The Difficult Question...

Tonight, we tackle a tough one.

This question is one that can stir up debate… and can become a distraction if we are not careful. BUT… it is a question worth discussing because it is important regarding our every day walk with the Lord.

In the last study, we looked at how Paul discussed how the choices of two people… changed this world forever.

Adam chose to sin. He chose to disobey the instruction of the Lord. In doing so, it awakened the sinful nature within all humankind. This choice also came with the consequence of death. Because all have sinned… all are destined to die.

Jesus chose to not sin. He followed the instruction AND the plan of God. In doing so, He remained blameless. His blood was pure meaning when He died for our sins, His blood was able to cover all our sins. Where one man’s sin brought death to all, another man’s death brought life to all.

Paul has also established that we are NOT saved by what we do, but through who we serve.

Our actions… have earned us death. even if we think our actions are good… they are not good enough to offset the consequence of sin. Even serving as a pastor doesn’t earn me a ticket into heaven.

HIS actions… have gifted us life. By grace, we can be forgiven and set free of our sins. Our actions fall short… but His blood is enough.

Romans 6:23 (a verse we will unpack more next week) says it this way

Romans 6:23 NIV

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

SO… IF OUR SALVATION FROM SIN IS NOT ABOUT WHAT WE DO… DOES WHAT WE DO… MATTER?

If grace is the answer… does it matter if a person continues to sin after they have received God’s amazing grace? THAT IS THE QUESTION… THE DIFFICULT QUESTION we aim to tackle.

It’s a question that is caught between two truths.

Truth number one: legalism will not get you to heaven. Legalism places more faith in the letter of the law and less emphasis on His grace and mercy. Legalism says I must do all that I can to be righteous in the eyes of God.

Truth number Two: the call to holiness. A righteous God cannot have fellowship with unrighteous people. We cannot claim to walk in His light yer remain in the darkness of the world. The Bible flat out calls this a lie and no truth is in such a person.

So where do we find balance? How do we navigate this reality? My suggestion to you is: we find the balance in the One who makes us holy. We find the balance in the One that saves us from our sins.

So Paul, points us back to Jesus.

A Look at what Christ has Done.

Romans 6:1–7 NIV

1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

Paul lays out some amazing truth here that we need to pay close attention to.

First, he points out the conflict. If God’s grace abounds, then should we be worried about sinning? His grace is there to cover all our sins so… we’re good, right? NO. And He tells us why in verse two.

Believers are those who have DIED to sin. Believers have DIED to sin. Sin didn’t kill the believer, the believer died to sin.

How can we say that we died to anything yet go on living? Paul explains that in the verses to come.

Our death to sin… came through Jesus’ death on the cross. When we were baptized into Christ, we were baptized into His death. Wait.... what?

What is water baptism? What was John the Baptist’s water baptism all about?

Water baptism is the baptism of repentance. IT IS NOT REQUIRED FOR SALVATION… but it is something ALL believers should do.

Remember the call John the Baptist made in his ministry

Matthew 3:2 NIV

2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Water baptism symbolizes what takes place the moment we give our lives to Jesus.

We know the story of the cross. Jesus died on the cross and was placed in the tomb. Three days later, the stone was rolled away and Jesus was resurrected from the grave.

When a person is baptized, they are laid down in the water, completely immersed in the water.

This is symbolic of the old sinful person dying. Dying to what? DYING TO SIN. That old sinful nature is laid down in the grave.

When the person is lifted up, it is symbolic of the new person coming alive. The sinful nature stays in the grave and what comes back is a new creation: The old has gone the new has come!

If you have repented of sin, you have died to sin. So… what is repentance?

Repentance is the turning away from sin, disobedience, or rebelling AND turning back toward God.

If sin caused us to turn our back on God, repentance causes us to turn our back on sin. Repentance is more than simply telling God that we are sorry for our sin… it is a change of life. BUT BEFORE THIS CHANGE OF LIFE CAN TAKE PLACE… SOMETHING MUST AWAKEN IN OUR HEARTS: SAVING FAITH.

Saving faith is the ONLY requirement for receiving God’s free gift of spiritual salvation. Saving faith moves us to repentance. Here’s the key: Faith is not only a matter of what a person believes about Christ; it is also an active response from the heart of a person who truly desires to accept Christ as Lord and Savior. I want you to see what this kind of faith involves:

Firmly believing that Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead.

Repentance: confessing sins AND turning from sins.

Obedience to Jesus Christ and His Word.

Passionate, personal devotion to Jesus Christ.

Faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior is both a single moment (when a person initially receives the Lord) AND an ongoing attitude of action that must continue to grow and gain strength.

This is what dying to sin looks like. But Jesus didn’t call us to death… He called us to new life. We don’t stay in the tomb… we are not bound by the grave. WE ARE SET FREE AND GIVEN NEW LIFE.

Just as our sinful nature was buried with Christ in death… so are we raised to new life through Jesus’ resurrection from the grave.

Once we have died to sin… we have died once and for all. You cannot die more than once… look at Romans 6:6-7 once again.

Romans 6:6–7 NIV

6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

That’s it. SIN NO LONGER HAS MASTERY OVER THAT PERSON. This is the POWER of God’s grace at work.

BUT… here’s the problem. unfortunately when we “die” to sin… some might try to keep old habits… on life support.

Instead of allowing that sin to go to the grave… it’s kept alive… sometimes tucked away… because we have a hard time letting go.

WHY IS IT HARD TO LET GO OF SIN SOMETIMES? Because in that moment… it is all we have ever known. Our brains have gone toward sin for things like:

Happiness, satisfaction, hope, peace, escape, feeling valued, etc.

We need to remember this point right here: ALL of these things are found in God at a level you will never find in this world. But the time spent in the corrupted pattern of the world has trained our brains otherwise.

So what must we do? CUT THE CORD. UNPLUG SIN’S LIFE SUPPORT. Leave ALL sin in the grave because the reality is… you cannot live a resurrected life… with one foot still in the grave!

Some of you might be wondering when you are going to finally experience the fulness of God’s presence and promises but… you haven’t fully come out of that grave of sin quite yet!

So what must we do? Well, Paul gives the remedy in the next passage of Scripture

Die as He died… Live as He lives.

Romans 6:8–14 NIV

8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

We need to understand something very important that might sound odd at first.

When it comes to the crucifixion of Jesus… JESUS DIED.

He wasn’t mostly dead or sleeping or faking it or in a coma. JESUS DIED. He died to sin ONCE AND FOR ALL.

Jesus CANNOT die for sin more than once. And more importantly, there is no need for Jesus to die more than once for sin. Why? HIS BLOOD WAS ENOUGH. When He said, “IT IS FINISHED” He completed the payment needed for our sins. It’s done. There is no reason to do it again.

PLUS… Jesus fully DEFEATED death when He was resurrected from the grave. Think about this: Jesus cannot die again because Jesus is victorious over death! Yes he died to sin once and for all but the life He lives now He lives unto God.

NO SIN came back with Jesus when He was resurrected. HE LEFT IT ALL IN THE GRAVE. He will never again have to take the sin of the world on His shoulders. He did that already… AND DEFEATED IT. This is an AWESOME reality!

With this in mind… what does Paul say? IN THIS SAME WAY… count yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Jesus.

Once you have died to sin… sin is finished. It no longer has mastery over you.

Once you have come alive in Christ… you receive life that can never be found in the slavery of sin. THIS IS AN AWESOME REALITY. So within this renewed reality Paul says this:

Stop offering yourself to something you have died to and instead offer yourself to God as those who have been brought from death to life.

Those living a resurrected life are those who have turned from that which brought them death.

We are not saved through our actions… but our actions should speak of our salvation.

Salvation won’t make us perfect people… not on this side of eternity. I think of it this way… I am saved… and I am being saved. God is still working on me and I am thankful for that!

But I don’t want to live with one foot still stuck in the grave. I want to die as Christ died and live as Christ lived! This means saying yes to grace and no to sin.

What it Really Comes Down to...

…is a matter of the heart. We will live what we believe. We will follow what we truly desire. We will pursue what we are passionate about.

Listen, God sees right through cheap talk and empty claims. God’s grace is not given to be abused. So if you think you can give your life to Christ and live how ever you want to… then you haven’t given Jesus… anything.

And yes… there will be many who on that day say “Lord, Lord, didn’t we do all these things with you” and His response will be “away from me… I never knew you.”

This is not a result of Jesus turning His back on His followers… this is a result of so-called followers not really following Jesus.

As those who are in Christ… it should be our JOY to offer all that we are for His glory. We will delight in becoming instruments of righteousness… instead of wickedness.

So this question of does what I do really matter… is a matter of the heart. What you do… is a reflection of who you follow.

So… do your actions speak of a living, saving faith in Christ Jesus? Or… do they speak of a hesitancy to fully come out of that grave of sin?

Jesus is offering us new life like nothing found in this world. Choose to die as He died… and live as He lived.