Romans 6:1-14

1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 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.

Romans 6:1-

Intro:

Last week’s message, demonstrated to us, how incredible grace is… as it was set up as a contrast… against the bleak despair of sin.

One man committed one sin, which essentially made all guilty. The marker of that one sin in our lives, is made evident by the reality of death.

One man, made all sinners, and all suffer death because of it.

That’s a horrible thing to ponder… but Paul sets this horrible reality up as a means to show us the wonder of grace.

One man brought sin, which leads to condemnation, and eternal death.

But another man, brought grace, which leads to righteousness, and eternal life.

They are not matched entities… they are not like yin and yang. - GRACE DOESN’T BALANCE SIN OUT. IT IS NOT AN EQUAL, OPPOSING FORCE. PAUL MAKES IT ABUNDANTLY CLEAR.. - grace FAR SURPASSES… the power of sin.

sin reigned in death… but grace reigns through righteousness… leading to eternal life..

No matter how much sin abounds… GRACE ABOUNDS MORE.

At this point in our study… you’ve probably noticed that many of Paul’s new arguments are started as rebuttals to an anticipated response.

Chapter 6 verse one is no exception. Even today, if we speak too much about grace… there will inevitably be those who warn… that too much grace leads to a false permission to just… KEEP ON SINNING.

Why do some fear teachings on grace? Because, others abuse teachings on grace. And when it’s abused… it’s called ‘false grace’. -But in reality, false grace can fall on both sides of the argument.

It is a false grace that gives permission to keep on sinning, and not feel guilty about it.

It is also false grace that seeks to control people with rules, in fear of those who might use it as a permission to keep on sinning.

People who love rules… struggle with grace. People who are looking for excuses to break the rules… also struggle with grace.

It’s no wonder… that even in Paul’s day… that the mere mention of grace… prompts him to launch into a rebuttal on an argument that is only presumed.

Paul rightly presumed that people on both sides of the argument… would ask this very question… they would just change the pronoun in this verse…

SLIDE 4

The rule keepers would say:

“Are they to continue in sin that grace may abound?”

The rule breakers would say:

“Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?”

Both forms of this rebuttal, will find an answer in Paul’s lesson.

It was not uncommon for the Apostles to face those who demanded that believers in Jesus obey the laws of Judaism.

This was their biggest challenge, as they sought to understand, walk in, and teach the principles of grace.

At one point in their ministry… Paul and Barnabas had to come back to Jerusalem to bring the testimony of saved Gentiles before the church leaders… They debated at length on the requirements of these new believers as it pertained to the law…

Amongst other things, circumcision was the reoccurring theme. It was the mark of the Abrahamic covenant.. - But, even though it was commanded in the law… The church agreed, after the defense of both Peter and James… that these saved Gentiles need not be circumcised.

Things like this were ongoing challenges for the church… therefore, communicating the concept of grace, was also a real challenge.

It’s not a strange thing, that some might conclude, that more sinning provides more opportunity for the believer to experience more grace.

This is a poor interpretation of what Paul said in … but history shows us… that people did adopt this form of thinking.

The well known Russian Monk, Gregory Rasputin firmly believed in this. He taught and exemplified the doctrine of salvation through repeated experiences of sin and repentance.

He believed, that those who sin most require the most forgiveness… therefore, a sinner who continues to sin with abandon enjoys, each time he repents, more of God’s forgiving grace than an ordinary sinner.

Paul knew… that some would oppose grace wrongly, because of this form of thinking, and others would embrace grace wrongly because of this thinking..

Paul responds to both by declaring: “No Way! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”

…or as one scholar put it… “We have died, once and for all, to sin; can we breathe its air again?”

IN verses three and four, Paul uses the example of Baptism to illustrate this point.

Now… this illustration may not translate over to well to those who have different ideas on baptism.

The word baptism means, ‘to immerse’… it was used to define the act of drowning someone… it was used to describe the sinking of a ship. Josephus used this word to describe the crowds that flooded into Jerusalem and wrecked the city.

Ceremonially, amongst the Jews, it spoke of cleansing and repentance. They would baptize themselves repeatedly throughout life… walking into pools… over their heads.. and then walking out on the other side..

Jesus used the word to illustrate identity… baptism of suffering… to be baptized into His death… to be baptized by the HS into the body of Christ.

Baptism took on different forms, different meanings, and different identities over the years..

