The Power of the Resurrection

Romans 6:3-14

The Lord is Risen; He is risen indeed.

Do you know Jesus is raised? More importantly, do you know Jesus?

In his second letter to Timothy, Paul warns about those who have the appearance of godliness, but deny its power.

In the same way, there are those who know about the resurrection, but live as though it has no power in their lives.

They live like they did before they knew Christ, as though His life, death and resurrection makes no difference.

They live as though this life is all there is, without any care of coming judgment, or any hope in coming salvation.

I don’t want you to just know that Jesus is raised. I want you to know Jesus who was raised.

Knowing the risen Christ means:

Victory over sin and death.

New life in union with Him.

Confident hope for eternity.

The Resurrection Declares Christ’s Victory Over Sin and Death.

Before we can understand the significance of His resurrection, we need to grasp the devastating nature of sin, and the power of Christ’s death.

The consequences of sin:

The Wages of Sin is death: separation from God, and the goodness and grace of His presence.

Slavery and bondage to sin. We live under the curse.

Adam represented all of humanity: as he was righteous, all were righteous in him, when he fell, all fell in him.

Total depravity: sin touches everything about us, even the good we want to do is stained by it.

Psalm 14:3 There is no one who does good…

What Christ’s death does.

Jesus’ death demonstrated His perfect obedience to the will of God to the point of death, even death on a cross (Phil 2:8).

What the first Adam failed to do, the second Adam did for us.

1 Cor 15:21–22 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

Jesus’ death pays the debt God’s justice required for sin.

In 18th and 19th century England, when a man was condemned to death by the crown, the debt he owed was considered one of justice—not financial, but moral and legal. His crime had placed him in the debt of the state. Once the sentence was carried out—once the noose had tightened and death came—the official record of his crime was stamped with a chilling but final phrase: “Paid in Full.” Why? Because death had settled the account. The justice system recognized no more obligation. The law could demand nothing further from a dead man. And here’s the glory of the gospel: our sentence was not erased, it was executed—on Christ. Jesus died the death we deserved. Our account is now stamped by divine mercy: “Paid in Full.”

The law no longer condemns; not because God neglects justice, but because He fulfilled it through the death of His Son in our place.

Col 2:14 God cancels “the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”

So when Satan whispers shame, or when your heart feels the weight of sin, you can point to the cross and say, “It is finished. My debt is paid.”

The power of Christ’s resurrection defeats the power of  death.

He has conquered death: Rev 1:18 I was dead, I am alive…

He destroys the power of death: death thought to have him, but as He was without sin death had no power over him. Christ breaks the power of the curse of death: 1 Cor 15:54–57, “Death is swallowed up in victory…”

Jesus Christ doesn’t escape death, He defeats it. He doesn’t avoid the curse, He breaks it. The tomb, once sealed for all, has become a passageway to life for all who are united to Him.

Jesus’s death and resurrection brings victory over sin and death.

The Resurrection Sets Us Free for New life in union with Christ.

Free from the Power/Dominion of Sin

In Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian comes to a place called the Interpreter’s House, where he is shown many visions as warnings, one of them is a man trapped inside an Iron Cage. The man says: “I am now a man of despair… I have grieved the Spirit, and He is gone. I have provoked God to anger, and He has left me. I have so hardened my heart that I cannot repent.” It’s a terrifying picture, not just of guilt, but of bondage. The man is imprisoned not by bars of steel, but by his own sin, his despair, his unbelief. He is trapped, dominated by sin. Later, when Christian comes to the cross, he is not only forgiven, he is freed. He does not return to a cage, sin no longer rules him.

The cross is not only where sin’s penalty is paid, but where sins power is broken. In Christ, the cage has been shattered, the door stands open, and you are set free from sin.

Freedom from sin is freedom to live for God.

We are united to the death of Christ. In faith, we are baptized into his death and buried with him, in order that we may consider ourselves dead to sin. 

We are united to the resurrection of Christ. Christ was raised so we too might walk in the newness of life.

In a deep-sea rescue mission, a diver is lowered into the deep to reach a trapped crew. But he doesn’t go down alone, he’s connected to a lifeline: a cord that supplies oxygen and keeps him in communication with the ship above. When he reaches the crew, a sailor is tied to the diver. He has no oxygen tank of his own. He’s not trained. He’s completely dependent on the diver. If the diver lives, he lives. If the diver rises, he rises. His life is entirely tied to another’s. That’s what Paul is saying in Romans 6:8. His resurrection is not just His; it’s ours. His life now guarantees ours.

You’re not just following Christ’s example. You’re united to His very life. So when doubts press, or when death seems near, you can say: “If I’ve died with Christ, then I will live with Him. My life is tied to His.”

We are now servants of righteousness, to live under the banner of our gracious God. Do not present your bodies to sin…

Imagine a soldier who once fought for a cruel, tyrannical warlord. This warlord drove his troops with fear and deception. The soldier obeyed, he had no choice. He was conscripted, controlled, and even came to believe the lies. But one day, that soldier was liberated by the true King. Not just rescued, recruited. The King didn’t just say, “You’re free, go your own way.” He said, “Join Me. Fight for truth, for righteousness, for freedom.” Now imagine this soldier, free and under a new banner, yet still tempted, at times, to take up his old uniform and serve his former master. Paul’s point in Romans 6:13 is this:  Don’t pick up your old weapon and serve the tyrant you’ve been freed from. You’ve been brought from death to life. Your hands, your mind, your voice, your “members,” belong to the King now. You are His instrument. His soldier.

You have been set free to live for the one who died for you.

The Resurrection gives us confident hope for eternity.

Philippians 3:10–11 “That I may know him and the power of his resurrection…”

My Seminary Passage - people chasing after every new teaching

Do you know the power of His resurrection—not just the story? Do you know the resurrected one?

Jesus and Martha, I am the resurrection, do you believe?

1 Peter 1:3–5. “He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…”

This hope is not wishful thinking; it’s anchored in a past event—the empty tomb. The same power that raised Jesus now guards and keeps us (cf. Eph 1:19–20).

Let us live. Let us live in hope, not returning to despair, frustration, and the ways of the old life, but living in the promise that Christ is living in us.

Our assurance is not in ourselves but in Christ’s finished and ongoing work as our risen and reigning Mediator 

WSC 33: We are justified as “an act of God’s free grace, wherein he pardons all our sins, and accepts us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.

Put your faith and trust, not in what you have accomplished, but in Christ and His perfect work.

Trusting the completed & perfect work of Christ, live in joyful confidence 

Conclusion

Is your life marked by resurrection power: victory over sin, the newness of life, and joyful assurance in Christ?

Have you been baptized into Christ Jesus, into his death, that you might also be raised into the newness of life, set free from sin and death, that you might live for the glory of God?

If you want to celebrate the resurrection, there is no better way, than to hear the Spirit calling, and to give your life to Christ.