20250406 Romans 6:1-2 A Matter of Life and Death
The Book of Romans • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Welcome to Vertical Church
42 And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.
As a church we seek to uphold the values of the NT church as seen in Acts 2:42 -
We are Trinitarian - while God is one in essence, He is three in person: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit
We believe in the sovereignty of God - sovereign over all creation, sovereign over the affairs of men, sovereign over salvation
We believe in the authority of the Bible - Scripture alone is the Word of God
We are Biblical in our theology - we are a bible teaching church
We believe that the Church is not a building or a denomination but a people - those who are truly in Christ and embrace the truths that were embraced and confessed by the New Testament Church, the apostolic church.
We are evangelical - we believe that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
We are a Vertical Church - we believe that all true worship and living is Vertical, God directed and for the glory of God alone.
The 1689 Confession of faith says this about the Bible:
The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience,1 although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men inexcusable; yet they are not sufficient to give that knowledge of God and His will which is necessary unto salvation.2 Therefore it pleased the Lord at sundry times and in diversified manners to reveal Himself, and to declare (that) His will unto His church;3 and afterward for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan, and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing; which makes the Holy Scriptures to be most necessary, those former ways of God's revealing His will unto His people being now completed.4
Scripture Alone, Grace Alone, Faith Alone, Christ Alone, For the glory of God alone - join us on Sundays
Let us worship God
Call to Worship - Psalm 63:1-4
1 O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land without water. 2 Thus I have beheld You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. 3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will laud You. 4 Thus I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.
Scripture Reading - Romans 5:20-6:2
20 Now the Law came in so that the transgression would increase, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
Introduction: Romans 6:1-2 A Matter of Life and Death
Romans
Condemnation 1:18-3:20 the condemnation of sin and the just wrath of God on the entire human race
Justification 3:21-5:21 The divine act where God, through the hearing of the gospel, creates spiritual life in the guilty sinner and with this the ability to believe in the finished work of Christ and based on this faith God declares the guilty sinner righteous based on the substitutionary work of Christ who has taken the punishment of the sinner upon himself and given his righteousness as a gift to those who deserve wrath
Sanctification in chapters 6-8 the theme is sanctification
(1) What is Sanctification?
The greek word hagiasmos is used 10 times in the new testament - in most bible translations it is translated sanctification or holiness. It’s origin has to do with the wrod separate.
Therefore, to be separated, or to be holy is to be separated from something and to be set apart for something.
To be sanctified is to be set apart for everything the Lord has planned for you, to be set apart for his good purposes and will. We are being made into the image of God and being transformed into the likeness of Christ
Now when we say separated from, there are three main powers which the believer is separated from:
First, we are being set apart from sin, from the ruling, governing power of sin that was dominating our lives before we were converted.
14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
The penalty, the power and the presence of sin
Second, we are being set apart from the world, from the evil world system. There is an invisible system in this world that is anti-God, anti-Christ, anti-purity, anti-family, anti-everything that is good and decent. We once were part of this wicked system, but now we have been set apart from its power and pollution. This includes every part of life – the world of entertainment, the world of music, the world of education, the world of government, every dimension within this world. The ruler of this world, the god of this age, is Satan. The devil is presiding over this evil world system under the sovereignty of the will of God.
9 But you are a chosen family, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
Third, we are being set apart from the influences of the devil himself. We were once held captive by the devil to do his will, but sanctification produces a radical break from these three sinister powers, from the world, the flesh, and the devil. That is the negative aspect of sanctification, what we have been set apart from.
26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.
Justification involves our legal standing before God. It has nothing to do with our character, our walk, or how we live our lives. It has everything to do with our status in heaven. On the other hand, sanctification does not involve my standing before God, but with my daily walk with the Lord. It involves my internal spiritual condition – my heart, my mind, my affections, and my will. Sanctification deals with what God is doing in me to make me like His Son, Jesus Christ.
Justification is what God has done for me. Sanctification is what God is doing in me and through me.
Justification is righteousness imputed. Sanctification is righteousness imparted. Imputed means that the righteousness achieved by Jesus Christ is credited to my account in heaven. Imparted means that it is having an affect upon who I am and how I live. God is imparting something very real to the inside of me.
Justification happens only one time. You are only justified once before God. Sanctification is an ongoing process.
Justification is an act that involves God alone. Sanctification is an activity that involves both God and man. That is to say, justification is monergistic, which means that there is only one active agent, who is God. Justification was not a joint effort that involves both God and the believer. God alone justifies. Sanctification is synergistic, which means there are two active agents, God and me. Every believer bears enormous responsibility in his daily Christian life. This is a very important theological distinction.
Justification involves a heavenly courtroom scene. We stand before the judgment bar of God, the Judge of heaven and earth, who declares us to be the righteousness of Jesus Christ. By contrast, sanctification is an earthly scene, where we live in the nitty-gritty of life. Justification is an immediate pronouncement, where sanctification is a lifelong pursuit.
Justification is the same for every believer. No one is more justified than anyone else. We all have the same perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to our account. However, sanctification differs from one man to another. Some believers will grow into Christlikeness more than others. Some will lag behind more than others in their spiritual growth. These are some of the distinct contrasts between justification and sanctification. Some will resist temptation more than others. Some will discipline themselves for the purpose of godliness more. But others merely coast in their spiritual life. Yet with others, the Lord will accelerate their spiritual development.
Sanctification has three parts - Instantaneous, Progressive, and Ultimate
instantly made holy, progressively made holy, and one day we shall be glorified and forever become holy
(2) Sanctification: A Matter of Spiritual Life and Spiritual Death
20 Now the Law came in so that the transgression would increase, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
17 as it is written, “A father of many nations have I made you”—in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
20 Now the Law came in so that the transgression would increase, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
Where sin increased, grace abounded
21 so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
as sin reigned in death, grace would reign - there is still death, we have not experienced eternal life
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?
Based on grace abounding and death still reigning - Paul asks, What shall we say then?
As a young believer, when I first read these words which the NIV translates
“Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” and the KJV
“Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?”
I thought that the responsibility was on me to sin or not to sin, that I had to try harder, that I was alone in my battle since God was ashamed of my sin.
2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
God forbid! May it never be!
The emphasis here is not on our sins but on our sins and our SIN - our being spiritually dead
Are we still living apart from God?
Are those who are not saved by the Law still in our sinful state?
Are those who are no longer under the Law allowed to just keep sinning? We do not have a license to sin.
Can a person claim to be saved but have no evidence of salvation whatsoever and still be saved? God forbid! The moment we are truly saved we are changed, maybe little by little, but there is a transformation taking place
Does being dead to sin mean we will never sin? No, our sinfulness is not totally annihilated at conversion, the war goes on. We need the word of God, Christian fellowship, and prayer to help us to grow strong in our faith
You die in faith or you die in your sin
eis and en - you believe into Christ
20 Now the Law came in so that the transgression would increase, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
For those who are in Christ:
a. Grace abounded -
Grace, grace, God's grace
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within
Grace, grace, God's grace
Grace that is greater than all our sin
b. Grace is working from salvation to eternal life
c. grace works through Jesus
d. we are no longer in sin, we are in Christ
Benediction
Now the God who is from everlasting to everlasting, who has loved you with an everlasting love and gives you everlasting life, now support you with the everlasting arms in these days and all the days until Jesus comes. Amen
Communion
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was being betrayed took bread, 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes.
