Obedient from the Heart

I didn't get a chance to do a sound check before so I was running around. We're all good.

Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone and I'm one of the pastors here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church.

And it's my joy to bring God's word to you today.

And we're continuing this morning our series in the book of Romans.

And if you've been with us you'll remember that this book is a letter written by the Apostle Paul.

In the 50s AD and it is called Romans for a simple reason which is that it is written to the churches in the city of Rome.

And it is about the gospel. It's about the good news of Jesus, death, and resurrection.

I've mentioned this to you before and I'll mention it to you again and I'll mention it to you later.

Page 7 of your worship guide, the quote I keep coming back to, that Paul's letter to the Romans is arguably the single most important piece of literature.

In the history of the world.

A modest claim.

I keep reminding you all of that because there is a sense in which Romans is kind of hard.

And maybe you've noticed that as we've dug into it.

There's times when Paul repeats himself and you're trying to figure out, okay, what's new? What's old?

The good news in all of that though is that Romans may be hard but it is also great.

Romans may be hard but it is also worth it.

And as we may have the temptation to get lost a little bit in Paul's arguments,

I want to make sure that you know exactly where we're at as we start this morning.

So we are in Romans chapter 6 and Romans chapter 6 asks one and only one question.

Romans 6 · chapter mention Romans 6 · chapter mention

If God's grace is real, we might say since God's grace is real, why do I still have to obey?

Since God's grace is real, why does it matter what I do?

If Jesus lived the perfect life that I should have lived if he took the punishment for my sins,

why can't I do whatever I want?

That would seem to be maybe the conclusion of that.

Okay, so that's the question of chapter 6.

To that one question, Paul has at least three answers.

And that's what we have been working through the last number of weeks, okay?

Answer 1.

This is what we looked at verses 1 through 14.

It doesn't make sense to continue in sin because you can't be both dead and alive at the same time.

You're alive because of your union with Christ, that what's true of Christ is true of you.

When Christ died in his death, you died to the power of sin.

In Christ's resurrection, you experience newness of life, life empowered by the Holy Spirit.

So that's answer 1.

Answer 2 is our answer for today.

It doesn't make sense to continue in sin.

Why would a freed slave go back to his master?

Slavery is already introduced.

We looked at it in verse 6, which was two weeks ago, so we've talked about it some.

And then next week, we're going to see the third argument.

It doesn't make sense.

Why would you do something that kills you?

And we'll see some of that this week as well in verse 16.

So the three answers again are this.

Answer 1, we don't continue in sin because of our union with Christ.

Answer 2, we don't continue in sin because we're no longer a slave to sin.

Answer 3, sin leads to death.

Why would you do something that kills you?

So the question of this passage, this passage this morning, again, is this.

Why would I?

Why should I obey?

So with that, I invite you to join me in reading Romans chapter 6.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

We are going to start at verse 15 and go to verse 19.

You can turn in your Bible.

You can turn in your worship guide to page 7.

Wherever you turn, remember that this is God's word.

Jeremiah chapter 23 tells us that God's word is like a hammer that breaks a rock into pieces.

Jeremiah 23 · chapter mention

Which is to say, there is nothing so powerful that it can stand in the way of God's word.

So that's why we read now Romans chapter 6, starting at verse 15.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

What then?

Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace?

By no means.

Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey?

Either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness.

But thanks be to God that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed.

And having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.

I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations.

For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, leading to more lawlessness.

So now present your members as slaves to righteousness, leading to sanctification.

I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.

Our Father in heaven, we do thank you again for your word, which is good and right and true.

It's more precious than gold, even the finest gold.

Sweeter than honey.

Even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb.

We ask that you would make it precious and sweet to us this morning.

That you would use it to show us your mercy and your grace once again.

That we'd be reminded of the great love that you have for us in Jesus Christ.

The freedom that comes to us in the gospel.

Most of all, we ask that you would show us Jesus.

We'd see his glory and his beauty and his power.

His mercy, his grace, his love.

We ask all of these things in his name.

Amen.

I have mentioned to you before, there's a great principle in life, which is this.

If you are starting learning a new topic and you want a great introduction,

one of the best things you can do is find a children's book.

And it's one of the best things you can do because children's books, by definition,

are meant to be simple and clear and basic.

And so you're trying to get at what is the kernel of truth here?

What is the main thing?

You want to master the basics before you move on to the things that are advanced.

If you don't master the basics, the advanced will not make sense.

It turns out there is actually a children's book on the book of Romans.

It's called The Sword by a man named Marty Mikowski.

I brought it with me.

You can see there's two little Roman soldiers on the front.

It is for ages 8 through 12.

Now, I have to confess, it's been a couple years since I was ages 8 through 12.

But I enjoy it nonetheless.

And in illustrating Romans chapter 6, Marty does it this way.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

It says, imagine that there's a paintbrush.

All of us know what a paintbrush is, right?

