“The Merger with the Cross”

Returning to the Cross Sermon Series

“The Merger with the Cross” (Part 13)

KEY PASSAGE: Romans 6:1–11(NASB)

Father God, as we conclude our praise and worship, I pray that You remind us to recognize Your presence. For You are at work in us, and our hearts desire to work for Your good pleasure. I pray that this church is committed to doing Your will and obeying Your Word faithfully. We give You all the glory, honor, and praise. In the name of Jesus, we pray. And everyone says Amen. You may be seated.

TITHE and OFFERING

Paul taught us that giving is never dependent on the size of one’s budget but on the conviction of one’s heart. Let’s give our gifts to God with a cheerful heart. The worship team will lead us with a song as we collect our tithes and offerings— ushers, please pass around the offering plates so we can collect our tithes and offerings.

PRAYER FOR TITHE and OFFERING

We give our gifts to You with gratitude for all the things that You have provided. I pray that You graciously accept and bless our gifts, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.

WELCOME

Welcome, everyone, to our Sunday Worship Service again. Please stand up, greet the people around you, and tell them that Jesus loves them. Our first-time visitors, please stand so we can see you. We also welcome all who join us online.

ANNOUNCEMENT

📖 Wednesday Night is our Bible Study Connect at 7:00 p.m. Please join us for a time of learning, fellowship, and spiritual growth as we study the Word of God! We are studying the Book of First Samuel, and this week we will focus our attention on Chapter 5. I encourage you to please read Chapter 5 and come prepared for Bible Study.

📅 Corporate Meeting—We meet at the church every Saturday at 8:00 a.m. for a prayer meeting. Prayer reflects the unity of the Church. Jesus prayed that His followers “may be one.” Prayer invites the presence and power of God. Jesus promised, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Prayer aligns the church with God’s mission. Prayer is the engine room of the church. And so, I encourage all of you to please join us during our Corporate Prayer Meeting here at the church.

📅Men’s Breakfast – The Men's Breakfast scheduled for Saturday, July 5th, has been canceled in observance of the July 4th weekend. We encourage all men to enjoy the holiday with family and friends.

DECLARATION of FAITH in GOD

Let us stand and say the Declaration of Faith in God together. Please remain standing as we pray.

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Let’s pray. In the silence of this room, Father God, we acknowledge Your presence. I pray that our hearts will be prepared as we prepare ourselves for the sowing of the seed of the good Word of God. May the truth come from the page of the Scripture, and may the Spirit of God give it wings and freedom to fly among us so that it touches us and brings us to repentance. In the name of Your Son Christ Jesus, we pray. You may be seated.

SERMON INTRODUCTION

We live in a day and age when far too many Christians do not have a clear picture of who they are in Christ Jesus. And because we don’t know who we are, we function and operate in ways we were not designed to function when we first came to Christ. We know that we are saved by grace, and grace has been described as God’s riches at Christ’s expense on the Cross. Tell the truth and shame the devil. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves or help save ourselves, because it is the grace of God that saves us. God saves us by grace, but the way God saves us by grace is to make us dead to sin. Some Christians are betweeners,” and by that, I mean we live between Egypt and Canaan (The Promised Land). We are saved by grace, but we are never satisfied.

And for some, the Christian journey stops somewhere between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Some Christians today live between Good Friday and Easter. We believe in the Cross, but we are not living in the power of the resurrection. We wear the symbol of the Cross around our necks and on the steeple of our churches, but we have not stepped into the life the Cross provides. We don’t experience the benefits that come with the Cross, which are victory, freedom, and joy, because we have been duped into a wrong framework of thinking.

SERMON EXPOSITION 1

Paul, in Romans, chapter 6, examines life in its raw form, right down to where the rubber meets the road, and he said that we are all sinners. Paul wants these believers to have a clear understanding [a clear picture] of [who they are] in Christ Jesus. The way for a man to break the habit of sin is for him to know the glorious position he can have in Christ Jesus. And one thing is for sure: every believer should know their position in Christ. Because when we understand our position in Christ, it will transform our lives, helping us avoid sin and lead us on the everlasting way.

Chapters 6 through 8 of Romans are Paul’s thick theological chapters on sanctification. In Chapter 7, Paul talks about the struggle that he had in his own life with sin’s dominating presence. In Chapter 8, Paul talks about the role of the Holy Spirit in delivering him, based on a new law that was operating within him. Beginning with verse 3 of Romans chapter 6, Paul says, “Do you not know …”, verse 6, “Knowing this …” Verse 9, “Knowing that Christ …” Verse 16, “Do you not know …”

Paul is concerned that the believers he is writing to do not fully understand their spiritual state [their spiritual well-being] when they came to Christ. And that lack of understanding has led to a series of problems or challenges that Paul himself had to struggle with, which he discusses in Chapter 7. My goal for today’s sermon is to ensure you understand, [our church understands] because if you do, it transforms what we do. Paul opens the chapter with a question. In Greek, the question is asked in a way that there is only one possible answer. After you see God’s wonderful salvation, what is your response to it?

