Victory Over Sin (Romans 6:1–14)

Introduction

Attention

We're continuing our series in the Book of Romans: Romans 6:1-14. We'll be looking at the process of something called sanctification in the Christian life. If you've been a Christian for some time, your told that the Christian life is about a decision you make in a moment, where you put your faith in Jesus Christ. You're saved. You’re never really told what's next. What happens after that? Some feel like, well, I guess we just sit around and wait for others to become Christians.

But the truth about Christianity is that it’s more than a specific moment in time in your life. There is a part in your life where you are transformed, changed by Christ. But that change by Christ is ongoing in your life. The Christian life is growth. It is strengthening. It is an increase of faith, an increase of power in God. The Christian life is exciting. And there can be power in your life because of Jesus Christ.

I remember when my wife and I, we moved from New York to San Diego. We started in New York City, place we'd been in all our life. Packed everything we could in this red Ford Focus. I had a little GPS unit in my car. Put the address for my uncle in San Diego, CA, and started driving. We looked forward to getting there. But the journey across America was incredible As we drove, we left the Bronx, New York, got through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, hit Ohio. There was a lot of forest and hills. We got to Indiana, stopped off to see my uncle there. Indiana had a bunch of cornfields. We go through Missouri for a long stretch. In one part, Joplin, MO, had just had a major tornado. So we're driving through there and amazed that trees were laying uprooted. Incredible. Then we drove through Oklahoma. Oklahoma had a 75 mile per hour speed limit, so we're we're flying through for long stretches. We got through Texas. We were just at the top part of Texas. So it wasn't as long as some drives through Texas. We got through Texas, and then we started hitting this dust storm in New Mexico. There's a dark point, and it was nighttime, and we're just trying to find the next city. And there was a tumbleweed that came across the highway and it scared us. We get through New Mexico, and the border between New Mexico and Arizona was beautiful with the painted rocks. We finally get to Arizona. Phoenix felt like an oven, it was June. We drove through Phoenix and finally got to California. We stopped at the sign that said Welcome to California and took a picture. We were thrilled. We made it to California. We finally pulled up to my uncle's house in San Diego. It was incredible.

A lot of times we think about the Christian life as the starting point of the trip. But what was amazing about the trip was more than the starting point. It was the journey. The Christian life is this amazing journey that God has for you in your life. It has a starting point. There is a place in your life where God changes you. But as you get through he is opening up more and more things and more and more of a picture of what he has for you in your life. He is growing and molding and shaping you. There'll be some amazing things along the way that he'll show you. The Christian life is about the journey God has for you.

So when we get to where we are in Roman 6 today. Paul is going to open up to us a bit about the power that we have in Jesus Christ in this journey in him. So how can we be people who grow as Christians today? Let's take a look and what Paul has to say in Romans 6:1-14.

Scripture Reading

Romans 6:1–14 CSB

1 What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? 2 Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, 7 since a person who has died is freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him, 9 because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over him. 10 For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. 13 And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness. 14 For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under the law but under grace.

Pray

Baptism

So as we start here in Roman 6, he mentions baptism in this text. He mentions it as a metaphor of our union with Christ. In Romans 6:3, he talks about all of us who are baptized into Christ Jesus. He repeats baptism in verse 4.

As he's writing to Christians in Rome, there’s an assumption he makes that Christians are people who have been baptized. He doesn’t say, some of you still need to get baptized. If they are Christians, it’s natural to assume that they’ve been baptized as a first step of obedience to Christ. Early Christians would repent and then be baptized.

The Scriptures give us a way to pronounce our faith in Christ to the world. It is through baptism. Baptism itself does not save anyone. It is symbolic of an inner transformation that's been made. If one wants to take the first step of faith in Jesus Christ according to the Scriptures, they don't do that by raising their hand, or walking down an aisle to an altar, or anything like that.

One proclaims their faith in Jesus Christ through baptism. In a way, we have a picture of the death and resurrection of Jesus through baptism. In the same way that Jesus Christ went into the tomb for three days and was resurrected, baptism is a picture showing us identified with Christ, buried with him into the water, then raised to life with him as we come out of the water.

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ this morning, but have not made that public profession of faith through baptism, that is your first step of obedience to Christ. That is the first step in the journey. If that's you, we'd love to chat with you afterwards. Talk to either Pastor Johannes or myself, and we'll set up a day for baptism.