Paintbrush is just an instrument.

So if you put the paintbrush in the hands of a master artist, what's going to happen?

You're going to get a masterpiece.

And then he says, but what if you take that paintbrush and you put it in the hands of a toddler?

What will you get?

He says, well, you will likely get a mess on the wall.

Same paintbrush.

Two different people holding it.

And he says this.

This is on the back of your worship guide.

When we walk through life with God as our master, he can use us to create unmatched beauty.

On the contrary, if we allow sin to rule our lives, we can be in a terrible mess.

Paul wants us to consider these questions.

Who is controlling your life?

Who is your master?

And that's one of the major questions here of chapter six.

Who will hold the paintbrush of your life?

If you give it to God and you obey God, he will take your life and he will make it a masterpiece.

If you give it to sin and you obey sin, sin will take your life and there will be a mess.

That actually helps us understand not just this week, but also last week.

You'll remember Andy last week discussed verse 13 of chapter six, which says this.

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.

You could just take the word paintbrush, replace instrument.

Do not present your paintbrush as a paintbrush for unrighteousness,

but present yourself as a paintbrush to God for righteousness.

Then this week it helps us understand verse 16.

Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves,

you are slaves of the one whom you obey,

either of sin, which leads to death,

or of obedience, which leads to righteousness.

So Paul's telling us there's another principle here.

Whoever holds your paintbrush,

that is your master.

If you obey someone,

you are their slave.

There's another truth here,

which is this.

You will have a master.

You will serve someone.

Freedom from religion

will not make you free.

You will serve either sin or God.

There is, in fact,

no independent freedom in this world.

That is a fiction.

There are only two slaveries.

There's only two ways to live.

There's a way to live that leads to death.

And there's a way to live that leads to life.

Some of you may remember

Bob Dylan's song from 1979

called,

You Gotta Serve Somebody.

He says this,

You may be an ambassador

to England or France.

You may like to gamble.

You may like to dance.

You may be the heavyweight champion of the world.

You may be a socialite

with a long string of pearls.

But you're going to have to serve somebody.

It may be the devil.

Or it may be the Lord.

But you're going to have to serve

somebody.

What Paul's telling us here

is whatever you serve,

it will rule you.

If you serve money,

you will be a slave to it.

It will consume your thoughts

and your time,

and your mind will not rest.

You won't be able

to not check the stock market.

If you serve pleasure

and comfort,

it will rule you.

And one day,

someday in the future,

you will be very,

very uncomfortable.

If you serve accomplishments,

you will find

that there is never an end

and that it's never enough.

There is always something more,

and there will always be

someone who is stronger

and smarter

and faster

than you.

If you serve approval,

you will always do

what other people want

and not what is right.

You'll be a slave.

If you serve independence,

if that is more important to you

than anything else,

you may experience

a cruel joke.

You will get it.

You also won't have

the deep connection

that makes life worth living.

Actually,

it might be better

to be a slave.

Slaves actually have

friendships sometimes.

If you make

those things

or anything

your God,

you will serve it.

it will be your master.

You will be

its slave.

Why not just sin

all the more?

For under law

and not under grace,

why not sin

whenever we want?

Paul tells us this,

because it's miserable.

Because it's slavery.

Because those masters

are hard

and cruel.

Now,

you may be wondering,

okay,

we talked about slavery

two weeks ago.

What's the difference

between Paul's point

about slavery then

and his point now?

His point two weeks ago

in verses 5 through 11

was this,

you don't have to obey

sin anymore

because you're not

enslaved to it.

Okay,

that's verse 6.

You don't have to obey

sin anymore

because you're not

enslaved to it.

This week,

verses 15 through 19,

he's saying this,

but if you do

obey it,

you are bound

to it.

if you do

obey it,

it will enslave you.

That's what he's saying

in verse 16.

Do you not know

that if you present

yourselves to anyone

as obedient slaves,

you are slaves

of the one

whom you obey,

either of sin,

which leads to death,

or of obedience,

which leads

to righteousness.

Now,

how did we,

how did we get here?

We're picking up

from last week.

You'll remember

last week ended

with verse 14,

which says this,

for sin will have

no dominion over you

since you are not

under law,

but under grace.

Paul then repeats

that in verse 15,

and so basically

what he's saying,

what he's reminding us

of is this,

there are two ways

to get to heaven.

You can get to heaven

under law,

or you can get to heaven

under grace.

If you're under law

and you want to get to heaven,

you must perfectly

obey every single one

of God's commands,

and never sin.

Now,

if you've been with us,

you know that's not an option.

Romans chapter 3

Romans 3 · chapter mention

says this,

for all have sinned

and fall short

of the glory of God.

So being under law,

bad deal.

If you are under grace,

that means you trust

in Christ.

Believe he died

the death

that you deserve.

He lived the perfect life

that you did not.

And that's good.

Because you actually

cannot earn heaven

from the law.

