Dead to Sin, yet Dying to Sin

Scripture Introduction: Please turn in your Bible to Romans chapter 6. If you’re familiar at all with the context of Romans, you know that by the time one gets to chapter six, you’ve already crawled through the minefield of Paul’s discourse on the depravity of mankind, the wrath of God on sinners, the vanity of one’s self-righteousness. No one survives, no one is righteous, but then you reach chapter four and there’s good news: God has manifested His righteousness apart from the law. He declares us righteous by His grace through faith in Christ Jesus. So that there is life in Christ (this is the theme of chapter 5). This is the very heart of what we call the Gospel.

“The Gospel is the good news that through Jesus’ perfect life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection, sinners by grace can be forgiven, reconciled to God, and made perfectly righteous by repenting of their sins and placing their faith in Christ alone.” - Eric Sipe

The Gospel is the good news that through Jesus’ perfect life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection, sinners by grace can be forgiven, reconciled to God, and made perfectly righteous by repenting of their sins and placing their faith in Christ alone. ”

Which brings us to where we are now, chapter 6, a text that, if the earlier chapters were a minefield, [chapter 6] takes us on a lazy river inner tube adventure. Here we increasingly see how the Gospel really does change everything.

(read verses 1-14)

Which brings us to where we are now, chapter 6

Sermon Introduction: Just when you thought you heard enough about death and dying to self this morning, you’ve come to round 2. The truth that is before us here in compliments very well the challenge Christ gave His disciples this morning from . Truly, the Christian life is all about death. And this is so (can I call it) “counter-christian,” right? So much of American-Christianity is enamored with the health and the wealth, all the benefits, that ought to flow from heaven’s store houses, and it’s almost as if sin becomes entirely a thing of the past. Now, the interesting thing is that much of the New Testament does speak to the believer about sin being a thing of the past, but what does that mean since I still struggle with temptation after I’ve been born again? What does it mean to have victory over sin and yet (at times) to give in to my flesh? The series this year in Life in the Everyday is all about how the Gospel gives answers to the tensions of this gap period, of living in light of the Gospel, and yet looking to our graves.

This text demands that we apply ourselves to the spiritual discipline of dying to sin in accordance to our being dead to sin. The practical will flow from the actual, and that is what’s key. The church must apply itself to what is true about itself. So let us begin there: the basis of dying to sin is the reality that you are dead to sin.

I. Dead to Sin (verses 3-11)

It’s not hard to see Paul’s logic. He introduces us with a question to points

The book of Romans is one logical step after another, and Paul’s masterful use of “question and answer” games really help us get to the point of the matter. In verses 1-2 He asks a rather preposterous question with an obvious answer, but it is the reasoning behind this answer that he really is getting at. And that’s where we will start; we will revisit verses 1 & 2 again, but for now let’s consider them as nonsensical as they may first strike us. ‘There’s no place for living in sin, as a Christian, you’ve already “died” to sin.’

Now by the time we’ve come to the end of chapter 5 you’d have thought we’d had enough of the idea of “death.” Chapter 5 was all about being dead in Adam and alive in Christ, but now Paul’s telling us we’re dead in Christ as well. What does he mean by this? As if it couldn’t get any more confusing, Paul tells us the answer is baptism (verse 3). Dead IN Sin? Dead TO Sin? Baptism? What is going on?

A. Baptized into the death of Christ (verses 3-4a)

Baptism is the key to going from “dead in sin” to “dead to sin.” But to be completely honest it seems a bit out of place, he couldn’t possibly be talking about baptismal regeneration, could he? No. If this seems a bit mysterious to us at first it is because when we see “baptism” we typically associate it with the church ordinance of Baptism; ‘someone’s gonna get wet.’ But Paul here is using the term baptism for what it linguistically means, and what would have been more apparent to the Greek speakers who would have originally read it, “Do you not know that all of us who have been [immersed] into Christ Jesus were [immersed] into his death?” Paul says, ‘Don’t you know that you who are in Christ are all in.’ You go to the cross with Him, you go to the grave with Him, and you rise with Him. Paul speaks of this again in .

English Standard Version Chapter 5

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

“

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (2 Co 5:14–15). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.”

Paul’s saying that faith in Christ, takes you to Christ’s death and that it now associates with you so much so that it redefines you, it reorients your approach to sin.

So what does it mean to be “dead to sin?” To be “dead to sin” means that our bitter wage of death has fully and sufficiently been paid out to our substitute, Jesus. The reign of sin and death, that Paul discusses in , is over. Here we see the liberty that comes through the crucifixion.

The way Paul interrogates his readers in verse 3 (“Do you not know...”) serves as a swift rebuke to any in his audience, and especially of our generation today, that you cannot be a Christian who merely ascents to the values of Jesus, or the example of Jesus, or the teaching of Jesus. You must accept His cross as well. The cross of Jesus is quintessential to true Christianity. Christianity is all about dying. When you are immersed into Christ, you die and are buried. But this union continues...

