Romans 6:1-10

Recall that I have told you that the overarching theme of Paul's writing is that a person is justified, or declared righteous by God, by grace alone, through faith alone, in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone.

The thesis statement of his letter is found in chapter 1, verses 16 and 17, where he writes,

I am not ashamed of the gospel, or you could insert I am proud of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, the righteous shall live by faith.

In the remainder of chapter 1 and in chapter 2, Paul then makes the case that everyone has sinned.

The Gentiles, those without the law, and the Jews, those with the law.

Regardless of their status, all have sinned.

And he hammers this point home in the first half of chapter 3.

Chapter 3, verses 10 through 12.

Say, none is righteous, no not one.

No one understands, no one seeks for God.

All have turned aside together, they have become worthless.

No one does good, not even one.

All of humanity has a righteousness problem.

We are guilty of transgressing God, are separated from communion with him, and are due his judgment and just punishment.

We will not because we cannot earn our way to God.

And this is terrible news.

Paul doesn't end there.

In the rest of chapter 3, he speaks of the righteousness that is granted to us by grace through faith in Christ as our propitiator.

You have heard me say, Jesus lived the life I could not live, and died the death that I deserve, so that through faith in his completed work, I would be saved.

This promise is sure for you if you have or if you will believe in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

On a couple of occasions, I've read the following poem to you.

It is unanimous.

Some of you have debated this with me.

It is unanimous.

But it goes like this.

Oh, long and dark, the stairs I trod, with trembling feet to find my God.

Gaining a foothold bit by bit, then slipping back and losing it.

Never progressing, striving still, with weakening grasp and faltering will, bleeding to climb to God while he serenely smiled, not noting me.

Then came a certain time when I loosened my hold and fell thereby, down to the lowest step my fall, as if I had not climbed at all.

Now when I lay despairing there, listen, a footfall on the stair, on that same stair where I, afraid, faltered and fell and lay dismayed.

And lo, when hope had ceased to be, my God came down the stairs to me.

In chapter 4, Paul then puts forth Abraham as an example of one saved, not by his works, but by his faith.

No one has ever been saved by their works.

Old Testament saints were saved through faith in the coming promise of a Messiah.

New Testament saints, including us, are now saved through faith in the fulfilled promise of a Messiah.

See Hebrews chapter 11.

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

In chapter 5, Paul explains how the first Adam, as a representative of all humanity, brought sin into the world,

and how the second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ, can serve as our representative before God.

So we are justified, Paul argues, by grace alone, through faith alone, in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone.

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

It feels sometimes like he's in a court of law against himself.

He asks questions and he gives answers.

Now likely he was familiar with the counter-arguments because he had already encountered them many times.

His missionary practice was to go to a new place and reason with the people from the scripture.

Today's text brings us to another anticipated objection to justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

We would do well to pay careful attention to the question and to Paul's answer for the instruction of our souls.

So let me remind you before we read the text, beloved, that this is God's word to us.

It was written for his glory and for our good.

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

Romans chapter 6, beginning in verse 1.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

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.

Fairly simple outline for our study this morning.

Number one, Paul asks a question.

Number two, Paul answers the question.

And number three, Paul advances his answer.

Alliteration, you're welcome.

Asks, answers, advances.

Number one, Paul asks a question.

He says,

What shall we say then?

Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?

You may have asked this question or been asked this question.

I tell you this morning that you have at least functionally asked this question in your behavior,

although not likely in these terms.

A simple restatement of the question could be,

if Christ has paid the penalty for my sin and given me his perfection,

then can't I live any way I want to?

John Bunyan, you guys know I'm a fan of,

was a 17th century English Baptist, which I'm proud to tell you,

who was in prison for 12 years because he preached without a license from the state.

You may know of Bunyan from his seminal work,

The Pilgrim's Progress,

a work that I love and I read to you often.

You may have noticed I brought a copy of it with me.

I have a plan to read from it briefly this morning.

He wrote this allegory of the Christian life upon being placed in solitary confinement

because he would preach from the courtyard of the prison

and people would gather outside the prison walls to hear him expound upon the Bible.

During this time, some other Christ followers,

also in prison for preaching without a license,

but with very different theology from Bunyan,

told him,

Bunyan, if you continue to preach of God's love,

the people will live however they want to.

Does the objection sound familiar?

If our righteousness depends solely on a God who saves,

without any contribution on our part,

then can't we live however we would like?

