Untitled Sermon (4)

. UNION WITH CHRIST

How do you get people to change?

Pychologist Jeffrey Kottler. “I’ve spent the past 35 years writing books about change, interviewing people about their experiences, researching the features that are most associated with significant transformations that endure over time. And here’s my conclusion: I don’t know. Neither do you. Neither does anyone else that I’ve encountered. It is indeed a mystery, a process so complex and multidimensional that it defies understanding.”

If you could sell a product that was guaranteed to change your spouse, or child, your boss, your sports teammate, you’d be an instant billionaire.

I mean, c’mon who of you at some point haven’t wished, even thrown up a prayer, please, Lord, please just make them change. I don’t know how much more I can put up with this.

Toothpaste splashing on the mirror.

Squeezing from the top of the tube instead of the bottom.

There’s a story of a wife who tries and tries to get her husband to squeeze the toothpaste from the bottom of the tube instead of the top. Night after night, year after year she walks into the bathroom to clean her teeth, and with a huff and a roll of the eyes, she picks up the tube of toothpaste and squeezes it all the way from the bottom until it finally comes out the top for her to use. Well after years of unsuccessful attempts, she finally gives up. Until one day, she walks into the bathroom to clean her teeth as usual, expecting the usual disappointed routine, to find the toothpaste at the top of the tube. She’s amazed, and inside fireworks of joy and happiness are exploding. She doesn’t want to show it though, so she keeps it quiet, wondering if this change is gonna stay or not. But sure enough, next night, it’s at the top again. And the next. And the next. Until after 2 months she finally asks her husband, she can’t contain it any longer. She asks him, what made you change?

To which he replies, I’ve decided not to brush my teeth anymore.

Is real change possible?

When we see someone genuinely and permanently change, we want to know how they did it? So that we can replicate it, but the problem is, so often it only works for them.

As Kottler said, it’s a mystery.

But it’s not a mystery to God. He knows what we need to truly change. And this passage tells us. So let’s go.

Last week we looked saw HOW MUCH MORE Jesus grace act OVERCOMES Adam’s sin act.

Even the WORST that sin can try and do CAN’T OUTDO God’s grace.

Where sin increased, grace OVERFLOWED all the more.

Jesus THOROUGHLY UNDOES all that Adam did.

He brings eternal life for all those who were once dead in Adam and in sin.

So we’re set free from sin, but do we really want to be?

But I’m sure you’ve heard this response before. Don’t know about this.

I was once on a plane flight and was sharing with the guy next to me how Jesus grace overwhelms our sin, no matter who you are and no matter how bad you are. And the guy responded, “But If you’re saying we’re saved by grace, not by a good life, that Jesus has done it all, doesn’t that mean you can just live however you want, cause you’ll be forgiven anyway?”

“Doesn’t God’s grace give people a licence to go and sin?”

For some Christians this attitude, which is called antinomianism, is an issue which needs addressing, but for us here this morning, the issue is often more with what is called legalism, and this needs addressing just as much.

What do you mean Ben?

Many of us love God’s saving grace, but deep inside we don’t like following his commands. We want salvation, but we don’t want obedience. We’ll do all the right things outwardly, but our outward obedience doesn’t match up with our inward attitudes. Why is this?

Sinclair Ferguson points out that the same issue lies at the root of the person who lives an outwardly sinful life, the antinomian attitude, as the person who lives an outwardly holy life, but does it grudgingly; the legalist attitude. What’s the issue?

Both actually have the same belief about God. And the belief is; God is not good or generous. The outwardly rebellious believer thinks that following God’s commands will cause them to miss out on the good life, just as much as the outwardly holy yet disgruntled believer. The only difference is, the legalistic believer is more concerned about their outward appearance to others around them. But the cure is the same for both sets of symptoms. Because the disease is the same, just expressing itself in different ways. It’s the lie we were talking about last week.

That God is a not to be trusted, because he doesn’t love me, false Father. Therefore, why would we not want to pursue and follow all that he’s said to us. All his commands are the key to living the good life. Anything less than full obedience is only short-changing our own happiness and joy, and short-changing his glory.

God has set it up in such a way that his glory and our joy increase together.

Paul shows us this issue was present right from the start of the gospel message going out.

6 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?

Do God’s commands truly give life and joy and freedom, or not? Does God really have our best at heart when he asks us to do things?

