New Freedom - Dead to sin

our Bible reading today is taken from Romans the book of Romans chapter 6 we'll

Romans 6 · chapter mention

read from verse 1 to verse 14 but to put things into context I think I'll read

from verse 20 of chapter 5 as well okay I'm so Romans chapter 5 verse 20 now the

Romans 5:20

Lord came in to increase the trespass but we seen increase grace abounded all the

more so that a sin reigned in death grace also might rain through righteousness

leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord what shall we say then

are we to continue in seeing that grace may abound by no means how can we who do

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 we came 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 you

have been united with him in the death like he is we shall certainly be united with him

in the resurrection like he is 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 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 died 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 he lives to God so you also must consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ

Christ Jesus that not seen therefore rain in your mortal body to make you obey his passions

do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness but present yourself to God as those who have been brought from death to life and your members to God as instruments for righteousness

for seeing will have no dominion over you since you're not under law but under grace

well it's unlikely to happen but if ever I got around to writing my biography

it would be called I'm not the person I used to be

it would be in two volumes it would be sort of one life therefore in one in two massively different parts

so volume one I suspect would probably highlight my childhood years in Northern Ireland and then relocating to Australia with my family at age 16 and that volume would have lots of really massive changes in there for me

the second volume however would be the really crucial volume I think and by far the largest volume and it would begin with my getting married to Alison

and a story therefore it's continuing thus far 42 years of really radically and positively life-changing years

it's hard for me to think of a single area in my life that's not been massively impacted by being married to Alison for the good

and it's such that I would never ever want to go back to being single

now hopefully this picture of biography will help us move into Romans chapter 6

Romans 6 · chapter mention

where Paul continues to spell out the result and the ongoing personal effect of the gospel in the life of every believer

and I think his point is is this as we move into it that essentially God's gospel grace changes everything in the life of a believer

those who are in Christ is the terminology that's been used through chapters 5 and 6

so a bit of revision as I normally do in in chapter 1 verse 16 and 17 he's already defined the gospel

and then chapter 2 and 3 he's actually worked through why every single person needs the gospel

and then in chapters 3 and 4 he's defined what the gospel is

and chapters 5 then through into where we're working at the minute chapter 6

Paul starts to unpack the practical results of the gospel in the life of the believer

and essentially what he's saying is look

the gospel means a totally new legal and social or relational standing

between God and his people for believers

radically and totally new

and in chapter 5 over the last two weeks we've seen Paul's list of the incredible blessings

that we can be absolutely confident are ours forever

why?