This is not an unimportant question,

and we dare not be dismissive of it.

Paul certainly isn't.

In fact, much of his discourse for the next couple of chapters

comes as a response to this objection.

I would argue about halfway through chapter 8

is really his response to this objection.

So we ask an important question,

but it gives us an answer to that question,

an immediate and emphatic answer.

So number two, Paul answers the question.

He says,

By no means.

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

Paul follows his anticipated question

with an emphatic answer,

By no means.

The Greek phrase is me genoito,

and it is very strong Greek language.

It could be interpreted,

No way, or absolutely not.

And he follows this emphatic no with a question.

How can we who died to sin

still live in it?

Paul is going to go on to explain this phrase further,

as are we,

but herein is the simplicity of the matter.

If you are justified by grace alone through faith alone

and the person and work of Jesus Christ alone,

then you have been changed,

not in degree,

but in type.

This is the doctrine of regeneration.

We once were spiritually dead.

Now we are spiritually alive.

This doctrine is perhaps the most important

to be recaptured for the sake of the church

in our day.

Oh, that we would know

that we are no longer captives,

but have been set free.

Oh, that we would live holy lives

for the advancement of the gospel

to the glory of our God.

God.

We are not saved by works.

We are saved through faith,

but it is a faith that works.

Our very identity has been changed.

And I'm not going to stand before you this morning

and declare to you

that having been set free from sin,

we therefore no longer sin.

We do.

We carry around the baggage of our flesh.

We get to work in great deal with this

at the end of chapter 7.

However, we will begin the process

of growing in holiness.

This is a tightrope for our understanding

to balance upon.

So to make it more clear,

I want to show you the two ways

that we could fall off this tightrope.

On the one side,

you could fall off into legalism.

You can give too much credit

to your accomplishments

or you can give too much credit

to your failures.

I see Christians do this to themselves

all the time.

They take their focus

off the accomplished work of Christ

and they become hyper-analyzers

of their lives.

They often compare their current walk

with their walk in the past

or with the walk of another

and become self-accusers

or self-justifiers.

They put themselves

in the place of God.

I see Christians do this

to others all the time,

making judgments of faithfulness

in terms of agreeance

with their views

or with their lifestyle.

The legalist says,

look more like me.

The person walking the tightrope

helps others to look more like Christ.

On the other side,

you can fall off into antinomianism,

which means without the law.

The possibility of this accusation

seems to be the objection

Paul is primarily concerned with

in today's text.

somebody saying,

wait, wait,

we can't just disregard

God's moral commands for us.

Can we?

This error takes sin lightly,

either paying no attention to it at all

or readily dismissing it.

This error says,

let's continue in sin

that grace may abound.

Let's show how forgiving our God is

by going on

and sinning.

So we don't want to become legalists

and we don't want to become

antinomians.

Let us be careful

to make neither error.

We are not saved by works.

We are saved through faith,

but it is a faith

that works.

It's a faith that is given evidence

in the way that we live.

The person restored to relationship

with his or her God

does not view God's commands

as burdensome,

but receives them as a gift.

If we become aware

of God's great love for us

by grace alone,

through faith alone,

in Christ alone,

then we will gladly accept

his ways for our good

and his glory.

We will become increasingly

less enamored with what this world

has to offer us

and increasingly more enamored

with God's purpose

and with God's way.

It becomes the desire

of our hearts

that we would follow

in God's good commands.

This brings me

to the pilgrim's progress.

I haven't read to you yet

from the scene

in Vanity Fair.

At least I don't believe I have.

There's a city

that these pilgrims

in this allegory

happen across

and it's for the testing

of their faith

and it is everything

that the world

has to offer

in this one city.

And they find themselves

in this city

looking very strange

to those

who live there.

And so I read,

quote,

the thing that most

annoyed and puzzled

the merchants

was that these pilgrims

put no value

on the fair's goods.

They did not even enjoy

looking at them

and when the merchants

called out to them

to buy this or that,

the pilgrims

put their fingers

in their ears

and cried out,

turn away mine eyes

from beholding vanity

and looked upward

signifying that their trade

and traffic

was in heaven.

This is from Psalm 119

in verse 37.

One merchant

observing the strange

conduct of the pilgrims

mockingly said to them,

What will you buy?

But they,

looking sternly at him,

answered,

We buy the truth.

Which I just love

from Proverbs 23

if my memory

is serving me well.