We can fall into this trap if we’re not careful.

At the heart of this thinking is a misunderstanding of who Jesus is and what he’s all about.

Jesus frees us from death, so that we can live.

That’s why Paul’s answer is initially very simple

but EXTREMELY EMOTIONAL!

Ariel and I both worked for a while at Sherwood drug rehab, in Coffs Harbour, as the video showed.

We met many old seekers, who had been through the programme, who came back for visits and reunions.

And I got to hear a few of them share their story about how they came to know Christ while at Sherwood.

And that coming to know him and his gift of grace was far more than they ever imagined they’d get by going to a drug rehab.

And then they’d go on to say, and drugs has never had the place it had in my life before coming to Sherwood.

If I was to say to them, “But since you understood the free gift of grace, didn’t that motivate you to go out and just keep doing drugs?”

They’d be like, are you kidding.

Living back under the rule of that sin that ruined my life?

How could you ever suggest that I’d go back to that?”

I’m not that person anymore.

That was the old me.

I’m living for another now.

And this is Paul’s point.

V2: 2 BY NO MEANS! Are you kidding!

Have you experienced life under the reign and rule of sin?

The guilt, the shame, the condemnation that it brought?

Have you experienced life under the reign and rule of Christ?

The forgiveness, the acceptance, the freedom and assurance that his grace brings?

It’s extremely unsettling to even be asking the question of whether we should go back to living in that place!

Christ didn’t just come to give us forgiveness, he came to free is from sin’s clutches.

V2: 2 BY NO MEANS! May this never happen!

It’s the pull your hair out groaning kind of response.

Don’t even go there.

I can’t think of anything more opposed to God’s glory and your good!

He’s saying that if you come to this conclusion, it shows that you haven’t understood who Christ is and what’s he’s like yet.

Good and generous. Good and generous. Or bad and stingy, like Eve was tricked into believing in the garden.

So he goes back to Christ, and our identity in union with Him.

When we put our faith in Christ, we are included in Christ, and not just one part of Christ, or one part of what he’s done. But the whole Christ, and all of what he’s done.

WE ARE those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

Do you remember who you are?

Remember Christ.

You know how he died.

And that was because of sin.

Remember that sin’s the problem yeah.

We live in this broken world full of death and brokenness because of sin yeah.

But Jesus came to fix that.

He defeated it by dying to it.

And we are those who in union with Christ have died to sin too!

So how can we live in that any longer!

How can we live as if nothing’s changed? As if nothing’s happened? As if Christ’s death and resurrection means nothing!

3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

Now why does Paul bring baptism into his explanation at this point?

Remember he’s just been talking about Adam and Christ as the two representative heads for humanity, and what is our baptism?

What were Jesus last words recorded for us in Scripture?

“Go out into all nations, and baptise them in the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit.”

He gives us the clearest explanation of the name of God, that all believers are baptised into and have fellowship with.

When you and I were baptised, we were given A NEW name.

We were given God’s name.

Signifying us becoming a new person

no longer in Adam

but in Christ.

Meaning that everything that was once true of us in Adam became undone.

Replaced with everything that is true of Christ.

What happened when you were born?

You were named and took on an identity that has shaped your life ever since. Every time your name is called, instinctively you respond, because you recognise, that’s me.

When Christ is named, do you respond in the same way?

That’s me.

That’s who I am.

Everything that’s true of Jesus is true of me.

Paul says, DON’T YOU KNOW.

Have you forgotten who you are?

You are one WITH the one who died to sin.

This is now YOUR history.

You were baptised into all of Christ, his life, death, burial, resurrection.

How did he die to sin?

He wasn’t dying to any sin ruling over him. He was dying to our sin that was ruling over us. So how did our sin get on him?

Remember Jesus own baptism. He says to John, let me identify fully with them.

Let me be baptised into their name, for soon, they will be baptised into my name.

Let me take on their sin.

I will be immersed in their sin, and I will die to it.

But I will be raised to life, free from sin, and they will be baptised into me.

Free, pure, to live in newness of life in me.

Our baptism, like the communion meal, isn’t meant to simply be something we remember in the past.

Our baptism is something we need to be continually immersed in.

The real immersion is union with Christ.

We have been baptised into Christ.

And this is something that has continual ongoing significance.

4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.

But hang on a sec, I’m here now. I HAVEN’T BEEN THROUGH ALL THIS, HAVE I?