because we're now tied to Jesus as once we were tied to Adam

Jesus is our representative head

is what we saw last week

he acts for all those who are associated with him

every blessing won by Jesus

and enjoyed by Jesus

we as his people share in

but there's more to be said

as we move into chapter 6

because in chapter 6 Paul wants us to understand

that the gospel

also changes us

or transforms us

it's not just

that the gospel changes our standing before God legally and socially

the gospel actually changes us

transforms us

we have a personal experience of change

it transforms how we live

how we think

how we act

so here's the summary of chapter 6

flowing over from chapter 5

united with Christ

or being in Christ

united with Christ

everything

is different

we're not the same people

we were before we became believers

volume 2

of our biography

our spiritual biography

has begun

now

the question as we move into chapter 6

it's a confronting question

clearly

Paul has established that God's grace

is really gracious

really gracious

but does that graciousness have unintended consequences

Paul begins with two questions

which link us back to

his last statement

in chapter 5

verse 20 and 21

and Leigh's obviously on the ball this morning

because I should have got her to read that

but she's taken the initiative and read it

so it's excellent

she's more prepared than I am

for this

so

you don't want to swap do you Leigh

come on up

so the two questions link us back

to chapter 5

verse 20 and 21

see the two questions

what shall we say then

so

that links us back to chapter 5

the arguments are already going

are

and then the question flows out of that

so let's have a look at those two verses

in chapter 5

verse 20 and 21

now the law came in

to increase the trespass

but where sin increased

grace abounded all the more

the problem of sin

was always huge

for God

right from the time of Adam

but the introduction of God's law

sharpened the focus

on sin

in the time of Moses

and it showed even more clearly

because there was a written code

and you could evaluate

it showed even more clearly

how deeply ingrained sin

was in God's people

how extensive it reached

it showed even more clearly

the guilt of God's people

and even provoked

disobedience and rebellion

and we know that

don't we

you see a sign on the side of the road

speed limit

100

and you think

I want to go at 110

or 120

or 130

so the rule actually provokes

disobedience

but God's grace

was even bigger

than all of that

and God's grace

was so big

that it was seen

in the death of Christ

the death of Jesus

and so

Paul then anticipates

the question

that would follow from that

so it goes something like this

well

given

the graciousness

of God's

grace

does it follow then

that we who have been

justified by grace alone

should be comfortable sinning

should be comfortable sinning more

knowing

that it would further demonstrate

the extent

the extent and generosity

of God's grace

or put it in slightly different words

if my sin shows God's grace

then surely the more I sin

I actually make God

and God's grace

look even better

that's an outrageous question

isn't it

Paul's answer

verse 2

is very sharp

by no means

or in modern lingo

don't be ridiculous

and it's what follows then

how can we who died to sin

still live in it

so Paul's answer is

don't be ridiculous

Jesus died to deal with sin

as people

so how could we easily

continue to live with it

or put it in different words

how could those

who say they love Jesus

continue to love

the very thing

that actually caused

Jesus to be killed

cause the death

of the one they love

now again

maybe an illustration

would help here

it's almost as Paul

Paul's saying

it would be as ridiculous

as a hopelessly lost

bushwalker

rescued from certain death

at huge cost

to the helicopter rescue service

but actually free

to the idiot

who got lost

and then they said

well how can I respond

oh I know how I'll respond

I'll go and get more lost

and more regularly lost

and get lost

in more difficult terrain

because

these guys are super competent

and the more lost I get

and the more frequently

I get lost

then

everybody will be able

to see how competent

they are

at their jobs

you see how ridiculous

that is

now if they really

want to honour

the rescue team

if they really want

they show appreciation

for the rescue

then the obvious thing

to do

is to make

every effort

not to stray away again

rather than force

these competent

rescue people

to repeatedly

put their life

in danger

so there's Paul's

short answer

don't be ridiculous

but then he expands

it in verses 3

through to 11

and his first point

I think is

that in Christ

or united with Christ

you are a new creation

so at the heart

of Paul's argument

here

is the phrase

we who died

to sin

in fact it's repeated

then in verse 7

and verse 11

so look at verse 7

for we

one who has died

and then verse 11

so you also

must consider yourselves

dead to sin

so what does

this phrase mean

what is it

it's described

of believers

what is it

to be dead

to sin

well

again

hopefully

an illustration

might help

suppose

there's an old

Christian guy

John Jones

and he's looking

back over his life

like a

biography

and he speaks

of his life

in two parts

separated by his

conversion

by him becoming

believer

and as you listen

to John Jones

he speaks about

the old

sinful

John Jones

characterised

by disobedience

by careless

disregard

for God

by lack

of awareness

of his sin

or his offence

to God

because the old

John Jones

was basically

living an autonomous

life

living for himself

then he speaks

about the new

John Jones

still stumbling

into sinful

disobedience

yes

yet

desiring

now more

than anything

else

to honour

the Lord

in every

thought and

action

and so

the new

John Jones

grieves

over

his sin

every time

he stumbles

into it

and wishes

he could be

free from it

so

what happened

to John

Jones

when he

became a

believer

that made

such a

radical change

in his

thinking

and his

outlook

and his

desires

well

his old

life

lived under

the old

man

Adam

as we saw

last week

was finished

it came to

an end

volume one

of the

biography

was written

and complete

John came

to realise

his sin

he came to

realise

that he was

actually

compared to

the righteousness

of God

he was

actually

unrighteous

so unrighteous

that his

sin deserved

death

God's condemnation

the full penalty

of God's wrath

and righteous

judgement

and John

Jones then

realising he

couldn't bear

the wrath of

God in himself

and had an

alternative in

Jesus

took God

at his word

and turned

to Jesus

believing that

as he was

united with

Jesus

by God's

grace

in salvation

then

the death

that Jesus

died

became his

death

and the

benefits of

Christ's death

were transferred

to him

that's the

force I think

of verses

5 and 6

so read them

through with me

now

follow through

as I read them

for if we

have been

united with him

in a death

like his

a sacrificial

death for sin

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

united with

Christ

John

John

learned

to view

himself

as if

he

himself

had died

for his

sin

thus his

old life

dominated by

sin

which left him

guilty before

God

was brought

to an end

God's

justice

was satisfied

in the death

of Christ

it was as if

John

Jones'

