as

some

of

them

did

and

23,000

fell

in a

single

day

we

must

not

put

Christ

to

the

test

as

some

of

them

did

and

were

destroyed

by

serpents

nor

grumble

as

some

of

them

did

and

were

destroyed

by

the

destroyer

now

these

things

happened

to

them

as

an

example

but

they

were

written

down

for

our

instruction

on

whom

the

end

of

the

ages

has

come

church

they

are

written

down

for

us

for

us

as we

come

to

the

table

for

us

as we

go

down

into

the

waters

of

baptism

for

us

as we

reflect

on

our

precious

union

with

Jesus

Christ

friend

have

you

been

united

to

Christ

by

faith

have

you

been

united

with

him

in

his

death

to

sin

and

his

life

to

God

do

you

live

now

in

resurrection

victory

over

sin

have

you

entered

into

that

union

if

not

then

friend

what

would

keep

you

from

coming

to

Christ

this

very

morning

and

calling

out

to

him

in

faith

and

if

so

Christian

consider

yourself

dead

to

sin

and

alive

to

God

in

Christ

live

in

the

union

God

has

purchased

for

you

in

the

gospel

of

Christ

let's

pray

father

God

we

praise

you

for

this

unfathomable

grace

that you've

given

us

in

Christ

that

all

who

come

to

King

Jesus

by

faith

you

have

removed

our

sins

from

us

as far

as

the

east

is

from

the

west

you

have

made

us

new

in

Christ

you've

given

us

a very

new

identity

Lord

we're

no

longer

dead