Stay Out of the Mud

Good morning, everybody.

He had just had a bath, too.

Yeah.

Why do we do that?

Like Finley.

His name is Finley, by the way, in case you haven't seen him around town.

He's a small horse.

He's hard to wash, and then he promptly goes and rolls in the dirt.

Look, we would never do that, right?

We'd never go get ourselves all clean and then go out and roll in the mud.

You feel good about yourself.

You've been working outside, take a shower, put on clean clothes,

and then promptly go outside and dive straight in the mud and get all dirty again.

Nobody would do that, right?

That is Paul's reminder or question or challenge to us in Romans chapter 6.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

So here's what we're talking about today, y'all.

Stay out of the mud.

It's what I really wish my dog would learn.

Stay out of the mud.

Jesus washed us clean.

So why do we insist on going back and crawling through the mud?

Turn with me, if you would, to Romans chapter 5.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

We have been on this series,

Went in Romans, for quite a few weeks now.

I think this is week 11 that we've been diving through Paul's letter epistle to Romans.

We're going to try to dig through two chapters today, Romans 5 and Romans 6.

Romans 5 talks about what Jesus did for us.

Romans 6 talks about how we then live.

If this is what Jesus did for us, which we're going to see in Romans 5,

then Romans 6 tells us how to apply that.

So how should we live?

So as you turn to Romans chapter 5, I'm reminding you we started at the back of the book

Romans 5 · chapter mention

and we've been working our way forward to the beginning,

and we're going to see why when we get there.

Romans chapter 5.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

We're going to begin in verse 1.

I'm reading from the New Living Translation.

If y'all wouldn't mind, if you're able to stand, would you mind joining me in standing?

And let's read through these first five verses of Romans 5 together.

Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith,

we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.

Boy, think back to everything that Jesus did for us.

That's how you and I can have peace with God.

Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege

where we now stand.

And we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory.

Imagine all of God's glory, all of his power, all of his majesty.

You and I will get to share in that glory.

And we can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, which we're all going to.

For we know that these problems and trials help us develop endurance.

And endurance develops strength of character.

And character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.

And this hope will not lead to disappointment.

For we know how dearly God loves us because he's given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Would you bow your heads with me?

God, we approach you today having sung your praises, having listened to your name lifted up.

Having seen a baby dedicated to you.

His parents' desire to raise him up in the way he ought to go.

God, that's all of our desire is just to follow you more closely.

To learn more of what it means to be your child and walk through this life as a child of God.

It's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

I pray that God would teach us exactly that today from Romans chapter 5 and Romans 6.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

We're going to start off with this.

Jesus changed your status.

So this is the first truth that we get from Romans chapter 5 is Jesus has changed our status.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

Look back at the text with me if you would.

If you don't have a copy of the word of God, there should be one there in the seat back in front of you.

Or you can pull out your handy little phone and get the Bible app up.

I don't care as long as we're all looking at the scriptures together.

So Romans 5, let's look down at verse 6.

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.

And now look down at verse 8.

This is a very well-known verse.

If you've been around the church a while, you've read the Bible, then you've probably heard this verse before.

But God showed or demonstrated or commended his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Those verses before that talk about the difference.

It's how, yeah, maybe somebody might be willing to lay down their life or die for a good person, right?

But who would die for a bad person?

Who would die for an evil person?

Who would die for a sinner?

And that's the point that Jesus is making.

I died for you when you were sinners, not because you earned it, not because you were deserving of the ultimate sacrifice, but because I love you.

I showed you this love by dying for you while you were still sinners.

And then look down at verse 10.

For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his son, while we were still his enemies.

Boy, we went from sinners to enemies.

Real quick there.

Yeah, God, we're sinners.

Nobody's perfect.

But you're calling us your enemies?

Yes, because you belong to the power of darkness.

Because you're trapped.

You can't break out.

You belong to the wrong kingdom.

And Jesus came to break you out, to free those chains.

So now you're no longer at odds.

Now you can be in God's, not just on his team, be in his family.

Be in God's family.

So he says in verse 10, while we were still his enemies, then friendship with God was restored by the death of his son.

And he said, because of this, we certainly will be saved through the life of his son.

What a demonstration.

What a gesture of love that someone would die for you.

But then if they can go on living for you at the same time, well, that's impossible.

But that's exactly what Jesus did.

He said, not only will I die for you, but I will raise myself back to life by the power of God.

And then I will be alive for you as well.

