Free from Sin

Romans chapter 6 verse 15.

Romans 6:15

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means.

Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey,

whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness.

But thanks be to God that though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.

You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves,

just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness.

So now offer them in slavery to righteousness, leading to holiness.

When you are slaves to sin, you are free from the control of righteousness.

What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of?

Those things result in death.

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God,

the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Thank you, Peter.

Well, please keep your Bibles open.

If you haven't got a Bible, I encourage you to get one.

There's one at the back.

And you can follow along and make sure that everything that we're saying and talking about does come from God's Word.

That's most important.

We don't want to be hearing my thoughts or ideas, but what God has to say.

There's also a sheet.

There's one left if anybody wants it.

Take notes.

Feel free to come up and get it.

I'll leave it here.

It won't burn.

Well, let's pray together.

Our Father, thank you for your goodness to us.

Thank you for your Word.

Thank you for this book of Romans that we have been able to study and look at together.

We pray that what we read and think through now would be words from you that change us,

words that bring life, words that shape how we live and how we should serve.

We pray that we would be encouraged through this morning,

that you would challenge us where we need to be challenged,

and that we would put right in our lives the areas that need to be put right.

But we want to do all of this under your grace.

not our performance,

but recognizing that all this is only possible because of what Jesus has done for us.

So please help us.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, I have a new rule for everyone.

From now on,

there's only going to be one rule.

And here's the rule.

You ready?

There are no rules.

Do you like that?

Because that's exactly what I said.

From now on,

we're not going to have any more rules.

Do you remember that list Joy was talking about at the beginning?

About rotas for helping out and serving?

Tear it up.

No more rules.

But you say,

how can we do that?

If there were no more rules,

we would descend into absolute chaos.

People would do whatever they wanted.

They would arrive whenever they wanted,

which people do anyway.

We need rules to keep us right.

We need to make sure that we do the right thing.

No more rules.

That would be absolute madness.

It would seem very strange, wouldn't it,

for somebody to say,

there are no more rules.

But that's exactly what Paul seems to be saying to the church

and to us.

Look at verse 14 of chapter 6.

He says,

sin shall not be your master

because you are not under law

but under grace.

It's very clear, isn't it?

No more rules.

We're not under law.

We're under grace.

Verse 15.

What then?

Shall we sin because we are not under law

but under grace?

You could imagine them reading this

and thinking to themselves,

has Paul gone mad?

Has this gospel thing gone to his head?

How can you say,

we are not under law but under grace?

If we're under grace,

that means we can do whatever we like

and God is going to forgive us.

Look at the rest of verse 15.

By no means.

No, he says,

that's not what I am saying.

I do say,

there are no more rules

but that does not mean

we can live however we want.

If you are a Christian,

if you are somebody who trusts in Jesus,

you live under the rule of grace

and that radically changes

your whole life

and as we will see,

it radically changes

your whole attitude to serving.

You see,

there were those in this church

that are being written to

who were concerned about right behaviour

and I think we're all kinds of people

who are concerned about right behaviour.

that things are done well.

And in this church,

there were two groups of people.

You had the Jews

who were from a religious background

and they were concerned

about the Gentiles.

They were people

who were from a non-religious background

and they were concerned

that they would take this grace thing

too far.

In other words,

a licence to sin.

Those people,

they'll just behave

however they want.

They'll say,

God will forgive us.

It doesn't matter what time we come.

It doesn't matter what we do.

God will forgive us.

So the way in which

to keep order in their church

was to slap on lots of rules.

Let's have lots of rules

and everybody will keep things right.

But as he explained

back in chapter 5 verse 20,

have a look at 5 verse 20,

he said the law,

talking about the law of Moses,

the first five books,

was added

so that the trespass

might increase.

Now the principle

was very clear.

Rules or law

only tell you

what the right thing is.

They can't make you

do the right thing.

Laws and rules

have no power.

The only power they have

is to punish you.

They can't free you.

They can't make you

do the right thing.

No, he's saying,

rules are no good.

We must live under grace.

And by teaching them

all about grace,

he is bringing

these two dividing groups together.

