Romans 6:11-14

Well, good morning. Let me invite you to take your copy of God's Word and join me in Romans chapter 6.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

Our text for today is Romans chapter 6, verses 11 through 14.

Romans 6:11–14

And this morning's text is the application of the previous 10 verses, which we will review and consider to help us understand verses 11 through 14.

But this morning, I would like to begin with a reading of our text and a presentation of the outline for our study.

And then we'll back up and get to the text itself.

So Romans chapter 6, this is 11 through 14.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

Let me remind you before I read it, beloved, that this is God's Word to us.

It was written for His glory and for our good.

And so we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and to obey its commands.

Paul writes,

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.

This text presents to us four exhortations toward holy living.

These four exhortations or urges to do something will serve as our outline for today.

So the outline is as follows.

Four points.

Number one, no.

Number two, consider.

Number three, do not present your members to sin.

And number four, present yourself to God and your members to God.

So if you want to shorten that, you can say, no, consider, do not present, and present.

So number one, no.

The very beginning of verse 11, Paul says, so you also.

So the first exhortation is implied.

You can find the words, consider, and present for the other three exhortations.

But you will not note the word no.

But I assure you that it is there.

As Paul begins verse 11 with the phrase, so you also.

This phrase is similar to a therefore.

Therefore, in light of what I have just said, you should.

So we must begin with what we ought to know if we are to live holy lives.

What is it that Paul would have us know?

Let's spend a bit of time looking at the previous ten verses of chapter 6 to find out.

And this will be very brief because last week we addressed it at greater length.

Throughout the letter thus far, Paul has been making the case that we are justified or declared righteous.

Morally perfect is what that word means.

I hope that phrase is not growing tired for you.

It is the gospel justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

In the previous chapter, Paul explains how the first Adam, as a representative of all humanity, brought sin into the world.

And humanity inherits his sin nature.

And then he goes on to talk about how the second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ, if we are in him, serves as our representative before God, as our federal head.

At every step of Paul's writing, he is anticipating objections.

He asks questions and he gives answers, which is what we find him doing at the beginning of chapter 6.

So let's read those first ten verses.

What shall we say then?

Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?

By no means.

How can we who died to sin still live in it?

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

We were buried, therefore, 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.

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.

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 at the beginning of chapter 6, Paul anticipates a question that may be reworded something like this.

If Christ has paid the penalty for my sin and given to me his perfection, then can't I live any way I want to?

And he responds emphatically, absolutely not.

Then he proceeds to tell us why.

Having been justified before God by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone,

we have been baptized into Jesus' death and resurrection,

which means that we identify with him and have been set free from the power of sin.

So this is what Paul would have us know for the sake of holy living.

If you are in Christ, have believed in his person and his work for the salvation of his soul,

you have been fundamentally changed.

This is the doctrine of regeneration.

You went from dark to light.

You were dead and now you are alive.

You have changed in kind.

You are a new creation.

Your old nature has been replaced with a new nature.

Before the fall, Adam and Eve were both able not to sin and able to sin.

The Latin phrase for this, which I just really like,

I don't share Latin to sound smart.

It helps us remember things, I think.

And I want you to read people who use Latin,

so maybe it won't be strange to you if I introduce it to you.

But the Latin phrase for Adam and Eve's state before the fall was

passe non pecare, able to sin, and passe pecare, able to sin.

Passe non pecare, able not to sin, and passe pecare, able to sin.

After the fall, the nature of humanity changed fundamentally,

and mankind became passe pecare, able to sin, only able to sin,

apart from the intervening work of God.

But now, having been given a new nature, by grace alone, through faith alone,

in the personal work of Jesus Christ alone, right?

This is not a new nature that we have earned.

It's a new nature that's been granted to us.

Christians are now passe non pecare, able not to sin,

and still passe pecare, able to sin.

And this is the state in which we live until one day

we'll be entirely liberated from sin,

and then we will be, at that point, only passe non pecare.

This is a thing to look forward to, a glorious future for us.

But now, living in that in-between, sin no longer has power over us.

We are able not to sin.

Until our terrestrial lives are concluded, however,

we're going to find that our old nature still tugs at us from the past.

Temptation begins with forgetful unbelief.

And if this temptation is not met with the truth,

it will give way to sin.

So, we can't emphasize this enough.

Knowing who you are in Christ

is the very first step in living a holy life.

If you have sinned,

when you find yourself wrestling with sin,

it's because you've forgotten who you are.

You're in the midst of an identity crisis.

You have suddenly begun to think

that sin now has power over you

when it does, in fact, have no power over you.

You've been buried with Christ,

and your old nature is dead,

and you now have a new nature.

