Romans 6:1–14

Text: Romans 6:1–14

Title: Identified with Christ

Big Idea: Because we are Identified with Christ Jesus, we should consider ourselves dead to sin, but alive to serve God.

Sermon Purpose: We should consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God, by becoming instruments of righteousness.

Introduction: Everyone enjoys receiving Christmas gifts. We work for a paycheck, and we expect to get paid. But a gift is unearned; it is free. All that is required to receive a gift is that we accept and enjoy it. The price of a gift is paid by the grace of the giver. In Romans chapter six, Paul says that the greatest grace gift ever given was given on the first Christmas. “We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We worked and God owed us death, but instead God gives us eternal life in Christ Jesus. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

The question this morning is how we enjoy such a great gift of grace. Romans 6:1–14 tells us we can enjoy God’s gift of salvation when we consider the facts about our identity with Christ Jesus.

1. Know the facts about being identified, with Christ Jesus (6:3–10).

a. Knowing we died, with Christ, to sin’s power, we are freed from sin’s control. This is a present reality everyday, when you awake.

b. Knowing we are raised, with Christ, we are free live God’s way. This is a historical fact with on going results. Because of our union with Christ, we can live for God’s pleasure every day.

2. Consider the truth about Jesus, as true about you (6:11).

Add up the facts. We have died and been raised with Christ Jesus, so we can live to God, with Him.

3. Therefore, we enjoy the gift of salvation (God’s grace), by no longer allowing sin to control us (6:12–14).

The result of knowing the facts of salvation is that we can present our bodies, before God, as instruments of righteousness. The best way to live to right before God is to invite everyone to watch what God is going to do with our life.

a. Today we come to the baptism waters. When we believe Jesus died for our sins and God raised Jesus for our justification, we become identified with Jesus. everything true about Jesus become true about us.

b. But our friends and family only know the truth about the old person that we used to be. So, we are baptized, so that everyone will know the truth about our identity with Jesus

c. Romans 10:13 says, “If you confess with our mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raise Him form the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

i. Baptism gives you the opportunity to confess to everybody what you believe, in your heart, to be true.

ii. You go under the water representing that you have died to sin’s power, with Jesus.

iii. When you rise, from the watery grave, you tell everyone that you are alive with Jesus to live a new life before God.

iv. You are saying that you free from sin’s control over your life, and that you know Jesus controls you now and forever and ever.

v. Instruments of righteousness live right in God’s sight.