He's getting the religious bunch

on the one hand

who want to control grace

and say,

let's not dish out

too much grace here.

And then he's wanting

to bring the other group,

the non-religious group

who seem to be abusing grace

and doing whatever they want.

And he brings them together

and he says,

I want you to live under grace.

You will have a different

kind of life

under grace.

You will no longer

be serving self,

your own needs

and your own wants.

Instead,

in grateful response

to God's amazing salvation,

you will serve God

and you will serve each other

and you will serve

your church well

because of the grace

you have received.

We could change

what I said at the beginning

a little bit.

There's only one rule

and it's the rule of grace.

Because if we live under grace,

we won't need rules,

we won't need rotas,

we won't need anything like that

because

our lives will be

so radically changed,

we will be serving

in ways we never thought possible.

That, I think,

is what Paul is going

to be getting to

at the rest of chapter 6.

So let's unpack this

a little bit more,

this whole idea

of grace

enabling us to serve.

The first thing

we want to notice

is that everyone

serves someone.

Every one of us here

serves someone.

Look at verse 16.

Don't you know

that when you offer yourselves

to someone

to obey him as slaves,

you are slaves

to the one

whom you obey.

Whether you are slaves

to sin,

which leads to death,

or slaves to obedience,

which leads to righteousness.

You see,

we all serve

somebody.

And the way

to find out

who it is

that we're serving

is by asking,

who do I obey?

Because if we look closely

at verse 16,

it says,

you are slaves

to the one

that you obey.

So that's a good question

for us all to ask.

Who do we obey?

Well,

it seems like

we have two choices.

In verse 16,

we are either

slaves to sin.

In other words,

we obey self.

We obey what I want.

Or,

we are slaves

to obedience.

That's slaves to Christ.

In other words,

we obey God.

What he wants.

And because we're all here

in church together

this morning,

and we've got our Bibles open,

we'd all like to think

we're in the second category,

that we obey God.

But look at verse 20.

He says,

when you were slaves

to sin,

you were free

from the control

or the restraint

of righteousness.

Yes,

he said,

you did have a freedom,

but it was only

a freedom

to obey self.

You couldn't

obey righteousness.

Let me explain it.

It's a little bit

like addictions.

Addicts

don't want

to be

addicts.

They want to be able

to break free

from its control

and break free

from its hold

in their lives.

And addicts

are free

to make that choice

every single day.

but they still

obey

their body's

cravings.

And in the same way,

it's saying

without Christ,

we are addicts

to obey

what we want,

not what God wants.

We obey

our cravings.

We obey

what our desires are,

not God's desires.

sinners.

So back to verse 16,

if we are given

the choice,

will you obey God

or will you obey

self?

Well,

self wins

every single time.

In fact,

the painful truth is,

without Christ,

we don't have a choice

to do what is right.

We are natural born

sinners.

We can't help

but do the wrong thing.

That's who we are.

That is our nature.

And when we're talking

about sin,

let's not just think

about breaking rules,

things we don't do

or things we should do.

It's a lifestyle.

Sin is a lifestyle.

It's our nature.

It's a life

that desperately

tries to live

outside of God.

In other words,

we are always living

to serve our own needs

and our own wants.

Rather than obey God

who gives us

everything that we need,

we will obey

anything

and anyone

that gives us

what we want.

So,

if I wanted

to have sex

with someone else,

I would have an affair.

I would obey

that hunger

inside of me.

If I want a job,

I will tell lies

in my CV

and I'll write down

anything I want to

because I obey

the desire

that's in me.

If I want

more control

over somebody

or over a situation,

then I will begin

to bully

because I obey me.

It's something

that I want.

It's something

that I desire

and I will do

anything to get it.

So,

sin is always

living outside of God.

That's the way

it expresses itself.

It's a life

that serves me.

It puts me

at the center

rather than God.

God.

Or as one writer

put it like this,

we de-God

God.

We take away

God's right

and we give it

to ourselves

and say,

you choose

what you want

to do.

But the seriousness

of that problem

is that we

cannot help

but serve

me

all of the time.

So,

we all serve

someone

and the truth

is we serve

ourselves.

but thankfully

we can be set

free from that

kind of lifestyle.