And you will have my living spirit living with you.

So this is what Jesus has offered us.

So we're talking about how God can change our status.

And if you are a child of God this morning, then he has changed your status.

What do we mean when we say status?

Y'all, maybe it's a generational thing, but you know what the first thing I think of when I think of status is?

Facebook.

Yeah.

Anybody ever update their Facebook status?

How many of y'all remember the early days of Facebook when it was really awkward and just information you didn't need to know?

And they were like dragging it out of you?

It would be a complete the sentence kind of thing.

Like Sam is feeling blank and then you fill in the blank and share Sam is feeling tired.

And then you share that.

And the people that see it are like, why are you telling us this?

Take a nap.

Sam is feeling hungry.

Eat a sandwich, Sam.

And while you're at it, make me one too.

Anyway, kind of silly, the whole status thing.

But statuses change all the time.

And Facebook wanted to play on that.

Give us your status update.

What's going on with you?

Employment status can change real quick.

One moment you've got a job, you're gainfully employed, and you're moving forward in life.

And then you get a phone call, and all of a sudden you don't have a job anymore.

Your employment status has moved to unemployed.

And that's no fun to be in that situation.

You're like, oh boy, what are we doing now?

Relationship statuses can change.

Everything's moving along, and all of a sudden, one mistake, one conversation, and now you're not in a relationship anymore.

These statuses are very fluid.

They can change.

That's not the kind of status that Jesus offers us.

He offers us a permanent status change.

Your status, your situation, your outlook, your identity is probably a better word.

It's secure.

It is cemented when Jesus changes your status.

And here's what it was.

It was from slave to sin to son of God.

From slave to sin to son of God.

Now look over in Galatians chapter 2.

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

You don't even have to turn in your Bibles if you don't want.

You can just look at the screen.

Paul was writing, and he said,

He's kind of fleshing out how the whole status change thing works.

When God changes your status, this is how he does it, and this is how he leaves you.

I was crucified.

My old status, my old self, my old identity was put to death with Jesus.

It's no longer that person who lives anymore.

Now it's Christ giving me a new life.

It's his life.

It's him living in and through me.

So when I live in this earthly body, which I still have, and it reminds me of that from time to time,

when it wants to do the wrong thing, think the wrong thing.

We've talked about that in recent weeks.

Last Sunday, we talked about in Romans 7, how Paul's just all over the place saying,

I know I shouldn't do this, but I find myself doing it.

I know I should be doing this, and I don't do that.

So when this earthly body reminds me of how, oh man, this is still who you are.

You're still that same old guy, that same old girl with all the same problems, all the same issues.

He says, I live in that earthly body.

How?

How?

Only by trusting in Jesus.

Jesus.

He's the source of my life.

He's the source of my new status.

My new identity.

It's because he loved me so much.

And he gave himself for me.

So now I can offer up this, this earthly body,

this new identity,

this mess that I am,

this conflict going on within me.

I can offer that back up to Jesus and say,

God, this is what I give to you.

This is the sacrifice I bring to you.

You say, man, that's kind of a mess.

How great of a sacrifice is that to offer to God?

It's the sacrifice he wants.

It's exactly what he wants.

He wants you with all of your inner conflict,

all of your turmoil,

all of your mess,

all of your inconsistency.

He wants that.

He wants you to say,

Jesus, take it.

You take it and shape it

and teach me how to live for you.

And that's what he's going to get into

in chapter six.

But this is the status change

from slave to sin

to son of God.

You ladies could put daughter of God

if you wanted to.

That's fine.

Okay.

We're just talking about children of God

from slave to sin

to daughter and son of God.

It means we're at peace with God.

It means we're part of his family.

And we didn't earn this status update

and we can't lose it

by having a bad day

or having a bad week

or having a bad month

or having a bad season.

So stop trying to work

for a status update

that Jesus already purchased for you

from slave to sin

to son of God.

Number two,

Jesus is changing you.

Jesus not only changes your status,

he changes you.

He changes me.

He's literally in the process

of changing you.

It's not just your identity.

He's not just saying,

now I've rescued you

from the kingdom of this world

and I've brought you into my kingdom.

I've rescued you

from being a slave to sin

and I've brought you into my family.

He's not just giving you

a status change

or even an identity change.

He says,

now I'm changing how you live.

I'm changing even more than that.

I'm changing who you are.

Now look,

we've said this a couple of times

but I'm going to keep hitting it, okay?

