back up Alive to Live in Righteousness

Introduction

As we move into Romans 6 today, it will help to quickly summarize what we have learned about the Law so far.

We saw in chapter one that Creation itself holds us responsible. Even without the Law, we violate our own conscience and are therefore held accountable and condemned to His righteous and Just Wrath.

God has also given His Law, which makes our rebellious and evil hearts even clearer. As Pastor Rick taught us, the Israelites violated all ten commandments as a lifestyle.

Romans 5:13 showed us last week that the Law condemns because nobody can perfectly keep it.

But as we have seen in Chapters 3–5, by faith through grace, we are saved from our sins.

For those who have repented and believed, we are no longer condemned, we are not in sin but now in Christ.

And for those of us who are in Christ, we are no longer under the Law, because the Law could never save us.

Christ fulfilled the whole Law, and His righteousness has been credited to us.

So now, in chapter 6, Paul, through the Holy Spirit, knows the weakness of humanity.

He knows how our minds think, and He knows that true grace is something far beyond what we can fully comprehend.

Therefore, Paul takes time to explain the results of this grace in our lives.

He anticipates confusion and objections and addresses them directly so that we can understand what it truly means to live in grace.

That brings us to Romans 6.

Today we will look at the chapter through the lens of two rhetorical questions that Paul asks, inspired by God, knowing that these are confusions and objections we still wrestle with today. They are:

I. Shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound? Romans 6:1-14

II. Shall we sin since we are not under the Law, but under grace? Romans 6:15-23

We will start with the first question he asks in verse one, which is

I. Shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound? Romans 6:1-14

This is an important question, yea?

It would be easy for us to reason,

“If God’s grace covers all, then surely sinning more will only make grace look greater.” “God’s glory would shine even brighter if I give more reason for grace, right?”

“So why not sin more so God can show His grace more?”

Paul saw this faulty view of grace and how did he shut it down?

Did he say…

“By no means, God gave moral laws and we must keep them.”

no!

Or did he say…

“No, the Ten Commandments are still to be kept.”

Both answers would be true, but they would not get to the heart of the issue.

Paul goes deeper. He shows what grace has actually done in us.

The foundation of Paul’s argument is our union with Christ.

Romans 6:2–4 ESV

2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 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.

When we were joined to Christ, we were joined to His death.

But Notice here the order in verse 4.

First, we died with Christ.

Then, we were buried with Him.

Then, because Christ was raised, we walk in newness of life.

Death comes first.

Resurrection follows.

The application flows from reality, not the other way around.

We do not obey in order to die to sin.

We do not obey to earn resurrection life.

We obey because we have already died to sin.

We obey because we have already been raised with Christ.

That is our new identity.

For those who have repented and belived on Christ for salvation, you are dead to sin.

It’s power over you has been defeated.

Where you were once by your very nature doomed to sin, you now have the power to say no to sin.

But that isn’t to say there will not be temptation. the enemy was defeated but he has not given up.

Imagine a man who had spent his whole life as a slave. One day, he is truly and legally set free. The papers are signed. The old master has no claim over him anymore. But then the old master walks by and calls his name, and the man still feels afraid. He still feels the old pull. He still remembers the old life.

What does he need in that moment? He does not need to become free. He already is free. He needs to remember what is true. He needs to reckon himself free and live according to that reality.

That is what Paul is saying about sin.

Sin may still tempt you. Sin may still attack you.

Sin may still feel strong at times. But if you are in Christ, sin is no longer king.

It no longer has dominion over you.

Paul continues explaining this same point in verses 6-8.

Romans 6:6–8 “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. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.”

Our old man, our Adam Nature Elder Rick spoke on last week, was crucified with Christ.

Our old self has died. Sin no longer has dominion because the old life is gone, and we are now alive in Him.

That means that where before, our very nature was sin. That is what we mean when we speak of depravity. Our human nature is utterly dead in sin nd we are incapable of pleasing God while in this nature.

Of course we were going to sin, it was our very nature to sin.