We can be set

free to serve

God

and it's grace

that sets us

free.

Look at verse 17.

Thanks be to God

that though you

used to be

slaves to sin,

you wholeheartedly

obeyed the form

of teaching

to which you

were entrusted.

You have been

set free

from sin.

Now that's

good news

because it's

telling us

that we've

been changed

from one kind

of lifestyle

to another

kind of lifestyle.

From serving

self

to serving

others

and to

serving God.

Well,

how does that

change happen?

Well,

there's two ways

this happens.

First,

it's through

obeying the

gospel.

Look at what

it says there

in verse 17.

It says,

you wholeheartedly

obeyed the

form of

teaching.

Now that's a

funny way of

putting that.

The form of

teaching

is saying

it's the

gospel.

That's what

the form of

teaching was

that they had

been taught.

And in

particular,

it is the

good news

that he has

begun explaining

all the way

through Romans

that Jesus

has put us

right with

God.

He's changed

our life

around.

The author

John Stott

explains it

well.

There's a

quote up

behind me.

Just follow

it as I

read about

the way in

which God

puts us

right.

This is a

summary of

the gospel.

Justification

is a legal

term borrowed

from the

law courts.

It is the

exact opposite

of condemnation.

To condemn

is to

declare someone

guilty.

To justify

is to

declare him

righteous

or put

right with

God.

In the

Bible,

it refers

to God's

act of

unmerited

favour,

his grace,

by which

he puts

the sinner

right with

himself,

not only

pardoning or

acquitting him,

but accepting

him and

treating him

as righteous.

That is the

form of

teaching.

That is the

gospel.

Jesus was

treated as

I deserve

to be

treated

so that

I can be

treated

as Jesus

deserves to

be treated.

And if we

obey this

gospel,

if we put

our faith

and trust

in this,

we are

saying,

I can't

help but

be a

sinner,

and I

need Jesus

to change

me.

And this

is what

sets us

free.

This is what

changes us

from being

so self

centred

to being

God

centred.

But there's

a second

part to

how this

change

comes about,

how this

freedom

comes.

Look at

what it

says there.

It says

this form

of teaching

to which

you were

entrusted.

Now if

you are

entrusted

to something,

that means

you are

under its

care or

protection.

If you

bring your

child to a

creche or

to a

school,

you are

placing

your

child or

entrusting

them to

their care

or protection.

And that's

exactly what

it is for

those who

have obeyed

the gospel.

We are

put under

the care

and under

the supervision

of the

gospel.

That means

we can

never be

taken back

by the

rule of

sin.

Nobody

can come

in and

take us

away.

We have

been set

free and

are now

under the

gospel's

care,

never to

be condemned

but always

accepted and

always treated

as righteous

no matter

what we've

done.

And maybe

you're sitting

here this

morning and

you're thinking

what I did

this week or

what I've been

thinking this

morning is

so outside

of God.

But yet if

we are trusting

in Jesus,

we are entrusted

under his

care,

under his

protection,

never to be

condemned

but always

accepted and

treated as

righteous.

So we

have been

set free

by grace

to live a

different way.

Not to do

like what we

want to do

but to live

a different

way,

to live a

life of

service because

grace sets

us free to

serve.

Look at the

rest of verse

18.

Well we'll

read all of

verse 18

into 19.

You have

been set

free from

sin,

so that's

the old

way,

and have

now become

slaves to

righteousness.

I put this

in human

terms or I

use a human

illustration

because you're

weak in your

natural selves.

He's being a

little bit rude

there isn't he?

He's saying

you're a bit

thick, you

can't get it

so I'm going

to use a

little illustration

to help

you.

Now we

probably

struggle with

this word

here of

slaves because

nobody wants

to be a

slave.

Slavery was

cruel,

slavery was

abolished many

years ago.

It breaks

people and

destroys

people.

So why is

he using it?

Well he's

using it here

to help us

to understand

our new

purpose in

life.

And that's

why he puts

it in a

strange way

in verse

19.

He says I

use this

in human

terms because

you're weak

in your

natural

selves.

I want to

use this

illustration

of slavery

to help

you grasp

our freedom.