life

had been

forfeited

that's how

God viewed

it

the immediate

consequence of

this for

John

Jones

well verse

seven

one who has

died

has been set

free

in the Greek

that is the

one who has

died has been

justified

that's the word

it's a bit of a

liberal translation

there

one who has

died has been

justified

it is a

freedom concept

but it's a

legal process

to that

freedom

one who has

died has been

justified

which in turn

is free

from the

guilt of sin

freedom from

the guilt of

sin

death pays

all the debt

owed

and when the

debt is paid

you're free

to go

the guilt

of his

sin

and its

power to

accuse him

of ongoing

guilt

is removed

and in that

sense

he's set

free

now

important caveat

here

it's not

that John

John

suddenly

was perfect

as if

somehow or

other he's

free from

any ongoing

inclination to

sin or any

temptation to

sin

it's that

the guilt

and power

of sin

to accuse

him

and debilitate

him has

been removed

why

because he

enjoys the

benefit of

Christ's death

as if it

was his own

death

that's what it

is to be

united with

Christ

but that's

only half the

story for

John

John

as he

becomes a

believer

united with

Christ

at his

point of

salvation

it's also

true that

his new

resurrection

life lived

under the

new man

old man

was Adam

the new

man is

Jesus

his new

resurrection

life has

also begun

and that's

the force

of verses

8 through

to 10

so follow

again

now if

we have

died with

Christ

we believe

that we

shall 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

and the

idea there

in the

tense

is a

continuous

life

died to

sin

once to

all

lives

continuously

for God

so

satisfactory

was

Jesus

death

and meeting

all the

demands

of God's

wrath and

justice

in respect

of sin

that Jesus

quite literally

came back

from the

grave

resurrected

to new

life

as proof

that never

again would

any penalty

for the sin

of John

Jones

be required

by the

Lord

so put

it

together

what was

God's

salvation

purpose

or God's

gospel

purpose

for John

Jones

well

it was

that

John

Jones

would

experience

personally

both

the benefits

of Christ's

death

and also

the benefits

of Christ's

resurrection

when he

became a

believer

John

Jones

rose

as it

were

a new

man

to live

a new

life

to God

lived

under

God's

rule

in

thankfulness

intimacy

security

obedience

and life

forever

free

from the

guilt

and penalty

of sin

all those

things

that we

saw

listed

in

chapter

five

now

John

Jones

is

every

believer

here this

morning

all

these

benefits

both

of the

death

of Christ

and of

the

resurrection

of Christ

are ours

in

Christ

because we

are united

with Christ

just as we

tumbled

headlong

into

disobedience

guilt

and death

with Adam

our first

representative

head

representative

man

so we've

been

rescued

lifted up

to a new

life

given a

fresh start

with new

hearts

shaped

and filled

by the

love of

God

poured

into us

by the

Holy

Spirit

as we

saw

two weeks

ago

in Romans

5

one

life

massively

different

in its

parts

the

difference

God's

salvation

becoming

believer

and Paul

then uses

you might be

wondering why

I jumped

over verses

3 and 4

well Paul

just uses

the symbol

of baptism

to help

establishes

point

so if you

look at

chapter 3

verse 3

rather

it says

do you not

know that

all of us

who have been

baptized into

Christ

and there's that

interesting word

there

it's baptized

into Christ

who were baptized

into Christ

Jesus

were baptized

again

emphasis

into

his death

being

being baptized

into Christ

pictures

identification

with

or

being united

with

Jesus

we're baptized

into him

into his

death

now

again

note carefully

it doesn't say

that the baptism

secures

or establishes

our union

with Christ

our baptism

is a

practical

expression

of that

which has

already been

established

by the death

of Christ

by God

on our

behalf

so

given

sorry

not giving

going

into the

water

symbolizes

death

and burial

it's as if

the old

life

of unrighteousness

or sin

in Adam

is finished

gone

they're dead

to sin

in that sense

then as they

come up

out of the

water

it symbolizes

the start

of a new

resurrection

life

in Christ

a fresh

start

in a life

of righteousness

and grateful

obedience