Sanctification

In Romans 6, Paul describes a sanctification process that happens within the Christian life. What is the doctrine of sanctification?

Sanctification is the ongoing supernatural work of God to rescue justified sinners from the disease of sin and to conform them to the image of his Son: holy, Christlike, and empowered to do good works.

In other words. sanctification refers to the ongoing power of God in your life, a power that doesn't exist in other people. It only exists in those who have put there faith in Jesus Christ. It is a power that exists in your life to rescue you from the disease of sin and start to mold and shape you into the person that he wants you to be, which is ultimately a person who reflects the perfect, pure, and holy nature of God in Jesus Christ. This sanctification will result in spiritual gifts in your life, a power to resist the temptation of sin, and the power to be who God has called you to be.

Paul introduces this idea of sanctification for us in verse 2 where he asks a rhetorical question.

Romans 6:2 CSB

2 Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

Sanctification in theology has three concepts to it. The first one is this:

Positional Sanctification

Positional sanctification is something every Christian has by virtue of being in Christ through faith. You are united with Christ. You have a union with Christ. A shift has occurred from an old self to a new self in Christ. This union with Christ isn't dependent on your talents or abilities as a Christian. Your new position in Christ is based solely on the grace of God.

Paul actually says some incredible things about our positional sanctification.

Romans 6:6 CSB

6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin,

In verse six, our old self was crucified with him. Our old self is now united with Christ on the cross. He has taken on that old self. We see that through the baptism metaphor. In verse three that we are people baptized into his death. Verse 4 were we're buried with him by baptism into death. We are united with him. Positionally our old self is crucified with him.

In verse 8, if we died with Christ we believe that we will also live with him. In this positional sanctification, verse 9 is important. If our salvation was based on us, we would be on insecure ground. But in Christ, our salvation is secure.

Romans 6:8–10 CSB

8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him, 9 because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over him. 10 For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

Your salvation is secure by the fact that Jesus Christ not only died for us on the cross, but he rose again. His resurrection is is power over death. Jesus doesn't need to die for our sins all over again. In verse 10, the death he died, he died to sin once for all time. That refers to the security of salvation. Jesus died for sin once for all time.

We're talking about past sins, present sins, and future sins. Once for all time. As someone positionally sanctified in Jesus Christ, it is a salvation that is sure. Your salvation is secure in Christ. Don't let any one tell you you can lose your salvation. There's no sin that you will commit that Christ needs to die all over again for. He has died for every sin once for all time. There is power in the salvation of Christ to cover every sin.

Progressive Sanctification

Sanctification in the Christian life is not only positional, but it is also ongoing. It is progressive. Progressive sanctification is about the journey throughout your life. God is molding and shaping you to be the person he wants you to be. God is sanctifying you over and over as you as you grow as a Christian.

Positionally your salvation is secure in Christ. But there is a progressive nature of sanctification in your life that will continue to work on you as you trust him.

Important (don’t miss this): I want you to understand the difference between positional and progressive. You're positionally sanctified in Christ because of what he has done for you on the cross. That's all because of him. Progressive sanctification is this combination of the work of God in your life and your obedience to do his will.

Paul opens up some interesting pictures for us in Romans 6. He introduces the idea of progressive sanctification as walking in newness of life. We see that in verse 4.

Romans 6:4 CSB

4 Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life.

Just as Christ was raised, we too may walk in newness of life. Walking is a forward progression. The Christian life is not about being still. There is movement in the Christian life as we walk with him. He says this also in Romans 6:6:

Romans 6:6 CSB

6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin,

Since our old self is crucified with Christ, we have this union with Christ, he says in verse 6 that our body doesn't need to be ruled by sin. That sin can be rendered powerless in the Christian life. We no longer need to be enslaved to sin.

Now, does that mean that a Christian will live a completely sinless life? No. We know that because in verses 11 to 14, he is gives us commands, imperatives, saying, “You should consider...” and “do not” live this way.

In Romans 6:8 “Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” When he is describing that we died with Christ, we have been united with Christ in the cross. We are no longer the same. We are new. There is a new life in us, starting from today to eternity.

There new life comes from a new power in you that has the ability to fight off the temptation of sin. There is a new power in your life that gives you victory over addictions, victory over idolatry, victory over unforgiveness, victory over the things that were killing you in your life. There is victory in the Chrisitan life through God’s work in you. He gives us this description of a life in Christ that has victory over sin. He describes this in three ways.

Fist,

A Christian can have victory over sin by not letting sin reign in your body.