It was the union of the church and state that instituted, originally, the baptism of infants. They had to come up with a way to identify a new born member, officially, into the church, and also, into citizenship of a town, or state.

The doctrines that explain and justify such forms of baptism came later… and are still widely embraced in the church at large..

But these first generation believers… they practiced a baptism that wasn’t political… they practiced a baptism with serious implications..

To them, it brought forth the reality of sin and death… the very topic that Paul has been speaking of…

Verse 4 explains the symbolic meaning behind the act of baptism…

Being immersed, represents the body of flesh, being buried in the grave. And, coming up out of the water, represents the resurrection of Jesus… and the newness of life that we are called to walk in.

Paul knew… if they didn’t get this idea of grace… and how it was NOT a free pass to sin without guilt…

Then… it was obvious.... they also didn’t get, or understand… what baptism was all about.

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Romans 6:5–7 ESV

5 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. 6 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. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin.

Romans 6.5-

It’s a strange thing to think, that we are united with Jesus in His death. But in that moment… on the cross... we were intimately involved.

He suffered the death that we earned, and He did it with a knowledge of who we are.

Across the span of time… the God who is not bound by such things… TOOK THE EVIL THAT WAS, IS, AND WILL BE… in each of us… and transported it to that place, over 2000 years ago… for settlement.

...... TOOK THE EVIL THAT WAS, IS, AND WILL BE… in each of us… and transported it to that place, over 2000 years ago… for settlement.

Because of that great and glorious work… the life of sin, which reigns in death… is defeated in death… - and we reap the rewards of the resurrection....

All of this happened… so that our body of sin would be rendered moot before the judgment of God...

Where we were once slaves… we are now free from sin.

When Paul says, “grace abounds over sin”… we humans might have a tendency to think in terms of a scale… - THERE IS THIS MUCH SIN ON ONE SIDE OF THE SCALE.. AND THERE IS THIS MUCH GRACE ON THE OTHER..

AND YES, Grace outweighs sin by far… - But if we think in terms of grace units over sin units.... then we will be missing the point..

When Paul speaks of grace abounding over sin.... He is speaking of the power… the accomplishment of grace… - compared to the power and the accomplishment of sin.

When people think in terms of sin units vs grace units… then they also think in terms of their own deeds…

They start to weigh their options… they start to think in terms of what they are and are not allowed to do.

Paul is confronting this way of thinking… PEOPLE… PLEASE STOP WEIGHING YOUR ACTS OF SIN AGAINST THE GRACE OF GOD..

Instead… JUST SEEK TO LIVE AS THE NEW CREATION THAT YOU ARE. You were dead… a slave with no reward, but death- Now, you are alive, you are resurrected spiritually now… and you will be resurrected physically, later.

That old man is going to rear his head as often as we give him the opportunity..

But we need to respond to that old man.... by simply being… the new creation that God created us to be.

WE NEED TO BE ENAMORED WITH THE REALITY OF GRACE. WE NEED TO BE AMAZED BY THE REALITY OF OUR OWN RESURRECTION. WE NEED TO KNOW IT, BELIEVE IT, AND BE BLOWN AWAY BY IT.

Because… if we are not… If we are not reminding ourselves of the wonder of grace… if we are not meditating regularly on the reality of our resurrection from the slavery of sin and death..

Then we are going to have a hard time living, as the person we have been made to be.

Think about it this way: When a soldier is in uniform, on the base, and surrounded by superior officers… HE / SHE… BEHAVES IN A UNIQUE WAY. That soldier knows… in that time and place, that they are a soldier… they look in the mirror, and they see a soldier. They look at their shoulder.. and they see symbols of rank, and they know that they are a soldier. They consider the actions of their fellow soldiers… and they know that they are a soldier.. - and… as a result.. they live accordingly.

Christian. Do you know that you are dead to sin? Do you know that you are a new creation in Him? Do you know the power and might of God’s grace in your life? DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE, AND WHAT YOU ARE????

When Paul says our “old self” was crucified with Him… He is using a specific word for old. - It doesn’t really infer age… but it basically means: worn out.

Your broken and worn out self.... That’s what this flesh is. That’s what the person who lives a life, enslaved to this flesh is. They are worn out. They are suffering the affects of wear and tear.

Paul is telling us… that worn out person… THAT IS NOT US. It died with Jesus… and we are set free.