Not enamored

with the things

of the world

but enamored

with the things

of God.

Do you remember

the concern

of Bunyan's

fellow prisoners?

Bunyan,

if you continue

to preach

of God's love

the people

will live

however they want to.

Well,

Bunyan reportedly replied,

No.

If I continue

to tell God's people

of God's love

for them,

then they will live

however he

wants them to.

But Paul doesn't

just leave us

with the answer,

by no means,

how can we

who died to sin

still live in it?

and leave us

to figure out

how he goes on

to answer the question.

And as I said

quite a bit

into his letter

but this morning

we have an advance

of his answer.

So third point,

Paul advances

his answer.

Helps us to understand

what it means

to die to sin

and no longer

live in it.

And Paul answers

the question

in four points.

We're going to give

each of them

a brief look

this morning

as we work

through the rest

of the text

and I just want

to encourage you

to consider

these four points

further than we

have time for

this morning.

Mold them over,

think about them

carefully,

talk about them

with a brother

or sister

at your dinner table.

They are an

absolute treasure

trove

for our souls.

This is all

so good

and sometimes

I hate

how little time

we have together

for them.

First,

Paul says,

by grace alone

through faith alone,

we are baptized

into Christ.

This is the

beginning part

of verse 3.

Do you not know

that all of us

who have been

baptized

into Christ Jesus?

Now Paul here

is not speaking

of the symbolic

ordinance

of baptism.

Some people

want to make

arguments

from this text

that we are

justified

through the

act of baptism.

This is known

as baptismal

regeneration

and it is

a heresy.

But Paul,

as I've said here,

is not speaking

of the symbolic

ordinance of baptism.

How do I know

this?

How can we know?

Well,

I know this

because I've read

the rest of the letter.

because I haven't

torn a tiny piece

out of my Bible

to make an erroneous

argument.

Because I haven't

forgotten

that Paul is

arguing for

justification

by grace alone

through faith alone

in the personal

work of Jesus Christ

alone.

So he can't

possibly be saying

that we're saved,

that we're made new

through the

physical act

of baptism.

So,

he must be speaking

of the spiritual

reality of what

is true

for all

who believe

in Christ.

Now,

as a side note,

as a Baptist,

one of the leaders

of a Baptist church,

we do believe in

what's called

credo or credo,

you'll hear people say,

baptism.

We believe that

water baptism

is not the means

of salvation

but a demonstration

of it.

It shows

what's already

happened.

I heard a pastor

one time

compare it to

another type

of ceremony,

a graduation

ceremony.

There's some

college students

here who are

looking toward

and longing

for graduation.

Graduation

ceremonies

aren't entirely

necessary

to finish school.

It's a little

secret,

but you don't

have to walk.

I got out of it

and yet,

I still graduated

from the University

of North Georgia.

You've already

completed the work.

It's been

accomplished.

You've checked

all of the boxes,

but it's showing

that you've

finished

the work.

If you ask

most people

about their

graduation,

they'll take you

to that

ceremony

as a sign

of the thing

that had already

been completed.

I think this is

a pretty good

analogy.

theology.

It's not

the means

of salvation.

It's just

a demonstration

of it.

I digress.

Notice that

the opening

phrase of

verse 3

is a

qualifying

statement.

Paul says,

Do you not

know that

all of us

who have

been

baptized

into Christ

Jesus?

For anything

to be true

of you

in today's

text,

you must

have been

baptized

into Christ

Jesus.

How is this

accomplished?

If we're not

talking about

the physical

baptism,

it's accomplished

by repentance

and faith,

by turning

from your sin

and turning

to Christ

for the

justification

of your

soul.

If you

have,

then you

have been

baptized

into

Christ

Jesus.

And again,

as a Baptist,

I would say,

and therefore

should be baptized

by immersion

as a sign

of that

reality.

That is,

you have

been

immersed

in

Christ.

That's why

we immerse

people in

the symbolic

ordinance

of baptism.

It's a

picture of

a spiritual

reality.

The symbolically

baptized person

declares,

as the church

declares with

them,

that they

identify

with

Christ

in his

death

death,

and

in

his

resurrection.

Which

brings us

to our

second point,

which is

an extension

of the

first.

So second,

Paul says,

by grace

alone

through faith

alone,

we share

in Christ's

death

and

resurrection.

See this

here,

picking up

in the

last half

of verse

three.