to God

the pivot

point

in the life

of a Christian

the old

John Jones

now the

new

John Jones

so what

do we do

with this

well verse

11

a very

very simple

application

I believe

having said

that I'll

probably try

and make it

complicated

it's as if

Paul's just

saying

act out

who you

are

I think

we often

get tripped

up as

Christians

and ask

them the

question

what do

we need

to do

we've got

this sense

that the

gift isn't

free

but somehow

or other

we owe

God

and we want

to pay

God back

we don't

like to be

indebted

even if we

think it's

free

so we're

always asking

the question

well what is

it that we

need to do

as Christians

in response

to God's

graciousness

well I think

Paul says it

here in very

simple terms

act out

that's what

you need to

do in response

to the

gospel

act out

it's not

very often

we get

encouraged

to act

out

is it

well act

out

be who

you are

now a

question that's

often raised

by Christians

I've raised it

and I'm going to

raise it here

and hopefully

I won't get

into trouble

for it but

anyway we'll

see how it

goes

can I say

as a

Christian

that I'm

free to do

whatever I

like

I can do

whatever I

want

the answer

is

yes

but I

then quickly

have to

follow up

and say

well what

is it

that I

know

want to

do

in

Christ

and the

answer is

I want

to honour

him

I want

to serve

him

I want

to be as

far away

from that

which offends

him as

possible to

be

so act

out who

you are

now Paul's

not asking

us here

to pretend

about something

that's not in

fact true

he's asking

us to

realise

and act

accordingly

in respect

to something

that is

true

look at

verse 11

so you

also

must

consider

yourselves

and that

word

consider

is just

to

actually

have a

look

and recognise

this is

how it

is

so if

you can

recognise

this is

how it

is

this is

how you

are

in

Christ

you're

dead

to sin

and alive

to God

and start

acting

it out

now again

don't get

it wrong

it's not

that my

sinful nature

has totally

died out

and totally

removed from

me

that's

something

the Bible

says

won't

happen

until I

go to

be with

Jesus

in

heaven

rather

it's

my old

self

you know

the volume

one

the volume

two

it's

my old

self

guilty

before the

Lord

that's

the one

that's

gone

I must

realise

that in

Christ

I have

a new

life

to be

lived

for God

and get

on with

doing that

yes there

will be

daily

sinful

happenings

and failures

yes I

will not

be what I

want to

be and

who I

want to

be

but I

am not

who I

used

to be

I

am dead

to sin

in

Christ

I

am

raised

to new

life

in

Christ

and I

need to

live

accordingly

not to

do that

not to

be who

I am

is

essentially

to continue

again

illustratively

to continue

living the

life of

a hobo

a down

and out

homeless

purposeless

miserable

despairing

person

when in

fact

I've

actually been

taken into

the richest

royal family

history has

ever known

and I have

been given

access to

every single

resource of

that royal

family

it just

doesn't make

sense that I

continue to

act like a

hobo

and friends

hopefully you

will see

now why

Paul is so

sharp in

his response

in verse

2

don't be

ridiculous

as I said

earlier

if we

love Jesus

how could we

continue to

love the

very thing

which caused

his death

death

now we'll

still be part

of the

very thing

that caused

his death

but that's

very different

from loving

it

in fact

the longer

we the more

we love

Jesus the more

we'll hate

the thing

that caused

his death

and Paul's

second point

and you'll

be glad

mercifully

it'll be a

lot shorter

Paul's second

point is that

in Christ's

new creation

Christ ought

practically

to be king

and it's

picking up

verses 12

13 and 14

if you notice

in the text

there

Paul uses

imperatives

or commands

for the first

time

in his

letter in

Romans

let not

sin therefore

that's a

direct command

let not

sin therefore

reign

in your

mortal bodies

to make you

obey their

passions

do not

present your

members to

sin as

instruments

of righteousness

but present

yourselves to

God as

those who

have been

brought from

death to

life

and your

members to

God as

instruments

for

righteousness

now

it's a

question of

loyalty

it's a

question of

identification

put it in

simple terms