B. United with Him in a resurrection (4b-6)

“Dead to sin” means “newness of life” because Christ was raised from the dead. Paul speaks to the depth of our union with Christ (read verses 5-6). This word “united” refers to the sort of relationship that two bones have together when they have been fused and healed. Where one goes, so goes the other; where He goes, we go too. He did not lose us in the grave, we have been raised with Him. This is how magnificent a gift we have been given through faith.

And this isn’t some wishful thinking on Paul’s part, as if he’s supposing Christ’s resurrection was also for our benefit and not just Christ himself. In verse 6, Paul is declaring that newness of life in Christ breaks our slavery to sin, that is why he speaks with certainty in verse 5. This is how we can be certain today that we live in newness of life, because we actually understand ourselves to not have to sin. Only the Christian can say that they don’t have to sin; this is what “dead to sin” means. It’s freedom.

C. Freedom from sin (verses 7-11)

As if Paul hadn’t proved this point with enough detail already, he double backs and explains it even further (read verses 7-10). Now verse seven touches on a very fundamental truth, “the wages of sin is death” (). Thus...

The only way to be free of death is for its final payout (verse 7).

Someone HAD to die. No man has ever cheated death, not even Jesus. He did not merely faint. He died, was pierced through, handled, and prepared as a corpse, buried and committed to the grave. But Jesus wasn’t like any other man, He truly was righteous, and so He didn’t die on His own account, but “He died to sin once for all” (verse 10). Jesus was accepting the full and final wage for sin itself, and God offers this as justification for all who believe on Him. This is marvelous grace!

No man has ever cheated death, not even Jesus. He did not merely faint. He died, was pierced through, handled, and prepared as a corpse, buried and committed to the grave.

Well this brings us the age old question that our children ask us when they go to their first funeral: “why does everyone have to die?” If death no longer has dominion over Christ, and we’re in Him, why is it that everyone HAS to die?

Paul addresses this quandary directly in

English Standard Version Chapter 15

I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

55  “O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

According to the Gospel, physical death becomes more a consequence of pursuing immortality through new life in Christ for the believer rather than suffering the penalty of our sin. Spiritually, through faith, we’ve made that passage with Christ, meaning life and freedom from sin for all our days (verse 8).

Thus, death has already been conquered by Christ; it is a disabled, defeated enemy. No threat of death can ever rise against Christ or those who have died “with” Him. All that’s left is life to God (verses 9-11). And this brings us to the crux of the message here in , verse 11 (read). Here, Paul introduces to us a very specific spiritual discipline that has two parts we must consider.

Here Paul introduces to us a very specific spiritual discipline with done positive and negative aspects.

First, based on everything Paul has been arguing up to this point, you must consider yourself dead to sin. God calls for a new way of thinking in the believer’s life; have the same opinion of yourself that God has of you in Christ. Your old life is dead and over, there is no returning from the land of the living. This is an ongoing action, everyday must be lived in light of Christ’s death on your behalf. Now to the one who thinks this sounds a lot like a chore, realize that this exhortation (the first that comes in the book of Romans, btw) is a call for believers to simply treasure the Gospel as the daily source of hope that it is. The Gospel is not just a nice eschatological safety net, the Gospel is our current lifeline. We must preach the truth of the Gospel into our hearts daily so that we would actually “be what we are.”

“The Gospel is the good news that through Jesus’ perfect life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection, sinners by grace can be forgiven, reconciled to God, and made perfectly righteous by repenting of their sins and placing their faith in Christ alone.” - Eric Sipe

Second, consider yourself under new ownership: “alive to God in Christ Jesus.” You’re no longer a slave to sin, rather you’re a slave of righteousness. This is precisely the theme he further develops in verses 15 and following. Suffice it to say, for now, that being dead to sin will inevitably (and should intentionally) manifest itself in practical activity. This speaks to “dying to sin,” while dead to sin.

II. Dying to Sin (verses 1-2, 12-14)

A. The Pressing Question with An Obvious Answer (verses 1-2)

Now we return to the pressing question with an obvious answer… (verses 1-2).

English Standard Version Chapter 6

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?

English Standard Version Chapter 6

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

The Obvious Answer (verse 2)

English Standard Version Chapter 6

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

Verse 1 begins with a hypothetical question, you could put it this way, ‘has Jesus made it ok for us to sin?’ Paul answers with a resounding, “No!” Jesus didn’t die so that our sins would be more tolerable; Jesus died to eradicate our sin. As ludicrous as this question is to ask, do you see how incredibly valid it is for us to consider?

us to sin?’ Paul answers with a resounding, “No!” Jesus didn’t die so that our sins would be more tolerable; Jesus died to eradicate our sin. How is it that this question strikes us as both ludicrous to ask, and yet incredibly valid for us to consider?