Do you

not know

that all

of us

who were

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 the

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.

The

language

of verse

four

may be

familiar

to you

in

considering

the

symbolic

ordinance

of

baptism.

We

say

as we

baptize

people

as a

church

buried

with

Christ

in

baptism

raised

to

walk

in

the

newness

of

life.

This

is an

evidence

that you

are

regenerate,

that you

belong

to God

in

Christ

Jesus,

immersed

in

him.

This

is an

explanation

of the

doctrine

of

regeneration.

Those

who have

placed

their

faith

in

Christ

have

not

physically

died

and

resurrected

but

spiritually

share

in

these

realities.

Paul

states

it

this

way

in

2nd

Corinthians

chapter

5

and

verse

17.

If

anyone

is

in

Christ,

he

is

a

new

creation.

The

old

has

passed

away,

behold,

the

new

has

come.

If

you

are

in

Christ,

then

you

are

no

longer

who

you

once

were

pre-

Christ.

You

are

new.

You

are

now

post-Christ,

although

presently

Christ.

Those

who

are

in

Christ

have

been

born

again.

Where

this

phrase

comes

from

is

from

John

John 3 · chapter mention

chapter

3,

and I'm

going to

read

verses

1

through

7.

There

was a

man of

the

Pharisees

named

Nicodemus,

a ruler

of the

Jews.

This

man

came to

Jesus

by

night

and

said

to

him,

Rabbi,

we

know

that

you

are

a

teacher

come

from

God,

for

no

one

can

do

these

signs,

speaking

of

his

miracles,

that

you

do

unless

God

is

with

him.

Jesus

answered

him,

truly,

truly,

I

say

to

you,

unless

one

is

born

again,

he

cannot

see

the

kingdom

of

God.

This

is

very

common

language

to

the

American

Christian.

Imagine

how

strange

it would

have

been

for

Nicodemus

who

responds,

how

can

a

man

be

born

when

he

is

old?

Can

he

enter

a

second

time

into

his

mother's

womb

and

be

born?

Jesus

answered,

truly,

truly,

I

say

to

you,

unless

one

is

born

of

water

and

the

spirit,

he

cannot

enter

the

kingdom

of

God.

That

which

is

born

of

the

flesh

is

flesh!

And

that

which

is

born

of

the

spirit

is

spirit.

Do not

marvel

that I

said

to

you,

you

must

be

born

again.

So,

tying in

that we,

and Paul's

going to pick this up

pretty heavily

in chapter

8,

we're given

the spirit.

This is how we

become

regenerate.

This is how we're

baptized

into

Christ,

is that we

are given

the spirit

who makes

us new,

causes us

to believe,

we're justified

before God,

and then

we begin

to walk

in his

ways by

the power

of that

same

spirit.

If we

have been

united

with Christ

in a

death like

his,

we shall

certainly

be united

with him

in a

resurrection

like

his.

The old

self

put away,

the new

self

put

on.

Third,

Paul says,

by grace

alone,

through faith

alone,

we have

been

set

free

from

sin.

Verse 6

and 7,

he says,

we know

that our

old self

was crucified

with him

in order

that the

body

of

sin,

that old

self,

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.

This is

so

important

please

note it

carefully.

If you

are in

Christ,

then you

have been

set

free

from

sin.

Sin

no longer

has power

over you.

Beloved,

we do not

cope

with our

sin.

We,

by the

power of

the Spirit,

overcome

it.

We're not

copers,

we're

overcomers.

sin

nowhere in

the Bible

is sin

justified

due to

a circumstance.

Your

circumstances

may provide

temptation,

but your

circumstances

do not

justify

your sin.

If you

are in

Christ,

you have

been set

free

from it,

and we

would do

well as

a people

to live

in the

reality

of this

truth.

Paul tells

us in

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10

and verse

13.

It begins,

no temptation

has overtaken

you that

is not

common

to man.

And

across my

years of

ministry,

I've sat

with many

people who

act as if

they're

experiencing

a unique

temptation,

a temptation

that they

must give

into because

it's unique,

and this is

the text we

go to.

No temptation

has overtaken

you that

is not

common

to man.

We as

Christ followers

deal with

temptation.

Paul goes

on,

God is

faithful,

and he

will not

let you

be tempted

beyond your

ability,

but with

the temptation

he will

also provide

the way

of escape

that you

may be

able to

endure it.