In Romans 6:11

Romans 6:11 CSB

11 So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

As Christians, we are united with Christ, our old self is crucified on the cross. We walk in newness of life. He tells us to consider. That word consider is to think about, calculate, think through in your mind. Meditate on this fact that in your life there is a new power within you.

Your old self is crucified with Christ. Your are spiritually brand new. The old self was under the power under the power and persuasion of sin. That old sinful self is now crucified with Christ. You are someone alive to God in Christ Jesus.

In Romans 6:12:

Romans 6:12 CSB

12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires.

He gives us another command imperative: Do not let sin reign in your body so that you obey its desires. Christian, don't let the guilt and shame of a life that is gone weigh you down. That life is on the cross. It is crucified with him. Consider that old life dead. There is power for a new walk within you.

Peter repeats this same idea in 1 Peter 2:10-11:

1 Peter 2:10–11 CSB

10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul.

He describes once you are not a people, but now you are God's people. He's speaking to Christians. Now you Christians are all God's people. At one time you had not received mercy, but now you have been positionally changed. Now you have received mercy. You have received grace in Jesus Christ.

Then look at verse 11. Then he says dear friends, I urge you. I urge you as strangers and exiles to abstain from sinful desires. Now look at this, that wage war against the soul. A Christian is to consider oneself dead to sin.

The Christian now realizes in his life that the thing that was killing him or her was the sin that had power in the old self. There was a life you lived that was under the power and persuasion of sin.

Now, as a Christian, don’t let sin creep back in. Sin wages war against your soul. As Christians growing closer to the Lord, we should do everything we can to to run the farthest we can away from sin, because sin wages war against the soul. What is sin? It’s back in Romans 1. It's the greed, wickedness, envy, quarrels, deceit. If you ever want to be reminded of what sin is, you can see it in different places, but especially the end of Romans 1. Slander, pride, being unmerciful, evil, wickedness, it's all sin. Sin wages war against your soul.

But the good news for the Christian is you have power over sin. There is victory in your life. The power comes from the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God working in your life gives you the power for victory over sin. So don't let sin reign in your body.

The Christian life is an interesting perspective shift. We look at a culture, a world that is running full speed in the direction of sin. It’s reflected all over the culture. It's reflected in our movies, our television shows, our music, our school system, our politics. We live in a culture that elevates sin and encourages disobedience to God.

The world is like fish swimming in a school toward darkness. While you’re swimming with the fish, everything seems normal. You’re going with everyone else. But when God changes you, you change direction. You start swimming away from the darkness and toward the light.

You may be tempted by the school that’s going the opposite direction to swim toward the darkness. But there is power in the light to pull you toward it. There is clarity in the light that gives you a new perspective.

God is powerful to draw you toward him. Christian, the darkness wants to wage war against your soul. Don’t let sin reign in your body.

A Christian can have victory over sin by not letting sin reign in the body.

Second,

A Christian can have victory over sin by offering yourself to God as an instrument of righteousness.

Paul says this in Romans 6:13

Romans 6:13 CSB

13 And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness.

I love the way the CSB translates that as weapons for righteousness. You might see this in your translation as instruments for righteousness. Either one is correct.

The Christian life is not a perfect life. We live in a world of temptations, and there will be ongoing temptations to fall back into sin. Falling into sin happens by offering ourselves at some point over to a sin.

John describes how we offer ourselves over to sin in 1 John 2:16:

1 John 2:16 CSB

16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions—is not from the Father, but is from the world.

The concept of lust is this overwhelming desire. There are things we desire with our body. We desire things with our eyes. The desire for possessions can have an affect on our soul. As we offer ourselves to these desires, whether it's my mind, my heart, my thoughts, my eyes, the things I see, the things I hear, we offer ourselves to sin. We offer ourselves over the things that wage war against the soul.

But the Christian does not need to fall under the weight of sin. The Christian can consider himself dead to sin because there is a power in the Christian life that is greater than the temptations around him.

Christian, instead of offering yourself in the old way, offer yourself in a new way to God. Offer yourself in the newness of life. Make intentional efforts within your daily life to offer yourself to God today. I often say whatever happened yesterday happened. It's on the cross. What happens tomorrow? I don't know, but today you and I can live for Jesus Christ. Offer yourself to God today as an instrument or a weapon of righteousness.

