Romans 5:20-6:14
Notes
Transcript
What has been the message of Romans so far?
We are all sinners separated from God in need of rescue
We can ONLY be rescued, made right with God, and secure our eternity BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH
“By Grace” means this gift is not something that we can earn. It has to be freely given to us.
“Through faith” means to be a partaker of that gift, we have to believe in the person and work of Jesus. He is God, for sinners like me he did what I cant do: he was born in human form, lived a perfect life, died and paid the price for the sins of any who will believe and then rose again from the dead promising that same resurrection to me.
17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
Throughout Romans, Paul anticipates objections and addresses them and we see a few of those objections raised and addressed in the last few verses of chapter 5 and the beginning of chapter 6
What about the law?
The Law of God Reveals our Need for Grace
The Law of God Reveals our Need for Grace
What is the law?
In this instance, Paul is talking about the specific revealed commands of God which were to govern everyday living for the jewish people.
“Here is how my chosen people should live their lives”
20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass,...
Wait, what? how is this possible? We just said the law reveals our need for grace so how did these two things go together?
When I go to the store with my kids I can give them a general “BE Good”
If my kids are wild in the store they sinned against the law of dad. They generally know that they need to be good and they generally know what goodness is in my eyes.
OR i can tell them this is exactly what I expect of you: “Thou shalt not chase each other up and down the aisles, Thou shalt not whine and beg, Walketh beside the cart and do not hang upon it.”
If they specifically do all those things that is outright rebellion on a whole different level
Why do I give them those rules? So they know the expectations, for their safety, for the safety of others (including me), for our testimony. So that they begin to understand for themselves “ok this is what decent, considerate, human behavior looks like”
But those rules do not make them more righteous. Even if they follow them pretty well, it makes them better functioning members of society but it does not make them righteous.
“Morality can’t be legislated”
Moral behavior can be legislated but righteousness can not
Moral behavior can be educated but righteousness can not
SO we can not say “I follow the law so God will accept me” OR “I am a good person so God will accept me” “If I do this set of duties or sacriments then God will accept me”
Those things do not make us righteous.
We need help. Thats what the Law reveals
20 …but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Praise God.
This introduces the idea of Two Kingdoms
Dominion Of Darkness -
Dominion Of Darkness -
Adam is the founder, ruled by the devil, sin and death, this is the world we are born into. Natural Human Condition
Kingdom of Jesus -
Kingdom of Jesus -
13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
So we’re part of the dominion of darkness, and if we are given the grace of God and believe in Jesus, we are transferred into the kingdom of Jesus.
That almost seems too good to be true, and that leads to the next objection
Isn’t This Cheap Grace?
Isn’t This Cheap Grace?
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?
At first, this might seem like a ridiculous question. Would anyone ever actually ask this? Would anyone ever actually think this?
I think Paul is answering a question that his Jewish audience may have brought up as a hypothetical.
When I went to college, the food in the cafeteria was absolutely terrible but during my freshman year, they had a soft serve ice cream machine. I love ice cream growing up, but my parents pretty well limited the amount of ice cream that we were allowed to have, but since I was at college, and I was paying the bill and unlimited ice cream was included. Let’s just say I ate a lot of ice cream every day. I’m not saying that the things were linked, but by the time I was done with school, they had removed the soft serve machine from the cafeteria.
What does this have to do with Grace?
This is a concept that is often called “Cheap grace”
The idea that Grace is a get outta jail free card. The spiritual equivalent of Unlimited free, soft serve ice cream.
People in this room today have told me things Like “I know it’s wrong, but I’m going to do it anyway”
That’s a cheap view of Grace
What’s Paul’s answer?
2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
Unity with Christ
Unity with Christ
Just like we were present and united in Adam when he sinned when we are transferred into the kingdom of Jesus HE becomes our representative and we are united with with him
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.
Vs 2 A believer is dead to sin
What does dead to sin mean?
20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Not perfection. Believers have the power to defeat it.
you have the choice freedom and power to not sin
Your past sins have no claim on you
How does this work on a day to day basis? Does it just happen?
Potty training…
You have to learn to choose to use the toilet.
11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Preach the gospel to yourself.
Rehearse the truths of the gospel, your unity with christ
“Consider yourself dead to sin” begin to see sin as not even an option
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.
Don’t be passive. Don’t expect old habits to just stop. Don’t expect old temptations to disappear.
If you let it, sin will keep on reigning
You may not realize it but you do this with potty training still. You are not passive about it. You plan. you set yourself up for success.
Be honest with yourself.
13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
Be Active
LIVE in grace.
Are you living in grace? Does grace reign in your life?
How often do you think about how much a failure you are? Are you consumed and ruled by them?
Thats a sign that you are not letting grace reign. You are good enough because the one you are united to, Jesus is good enough.
How much do you think about how much of a success you are? comparing yourself to others, doing whatever it takes to get ahead.
Thats a sign that you are not letting grace reign. Our success is not measured by dollars or fame. Our victory is won.
Be an “instrument of righteousness”
Walk in obedience. Love God, Love other people.
So What?
So What?
What Kingdom are you in?
What Kingdom are you in?
If you have never turned from your sin, believed In Jesus as your savior by grace through faith and want to do that today, come
If you have been living a lie and need to truly repent, submit and die to sin come
Do you know what the Bible calls a person who claims to be a child of God and part of the body of Christ, but refuses to submit to the rule of Christ in their life? An unbeliever.
If you are part of the Kingdom of Jesus but you are not living in grace come