B. The Reason This Question is Still Valid (verse 1)

It may seem silly for many of us to even contemplate asking such a thing, which is why it is so important for Paul to put into words what we naturally demonstrate when we sin. Let’s be honest with ourselves; we think a question like that is obvious, yet you and I still chose to sin on a daily basis even though we’re not a slave to sin. Which is more foolish to figure out?

This question causes us to see how antithetical it is for a believer to continue in a life/habit of sin.

It may seem silly for many of us to even contemplate asking such a thing, which is why it is so important for Paul to put into words what we naturally demonstrate when we sin.

Believers constantly face the internal conflict of sin, and while we actually hate our sin and would never want to add to the weight of guilt Christ bore on our behalf…(right?) We actually also love our sin and want to continue in it.

It may seem silly for many of us to even contemplate asking such a thing, which is why it is so important for Paul to put into words what we naturally demonstrate when we sin.

We’re not alone in this struggle of dying to sin, Paul writes elsewhere, in chapter 7:15, 21-25 (Pastor Eric referenced this this morning.)

English Standard Version Chapter 7

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.

English Standard Version Chapter 7

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

This struggle in the body of this flesh is so real, right? Isn’t this where we live? This is why we must consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. This must become a spiritual discipline, and a daily one at that.

Believers constantly face the internal conflict of sin, and while we actually hate our sin and would never want to add to the weight of guilt Christ bore on our behalf... we actually also love our sin and want to continue in it.

Milton Vincent, in his book A Gospel Primer for Christians encourages us to this end...

Gospel Primer Quote: 24. All Things Crucified, Part I (pages 39-41)

Believers constantly face the internal conflict of sin, and while we actually hate our sin and would never want to add to the weight of guilt Christ bore on our behalf... we actually also love our sin and want to continue in it.

This is the key to...

This question causes us to see how antithetical it is for a believer to continue in a life/habit of sin.

Putting Sin to Death (Verses 12-14)

C. Putting Sin to Death (Verses 12-14)

It’s with this Spirit resolve in our hearts that we come to these practical encouragements in verses 12-14 (read). Three points here...

1. Dethrone Sinful Passions (verse 12)

Again, only the Christian can say that they don’t have to sin; this is what “dead to sin” means. There’s no room for statements like, “The Devil made me do it, or [fill in the blank] made me do it.” Or even “my flesh got the better of me.” You sin because you choose to and you can practically take steps to dethrone areas of sin in your life. Again, this isn’t wishful thinking, although it is certainly easier said than done.

The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Epistle to the Romans A. Shall We Continue to Sin that Grace May Abound? 6:1–14

Murray points out that to say to a slave “Do not behave as a slave” is to mock him, but it is a meaningful thing to say to someone who has been set free. He must now give up thinking and living like a slave and start behaving like a free person.

The mortal body is still torn between the pull of its passions and the Spirit’s new way of thinking. Christian’s live in the “already, not-yet.” However, the very tenor of this command speaks of hope. This is not an impossible task, “Let” means that while it is possible for us to sin, we do not have to; we can be active against it.

2. Devote Your “Members” to Proper Service (verse 13)

Again another call to action and resistance in verse thirteen, the Christian is no victim of His own sin. Every bit of you has been redeemed for service in righteousness. There are no corners or crevices in your life that are off-limits to God. Dying to sin means the devotion of hands that once stole to now do honest work, of eyes that once lusted to now behold beauty, of feet that performed mischief to spread good news, of mouths that spoke evil things to now affirm that which is good and to bless. “ALL of LIFE is ALL about GOD.”

3. Dominated by Grace (verse 14)

Verse 14 provides the reasoning behind these three exhortations (Consider, Let Not, Do Not ): the Law’s role in condemning you for your sin has been fulfilled, sin is dead (PERIOD); you are now administrated by grace. Just as Christ dominated sin (verse 9) so you and I can have dominion over the sin in our lives that would love to again enslave us.

With everything God assures us of here, there are no excuses for Christians not to be confident in life. You don’t have to sin (period). You can chose to be an instrument for righteousness in God’s service. So, how can we equip ourselves for this life?

Conclusion: The Means of Grace

What has God given us to perform this spiritual discipline of dying to sin?

1. The Word of God ()

English Standard Version Chapter 4

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

We have everything necessary for life and godliness in the Word of God.

2. The Church ()

English Standard Version Chapter 6

6 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load.

Perhaps, nothing brings the Living Word of God to life quite like seeing it at work within the Christian community. We have so much when we have each other. The Gospel urges us, we “get” to have each other! What a privilege, and what help we can be to one another in our encouragement and in our empathy as we die to remaining sin.

3. Prayer ()

English Standard Version Psalm 34

The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous

and his ears toward their cry.

16  The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,

to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

17  When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears

and delivers them out of all their troubles.

18  The LORD is near to the brokenhearted

and saves the crushed in spirit.

You are never alone. The Spirit comforts, helps, and guides. May we give ourselves to this grace of dying to sin.