This is the thing we're supposed to know,

and it brings us to our second exhortation,

is that we are to consider this knowledge.

Paul says, continuing in verse 11,

must consider.

So, you also must consider yourselves dead to sin

and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

There is a distinct difference

between knowing something to be true,

giving some measure of mental assent to it,

just saying, yeah, I believe that that's true,

and actually understanding that thing to be true.

This exhortation to consider means

that we will continually think on this truth

and affirm it to be true,

regardless of whether or not we experience it

to be true.

We could be such fickle people

pushed around by our emotions,

and the response to that

is not to ignore emotions altogether.

They can be helpful,

but to see if those emotions line up with the truth

and to let the truth reign in our lives.

John MacArthur does a really good job at this point,

and I often read things,

and I think, I need to say that in other words

and just go, I should just say it in their words.

So, I'm going to read to you something brief

from MacArthur's commentary on this passage,

where he says,

to help us consider,

it is advantageous to note

that there are a number of reasons

believers often find it difficult

to comprehend

that they are now free from sin's bondage.

Many of them do not realize

that marvelous truth

simply because they have never heard of it.

They assume,

or perhaps they've been wrongly taught,

that salvation brings

only transactional holiness.

That because of their trust in Christ,

God now regards them as holy,

but that their basic relationship to sin

is the same as it always was,

and that it will not be changed

until they go to be with Christ.

That view of salvation

often includes the idea that,

although trust in Christ

brings the believer a new nature,

the old nature remains fully operative,

and that the Christian life

is essentially a battle

between his two resident natures.

This makes salvation addition

rather than transformation.

A second reason Christians often find

it hard to believe

they are actually free

from the tyranny of sin

is that Satan does not want them

to believe it.

If the enemy of our souls

and the accuser of the brethren

can make us think

he still dominates

our earthly lives,

he weakens our resolve

to live righteously

by making it appear hopeless.

A third reason Christians

often find it difficult to believe

they are free from sin's compulsion

is that the reality

of the new birth in Christ

is not experiential.

It is not physically observable

or verifiable.

Redemption is a divine

spiritual transaction

that may or not be accompanied

by physical or emotional experiences.

A believer cannot perceive

or experience

in any humanly verifiable way

the moment of his dying

and resurrection with Christ.

A fourth and perhaps

the most common reason

why Christians find it hard

to believe they are freed

from sin's tyranny

while they are still on earth

is that their continued

battle with sin

seems almost constantly

to contradict that truth.

If they have a new

holy disposition

and sin's control

has been truly broken,

they wonder

why are they still

so strongly tempted

and why do they

so often succumb?

But all of that

doesn't negate

the truth

that if you are

in Christ

then you have

been set free

from sin.

It's an accomplished

reality,

a once for all thing

that Jesus has done

for all those

who believe

in him.

And so we not only

need to know it

to be true

but we need to be

considering it

to be true

and considering it

to be true

again and again

and again

and again

because we are

slow learners

and we are quick

to forget.

The Christian life

is a mindful

life.

You do not have

to be educated

to be a follower

of Jesus.

Praise God.

But you will find

that being a follower

of Jesus

will require

your mental

faculty.

He asks of us

to engage

our brains

that we might

live

holy.

Let me give you

a couple of other

examples from this

from the book

of Romans

which we will

look at in greater

detail in the future.

Paul writes in

Romans chapter 8

Romans 8:5

verse 5 and 6

For those who live

according to the flesh

set their minds

on the things

of the flesh.

There is this mental

activity

on the things

of the flesh.

But those

who live according

to the spirit

set their minds

on the things

of the spirit.

For to set the mind

on the flesh

is death

but to set the mind

on the spirit

is life

and peace.

And without

robbing a bunch

of attention

from that text

when we get

to it

if we think

about the types

of things

we should be

setting our minds

on the things

of the spirit

I just want to

draw your attention

to John 16

13

where the spirit

is called

the spirit

of truth.

So this text

these 66 books

that we have

canonized

these are the

things of the spirit

and

in Philippians 1

19

and many other places

the spirit

is called

the spirit

of

Jesus

Christ.

So as this text

illuminates for us

the person

and work

of Jesus

these are the things

we are meant

to be occupying

our minds with

considering

who we are

in Jesus

dead to sin

and alive

to God

in Christ

Jesus.

