Like Christ (4)

In His Death

Text: Romans 6:1-7(KJV)

Introduction

Pray first

This morning, many around the world are celebrating Palm Sunday. It is the day that commemorates Christ riding into Jerusalem in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.

As it is written in Book of Zechariah 9:9:

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: Behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; Lowly, and riding upon an ass, And upon a colt the foal of an ass.”

The streets of Jerusalem were alive with praise.

Crowds gathered,

garments spread across the road,

palm branches waving in the air,

and voices crying out, John 12:13 “ Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.”

It was a moment filled with celebration, expectation, and hope.

They welcomed Jesus as a conquering King

—but they did not understand what He had come to conquer.

In just a few days, those same streets that sang praises of “Hosanna” would echo with cries of, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

They would be screaming for a cross instead of singing for a crown.

Palm Sunday is not just the account of a King entering a city in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy

—it is the final leg of a journey toward death.

Jesus did not come to be admired; He came to die.

Not as a martyr, but as the Savior

—through whose death the way is opened for all who come by faith to enter into their own death, and into new life.

Many will celebrate the King this morning, but few will follow Him to the cross.

And that is where our text calls us today.

Because before we can celebrate Him as King—which He already is—we must understand the deeper message of Palm Sunday.

In Pauls Epistle to the Romans 6:1–7, the Apostle Paul writes: (read text)

Paul reveals a powerful truth:

being a follower of Christ is not just about believing in His life— it is about being united with Him in the likeness of His death.

Because the same King who rode in triumph calls all who place their faith in Him to die with Him.

Not a physical death,

but a death to sin,

to self,

and to the old life we once lived.

So today, as we remember the waving palms and the shouting crowds, we must ask ourselves:

Are we just celebrating His entrance as King… or are we following Him to His death?

Because to truly be like Christ, we must not only walk with Him in victory— we must be willing to join Him in death.

The First thing we need to understand this morning about being like Christ in His Death is…

I. The Reality of Our Death with Christ

Rom.6:1-5

Paul begins with a question meant to awaken understanding.

A. The Truth about it (v.1-2)

Paul begins with a question meant to awaken understanding

“Shall we continue in sin…?”

This isn’t curiosity

—it’s correction.

Why is he asking this question?

Because Paul is confronting a dangerous misunderstanding in the Roman Church:

They were saying “If grace abounds when sin abounds… then why not just sin more?”

Truth:

Hey! Look up here

Grace is not permission

—it is transformation.

Paul asks them another rhetorical question:

“How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”

Paul doesn’t say “stop sinning so you can be dead” He says “you are already dead—so how could you live in sin ?”

Illustration: A dead man doesn’t respond to temptation.

You can offer him money, pleasure, power—But nothing moves him.

Application:

The issue isn’t behavior modification

—it’s realizing what you are.

You don’t stop sinning to become dead.

You stop sinning because you are already dead.

So Paul gives us the truth about our death

Next Paul tells us that there is the reality of…

A. The Truth about it (v.1-2)

B. The Triumph of it (v.3-5)

“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?”

This is language of a union

You didn’t just get forgiven

—you got placed into Christ.

His death = your death

His burial = your burial

His resurrection = your new life

When God the Father looks at you he does not see the old you; He sees Jesus in you.

He doesnt see the blackness of your sin, He sees the crimson blood of Jesus.

Preach it strong:

Christianity is about identification.

you identify with His death

Paul uses two illustrations to drive home this point:

B. The Triumph of it (v.3-5)

Our condition has changed (v.3-4)

“Buried with him… raised to walk in newness of life”

Old condition:

Alive to sin

New condition:

Alive to God

Illustration:

When you bury someone, that’s it.

they are not coming back to life.

Burial is final.

Application:

Stop digging up what God has buried.

B. The Triumph of it (v.3-5)

Our condition has changed (v.3-4)

Our relation has changed (v.5)

“Planted together in the likeness of his death…”

Key word:

“planted together” = united, fused, inseparable

You are no longer “in Adam”—you are in Christ.

Old relationship:

bound to sin

New relationship:

bound to Christ

Illustration:

I dont know enough about planting things to give a good enough illustration for this, so talk about what you know right… Welding two pieces of metal together, before welded, they are independent of one another, but once you run that welding rod across them, they become fused, untied together, they are one piece. Now if the weld is right, right angle, right rod for the job and right setting on the welder, then they say, you would have abetter chance of breaking the metal, before the weld.

That what we have since we have been planted together with Him.

