Like Christ (5)

Romans 6:8–14

In His Resurrection

Theme: The resurrection is not only something we celebrate—it is a life we are called to live.

Introduction

Today is Resurrection Sunday.

I would say it is the most important day in the Christian faith.

It is the foundational building block that our entire faith is built upon.

We gather together on the first day of the week becasue Christ arose on the first day of the week.

and today we set aside this special day to focus on and celebrate the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

And we should celebrate. We should rejoice. We should remember.

But here’s the question that presses on my heart this morning:

We celebrate it… We remember it… But do we live it?

Has the resurrection changed anything in you?

Because if the resurrection is only something we talk about that effects our future,

then we have missed its power entirely.

The Apostle Paul does not present the resurrection as just an event to remember, and look forward to.

He presents it as a reality we are to live.

Because the resurrection is not just something that happened to Christ—

it is something that has happened to everyone who has come to Him by faith.

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Being like Christ is not only about dying with Him, it is about being alive in Him

So The resurrection is not just something we celebrate and look forward to, It is something we can live right now.

And in Romans 6:8-14, Paul is going to show what the resurrection power means us and how we are to live because of the resurrection.

I. The Resurrection Power in Christ

Let me ask you a simple question:

How powerful is God?

We would all say—He is all-powerful.

Then why do so many Christians live defeated lives?

Why do we struggle constantly with the same sins, the same discouragements, the same spiritual weakness?

I believe it is because we fail to do two things:

We fail to appreciate the significance of the resurrection… And we fail to appropriate the magnificent power of it.

A. Appreciate the Significance of It

1. It Was a Complete Victory — “Dieth no more”

“Dieth no more” means Christ will never return to the grave.

This was not a temporary resurrection like Lazarus, who rose only to die again.

This was eternal triumph.

Christ did not merely escape death—He defeated it.

1. It Was a Complete Victory

2. It Broke Death’s Dominion — “Death hath no more dominion”

Death once ruled because of sin.

That is the logic of Romans 5.

But now its authority has been permanently overturned.

Death is no longer a king—it is a conquered enemy.

1. It Was a Complete Victory

2. It Broke Death’s Dominion

3. It Secured Our Salvation— Verse 10

If Christ lives forever, then your salvation rests on a living Savior.

That means your salvation is not resting on something that happened in the past alone—

it rests on a Savior who is alive right now.

No future failure, no future trial, no future enemy can undo what Christ has already accomplished.

You are not saved by the memory of a risen Savior. You are saved by a living and reigning Christ.

A. Appreciate the Significance of It

B. Appropriate the Magnificence of It — Verse 11

Now here is where many believers stop.

We appreciate the resurrection—but we don’t apply it.

Paul says in verse 11: “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves…”

1. The Connection — “Likewise”

This word connects us back to the earlier verses in Romans 6:1–10:

“Likewise” means just as Christ died and rose again, you to have died and risen again

His death counts as your death to sin. His resurrection counts as your new life.

You are no longer who you used to be.

1. The Connection — “Likewise”

2. The Consideration — “Reckon”

The word “reckon” means to count something as true.

This is not about feelings—it is about faith.

God says you are dead to sin and alive to Him.

Your responsibility is to believe that and live accordingly.

Let me illustrate it this way:

Lets say you had a very wealthy granddad, he dies and you get a call from the lawyer….

but you wake up the next day wondering how you are going to pay your bills.

That would be ridiculous to think that way

But spiritually, that’s exactly what many Christians do.

God has given us victory, but we still live in defeat.

Because of Christ:

Sin no longer has authority over you

Your old identity has been crucified

You are not fighting for victory—you are living your life from victory.

1. The Connection — “Likewise”

2. The Consideration — “Reckon”

3. The Change — “Alive unto God”

This is the resurrection life.

You are not just freed from sin— you are empowered for a new way of living.

You now have:

New desires

New strength

A real relationship with God

And all of it comes through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Not through self-effort.

Not through willpower.