Imagine if God would use you in your workplace, in your community, in your family, among your friends as an instrument or weapon of righteousness. Paul writing in 2 Timothy 2:21 describes someone purifying himself from anything dishonorable:

2 Timothy 2:21 CSB

21 So if anyone purifies himself from anything dishonorable, he will be a special instrument, set apart, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.

If anyone purifies himself from anything dishonorable, look what happens, he will be a special instrument. Think of that weapon of righteousness, that instrument of righteousness. He will be a special instrument set apart, being sanctified and set apart useful to the master, prepared for every good work. Get rid of the things that block what God wants to do in you. The glory of God in the Christian life gives the Christian the power to be useful to the master for every good work.

In high school, my wife and I were both art majors. And I loved painting. And as you paint, you get the paint brush out, and you're putting colors on the canvas. But what happens with the paintbrush is many times, if you don’t clean it properly, the paint and the oils and the different things gets stuck within the bristles. If you don’t clean it, the paintbrush is no good. The paint dries up on the brush. It's stiff, there's no flexibility in the fibers. What one must do is they have to put the paintbrush in this solution to clean off the the stuck paint in order to make that paintbrush flexible and useful again.

In the Christian life, as sin starts to creep in, it’s like that dirty paintbrush. The bristles in the instrument start getting stiff, and the master will need to start cleaning out the paintbrush, start removing the debris had gotten on his instrument.

But then when that Christian gives himself over to the work of the Spirit and starts to clean out those things that are causing stiffness, as the Christian surrenders himself to the cleansing process, the master will do an incredible work with his people.

A Christian can have victory over sin by not letting sin reign in the body.

A Christian can have victory over sin by offering yourself to God as an instrument of righteousness.

Last,

A Christian can have victory over sin by embracing God's grace.

He says this in Romans 6:14:

Romans 6:14 CSB

14 For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under the law but under grace.

We are under grace. Within the Christian life, we have a tendency to forget that we're under grace. We have a tendency to get caught up once we fallen into sin. We have a tendency to just say, well, that's it. God's done with me. I've fallen into sin. God's done with me. I'm the worst sinner ever.

Christian, you're not the worst in ever. As sinful as you may believe you are, God has rescued someone else from a deeper sin. Christian, when we fail to forgive ourselves because of some mistakes, something we've done, we take God's grace for granted. You are under God’s grace.

What does it mean when you're under grace? You are under the gift of God. There's the gift of God’s forgiveness in your life. Grace is greater than the sin that you're in. God wants you to repent. Want you to come back to him. But God's Grace is bigger than the sin that you're confronting.

Christian, when we don't forgive ourselves, we take God's grace for granted, because he has forgiven that sin already. Embrace the forgiveness that God has for you. Remember that Christ died for sins once for all time. Your sins are on the cross.

This section is all going to build up to Romans 8:1

Romans 8:1 CSB

1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus,

Embrace the grace of God in your life. My friend, you may have fallen into sin. Embrace the grace of God in your life. Christian, you might have come in here feeling guilty today. Embrace the grace of God in your life.

Some of us have children. Some sometimes children make bad decisions. They go down paths that hurt us. It’s hurts us to see them make wrong decisions. We know they’re going to get hurt. We try to warn them. But no matter what, they are still your little boy. They are still your little girl. We still love them. We still forgive them.

And if we understand that, how much more does God understand that? See, when we don't embrace the grace of God in our life, we take for granted his love for us. We take for granted his forgiveness. We take for granted the cross, where he took the sins of the world once for all time.

Christian you can have victory over sin in your life. There is power in your life today to overcome the sin that wages war against your soul. But that's ultimately going to come by you embracing the grace of God, by saying, “Lord, Sorry. I come before you. I'm humble. and clean me out and make me useful for the master.”

If you’ve never embraced the grace of God, don’t hesitate. Today is the day of salvation. Christian, thank the Lord for his grace. Don’t let sin reign in your body. Offer yourself to God. Embrace his grace. Thank him for his forgiveness, his love, and his power. You and I have victory over sin because of Jesus. Amen.

Conclusion

A Christian can have victory over sin by not letting sin reign in the body.

A Christian can have victory over sin by offering yourself to God as an instrument of righteousness.

A Christian can have victory over sin by embracing God's grace.

Conclusion

Prayer

Last Song

Doxology

Numbers 6:24–26 CSB

24 “May the Lord bless you and protect you; 25 may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.” ’

Jude 24–25 CSB

24 Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.

You are dismissed. Have a great week in the Lord!