In verse 1, Paul raises the question, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?” “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” He knew that many of the people he was writing to did not understand the concept of grace. They looked at grace as a license to sin, rather than as a power not to sin. They viewed grace as simply God’s goodness in receiving things, but not as God’s power to overcome difficulties. Paul wants to make sure that these Christians understand that grace is not a cover-up. In Romans 5:20-21, Paul said that grace is stronger than sin. Let me show you the power of grace. God’s grace is so strong that it can forgive any sin, no matter how terrible the sin is. And the greater the sin, the more magnified God’s grace becomes. Paul talks about the merger that occurred at salvation, and this is what I want you to understand. There was a merger; something was merged. When we were crucified with Christ in His death on the Cross, something was merged. The Cross was not just an event; it was a place of divine exchange.

SERMON EXPOSITION 2

Verses 3 to5 say, “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore, we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection.” Paul speaks of a divine merger that took place two thousand years ago on the Cross. He says you and I, when we trusted Christ, were merged in Christ in His death, that is the Cross, so that we might experience the merging effect of His resurrection. He says the reason that you died with Christ in His death on the Cross is so that you could live like Him.

Paul says we were baptized or merged into the death of Christ. The Cross of Christ is not a historical 2,000-year-old experience. At Calvary, two thousand years ago, when Jesus died on the Cross, you died with Jesus on that cross. Yes, Jesus died for us, but we died with Jesus on the Cross. In other words, we identify with His death on the Cross, and the Cross is supposed to be our point of reference. Paul uses the word baptism in verse 4 – we have been buried with Christ through baptism into death. The word baptism is from the Greek word ‘—baptizo—which means to dip repeatedly, to submerge or immerse

SERMON ILLUSTRATION 1

In the New Testament, this word was used to describe dye-makers who created dyes of different colors. There was a group in Asia Minor who dyed their hair purple, and they belonged to a baptizo group. If a woman wants to make a red dress for her daughter, she would buy the cloth and take it to the dye-maker, and say, ‘I want this cloth to be a red dress.’ The dye-maker would take the cloth, dip it in red dye, and hang it up to dry. Because the fabric [the cloth] had been immersed in red dye, it took on a different look, a different color, or a different life. What Paul is saying in verse 4 is that when you trusted in Jesus Christ, God dipped you into the Cross. God dipped you—watch this—into the death of Christ! We were united with Christ in His death on the Cross. God buried you in a graveyard with Christ so that you could live!

So, if you want to live, you have to die! If you refuse to die, you cannot live. And the reason why many of us are not living is because we are resisting dying. We were united with Christ in death—that is a spiritual reality, not a physical one. We were united with Christ in death so that we might have this resurrected, new life —a victorious life —a resurrection that comes from this new experience.

SERMON EXPOSITION 3

Paul wants you to know that you were baptized into His death. We confess in baptism that “Our old self was crucified, verse 6, with Him, so that the body of sin might be done away with.” Your old self was crucified with Christ. Our old man was crucified with Christ on the Cross. Christ took our “old man” to the Cross with Him when He died. The “old man” means …our old self....our old life…our sinful self…our sinful life….our corrupt nature…our depraved nature….our unregenerate nature…. our sinful nature. Our “old man” means our old life without God, the old sinful life [the old sinful you] that is baptized or identified with Christ in death on the Cross.

God baptized you in Christ’s death, and that is the Cross; the Cross is the death of Jesus Christ. God put you in union with Him. A union is like pouring cream into a coffee. You merge the cream with the coffee. Once you merge, you create something brand new. You cannot extract the cream from the coffee. Why did Jesus die on the Cross? Come with me to Galatians chapter 1, verses 3 to 4, “Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.”

Jesus Christ died on the Cross to rescue us! Paul is not talking about heaven; he is talking about earth—he says, “From this present evil age,” Jesus Christ died on the Cross, and this present age no longer defines how you live and function here on earth. When a man sees a woman he is interested in, he often speaks to the woman in rescue language. The man would say something like this: I will protect you, provide for you, and take care of you. The man speaks in a rescue language, and ladies, you know the man is for real and serious when he says, ‘And your bills are now my bills.’ The man says to the woman, ‘I am going to deliver you from your present circumstances.’ I am going to rescue you from your present situation.