But through your union with Him.

II. The Resurrection Principles for Our Life

(vv. 12–14)

If we believe that Christ died and we died in Him and that He arose and likewise we were raised in newness of life, then Living like Christ: In the likness of His resurrection should change how we live.

Paul Gives us three principles to live by.

A. The Principle of Ownership

“Let not sin therefore reign…”

Do not hand sin the throne again.

Sin is present, but it is not to be president in your life.

You no longer belong to sin.

You belong to Christ.

Sin may still try to influence you, but it no longer owns you.

It no longer has legal claim over your life.

You have been bought with a price.

The resurrection reminds us that He has dethroned the old authority and has taken control.

A. The Principle of Ownership

B. The Principle of Surrender

v. 13 tells us how to live this out

1. Redirect Your Loyalty

“Neither yield ye…”

Paul says not to yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God.

Whatever you surrender yourself to will shape you.

So stop offering your mind, your tongue, your hands, your eyes, and your heart to sin.

Give them to God.

1. Redirect Your Loyalty

2. Remember Your Identity

You are not who you used to be.

You are not spiritually dead anymore.

Ephesians 2:1 “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;”

You are alive unto God.

A wrench can try to hammer a nail, but it will never work right—because that’s not what it is.

when you keep thinking like the old man, you’re trying to live from an identity that no longer exists. You’re not that anymore.

Lazarus didn’t come out of the grave to keep living like a dead man.

And you weren’t made alive to keep thinking like you’re still buried. Take off the grave clothes.

Your body, mind, gifts, time, and strength now have a new purpose.

You are to be an instrument of righteousness.

The resurrection means your life is no longer empty, wasted, or self-directed.

It now belongs to God for His glory.

A. The Principle of Ownership

B. The Principle of Surrender

C. The Principle of Freedom

1. Our Promise

Verse 14 says: “For sin shall not have dominion over you…”

That is not a suggestion.

That is a promise.

Sin may fight, but it will not rule where grace reigns.

We should treat sin like… (illustration - tall guy pushing a short guy back at the forhead while the short guy just keeps swinging

2. Our Problem

The problem is not that freedom has not been given.

The problem is that many believers never walk in it.

Like Israel out of Egypt,

we have been delivered,

but we still think like slaves.

We live under the bondage of the law

We have been raised with Christ, but we still act as though the grave has power over us.

as long as we live like that we will never be free.

But Paul says:

Galatians 2:16 “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”

Galatians 2:18–21 “For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”

And that Grace is…

3. Our Power

Our power for freedom is not found in ourselves.

It is found in Christ.

The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that enables us to say no to sin and yes to God.

Victory is not produced by fleshly determination.

Victory flows from resurrection union with Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

So what are we really celebrating this morning?

Not merely that Jesus rose from the dead two thousand years ago.

We are celebrating that His resurrection power is still at work today in every person who believes in Him.

The resurrection is not just a doctrine to admire.

It is not just a day to commemorate.

It is a life to be lived.

So the question is not simply, “Do you believe in the resurrection?”

The question is, “Are you living in the likeness of His resurrection?”

Has His resurrection changed the way you think? the way you fight sin? the way you see yourself? the way you live?

Because if Jesus got up from the grave, and you are in Him, then you are called to walk in newness of life.

Gospel Call

now Maybe you’re here today and as you listen, you realize:

“That’s not my life.”

You’re not living in resurrection power— you’re still living under sin’s control.

Here’s the truth:

Jesus didn’t come to make bad people better— He came to make dead people alive.

On the cross, He paid for your sin. In the resurrection, He proved He has power over death.

And today, He offers you new life.

Not religion. Not behavior modification. Resurrection life.

If you will turn from your sin and trust in Him, you can be made new.

Romans 10:9–11“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

You don’t have to clean yourself up first. You don’t have to fix your past.

You just come and believe

Invitation moment:

Acknowledge your sin

Believe in Christ

Surrender your life

“ and Today can be your being of a resurrected life.”