It sounds

a contradiction

but I want

you to

grasp this.

He says

before you

were under

the control

of sin.

He was

our master

and we

were his

slaves.

We just

obeyed it.

We had

no way

about it.

But now

he says

you've been

set free.

You're under

the control

of grace.

God is

your master

and now

you're his

slaves.

But these

slaveries

are completely

opposite.

The way

in which

we serve

is completely

different.

these ways

are contrasted

in verse

19.

First,

slavery to

sin

is a

downward

spiral

into

chaos.

If you

were to

serve

self,

if that's

your option,

well,

it's just

going to

end in

chaos.

Look at

verse 19.

He says,

just as

you used

to offer

the parts

of your

body,

your life

in slavery

to impurity

and to

ever

increasing

wickedness.

It's a

downward

spiral.

When I

was at

school,

we were

always given

a packed

lunch,

sandwiches,

which I

never really

liked.

And I

had to

eat them.

That was

the rule.

Except for

I came

home one

day with

the

sandwiches

in my

box and

I didn't

want to

get into

trouble so

I threw

them in

the garden.

And I

was asked

when I

came in,

as mum

looked at

the empty

lunchbox,

did you

eat your

sandwiches?

Yes.

Sat down,

had dinner

that night

and in

came the

dog.

And he

dropped a

sandwich in

the kitchen

floor.

Are these

your

sandwiches?

No.

they are

your

sandwiches,

aren't

they?

Yes,

they are.

Yes,

yes.

When did

you put

them there?

Oh,

I can't

remember.

Ages

ago.

Jonathan,

they're

still

fresh.

I'd

been caught

rotten,

hadn't I?

But that's

the point

here.

That sin

always leads

to more

sin.

Ever

increasing

wickedness.

just a

downward

spiral.

The little

tiny mess

of just

throwing a

little

sandwich

away

ended up

to being

grounded

and a

big mess

for me.

But that's

just a

tiny little

picture of

the choices

that we

make in

our lives.

Tiny

little sins,

tiny little

choices that

people make,

obeying

self,

wanting to

please

themselves,

it destroys

their lives

and it

begins to

destroy

others.

Ever

increasing

wickedness.

Slavery

to sin.

It is

slavery.

It isn't

a freedom.

It's a

downward

spiral

into

chaos.

But grace

saves us

from all

of that.

It gives

us a

new way

to serve.

Slavery

to God

is a

growing

spiral

into

holiness.

Look

at the

rest of

verse

19.

He

says,

so now

offer

your body,

offer

yourselves

in

slavery

to

righteousness

which

leads

to

holiness.

As we

give

ourselves

now to

God

because

we're

able

to,

we

become

more

like

Christ.

His

character

becomes

like

our

character.

Slowly

we

begin

to be

transformed

where

we

no

longer

want

to

serve

self

but

we

want

to

serve

God.

And this

is the

amazing

transformation

that the

gospel

brings

into

our

lives.

Once

we

had

no

choice

but

now

we

have

a

brand

new

freedom

to

give

ourselves

completely

to

God.

But

let's

not

misunderstand

this

slavery

to

God.

God

is not

a cruel

dictator

who

orders

us

around

as an

exercise

of his

power

just to

show

how

strong

he

is.

He's

not

a

tyrant

who

waves

a

big

stick

at

us

in

temper.