But as Elder Rick hinted on at small group Tuesday, this amazing free gift of Grace has done far more than just forgive our sins.

That is not to downplay the enormous significance of our sins being forgiven,

but I am afraid we too often have a very small view of what Christ did for us on the cross because too often all we see is the forgiveness of sin and not the power over sin.

In weeks past we have focused on how Christ’s work on the cross made us legally right before God, having His righteousness placed on us while removing our sin.

We have said that His righteousness, His perfect Holy standard that only He has kept, was accounted to us.

But Today we see that the cross not only took away the guilt and shame of sin, but also the power of sin over us.

but what does that mean, that His death broke the power of sin over us?

Think about a city that had been ruled for years by a cruel enemy.

Then one day, the true king comes, defeats that enemy, and takes back the throne. Now, that does not mean every enemy soldier instantly disappears from the land. There may still be rebels hiding in the hills.

They may still attack.

They may still cause damage. But they no longer sit on the throne.

They no longer rule the kingdom.

But how can we be sure that this victory is permanent?

Paul begins to answer this in verses 9-10

Romans 6:8–10 ESV

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.

Christ died once.

Christ rose once.

Christ will never die again.

Death has no more dominion over Him.

And if we are joined to Him, then sin’s dominion over us has been forever broken too.

Nobody can take that away.

But Paul does not leave this as only a doctrine to understand.

He now tells us in verses 11 what to do with this reality.

Romans 6:11 ESV

11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

In other words, recognize that this as true.

Believe what God has said about you. If you are in Christ, you are dead to sin and alive unto God.

You don’t have to work to make this true,

you are simlply to accept this as your reality, and live in it.

What does this practically loook like?

we see this in verses 12-14

Romans 6:12–14 ESV

12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 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.

Did you catch that?

Do you understand what I meant earlier when I said the application comes out of the reality?

Verse 11 said to simply recognize and accept your reality,

and verses 12-14 tell us to now live within that reality.

recognize what Christ has already done, and now live accordingly.

Because you are under grace, do not let sin reign.

Do not hand your body over to sin like it still owns you.

Yield yourself unto God because you are alive from the dead.

Why?

Verse 14 tells us why.

The power of sin no longer has riegn over you.

You can now say no to sin, so why on earth would you say yes?

Why would you continue to live in your old nature when Christ has redeemed you out of it?

You know what you were saved from.

You know your new relaity,

You know that the very power that defeated death,

The very power that Raised God from the dead,

The very power that defeated your sins and raised you in Christ is the very power living within you!

so live accordingly.

We are not to continue being as those in chapter one who saw the truth of God and chose to rebel and not give gratitude.

We are to be a people who live in righteousness because we have been saved into righteousness.

So to summarize Paul’s answer to His own rhetorical question…

Grace does not give us permission to sin,

It gives us the power to no longer sin.

But Paul knows how our hearts work.

He knows the next objection we may raise.

We might say,

“Okay, I understand that grace does not mean I should continue in sin so that grace may abound. But if I am no longer under the Law, if the Law is not what saves me, if Christ has fulfilled the Law for me, then does obedience still matter?”

That is the second question Paul answers in this chapter and we see it in verse 15.

II. Shall we sin since we are not under the Law, but under grace? Romans 6:15-23

Romans 6:15 ESV

15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!

If grace means I am no longer under the Law, does that mean obedience to the moral law does not matter?

If the Law cannot save me,

if Christ fulfilled the Law for me,

if I am under grace now,

then What good is the law at all?

Can I just live however I want?

Again, Paul says, an astounding no.

To express this, in verses 16-18 he brings the imagery of slavery, which everyone in the ancient near east would have fully understood.

verse 16 shows that we are always a slave to something.

None of us are as free as we like to think we are.

We are slaves of the one we obey

Paul gives two options.

Slaves to sin, which leads to death.

or

Slaves to obedience, which leads to rightousness.

Those are the only two options.

But lest we think they are options we grab ahold of by our own power,

Verses 17-18 make it known that it is by Christ that we have been set free from our sin master.

Again, this imagery would have been very clear to the original readers.