That's why there's really no excuse

when you and I are encountered

with some way

that we need to change

or something that God wants us to do

and we just respond with,

well, that's not me.

That's just not who I am.

That's really not an excuse

because what God wants to do

is change who we are.

He wants to change us

and this might be an important step,

whatever it is,

in the process of him doing that.

So let's look down now at Romans 6.

Jesus is changing you.

Romans 6,

let's look at the first couple verses.

Well then,

should we keep on sinning

so that God can show us

more and more of his wonderful grace?

What a warped way of looking at it, right?

Boy, if Jesus just shows us grace

and he takes all that sin

and all that mess

and all that conflict

and says,

here, give it to me.

I'll give you grace in exchange.

Then you say,

well, God,

let me just give you

more and more opportunities

to show me grace

because I'm going to go out

and do whatever I want.

That's not the answer, right?

But Paul deals with that

because he knows

how his sin nature works

and guess what?

He knows how our sin nature works too.

And he says,

should we just keep on sinning

so God can show us more grace?

Of course not.

Since we have died to sin,

how can we continue to live in it?

Dog, I just washed you.

Don't go roll around in the mud.

And that's what he's saying.

We know that our old sinful selves

were crucified with Christ

so that sin would lose its power

in our lives.

That's the key there

because you were under the power of sin.

So don't let it have the same power over you

that you had before

because you don't have to anymore.

Before you didn't have a choice.

You were a slave.

Sin held power over you.

You couldn't break those temptations.

You couldn't resist those temptations.

You couldn't break those addictions.

You couldn't break that curse.

You were trapped under it.

But then you gained access

to divine power.

Jesus' power.

The same power that raised him from the dead.

The same power by which he resurrected.

The same power by which he conquered

and broke death.

Look, death is the thing

that you and I can't avoid.

We don't know when it's going to come.

If Jesus has power

over the thing that we can't beat

with all of science

and all of technology

and all of the developments

of modern man,

we haven't figured out a way

to beat death.

And we never will

because only God holds the keys

to life and death.

And if he says,

you've got access to that power,

then you can break addictions.

Then you can beat depression.

And you can change

by the power of Jesus Christ.

Maybe God will use all kinds of things

in your life to help you through those.

But he's got the power.

And you've got access to it.

What does he tell us

at the end of Matthew 28,

the end of the gospel record of Matthew?

He says,

all power is given to me.

Now you go

with that power

and do the work

I've given you to do.

That's what it's about.

So he says

in Romans chapter 6 here,

Romans 6 · chapter mention

we know

that our old sinful selves

were crucified with Christ

so sin would lose

its power in our lives

and we're no longer

slaves to sin.

And now skip down

to verse 12.

Do not let sin

control the way you live.

Don't give in

to sinful desires.

What is Paul saying?

Should we keep sinning

so God can keep

showing us more grace?

Of course not.

Absolutely not.

I want to share

this quote with you

from an old Baptist pastor

from many, many years ago.

We need restraining grace

as well as saving grace.

We love when God's grace

saves us.

It's a little harder

to swallow

when it restrains us.

What do we mean by that?

It keeps us

from doing something.

We love it

when God's grace

was extended to us

and forgave our sin

and wiped our slate clean

and continues

to wash us clean.

And keep us right

with God

and in right relationship

with God.

The harder thing

to swallow

about God's grace

is that it walks

through us

in our lives

and restrains us.

You ever had to

restrain your child

at times

from running out

into the street

or from

saying something

really embarrassing

in public

and you're like

clapping your hand

over their mouth?

Don't say that!

They didn't hear,

did they?

You gotta restrain

them sometimes.

Husbands,

your wives

never have to

restrain you,

right?

I don't know why

it never goes

the other way around.

It's not the husbands

restraining the wives,

it's the wives

restraining the husbands.

It's part of it, man.

It's who we are.

As much as I love

this concept,

I think there's

actually a better word.

I think instead

of restraining grace,

hang on a second,

let's go to Titus 2 first.

I'll show it to you

in the scriptures.

Titus chapter 2,

Titus 2 · chapter mention

we're gonna find

a better word

for restraining.

That's part of

what grace does.

It's part of what

God does for us

as we walk through

this life with him.

He definitely

restrains us,

but there's more

to it than that.

I'm looking at

the New Testament

for everyone.

It says,

you see,

the grace of God

has appeared.

Bringing salvation

to all people.

We love it.