No

he

is

the

loving

God

you

remember

who

came

to

serve

us

who

gave

his

life

for

us

who

would

die

for

us

that

is

the

kind

of

master

he

is

he

would

lay

down

his

life

for

us

he

gave

us

everything

so

that

in

grateful

response

we

owe

him

everything

that's

what

it

is

to

be

a

slave

we

owe

him

everything

because

he

gave

us

his

everything

so

we

have

been

given

a

brand

new

way

to

serve

but

let's

face

it

we

all

know

that

this

is

extremely

hard

it's

fine

in

theory

it's

fine

written

down

on

these

pages

and

talking

about

it

but

we

still

struggle

every

single

day

to

make

the

right

choice

and

as

we

begin

to

put

into

practice

this

whole

idea

of

serving

on

a

Sunday

morning

and

being

here

being

early

and

going

home

late

making

that

choice

is

going

to

be

hard

and

difficult

for

us

well

the

only

way

we're

going

to

make

the

right

choices

is

not

more

rules

we

could

have

10,000

rules

up on

the

board

telling

you

what

time

you

have

to

be

here

what

time

you

have

to

go

home

at

when

to

drink

your

tea

when

to

sit

down

he

can

have

all

of

these

sorts

of

things

but it's

not going to make anybody do anything

we need to be motivated by grace

each day

look at verse 21 to 22

they're written in contrast to each other

in other words he's saying look at what the life of sin brings

and look at what the life of grace brings

look at the benefits and the results of each

verse 21 this is what this is what a life of serving self brings

verse 21

what benefit

did you reap at the time from the things that you are now ashamed of

so when you were serving self and it was just going down and down and

down

what were the benefits of that

well absolutely nothing

those things result in death

complete separation from god

and eternity from him

is that the way you want to live he says

well here's another way

here's another way to be motivated

verse 22

but now that you've been set free from sin

and have become slaves to god

the benefit you reap

leads to holiness

and the result

is eternal life

complete contrast

if i want my son ethan to do his homework

i can sit him down at the table

i can shout at him and roar at him and tell him to hurry up

i can give off to him when his sums are wrong

i can tell him he's not doing good enough and he should do better

well the outcome would be absolutely disastrous

the work is never going to get done

it's going to end in tears

he's not going to like his homework

and he's not going to like me either

it'd be an absolute disaster

but if i were to sit down with ethan

and show him what to do

to go through it with him

and then to tell him

look when we're finished

whether you get it right or wrong

we're going to go to the cinema

now rather than fight homework

he's going to want to do it isn't he

now don't tell him i said that

because i don't want to bring him to the cinema every day

but there's an illustration there isn't it

that in the same way when we look at the benefits

and the results of grace

when we look at what's to come

the result is eternal life

the new heaven and the new earth

we will want to serve god more and more

because of what's to come

we'll want to do it

not as a way of earning these things

but because they belong to us already

look at verse 22

and look at how it's all past tense

but now that you have been set free

we're not working to set ourselves free

it's past it's been done by jesus

you have become slaves to god

it's not something we have to try and earn or work towards

it's been done

and now the benefits today

will be christ's likeness holiness

it will be eternal life

you see we need more grace

not more rules

if we're to serve god well

we need to see everything that god has done for us

all that is ours today

all that is ours to come

and it will change us to be people who serve

so the question we all need to be clear on is this

who are we going to serve

who is going to be the boss of your life

will it be self

or will it be christ

the outcomes are very different

verse 23

the wages of sin is death

the payment

if you live for self

all the work of living for yourself

sin is going to pay you

and he will pay you with death

but the gift of god

if we live to serve christ

the gift

not because of what we've done

but because of his generosity

will be eternal life

you see a community of believers

such as us here this morning

if we live under the rule of grace

we will have the lord jesus as our boss

and in response to this liberating grace

we will want to serve him in our lives

and in the world

and in our church

and it won't matter whether we're on a rota

for this week or next week

we'll just be serving all the time

any time

because it's really true

what we said at the beginning

we are not under grace

or sorry

we are under grace

there are no more rules

grace is the only rule

and grace that changes us

will turn lives that turn from self

to serving god

and serving those around us

may god help us to be a community

who live under his grace

and his goodness

let's pray together

our father god

we thank you

that you are the great servant

although you are creator

and lord of this world

you came to serve us

by giving your life for us

to set us free

from one kind of life

to bring us into another kind of life

help us to live

under your grace

each and every day

to be generous

with your grace

to one another

forgiving one another

supporting one another

caring for one another

help us not to abuse your grace

or to misunderstand it

as a license

to do what we want

but may it so transform us

and change us

that we are the kind of people

that serve you

so please help us

as your people

please help us as a church

we thank you for everybody

represented here

we thank you for all of their gifts

and abilities

we thank you for all those

who have served us today

in setting up

in tea and coffee

in welcoming

we thank you for everybody

and for all that they do

and we pray that we would

encourage each other

more and more

to do this well

in Jesus name

Amen