God says, “Christ died on the Cross to rescue you. Christ died to deliver you because the primary problem that Christ addressed on the Cross is the issue of sin. Christ died to rescue and deliver you from what this present age [This world] has to offer. To deliver us from the power of sin on earth in this present evil age.”

Paul says in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ.” That is the Cross. Guess what Paul is saying? You are supposed to carry the Cross with you. He says you are supposed to wear the Cross, but not around your neck. You are supposed to wear the Cross, but not around your rearview mirror. You have to carry around death so that Jesus can live life in you. And the life of Jesus Christ is not ordinary—it is an extraordinary life! [Watch This – Here it is] When Jesus expresses His life in your life, you get to live an abundant life.

SERMON APPLICATION 1

If the life of Jesus is your life, you have a surpassing life, an abundant life, and a victorious life. It is not because you don’t have problems, it is because the issues that you are dealing with or face don’t have the last word. You may be put down, but you will not be crushed. You get to praise Jesus and give God the glory because you know that whatever just happened to you is not the final word.

SERMON EXPOSITION 4

Romans 6:10 says, “For the death that Jesus died, He died to sin once for all time; but the life that Jesus lives, He lives to God.” There is a lot of truth to unpack in this verse. You see, your body can be controlled either by God or by sin. And sin is a terrible master. God wants you to declare and give Jesus the freedom to live His life through you for the glory of God, according to the will of God. When you say that declaration and prayer, it means you die daily. Every day, you wake up, you visit your funeral. You are carrying about the dying of Jesus, and that is the Cross! Communion, and we preached about Communion last Sunday. But Communion is a reminder of the death of Jesus Christ, that it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me—We call it the Lordship of Jesus Christ—and this transfer brings about rulership and sovereignty in our lives.

Listen to me. Satan doesn’t want you to know this truth. And Satan will try to tell you, “You don’t have any right to know this truth. You don’t have the power to do this. You are so weak, and you are going down.

I have you where I want you to be. Satan wants to disconnect us from the Cross. If the enemy can disconnect us from the Cross, he disconnects us from life. And abundant life and victorious life come through the Cross, so if Satan could make you live your life apart from the Cross, then he knows he can defeat you because he knows you don’t know who you are in Christ Jesus.

Here is some good news that you need to know about your death with Christ on the Cross. Colossians 2:11-12 says, “...you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.” Paul connects our death with Christ to resurrection life. Colossians 3:3 says, “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Our death with Christ put an end to our history as men and women in Adam. On the Cross we died with Christ, and we are risen with Christ to walk in newness of life. The tyranny of sin over you has been broken because sin has nothing to say to a dead person, and now you are free to live an abundant and victorious life for God through Christ Jesus. That is the good news about the Cross.

Satan’s strategy is to make us forget who we are—because if we lose sight of our identity, if we lose sight of the Cross – by this I mean the Cross is no longer our point of reference, we lose our sense of direction, purpose, and position. And Satan does this by disconnecting us from the Cross.

SERMON EXPOSITION 5

Verse 11 of Romans chapter 6 says, “Consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” “Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The word ‘reckon’ used here by Paul in verse 11 is a translation of a Greek word which means to “count, to calculate, to credit, to set to one’s account, or to lay to one’s charge. Let me tell you how important this word is. This word is used forty-one times in the New Testament and nineteen times in the Book of Romans. Reckon is an accounting word, and it implies that something is credited to a person’s account. Paul says…. Consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. That is a paradoxical statement. “Dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11) is a contradictory statement. That is the mystery of grace: Paul says death in Christ brings life.

SERMON APPLICATION 2

God did not just reckon your faith as death with Christ. No, God also counted your faith as a resurrection with Christ! You see, through faith, we don’t just identify with His death—we participate in His life. Glory to God! When Jesus got up from that grave, He wasn’t just getting up for Himself—He got up from the grave for every one of us who believe in Him. His resurrection is our resurrection. His victory is our victory. His new life is our new reality! And just as Jesus was raised to live forever in the presence of the Father, serving God with eternal purpose, we too have been raised with Jesus, not just to attend church, not just to sing a song, but to walk in newness of life! Like Jesus, who lives in the presence of God and serves Him forever, we have been called to abide in God's presence and serve Him for the rest of our days and beyond! My point is for you to serve God and not sin. Walk before God in your new, your resurrected life;  and walk righteously, and godly in this present world.