That's our saving grace

that we get from God.

But then what does it do?

It,

let's say that together,

can we?

It trains us.

Do y'all remember

two years ago?

Of course you don't remember.

I'm crazy.

Some of you

are nodding your heads.

You know where

I'm going with this.

We went through a series.

I got it from a pastor

in Oklahoma

and then I tried

to share it here.

We're not trying.

We're in...

Look at y'all.

You do remember.

We're not trying.

We're in training.

That is what God's grace

does for us.

It trains us.

This is the how

we're in training.

It's through God's grace.

So I would almost say

that we need

retraining grace

as well as saving grace.

Restraining is part

of how it trains us,

but there is so much more.

We have to retrain

our flesh.

We have to retrain

our brains.

We have to retrain

our desires,

our wants,

our habits.

We retrain all that

and we do it

through the power

of God's grace.

It trains us

to do what?

To reject ungodly ways

and worldly desires.

To live sober,

upright,

and godly lives

in the present age

while we wait

for the appearance

of Jesus,

the Messiah,

who gave himself

for us

to rescue us

from all lawlessness

and to cleanse

for himself

a special people

eager to do good works.

That's how God

trains us

and what he's

training us to be.

So here's the truth

about grace.

Grace is your

personal trainer.

Look,

I can't afford

a personal trainer,

all right?

They're stinking expensive.

When the gym

was open here,

what is going on

with the gym?

We don't need

to go down that road

right now.

When the gym

was open here,

you know,

I was there

for a long time.

Now I'm trying

to just run

and lift dumbbells

at home,

you know,

but look,

grace is the personal

trainer that we all

need every day.

And it's not just

a three days a week

or a once a week

and I'll try

to work out

with grace

when I get a chance.

It's every single day

grace is working

on us.

Grace is training us.

God's grace

is there available

every day

and we experience it

and we live in it

every day.

And even when you

don't even realize it,

God's grace

is retraining you.

And when you do

realize it

and you lean into it

and you embrace it

and you pray for it

and you ask God

to retrain you more,

oh, he loves to hear that

and he'll do it.

And then we see

transformation happen.

Real positive change

to becoming more

and more like Jesus

happens.

and then our spouse

notices it too.

Our kids notice it too.

And kids,

your parents notice it.

And your friends notice it.

Your brothers,

sisters notice it.

You are becoming different.

Yeah,

because grace

is retraining me.

This is a process.

This doesn't happen

quickly.

But this is exactly

what God does

for us.

Grace is not

standing in front

of a classroom

instructing you

or just teaching you.

That Greek word,

remember the New Testament

wasn't written in English,

it was written in Greek.

It's that Greek word

that it uses

for training in there.

Training is the best

possible application

to that.

There's a part of it

that would say

instruction or teaching,

but it really comes down

to how a parent

would train a child.

It's kind of what the word

meant that they were using.

Well, there's a lot of training

that goes on with kids,

right?

When you're raising kids.

That's what God's doing

with us.

He's training

or retraining us.

Now go back

to Romans chapter 6.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

We're going to finish

up this chapter.

Romans 6.

When you were slaves

to sin,

you were free

from the obligation

to do right.

verse 20.

And now on to verse 21

down through verse 23.

When you were slaves

to sin,

you were free

from the obligation

to do right.

And what was the result

of that?

Well,

a lot of shame.

You're now ashamed

of the things you used to do,

things that end

in eternal doom.

But now you're free

from the power of sin

and you become

slaves of God.

Let me tell you,

it's a whole lot better

to be a slave of God

than a slave of sin.

And normally,

I think Paul was making

the comparison here,

slaves of sin,

now slaves of God

or righteousness.

But normally,

the word that Jesus

would use

is servant

or son,

daughter,

child.

That's what he would use.

So this is what you are now.

Now you do those things

that lead to holiness

and result in eternal life.

Not eternal doom.

Eternal life.

For the wages of sin

is what?

Everybody looking at the Bible?

The wages of sin is what?

Yes, it is.

But the free gift of God

is eternal what?

Through who?

Christ Jesus,

our Lord.

That is the gospel.

That's what Jesus

offers us.

He says,

this is who you were

and this is what

it was leading you to.

But then you found me.

I found you.

And I offered you

something different.

I offered you

to follow

a different way.

You know,

that's what the earliest

Christians were called.

Before they were called Christians,

they were called followers

of the way.

And that's what you

and I still are.