I understand… that there is a lot of spiritual reality, verses physical reality going on in this explanation. Our physical sinful self is dead… and yet, here we are today… dragging it around with us still…

We are alive spiritually, and our spiritual self, is our eternal self… it is the part of us that has fellowship with God. It is the part of us that is truly alive.

We are essentially… reverse versions of fallen Adam. He started out alive… but then he died… even though He still went on living… but he died spiritually, and through him, death came into the world..

Because of Jesus… we who came into this world dead in the flesh… are now alive in the spirit… even though, for a little bit, this flesh continues to live with us.

It’s hard to understand… but:

Paul explains this beautifully in Galatians.

SLIDE 6

Galatians 2:20 ESV

20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

You see that: We live this life by faith. By believing. By recognizing the truth which is unseen and being assured of it… WITH CONVICTION!!!

SLIDE 7

Romans 6.8-

Romans 6:8–11 ESV

8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

You must consider yourselves.

Are you continually struggling and falling into sin? Is there little to no mark of victory in your life? If so… Then you are not considering yourself… in those moments… as being alive to God in Christ.

Do I say this to condemn you and to make you feel guilty?… NO. I say this to simply recognize a reality that we all deal with.

This worn out man of sin… which we are supposed to reckon dead, by faith… Is constantly screaming for our attention..

It’s a literal war, within … - IN fact, that’s what Paul called it, when he shared his own personal struggle in the next chapter… He delights in the law in His inner being..

That is… in His living, spiritual self… when he is recognizing, with his mind... who he is in Jesus… he is excited about the Word.

But… in his members… in vs. 23 of chapter 7.... he says… “there’s a war going on”.

Here is Paul’s conclusion… yes, his flesh will serve the law of sin… and the idea there is… when he lets it. When he lets the identity in his flesh overwhelm the identity in his mind…

But, with his mind, where he acknowledges his true identity in Jesus… he will serve the law of God.

Folks… it keeps on coming back to identity.

WHO ARE YOU? have you forgotten the grace that saved you? Have you forgotten the resurrected life that is yours? Do you know what it means, to allow… BY FAITH… -Christ to live in you?

Are you reckoning as true… that you are alive to God in Jesus? If so… the next three verses are your appropriate response:

Romans 6:12–13 ESV

12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 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.

Romans 6:12–14 ESV

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Romans 6:12–14 ESV

The soldier presents them self to their superior… as a soldier… They do their best to have every detail in line. Their uniform is perfect. Their record is stellar. Their belongings are in order. Their salute is precise.

THEY KNOW WHO THEY ARE … and they present themselves accordingly.

Christian… do you know who you are? Is your Christian life a constant work of the flesh? Is it a constant battle to perform… to attain… to follow the rules… to fall… to stand up… to fall again… to beat yourself up… to strive.... and so on???

What is driving your goal of intimacy and obedience?

Is it a list of demands? Is it some moral requirement? Is it some legal standard? - Or, is it the realization of Christ’s finished work in you?

Grace draws us into a life of intimacy and obedience, as a thankful response. It’s the outflowing of our identity, and our attempt by faith to walk in our identity..

But the law presses us on towards obedience by outward pressure… it’s a standard that we are called to… a standard that constantly shows us where we fall short…

Paul tells us… that the Law gives the knowledge of sin (3:20) - it makes the offence abound (3:19) - it works wrath (4:15) - It does not justify anyone (3:20) - It does not redeem, but rather, it leads to the redeemer () - It’s purpose, is to lead people to Jesus ()

The law is true… and it shows us how short we fall of God’s righteous requirements… and it reveals our utter incapability to fulfill them… and it points us to the one, who did fulfill them on our behalf.

The rules.... the codes… the legalistic demands… they pointed you to Jesus… - AND YOU CAME TO JESUS, AND YOU RECEIVED HIS FORGIVENESS..

THE WORN OUT OLD MAN OF SIN… is not your boss, nor is he your identity.

YOUR IDENTITY… is intimately linked with Jesus. You died with Him, and you are risen with Him. You left the old behind, and He has made you new.

The law is still a valuable tutor… but it is not our ruler. It’s goal of convincing us that we are sinners has been accomplished. We are not under it any longer..

Let me close today with this quote:

SLIDE 9

“The new rule of grace claims man completely and tolerates no compromise with sin” - Kertelege

Romans 6:1-14

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