God is

faithful in

the midst

of our

temptation

to provide

everything

that we

need

to not

sin.

We have

been

set

free

from it.

Will we

sin?

Yes.

But we

need to

stop acting

like we

have to.

Fourth,

Paul says,

by grace

alone,

through faith

alone,

Christ's

death was

sufficient

to set

us free

from sin.

This is

verse 8

to the end

of our

text.

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.

Christ

will not

die again,

for he

has no

need

to do

so.

his

once for

all

sacrifice

was

entirely

sufficient

to set

us free

from sin.

It

accomplished

the work.

It's a

completed

work

on our

behalf.

I think

we could

meditate

for decades

on Jesus'

final word,

it is

finished.

What is

the it

that he

is talking

about there?

It's

at very

least

this.

We

have

been

set

free

from

sin

if we

have

believed

in

Christ.

So let's

think about

some

application.

One,

repent

and believe.

If you

have never

placed your

faith in

Christ for

your

justification,

your soul

is in a

desperate

state,

turn from

your sin

and flee

by grace

through faith

to Christ.

Recognize

your

wickedness

before

the holy

God.

Turn

from that

and flee

to Christ,

his sufficient

work on

your behalf.

If you

have already

done so,

when you

sin,

turn from

it and

flee by

grace

through faith

to Christ.

Beloved,

it is good

that we

take our

sin

seriously.

I think

we should

feel it

and I

think we

should feel

it deeply

when we

sin against

our God.

Some have

asked me,

how long

should I

feel that

way?

And my

answer is

always,

only as long

as it takes

for you to

repent

and believe.

Recognize

the weight

of your sin

and turn

from it.

Run

to the

finished

work

of the

cross.

So repent

and believe.

Second

application,

stop whining.

Do not

act like

you are a

victim of

your sin.

You may

be a victim

of another

sin.

I don't

mean to

say that

you are

not.

We are

sinned

against,

to be

sure.

But you

are never

a victim

of your

own.

You

willingly

sin.

When you

sin,

you willingly

do it.

If you

are in

Christ,

you have

been set

free

from your

sin.

When you

sin,

do not

act as

though Christ's

death

didn't

atone

for that

sin.

Some of

you act

as though

Christ's

work wasn't

sufficient and

that he

needs to

climb back

onto the

cross.

He

couldn't

have

possibly

paid for

this one.

He

must come

back and

die again.

remember

the

completed

work

of

Christ

on your

behalf,

the

once-for-all

sacrifice

that he

has made.

Remember

what he

started

and that

he is

sure

to keep

his

promises.

Have

the

confidence

that I

have

of God

for you.

I hope

you have

it of

yourself

that Paul

states in

Philippians

Philippians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

and verse 6

where he

says,

I am

sure

of

this,

that he

who

began a

good

work

in

you

will

bring

it

to

completion

at

the

day

of

Jesus

Christ.

He

will

bring

us

to

that

place

where

we

get

to

put

off

the

body

of

death

and

never

have

the

baggage

of

our

flesh

any

longer

with

us.

So

repent

and

believe,

stop

whining,

third,

run.

Press

on,

beloved,

make

war

against

your

flesh.

You

should

be

greatly

encouraged

to do

so

by

Romans

Romans 6:1–10

6

verses

1

through

10.

Having

been set

free

from it,

we have

all the

reason

in the

world

to run

towards

the

ways

of

God.

Paul

says in

Philippians

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

beginning

in

verse 12,

not that I

have already

obtained

this,

he's

talking

about the

final

resurrection

from the

dead,

or am

already

perfect,

but I

press

on to

make it

my own.

I press,

I press

toward holiness,

right?

Why?

Because

Christ Jesus

has made

me

his own.

Brothers,

I do not

consider that

I have

made it

my own,

but one

thing I

do,

forgetting

what lies

behind and

straining

forward to

what lies

ahead,

I press

on toward

the goal

for the

prize of

the upward

call of

God in

Christ Jesus.

Run,

press on in

holiness for

your good

and for the

glory of

our God.

You have

been,

if you're in

Christ,

if you've been

baptized into

him,

you have

been set

free from

the power

of sin.

John Owen

once said

in closing,

do you

mortify?

Do you

make it

your daily

work?

Be always

at it

whilst you

live.

Cease not

a day

from this

work.

Be

killing

sin,

or it

will be

killing

you.

Let's pray

together.