By Faith - Romans 6:1-14

Romans 6:1-14

Romans 6:1–14 CSB

What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 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. 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. 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 a person who has died is freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him, because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over him. For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. 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. For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under the law but under grace.

This section of Romans paints this beautiful picture. There are two forms of life and we are tethered to something. We are either tethered to sin and death or life and Christ. Both lives have most of the same things.

The Natural Life

The first is life that is natural and has sin attached to it. It is the life that we are all familiar with. It is all the things that you would think of with life but it is attached to sin and death.

Think of a chain. There is school, marriage, work, children, family, taxes, volleyball, football, friends, all the things. But it is attached to a chain of sin and death. You can do things but you are attached to this chain. Wherever you go you are attached to this chain of sin and death. Always present, always reminding you that you are bound.

You are attached to this chain. It was not supposed to be this way. You were not supposed to be attached to it. Sin and Death were not part of the original good plan of God.

In the beginning we read that God creates everything. He says on day one it is good, day two it is good, day three it is good and then again it was good. The third day was twice as good. Day four it is good, day five it is good, day six comes and it is good. God looked at all He created and it was very good. What God made was not just good it was very good. That was the plan, but then Adam and Eve sin and that is not good. When they did this a chain got attached to them. That chain was sin and death, and there was no and is no way out.

Everything we do in the natural life has this chain attached to it. We always feel the pull the tug to go back. Does this mean we never have victory in the natural life? Of course not. Sometimes by on own willpower and strength we are able to not do things. But that is just behavioral modification. We are not changing the root cause, the deep seated problem of sin in us. That is something we cannot change on our own.

Willpower can help you stick to the diet. Willpower can help you quite smoking. Willpower and counseling can help you quite drinking.

Willpower cannot make you forgive the person who hurt you. Willpower cannot give you the strength to let go of years of abuse. Willpower cannot free you from the oppression of the enemy. Willpower cannot give you a desire to serve the weak, Willpower cannot cause you to devote your life to caring for the orphans and widows. If you want real change. Deep down past the surface change, that only happens one way.

Jesus on the cross says Tetelestai! It is finished.

The Supernatural Life

This is the second way to live, the supernatural life. In this way we still have all the things. There is school, marriage, work, children, family, taxes, volleyball, football, friends, all the things. But it is no longer attached to a chain of sin and death because death has been satisfied. Instead you are tethered to God. You are attached to the Creator and sustainer of the universe. The one who can give you not just new desires but the ability to preform.

Jesus on the cross says Tetelestai! It is finished. Then He rises from the dead on Easter morning and proves He meant it.

Now we are no longer attached to the chain of sin and death, Jesus the chain breaker sets us free.

1 Corinthians 15:55–57 CSB

Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

We are not worried about that anymore.

Jesus on the cross says Tetelestai! It is finished. Then He rises from the dead on Easter morning and proves He meant it.

Now we do all the things without this chain of sin and death and instead we are connected God. In Him we live and move and find our being. We are freed and no longer worry. No longer when tempted do we have to give in.

We now have power. We can raise our kids without fear. We can be bold in the face of danger because we know we are not alone. We do not fear tomorrow because we know God is already there. We become something new.

Sin is Left Powerless to the Christian

We have to move beyond thinking sin is just a list of things to do or not to do. It goes way beyond that. It is about who you are inside. It is about your internal motivations and desires. It is about the inward person who lives inside. That is the real issue.

Matthew 15:10–11 CSB

Summoning the crowd, he told them, “Listen and understand: It’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth—this defiles a person.”

We get so fixated on what we or someone else does. Is that important? Yes, but that is the result of what is inside. Stop trying to change the behavior and start changing what is broken.

We search for external things to help us. If I get that job, if I close that deal, if I get that guy or that girl, if I can get that money it will all be ok but none of that helps because you are the issue.

Jesus knew this so He died to sin and death for you and for me. We trust Him and then we die to sin and death too. That is the only freedom.

Romans 6:11 CSB

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

When we die to sin it loses its power. It comes at us and says submit and tell it to get to stepping. We are no longer tied to that we are connected to Christ and He is LORD!

How Does Jesus’ death and Resurrection Accomplish this?

I like knowing how things work. I like understanding things. When I was a kid I would pull apart the VCR, the Alarm Clock, anything I could get my hands on. I love knowing how something works. So when we talk about Jesus rising from the grave and that gives us new life and that we are no longer bound to sin how does that work? We have to remember the problem of sin is so big that Jesus’ life death and Resurrection must deal with all the problems.

Satisfaction For the Debt of Sin

Sin created a debt that must be paid. God is a God of justice. Yes He is love, yes, He has mercy, yes, he has compassion but He also has justice. We cannot stand before a perfect and holy God in our sin. Humans have sinned and the debit must be paid by us. But there is a problem. We have no way to pay the debt. We are so in the whole that there is no way out. The debt is so big that only God would be able to pay it.

So God does what only He can He becomes human. Jesus puts on humanity and lives the life we cannot. He lived in perfect obedience to the Father. He then dies as a completely innocent man. He never sinned. He never did wrong so when He died there was nothing but abundance to pay for our sin. He as a human being did what we could not and in that he made satisfaction for the debt.

Colossians 2:14 CSB

He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross.

Jesus Our Ransom

In the world we are held captive to sin, death, and the enemy.

2 Timothy 2:26 CSB

Then they may come to their senses and escape the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

We were captives and we needed rescuing. We have said before we were enemies but we were also captives. We needed rescuing and only God could rescue us. Jesus came in the flesh but still God to take back what is His.

1 Timothy 2:6 CSB

who gave himself as a ransom for all, a testimony at the proper time.

Jesus ransomed us. He gave Himself and doing so He freed us from our bondage.

Christus Victor

Lastly Jesus is our victor!

Zephaniah 3:17 CSB

The Lord your God is among you, a warrior who saves. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will be quiet in his love. He will delight in you with singing.”

Jesus is the victor. Because He is perfect and because He is God the grave could not hold Him.

Jesus is King.

Jesus is Lord.

He willingly went to the cross.

He willingly went to the grave.

And He willingly got out of the grave because He is the King. He runs the whole show.

The grave could not hold Him. Death could not stop Him. He went to death and death died. Sin lost its power. Now every person who turns to Him and trusts Him. Everyone who puts their faith in Him shares in what He did.

That’s how it works.

Jesus on the cross says Tetelestai! It is finished. Then He rises from the dead on Easter morning and proves He meant it.

Everything Changes

 The disciples hope was dead but sometimes our hopes and dreams need to die so God can do something better.  Sometimes the think we think is too small and while we’re weeping at a grave side God is making a way we didn’t know we needed .  Sometimes the way we think we need is so small and it needs to die.  We think God is just forgiving our sins and then we can run along and continue but God did so much more than just forgive our sins. He didn’t just say ok you can come to heaven now. He made us new! 

Satisfaction For the Debt of Sin

The need to satisfy the debt has been paid. We do not have to keep trying to pay the debt of sin. We might have consequences for past sins, but now we are righting a wrong from a place of love and acceptance in Christ!

Jesus Our Ransom

We have been ransomed and set free. We do not need to keep going back to a past way of doing things. We are now empowered by the Holy Spirit to walk in freedom!

Christus Victor

Because Jesus is victorious we are victorious. We have been enabled with power from on high!

Romans 8:37 CSB

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.