One other place

in the book of

Romans

Romans 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12

and verse 2

here Paul says

do not be

conformed

to this world

don't be looking

like this world

but

be transformed

and he doesn't

insert there

by

your emotions

by experience

he says

by the renewal

of your mind

the engagement

of your mind

considering

the truths

of God

so we are

to consider

and consider

and consider

to continually

apply

these gospel

truths

in our life

that we might

give ourselves

to God

and Paul

summarizes

the first

ten verses

of chapter 6

by saying

this

we are to

consider

ourselves

dead

to sin

and alive

to God

in Christ

Jesus

dead to sin

alive to God

if you are not

in Christ

then you are

alive to sin

it is the only

thing you can

do

and you are

dead to God

but if you are

in Christ

Jesus

then you are

dead to sin

and alive

to God

fundamentally

changed

an entirely

different nature

all together

so

having known

and having

considered

he goes on

to exhort

us

so thirdly

do not present

your members

to sin

verse 12 and 13

he says

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

now the word

present

can also be

translated

yield

or

offer

think

don't

offer

your members

to sin

in verses

12 and 13

Paul seems

to personify

sin

as a ruler

on a throne

that desires

to control

you

but cannot

unless

you offer

yourself

to its

service

you notice

that

let not

sin

that was a name

there

reign

in your

body

do not present

your members

to sin

do not offer

yourself

to sin

as an instrument

as a tool

to be wielded

for unrighteousness

!

for the believer

sin

is a

dethroned

ruler

but it is a ruler

that still has

power

if

and only if

power is granted

to it

you see that distinction?

sin no longer sits

on that

figurative

throne

it has been

dethroned

in the life

we've been set free

from the tyranny

of sin

but we at times

and quite too often

grant power

back

to

this personified

sin

to reign

over us

Peter makes a

similar

exhortation

in 1st Peter

chapter 2

verse 9

and following

there he says

you

hear the

fundamental

difference

set apart

difference

are a chosen

race

a royal

priesthood

a holy

nation

a people

for his

own

possession

that you may

proclaim the

excellence of him

who called you

out of darkness

into his

marvelous light

then verse 10

once you were

not a people

but now you

are God's people

different

fundamentally

changed

once you had

not received

mercy

but now you

have

received

mercy

fundamentally

changed

different

and then verse 11

he starts with

beloved

those loved

by God

beloved

I urge you

as sojourners

and exiles

to abstain

from the passions

of the flesh

which wage

war

against your soul

similar exhortation

rooted in

who we

are

we then are

to

resist

abstain

from the

passion

of the

flesh

we are

no longer

subjects

of this

cruel

ruler

so

we should

not present

our members

to sin

as instruments

for unrighteousness

if we rightly

recognize

to whom we

belong

and we have

been set

free

from sin

then it

follows

that we

will not

offer up

our feet

our hands

our eyes

our mouths

our minds

or hearts

as tools

or weapons

for unrighteousness

and this is

going to be

an activity

in your life

in the negative

do not offer

it up

but in the positive

we're to do

something else

number four

present yourself

rather than

instead

present yourself

to God

and your

members

to God

notice verse 13

and 14

the last half of verse 13

and 14

but

rather

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

so adversely

we are to

yield

or

offer ourselves

all of us

to God

as tools

or weapons

in his hand

for

righteousness

presenting yourself

and your members

to God

for righteous

purposes

takes

work

and hear that

it takes

some effort

on our part

but I want to be clear

it is

a

rested

work

I had a helpful

conversation with my father

about this

yesterday

it is a

rested work

it's a work

that comes from

and is fueled

by

the rest

that we have

in the gospel

accomplished

truth

on our

behalf

let's be

absolutely sure

to get this

order

right

we do not

present ourselves

to God

and our

members

to God

as instruments

for righteousness

hoping that God

will accept

our sacrifice

this is not what

Paul is talking

about here

but we do

this activity

as those

who have

been brought

from death

to life

he roots it

in that very

identity

Paul is so

careful here

he's already

said it

at the beginning

of chapter 6

but he does

not want us

to forget

the order

in which

this

happens

right

we present

ourselves

we present

our members

as those

who have

been already

brought

from death

to life

already

have been

made new

by

God

our

natures

changed

by God

we already

belong to him

because when we

were dead

he made us

alive

so because

we belong

to him

because this

is true

we should

willingly

gratefully

present ourselves

to him

and our lives

to his service

we see this

as a great

good

and it's when

we don't realize

who we are

when we start

to flip the order

around

that we

are given

to sin

on this side

of glory

we will not

arrive at

sinlessness

but we are

by the power

that God

provides

to strive

for it

and we will

find that

incrementally

from one degree

of glory

to another

2 Corinthians

3.18

we will

look more

like

Jesus Christ

we're being

conformed

into his

image

bit

by bit

by bit

and this will

find its

full completion

in glory

Paul says

in Philippians

I'm confident

of this

he who began

a good work

in you

will bring

it to

completion

at the day

of Christ

who's at

labor

in that text

God

himself

is at labor

he will

bring it

to pass

beloved

this work

ought not

be

laborious

it ought to be

fueled by

joy

because

of the

status

that we

have

because

of the

completed

work

of Christ

on our

behalf

let's

remember

Jesus'

