Dead Man Walking

I’ve shared the gospel with quite a few people since I trusted Christ.

There’s a common reaction I tend to get.

When people hear that getting right with God, forgiveness of sin, and salvation is a free gift and costs us nothing, they’re suspicious.

They have a hard time accepting grace.

 When someone hears that salvation is a gift… that forgiveness is free… that righteousness comes by faith and not by works… the natural response is often, “That sounds too easy.”

And for those who think they can lose their salvation, another question starts forming just under the surface: If grace covers all sin, then what keeps me from just continuing to sin?

As is Paul’s habit, he knows the question is coming, and heads it off at the pass.

After everything he has said in Romans 5 about grace abounding more than sin, he anticipates the objection before anyone else can raise it.

It’s a fair question. “If grace increases when I sin, then why not just keep sinning? If God's grace always wins, why bother changing?"

Here's the main idea I want you to hold onto this morning:

Because you died with Christ and were raised to new life, you are no longer defined by your old identity— so stop living like you are.

Paul’s answer to the question is not a new rule, but a new identity.

Let’s read our text Romans 6:1-4

Romans 6:1–4 NKJV

1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Let’s go back to verses 1-2. Romans 6:1-2

Romans 6:1–2 NKJV

1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

Once we begin following Christ, we’re not given permission to stay the same. God expects us to change.

Paul opens with a rhetorical question. "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" The word "continue" is epimenōmen (ἐπιμένωμεν), from epimenō—to remain in, to persist in, to stay in a place.

It's not asking whether we'll occasionally stumble. It's asking whether we should deliberately set up camp in sin—stay there on purpose—so that grace has more room to work.

And Paul's answer in verse 2 is immediate and aggressive: Mē genoito (μὴ γένοιτο). This is the strongest negative expression in the Greek language. It means "May it never be!" or "Absolutely not!" or "God forbid!" Paul isn't politely disagreeing. He's horrified by the suggestion.

Why? Because it completely misunderstands what grace does. Grace doesn't give you permission to stay the same. Grace changes you from the inside out.

Then Paul asks a follow-up question that tells us why continuing in sin is so absurd: "How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?"

The word "died" is in the aorist tense, meaning a completed past action. This isn't a gradual process. This isn't something that's still happening. At a specific point in the past—when you trusted Christ—you died to sin.

Now, the word "died" here doesn't mean sin is extinct in your life. It doesn't mean you'll never be tempted again. It means you've been separated from sin's authority over you.

Death, in biblical terms, always means separation, not extinction. When a person dies physically, their soul is separated from their body. When Paul says you "died to sin," he means you've been separated from sin's dominion. Sin is no longer your master.

Think of it this way. If a man dies, he's no longer under obligation to his employer. His boss can't call him into the office and give him orders. The relationship is over. Death ended it.

That's what happened to you spiritually. Sin used to be your boss. It gave the orders, and you followed them. But when you came to Christ, you died to that old arrangement. Sin no longer has authority over you.

So Paul's question makes perfect sense: "How can someone who died to sin keep on living in it?" It's like asking, "How can a dead man keep showing up to work?" He can't. The relationship is over.

But we live in a culture that loves to twist grace into license. We hear messages like, "God loves you just the way you are"—and that's true, He does.

But God also loves you too much to leave you the way you are. Grace isn't God looking the other way when you sin. Grace is God giving you the power to live differently.

Stop believing the lie that grace gives you permission to stay the same.

Now look at verse 3. Romans 6:3

Romans 6:3 NKJV

3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?

Paul begins with a phrase that should get our attention: "Or do you not know?" In other words—"Are you ignorant of this?" Paul isn't being rude. He's pointing out that the reason many believers keep going back to sin is because they don't understand what happened to them at salvation.

Christian living depends on Christian learning. You can't live out what you don't understand.

And Satan's main strategy isn't to make you sin—it's to keep you ignorant. If he can keep you from understanding your new identity, he can keep you living like your old one.

So what does Paul want us to know? He wants us to understand baptism—and specifically, what baptism represents.

The word "baptized" is from baptizō. This Greek word has two meanings. Literally, it means to dip or immerse. Figuratively, it means to be identified with. Paul is using both meanings here.