So we see the Reality of our death with Christ. Next we see,

II. The Reason for Our Death With Christ

Rom.6:6-7

Romans 6:6 — “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”

“Knowing this…”

Paul tells us that This is something every believer must know, not just feel.

The old man was crucified.

I thought to myself, why did Paul say this?

He already told us, that we are dead and buried.

Because, For people living in the Roman Empire, crucifixion wasn’t symbolic

—it was one of the most brutal public executions imaginable.

Reserved mostly for slaves, rebels, and criminals

Designed to humiliate and display total domination

Victims were stripped of dignity and left to die slowly

So when Paul says “our old man is crucified,” a Roman listener wouldn’t think metaphor first—they’d feel the shock and finality of death.

It meant:

Total destruction of a former identity

No going back—crucifixion was irreversible

A public, decisive break from the past

It meant whatever gains you had made in life were all destroyed.

So, Paul tells us that our…

A. Death Destroys Sin’s Gain (v.6a)

“That the body of sin might be destroyed…”

Key Truth: Sin no longer profits from your life.

“Destroyed” = rendered powerless, made ineffective

The “body of sin” = sin’s instrument of operation “That the body of sin might be destroyed… that we should not serve sin”

“Destroyed” doesn’t mean gone—it means rendered powerless

Sin no longer has power over you.

Preach it: Sin used to get results from you—now it’s been cut off from its supply.

Illustration: Like a parasite cut off from its host—it can’t keep feeding anymore.

Application: Sin may still show up, but it shouldn’t be producing the same results.

Same temptation should not get the same outcome

A.Death Destroys Sin’s Gain (v.6a)

B. Death Dethrones Sin’s Government (v.6b)

“That henceforth we should not serve sin”

Key Truth: Sin is no longer your ruler.

“Serve” = be enslaved, live under authority

This is about who’s in charge

Preach it : Sin is no longer your master—Christ is.

Illustration: A slave who has been legally freed may still hear the old master’s voice— but he is no longer obligated to obey it.

Application: Stop obeying commands from a dethroned authority.

You don’t have to say yes anymore

A. Death Destroys Sin’s Gain (v.6a)

B. Death Dethrones Sin’s Government (v.6b)

C. Death Delivers Us From Sin’s Grip (v.7)

A Decisive Separation

“He that is dead…”

Key Truth: Death separates completely.

Death ends relationships

Death cancels connections

Death draws a line that cannot be crossed

Preach it: When you died with Christ, there was a clean break between you and sin.

This wasn’t a gradual distancing—it was a decisive death.

C. Death Delivers Us From Sin’s Grip (v.7)

A Decisive Separation

A Declared Freedom

“…is freed from sin”

Key Truth: This is a legal declaration.

“Freed” = justified, released, cleared of obligation

God didn’t just separate you—He declared you free.

Key Truth:

Because you’re free, you live differently.

You no longer fight sin for victory

You fight sin from victory

You don’t say: “I hope I can overcome sin”

You say: “Sin has already been overcome in Christ”

A free man lives as a free man

How ridiculous would it be, for a slave to leave His new master that loves him and takes care of Him, for His old master that beats him and starves him?

You would say, there is something wrong with that man.

Paul says, you have been freed from your old master, stop going back to your old one.

Conclusion

Palm Sunday reminds us that Christ not only fulfilled OT prophecy, but that He willingly went to the cross.

He entered Jerusalem knowing He would die—and that through His death, He would accomplish redemption.

But His death is not only something done for us

—it has implications in us.

Those who believe are united with Him.

The old life has been judged, sin’s dominion has been broken, and we are no longer defined by who we once were.

So the call is clear:

understand what God has done, and do not continue living as though sin is still your master.

Yet some of you may realize something very important today:

you’ve heard these truths, but they’ve never become reality in your life.

You’re still under sin’s power.

The old man is still alive—and as long as that remains, sin will continue to rule.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

The same Jesus who freed the demon-possessed can free you from sin.

He went to the cross not for His sin, but for yours—bearing the full weight of God’s wrath.

And three days later, He rose again, proving that sin and death were defeated.

Now He offers you new life

—not improved life, but new life.

Not partial freedom, but complete freedom.

So, Turn from your sin and place your faith in Jesus Christ alone.

When you do, you are united with Him.

His death becomes your death.

His resurrection becomes your new life.

Are you still in Adam, or are you in Christ?

Are you still alive to sin, or have you died with Him?

Don’t celebrate Palm Sunday and miss its purpose.

He came to die—so that you could live.

And today, you can receive that life.

Call on Him.

Confess your sin.

Trust in Christ—and be saved.

Because the Savior who rode into went to the cross is still saving sinners today.