words

from

Matthew

Matthew 11:28

chapter

11

verse

28

and

following

come to

me

all who

labor

and are

heavy laden

and I

will give

you

rest

take my

yoke upon

you and

learn from

me for

I am

gentle

and lowly

in heart

and you

will find

rest

for your

souls

for my

yoke

is easy

and my

burden

is light

the Bible

has lots

of language

for those

who are

wicked

never

finding

rest

but those

who are

in Christ

are at

rest

and the

work we

do

comes from

it proceeds

from that

settled

position

in him

no longer

working for

our salvation

but rather

working because

we are

saved

this is an

incredibly

important thing

to have

clear and

right

in your

mind

for

verse 14

sin

will have

no

dominion

over you

since you

are not

under law

but under

grace

look again

that the

re-emphasis

of this

right

sin

has no

dominion

over you

it does

not reign

over

you

if you

are

in Christ

because you're

not under

law

but under

grace

and I think

I think

that we could

see

under the

reign of

law

or under

the reign

of grace

you see this

the submissive

position

being under

law

and contextually

I think

this is a

fair

assumption

to make

that what

he's trying

to communicate

to us

is that we're

not under

the reign

of the

law

that exists

to point

out our

sin

but we're

rather under

the reign

of grace

right

this accomplished

work having

been done

for us

who did

not deserve

it

but it has

been done

nonetheless

right

because God

is gracious

toward us

we're under

the reign

of

grace

and so

we willingly

gratefully

with joy

seek to

obey

his commands

now I want

to take a

brief glimpse

at Paul's

struggle against

sin to get

some idea

of how

our rested

work

should be

characterized

so turn with

me just

slightly to

Romans chapter

Romans 7 · chapter mention

7

it'll take

us some

weeks to

get to

this text

but remember

it really

comes on

the heels

of what

he's saying

here

in verses

11 through

14 of

chapter 6

Romans 7

beginning in

verse 21

he says

so I

find it

to be

a law

that when

I want

to do

right

evil

lies

close

at hand

for I

delight

in the

law of

God

in my

inner

being

but I

see in

my

members

another

law

waging

war

against

the

law

of

my

mind

and

making

me

captive

to

the

law

of

sin

that

dwells

in

my

members

wretched

man

that I

am

who

will

deliver

me

from

this

body

of

death

now

there

are

varied

views

on

what

this

text

means

and

I

just

want

to

in

brief

we'll

get

to

it

later

but

I

want

to

say

to

you

I

think

this

is

his

post

conversion

experience

walking

in

this

life

and

still

committing

sin

having

been

set

free

from

it

I

think

it's

in

that

state

that

he

says

wretched

man

that I

am

who

will

deliver

me

from

this

body

of

death

who

will

finally

and

fully

set

me

free

where

sin

is

no

longer

an

encumbrance

on my

life

anymore

and

he

says

verse

25

thanks

be

to

God

through

Jesus

Christ

our

Lord

so

then

I

myself

serve

the

law

of

God

with

my

mind

but

with

my

flesh

I

serve

the

law

of

sin

and

then

these

uninspired

chapter

breaks

don't

help us

at this

point

I

don't

think

into

chapter

8

he

says

verse

1

there

is

therefore

now

no

condemnation

for

those

who

are

in

Christ

Jesus

right

so

so

even

when

we

sin

we

recognize

that

we've

been

set

free

from

the

penalty

of

that

sin

and

the

power

of

it

and

so

we

keep

on

with

joy

and

gratitude

and

levity

because

we

can

keep

on

because

there

is

no

eternal

condemnation

because

of

our

sin

verse

2

of

chapter

8

for

the

law

of

the

spirit

of

life

has

set

you

free

in

Christ

Jesus

from

the

law

of

so

grateful

motivation

overflowing

joy

because

of

who

we

are

in

Jesus

we

identify

with

him

if

we

have

been

buried

with

him

and

raised

with

him

we

have

been

set

free

from

the

power

of

sin

and

we

are

now

liberated

to

live

lives

that

are

pleasing

to

our

God

and

so

we

press

on

so

we

press

on

we

work

out

our

salvation

with

fear

and

trembling

for

it's

God

who

works

in

us

both

to

work

for

his

good

pleasure

we

seek

to

honor

him

with

our

lives

but

not

to

earn

his

favor

because

it

is

ours

in

Jesus

so

let me

read

the text

to you

one more

time

and I'll

close

in

prayer

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

let's

pray

together