You can't,

and you won't.

You're no longer justified

by your obedience.

You are justified

by Christ's obedience.

And so that's the distinction,

that distinction

from verses 14 and 15

that leads to the question

of verse 15,

which now we've already answered.

The good news

is now you're actually free

to obey God.

Not just that you've been freed

from the slavery to sin,

you actually have

kind of a new slavery here.

You're actually free

to follow God

as your true and real master.

That's what Paul's saying

in verses 17 and 18.

But thanks be to God

that you who were once

slaves of sin

have become obedient

from the heart

to the standard of teaching

to which you were committed.

And having been set free

from sin,

have become slaves

of righteousness.

Obedient from the heart,

that phrase there

gets to what we talked about

at the beginning

of chapter 6.

That the very power center

of your heart

has changed.

We discussed this

when we talked about

the three different ways

of talking about sin.

The power,

the presence,

and the penalty.

And you remember

that when Christ died,

if you're a Christian,

you died to the power

of sin.

You don't have to obey

sin anymore.

sin no longer controls

your heart.

And so that's why

in verse 4

we talked about

newness of life.

Life that is characterized

by resurrection power.

As I've mentioned to you

many times now,

Ephesians chapter 1

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

tells us

the same power

that raised Jesus Christ

from the dead

is at work in you.

That's the newness of life.

That's what allows us

to obey

from the heart.

In other words,

serving God

sets you free

to do the right thing

for the right reason.

Serving God

sets you free

to do the right thing

for the right reason.

You raise your children now

and you love them

not so that they can

make you look good

or so they can prove

something about you.

That's its own type

of slavery.

But so that they can

go out

and spread

God's glory

even more.

You can make money

for God's purposes.

To provide

for yourself

and your family

and to show

the same generosity

that God has shown

to you.

You can demonstrate

sexual integrity

in your life

because you love

from your heart

God's gift

of marriage.

And you want to

use your body

to bless

other people

rather than

to destroy

and use them.

and when you

experience

success

which I hope

that you do

you can give

glory to God

and you can

actually enjoy it

because you have

the right

perspective.

Brothers and sisters

that's what real

freedom

looks like

feels like

tastes like.

Remember I've

told you this

old quote

from David Gibson

in the created

world

you can only

truly enjoy

what you do

not worship.

In the created

world

you can only

truly enjoy

what you do

not worship

because if you

worship it

it will rule

you.

If you

worship it

it will be

your master

and you

will be

its slave.

I've told you

before and I'll

tell you again

Romans is the

fifth gospel

and Romans is

called the fifth

gospel

because what

Paul teaches

Jesus

taught

first.

Jesus is

talking to the

Jewish leaders

in John

John 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8

and he says

this

truly truly

I say to

you

everyone who

practices sin

is a slave

to sin.

The slave

does not

remain in the

house forever

the son

remains

forever.

so if the

son sets

you free

you are

free

indeed.

A few

verses earlier

he says

this

also John

John 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8

if you

abide in

my word

you are

truly my

disciples

and you

will know

the truth

and the

truth

will set

you

free.

Man I

wonder where

Paul got

this idea

of slavery.

I think

he got it

from Jesus.

I think

he knows

that Jesus

sets us

free from

slavery to

sin by

his death

and his

resurrection.

That's what

Paul's been

saying over

and over

again in

this chapter

when Jesus

died

you

died.

Now that

does raise

a question

for us.

How can

we say

that Jesus

sets us

free

if we're

a slave

to him?

That doesn't

sound like

freedom.

That sounds

kind of

odd that

Paul's

using

different

words

than

Jesus

is.

Well Paul

I think

is getting

at this

in verse

19.

he says

I'm speaking

in human

terms

because of

your

natural

limitations.

What Paul's

saying is

this.

Hey I

realize this

may strike

you as a

little bit

odd to

talk about

being God's

slave.

I'm just

trying to

use an

illustration

that you

can understand.

It may

be imperfect

but it

is true.

Following

Jesus

is the

only

way

to

life

and

freedom.

If

the

son

sets

you

free

you

will

be

free

indeed.

We

might

put it

this

way

to

our

God

be

the

glory

to

our

God

be

the

praise

he

alone

the

name

above

all

names.

I

will

boast

ever

only

in the

Lord

my

God

for

I

know

his

glory

is

my

good.

Serving

him

is

real

and

true

freedom.

let's

pray.

Our

father

in

heaven

we

do

thank

you

that

you

set

us

free

from

the

slavery

to

sin.

Set

us

free

to

actually

enjoy

what

you've

given

us

in

this

world

because

we

worship

you

above

everything

else.

We

ask

that

that

would

be

true

of

us

that

you

would

continue

to

grow

and

shape

and

form

our

hearts

that

we

would

love

your

freedom

we

would

run

away

from

the

slavery

of

sin.

We

ask

these

things

in

Jesus

name.

Amen.