Slaves made up XXX percent of the population in first century Rome.

To buy a slave to set them free happened, but it was quite rare because it was incredibly expensive.

It cost XXX, which was equilevant to XXX months wages.

But Christ paid far more than money, He paid the debt of our sins with His very blood so that you and I would no longer be slaves to sin.

Your reality has gone from slaves of sin to slaves of obedience.

But Notice, this obedience is not merely outward.

Paul says they obeyed “from the heart.”

Grace changes what we love, not just what we do.

Paul says, “you who were once slaves of sin.”

That is past tense.

That was who you were.

But now you have been made free from sin, and you have become servants of righteousness.

So grace did not make you masterless, free to follow whatever or whoever you feel like.

Grace changed your master.

Paul continues this line of thought in verses 19-21 where he shows that just as you once gave yourself to sin, you are to now give yourself to righteousness.

Paul’s point is simple.

You are going to serve someone.

There is no neutral life.

There is no life where you are just your own master.

But since slavery isn’t something that is very close to any of us in the room, at least I hope not.

Think about what happens when someone changes citizenship. In one sense, they are saying, “My allegiance has changed.” Their legal identity has changed. They now live under a new authority. That does not mean they are lawless. That does not mean they are free from all obligation. Their identity and allegiance have changed, and therefore who they serve has changed.

Now, we know earthly citizenship is not always that clean and simple. Sometimes our allegiance is still tied to family, culture, and the place we grew up. It is hard to fully abandon all old ties and serve only the new nation. But in salvation, God does something even greater. He transfers our allegiance. We are no longer servants of sin. We belong to God. We serve a new Master.

What did sin give you?

What did you gain form your previous master?

Shame.

Guilt.

Brokenness.

Death.

That is the fruit of the old master.

But now everything has changed.

Romans 6:22 ESV

22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.

Romans 6:23 ESV

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So Paul’s answer is clear.

Being under grace does not remove obedience.

It changes the master we give our obedience to.

We do not obey to become saved.

We obey because we have been saved.

Sin pays wages, and those wages are death.

But God gives a gift, and that gift is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Conclusion

So as we close, I want to make sure we do not misunderstand what Paul has said. If anyone walks out of here today thinking,

“Okay, I need to work harder so that I can become dead to sin,”

then I have failed in my preaching.

That is not Paul’s point and it is not what I hope you walk out of here thinking.

But I have equally failed in my preaching if you walk out of here without a deeper desire to be obedient to the commands of God.

If you have repented and believed in Christ Jesus for salvation, then you are, as a matter of fact, dead to sin and alive in Christ.

That is not something you are trying to achieve,

Because Christ has already achieved it for you.

That is not something you are working to make true.

Because That is the reality Christ has already made true once and for all.

You have died with Christ. You have been raised with Christ. Sin is no longer your master. You are no longer under the Law, but under grace.

But that grace does not lead us back into sin.

It leads us into obedience.

So what must we do?

We must see this as the truth.

We must recognize what God has already said about us, and then live lives that are in accordance with that reality. How can we who are dead to sin continue living in sin? How can we who are alive in Christ not live in obedience to our new Master?

A proper understanding of Grace in our lives will always lead to sanctification because it is understanding what Christ has already done within us, and that is powerful.

So this week, do not leave trying to earn what Christ has already accomplished.

Leave worshiping Him for what He has already done,

and that means, in part, worshiping in obedience.

Pray that your life would more and more align with this reality. Grace does not give us permission to sin. Grace gives us the power to no longer sin.

And because we belong to Christ, let us now live like those who have been made alive in Him. And that is exactly what I want us to pray for today in our groups.

1.Pray that we would believe what God has said is true of us who have repented and Believed.

that we would not try to earn what Christ has already accomplished, but would truly reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

2. Pray that we would not let sin reign in us.

that God would expose the sins we are still yielding ourselves to, and that we would no longer live as if sin is our master.

3. Pray that our lives would align more and more with our new identity in Christ.

that grace would lead us to worship, obedience, holiness, and joyful service to our new Master.