who will be

king

because it

got the

word here

reign

a monarch

who will be

king

and what

will be

king

in your

life

your new

resurrection

life

verse 13

is a

pretty strong

military

picture

I think

do not

present your

members

to sin

as

instruments

that word

instruments

has got

the notion

of weapons

in the

daily

battlefield

of life

either

we will

surrender

to sin

and thereby

declare war

on God

whose purpose

in salvation

was to

deliver us

from sin

so either

we'll surrender

to sin

and thereby

declare war

on God

or

we will

rally around

king

Jesus

and war

against sin

thereby

demonstrating

your conviction

that sin

is an

already

defeated

enemy

and that

the future

is with

loyalty

and service

of God

and make

no mistake

it will

be a

battle

sin

is still

a really

powerful

force

using the

language of

verse 12

and 13

it's as if

sin is like

a deposed

but angry

king

who remains

determined

to reign

again

to take

back that

which has

been lost

to him

determined

to reign

again

in our

lives

sin

still

occupies

some

territory

but not

the

capital

city

and my

desire

to turn

away

from

unrighteousness

and serve

God

as I

rally

around

king

Jesus

will be

the

motivation

the

encouragement

into the

struggle

the

enemy

I'm

fighting

against

sin

unrighteousness

is already

defeated

I am on

the side

of king

Jesus

he has

brought me

near to him

second point

in these

last verses

is

don't

reduce

God

to

rules

pursue

him

in

thankful

relationship

which is

worship

if you

look at

verse 13

it says

don't

present

your

members

to sin

as

instruments

for

unrighteousness

but

present

yourselves

to God

as those

who have

been brought

from death

to life

it's a

relational

statement

present

yourself

pursue

God

come

before

God

and say

here I

am

what

do you

want

me

to

do

now

historically

Christians

have shown

a lack

of

understanding

of

justification

by

faith

and this

lack

of

understanding

almost

always

reduces

God

to

thinking

to

reduces

thinking

about

God

to

rules

sorry

I got

that

mixed up

almost

always

reduces

thinking

about

God

to

rules

so when

you think

well how do I live

as a Christian

rules

well actually

no

the first

one is

sometimes

Christians

say there

are no

rules

go back

to chapter

6 verse

1

some

people

say

well

okay

look

I'm

saved

by

grace

my

performance

doesn't

matter

I can

keep on

sinning

it's

no

big

deal

and

we see

Christians

like that

who

have

little

concern

to

change

to

become

more

like

Christ

others

go to

the other

extreme

have

overlaid

God's

grace

with

holiness

rules

until

freedom

in

Christ

has

been

smothered

with

a long

list

of

what

Christians

should

and

shouldn't

do

to

prove

that

they're

saved

but

true

understanding

of

grace

pushes

us

to

relationship

and

worship

presenting

yourself

to

God

or

pursuing

him

as

his

beloved

died

for

child

determined

to express

your

thankfulness

and so

our

motivation

in the

Christian

life

is not

fear

of what

God

might

do

to

us

if

we

break

the

rules

but

love

for

what

God

has

already

done

for

us

in

Christ

that's

our

motivation

and

in turn

the

sheer

joy

and

goodness

of

God's

purpose

for

us

as

children

is

best

experienced

by

us

when

we

actually

struggle

and

actively

struggle

to

say

no

to

unrighteousness

and

yes

to

righteousness

my

friends

we

need

to

understand

that

Christ

is

the

way

to

life

and

Christ

is

the

prize

in

life

well

just

about

finished

bear

with

me

in

a

couple

of

minutes

the

final

thing

I

want

to

say

is

don't

focus

on

your

own

efforts

or

success

as

you

struggle

but

your

new

state

of

grace

life

is a

biography

written

in two

volumes

it's been

written

by the

Lord

Jesus

volume

one

is just

tragic

and not

surprisingly

so because

it's the

story of

my

autonomy

it's the

story of

my

condemnation

God's

condemnation

on my

unrighteousness

but as

a

believer

volume

two

is well

underway

and is

full of

hope

and promise

in the

struggle

because

it's the

story of

what God

has done

for me

and the

story of

what God

continues

to do

in me

I'm

united

with

Christ

I have

a spirit

within me

he pours

his love