We're still following

that same way

that those early believers

who put their faith

in Jesus did.

That's what you

and I still do.

And when you follow

that way,

when Jesus becomes

Lord of your life,

you experience

a whole different wage.

What's a wage?

Anybody know

what a wage is?

Something you've earned.

Call it a paycheck.

Whatever.

Something you earned, right?

What have we earned

through our

slavery to sin?

Death.

What have we earned now

by becoming a child of God?

Life.

That's what's offered

to us now.

But that wasn't a wage.

He calls it a gift.

He says,

you can't earn that.

It was my gift to you.

You earned this.

You did everything you could.

Most of you tried

to do the best you could.

You tried to live clean lives.

And this is what you earned

for all of your efforts.

You earned eternal death

because that's the only outcome

of that way of life.

That team

has already lost

and you're going to experience

the loss

when you stay on that team.

But when you join Team Jesus,

the family of God,

then you're not offered

anything to earn.

You're offered a free gift

and it's eternal life.

So he says,

because of this,

because of his saving grace,

now live with his retraining grace

and let that same grace

that you put your faith in

to forgive you of your sin

and become God's child,

let that same grace

retrain your thinking,

retrain your behavior,

retrain your attitudes,

retrain your personality,

retrain who you are

to become more like Jesus

because that's what he promises.

So,

we've been talking this year

about direction,

not perfection.

This is a year of direction,

not perfection.

We're not going to achieve

perfection in this church,

but we can start moving

in a common direction

toward Jesus.

And when we do that,

this is what it looks like.

God's grace retraining us.

You don't have to clean yourself up

to come to Jesus.

His grace washes you clean

right where you are.

But when he washes you clean,

let him keep you clean.

And don't keep running back

to the same old dirt,

the same old mud.

Let God's grace retrain you.

Don't use grace as an excuse

to go jump back in the mud.

Would you pray with me right now?

God,

God,

right now,

I ask you

to speak to us

from your word,

to speak to us

by your spirit.

And as we open our hearts

and our minds

to listen

to you leading us

and guiding our thoughts

right now,

we're going to be getting out of here

in just a second.

We're picking up kids

and going off

and grabbing some food

and figuring out whatever

we're going to do

with the rest of our day.

But before we rush off,

I pray that you would use

these couple of moments

of quietness

that we could hear

from you right now.

Your spirit doesn't wait

to retrain.

It can start training

right now.

As soon as we turn

our minds toward you,

you speak to us.

God,

we thank you

for your grace.

We don't need to use it

as an excuse

to go get dirty again.

We need to remember

that grace is what frees us

from the power

that used to make us

go get dirty.

We're not bound

by that power anymore.

God,

but if there is someone here

who's still bound

by that power of sin,

they haven't yet

made that decision

to choose Jesus

for their life,

say,

I want to follow

Jesus Christ.

Let him change me.

I want to be God's child.

Then please don't let

that person walk

out of this room today

without knowing

that you want them

more than anything else.

I'm going to ask

this question.

If there's somebody

in the room,

maybe a guest,

or maybe you've been

coming here a while,

regardless,

you believe that today

is the day you need

to make the decision

for yourself

and say,

I choose Jesus.

I want to follow Jesus.

I want him to change me.

I want to become

God's child.

Then with everyone else's

heads bowed,

would you just slip

your hand up quietly?

And I'd love to talk to you.

I'd love to pray with you.

But if that's you this morning,

say,

I want to become God's child.

I want to pray for you now.

Thank you.

You can put your hand down.

Let me ask this question.

There's somebody who says,

God has been working on me.

Maybe his retraining grace,

grateful for his saving grace,

but God's grace is training me

and I need to give in to that.

Maybe there's an area of my life

that God's retraining me in.

Would you pray for me

that I will submit

to God's grace in my life

and let him change me

in the areas I need to change in?

Would you slip your hand up

and I'll pray for you as well?

Thank you.

Thank you.

God,

I pray for those

who raised their hand.

I pray for everyone

who's talking with you right now.

You're listening.

You're always listening.

And your grace is so real.

Pray that you would remind us of that

as we go off our separate ways.

Let this truth from Scripture

stay with us,

stay in our hearts

and stay in our minds

that we would not run back

to the mud tomorrow.

We would let your grace

change us,

retrain us,

and then you'll get the glory for it.

Never look at me,

look what I've been able to conquer,

look what I've been able to do,

but always look what God's grace

has done in my life.

It's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.