Paul wants you to fantasize about something real. Paul says fantasize that you are a dead person in Jesus Christ, and you are alive to God. Fantasize it because it is spiritual, and you cannot grab it in a physical sense, but you can fantasize about things you cannot hold in the natural world. That is why he says, ‘Know this, know this, know this.’ Because if you would fantasize it, declare it to be true, that I am now dead in Christ. I am dead with Christ to sin at the Cross. I am alive to Jesus Christ. I have now been delivered from this present world that is no longer my definition. I am married now to Jesus Christ; that is my new reality. That is my new life.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION 2

Paul says count yourself dead to sin. If you are here today and you are a true believer, you have died with Christ on the Cross. Do you know that a dead man can do nothing; a dead person cannot sin. God takes our faith and counts us dead in Christ. God frees us from sin and its power. How does this work? Let me show you. Saint Augustine was a theologian in the history of the church. True story, by the way. Before Saint Augustine became a Christian, he had a problem with sexual self-control. One day, he was walking along, and one of his old lovers showed up. She came after him.

When he turned around and walked away quickly from her, she called after him, “Augustine, it’s me. Augustine, it’s me.”  He responded to her and said, very kindly and politely, “Thank you very much. That is great. Glad to see you, but no. No, thank you.” He starts to walk away. He smiled and said, “Yes, I know, but it is no longer me! What does this mean? Saint Augustine said, “I used to be a person who craved female sexual affection.” Saint Augustine was dead to sin and alive to God. Sin was once my spiritual master, but I have a new Master.”

You can fill in the blank with whatever sin you are dealing with right now—pride, that voice that says, “I don’t need help; I got this.” You can fill in the blank with lust. You can fill in the blank with unforgiveness. You can fill in the blank greed, not just in money, but in always needing more recognition, more control, maybe in your marriage and your family. You can fill in the blank with envy. You can fill in the blank with fear. You can fill in the blank with complacency, where your passion for God has cooled down to convenience. You can fill in the blank with whatever sin you are struggling with right now.

SERMON APPLICATION 3

I am someone else in Jesus because I died with Him on the Cross. What Paul is saying is, “I want you to know your position in Jesus Christ and that you died with Him on the Cross. And that you are carrying the Cross inside this earthly vessel, and that you are fantasizing, and your imagination is running away with you. That you are now tied to Jesus on the Cross, which means you are raised with Jesus from the dead.” This present age and its authority no longer dictate to your life because there is a New Ruler over your life. And every time you commune with Jesus, you are reminded of this New Relationship. That the surpassing greatness of His power might be made manifest, and you begin to see things that were beyond you.

You are in a new kingdom now, like a single person who gets married; that is a different place, a different home. It is not your parents’ home- it is not your premarital home, your single or private home. It is a different kingdom. And your new marriage home cannot adjust to your single life—you must adjust to your new home.

John Newton, who wrote the famous hymn “Amazing Grace,” reflected on his journey from “a wretch” to a man saved by God’s grace. This is what John Newton said. “I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am.” You and I must adjust to our new life. You and I must adjust to our new reality. You and I must adjust to our new kingdom. You are in a different kingdom, and if you want to experience this kingdom and what it has to offer through the work of Jesus on the Cross, you must leave the old kingdom so that the surpassing greatness of Christ’s power in this new kingdom is available to you. You must carry the Cross, but not around your neck. You must die daily so that the surpassing greatness of Christ’s life might be made manifest! And that is what it means to be baptized with Christ in His death on the Cross.

FAITH APPEAL, CALL to ACTION, and ALTAR CALL

You can give your whole life to a career—but hear me, your career will never lay down its life for you. You can pour yourself into your passions, your pursuits, your dreams, and your aspirations—but none of them will ever go to a Cross for you. The last time I checked, only Christ Jesus went to the Cross. So why surrender to something that won't save you, when the One who already did it on the Cross is calling you to Himself? I challenge you to surrender fully to Jesus and merge with Him on the Cross. Connect life with Christ on the Cross. Give your life to the one true Master who became a servant. And each day, let this be your prayer of freedom: “Lord Jesus, Your finished work on the Cross is my perfect freedom.” God bless you!

If you are here today and don’t know Jesus, I want you to come to the Cross, give your life to Christ, and trust Jesus to be your Savior. If you need prayer, please come forward so we can pray for you. Let’s stand on our feet and bless the name of Jesus for the Cross.

BENEDICTION - CLOSING PRAYER

Let’s bow in prayer. Father God, I pray that Your Holy Spirit will make the message we heard today clear in our hearts. I also pray that those who are not saved will give their hearts to Jesus and be saved, and, Lord, that those who are saved will recognize that they have life and freedom through Jesus, and that we will walk in victory in His name. We thank You for shaping us and making us into new creations. We thank You for the miracle of transformation that is taking place in the life of believers here at the church. It accompanies justification, and we pray that this sanctification, this transformation that began the moment we place our faith in Christ Jesus, will progress and continue along the path towards Christ’s likeness. Ever-increasing until we see Jesus. We pray in His great and holy name. And let all God’s people say, Amen.

God bless you. We look forward to seeing you next week at 10:30 a.m.