When you trusted Christ, the Holy Spirit placed you into union with Jesus.

First Corinthians 12:13 says, "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body." This is spiritual baptism—the moment the Holy Spirit united you with Christ.

Water baptism is the outward picture of this inward reality. When a believer goes under the water, it pictures death and burial. When they come up out of the water, it pictures resurrection to new life.

But here's the key phrase: "baptized into His death." When you were united with Christ, you were united with everything He did. His death became your death. His burial became your burial. His resurrection became your resurrection.

This is what theologians call "identification with Christ." Whatever happened to Jesus happened to you. When He died on that cross, you died with Him. When He was buried in that tomb, you were buried with Him. When He walked out of that grave, you walked out with Him.

This isn't metaphorical. This is your spiritual reality. This is what actually happened to you the moment you believed.

One commentator explains it this way: "Just as we are identified with Adam in sin and condemnation, so we are now identified with Christ in righteousness and justification."

What should you do? Remember what happened to you when you came to Christ.

Many of us live with spiritual amnesia. We forget who we are. We forget what happened to us when we trusted Christ. But Paul says, "Don't you know? Don't you remember?"

You died with Christ. You were buried with Christ. You were raised with Christ. That's your identity now. You are someone who has been united with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

This week, start your morning by reminding yourself of this truth. Say it out loud if you need to: "I died with Christ. I was buried with Christ. I was raised with Christ. I am not who I used to be."

Remember what happened to you when you came to Christ.

And then lastly, verse 4. Romans 6:4

Romans 6:4 NKJV

4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Walk in the new life you’ve been given.

You see that word “therefore?” Paul now explains the purpose of our identification with Christ's death: so that we can live a completely new kind of life.

Notice the word "buried." The word Paul used has a prefix that makes it mean “to bury together with.”

Paul uses the image of burial to emphasize the finality of our death to sin. When someone is buried, it's over. You don't bury someone who's still alive. At least, you shouldn’t. That wouldn’t be nice. Burial confirms death. It's the period at the end of the sentence.

When you came to Christ, your old life was buried. It's done. It's in the ground. It's finished.

But here's where it gets exciting. Paul doesn't leave us in the grave. He says, "Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."

The phrase "the glory of the Father" is a reference to God's power. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is now at work in you.

And what does that power produce? "Newness of life."

The Greek word for "newness" doesn't mean new in the sense of time—like a new model replacing an old one. It means new in quality—something fresh, different, unprecedented.

The resurrection of Jesus wasn't a resuscitation. He didn't go back to the same old life. He entered a completely new kind of existence. And that's the kind of life available to you.

The word "walk" means to walk around, to conduct one's life.

In Jewish usage, this word described your entire way of living—your habits, your choices, your daily conduct. Paul is saying: your new identity should produce a new lifestyle.

Too many Christians are what Warren Wiersbe calls "betweeners"—they live between Good Friday and Easter. They believe in the cross, but they never step into the power of the resurrection.

They know they've been forgiven, but they keep living like prisoners. They've been set free, but they keep going back to the cell.

Paul says no. You've been buried with Christ. You've been raised with Christ. Now walk like it.

Think about Lazarus in John 11. Jesus called him out of the tomb, and Lazarus walked out—still wrapped in graveclothes. And Jesus said, "Loose him, and let him go!" Lazarus had been raised to new life, but he needed to be freed from the old wrappings.

Some of you might be like Lazarus. You've been raised to new life in Christ, but you're still wrapped in the graveclothes of your old identity. Old habits. Old patterns. Old ways of thinking. And Jesus is saying to you today, "Take them off. Walk free. Live the new life I've given you."

Paul tells us: Walk in the new life you've been given.

This isn't about trying harder. This is about living from who you already are. You're not trying to become a new person—you already are one. Second Corinthians 5:17 says, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."

This week, identify one "gravecloth" that's still wrapped around your life—one old pattern, one old habit, one old way of thinking that doesn't match your new identity. And by the power of the Holy Spirit, start walking away from it. Not in your own strength, but in the resurrection power of Christ.

Walk in the new life you've been given.