I wasn’t physically present with Christ when he died.

In what way did I die with him?

Remember the representative relationship we talked about last week with Adam and Christ.

Just as we were all in Adam as he was sinning, our old self was in Christ as he was dying.

6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him.

What does the old self refer to here?

It refers to our old self, both body and soul dominated by, ruled by, and trapped in sin’s clutches.

our old self was crucified with him...so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

Remember the question at the start? Should we continue to sin so that grace may abound?

Is the absurdity of this question becoming clearer?

BY NO MEANS!

So where have we come?

We’ve seen how important it is to know the reason why Jesus saved us?

He rescued us by taking on our sin and dying to sin’s rule, SO THAT we could live a free life by taking on his righteousness and living in the freedom of God’s rule.

He set us free, so that we would live free.

The big idea Paul’s saying is. You are free from slavery to sin, so enjoy it. Enjoy God’s goodness and generosity.

Don’t go back and put those sin chains back on!

Explore and discover and pursue all that this new life has on offer.

TIME FOR A SUMMARY. GIVE PEOPLE BREATHING SPACE.

How do people change?

The only way to change is to die!

We’re living in this period where the power of sin has been broken over us, but it’s still hanging around trying to get us to go back to it.

I’m so looking forward to that day.

Aren’t you?

Not only free from sin’s power and reign, but also free from its pestering.

8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again;

death no longer has mastery over him.

10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all;

but the life he lives, he lives to God.

He died once, and he’s not gonna die again.

But the life he’s living, he’s living forever.

And he’s living it to God.

He’s no longer surrounded by the pestering of Satan and sin.

The temptations he had as a human, which he never gave in to by the way, he doesn’t have any more.

That’s why we know we’ll get there too.

He’s the firstfruit.

But we’re to come.

11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

How often do we struggle to see ourselves the way God sees us?

There’s a need for all of us to internalise this, because there are so many messages that would want to tell us this is not true.

USE I’S AND YOU’S SPARINGLY.

says “Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing and perfect will of God.”

You are dead to sin. You are alive to God.

Phrases like,

“I’m a hopeless case.“

“I can’t do this.”

“I’m never gonna change.”

In Christ you’re alive, your new.

It’s not about you.

It’s about him.

Your alive to God.

So get up.

Fight.

Be encouraged.

The battles been won, now fight your defeated enemy.

Here’s the secret.

It’s our identity in union with Christ that’s the secret of the mystery of how we change.

The power comes from him.

You are free, so from this place of security, therefore live free. As Paul says,

12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.

13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness.

How do we do this?

Well it’s not by focussing all our efforts on not sinning.

The more you focus on something, the more power you give it.

So focussing your mind or your prayers on what you shouldn’t be doing, just makes you want to do it, and makes the sin in the forefront of your mind all the time.

There’s a far more effective way to fight.

But rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life;

and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.

Focus on what God has saved you FOR.

Thank him for bringing you from death to life.

Offer yourself to him, throwing yourself on his grace and on the power he offers you through his Spirit within you.

Don’t give sin your attention.

Give God your attention.

Give righteousness your attention.

Why be so positive?

14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

THIS IS WHO WE ARE, THEREFORE, …

We can’t lose! JUST DO IT! THE PRESSURES OFF. WE CAN PURSUE ALL THAT HE HAS FOR US, RESTING IN HIS GOODNESS AND GENEROSITY.

We can go out with joy, knowing that we will still be tempted, we will still sin, but we’re free to pursue righteousness, because we’re not under the law but under grace.

We have a new master.

And this master has promised us his love.

Secured our future.

And guaranteed us his presence through every step of the way.

What a saviour. What a gospel.

Rest yourselves in Christ. Entrust yourselves to him. There’s nothing that you need to get from now to there, that he hasn’t already done.

There’s nothing that you need to get from now to there, that he hasn’t given you the resources to fulfil.

So go out boldly into each day. Pursue all that he has for you. And when sin creeps in, bring it out, and let his saving grace wash over you again.

Get up and keep going towards that prize.

How will you change and experience this newness of life?

Remember who you are in union with Christ. Dead to sin, alive to God. Thank him for all that he is and all that you are in him. And he’ll melt your heart and give you new desires that you never thought possible. You’ll change. You’ll experience the free life. And you’ll never want to go back.