Steps To Freedom

Introduction

Good Morning. Some time back I was on the National Archives website. If you’ve never been on the site before, there’s a lot of information there. I came across a section of featured documents. One of the featured documents was The Emancipation Proclamation. You were able to read the original copies of the documents, scanned copies of course. If you remember the proclamation was signed by President Abraham Lincoln (January 1, 1863). The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." This was a great thing!

If you could imagine a person who was born into slavery. The person is raised as a slave, trained as a slave. All this person know is slavery. Then, imagine one day this person is handed papers that declared this person free. Could you imagine the celebration and rejoicing? Freedom had finally come. There could be shouting in the street — “I’m free! I’m free at last!” The former owner could be saying, you don’t have to work for me. The former slave knows this. The slave knows they’ve set free. But acknowledges and answers back, I know I’ve been set fee, but I will continue to work for you. Why would the slave, who has a way out, only return to this state of slavery?

If you have your Bible’s with you, I’d like to invite you to open them to Romans Chapter 6. Romans Chapter 6 is much like The Emancipation Proclamation. It can be thought as God’s way to a life of liberty. There are many who have believed in Jesus Christ where their salvation is resting. But! Are still alive in the bondage of their sins. Like the slave we were just talking about, there are Christians who are holding their emancipation papers, but in their lives, they’re living like they are slaves. Perhaps you might feel like that this morning. Our passage, this morning offers help. Our passage will comes to us from Romans Chapter 6. Let’s read together verses 3 to 9.

Romans 6:3–4 ESV

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.

Romans 6:5–6 ESV

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 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.

Romans 6:7–9 ESV

7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.

Pastoral Prayer

Romans is a book full of doctrine. It contains many teachings. One of the first teachings talks about that every person can and should escape sin’s punishment. Paul cover this point back in Chapter thee of Romans in verses 21 through 26, where he speaks of Jesus’ death as an atonement for sin and providing “redemption that came from Christ Jesus” (Verse 24 NIV). A person is to believe in Jesus Christ to receive this benefit. And part of believing in Jesus Christ is that now a person is dead to sin and alive to God. When a person makes that step in belief in Jesus Christ, the Bible tells us that:

1 John 1:9 ESV

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Our passage this morning, brings forward an answer to the Romans by a three questions Paul asked in just two verses earlier:

Romans 6:1–2 ESV

1 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?

[Display Verse 3-4]

Our passage contains a key word that Paul uses several times. That word is found in verses 3, 6 and 9. That word is “know.” In verse 3, Paul is essentially asking “are you unaware,” “have you forgotten?” What are we unaware about or have forgotten? Look to the rest of verse 3. “that all of us who have been baptized in to Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?” That’s what Paul is trying to emphasize here. We see this word “baptized” mentioned twice in this sentence. When we hear the word baptize, and in this case “baptized” (which is talking past tense), we can begin to think about a water baptism.

A Christian baptism is important. The Baptist Faith and Message (2000) clarifies when a believer is baptized through immersion, it’s “an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus.” When a person is baptized through immersion, it’s an outward expression, a public profession, of what’s happened inside.

I read once of an army chaplain who talked about his amazement when a large number of Desert Storm soldiers who gave their hearts and believed in Jesus Christ, asked if they could be baptized. To accommodate their requests, a pastor, being resourceful used the only “thing” available in the middle of the Saudi Arabian desert where there was no water: a coffin—a potent and perfect symbol of the death, burial, and resurrection of which baptism is a picture.

When a person is baptized, you receive a new identification. Part of that identification is that you are now dead to you old life. Paul says in verse 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.” The old has passed and the new have come forward. What does “newness” means? Newness points to a quality that is original. It’s true, through-and-through. It means something that has not been seen before. Can you think of a person you knew, perhaps this person can even be yourself, where you had seen a person believe in Jesus Christ and confess their sins, to see their new life begin to spring and grow? This person’s old life died. Newness through God was brought in. We can see evidence of the Holy Spirit of God working on that heart.

Think back to that time when you got that new something. Say it was a new vehicle. It doesn't have to be brand new. Let’s call it ‘new’ to you. When you brought it home we were happy. Many of us were doing everything, short of rubbing it with a diaper, so we could to keep its luster and its newness. When we took that beauty out, sometimes we parked far way, perhaps even double parking. We didn’t want ANYTHING to ding the paint job. How about those rainy days. When you steered about the mud puddles, did you give yourself enough clearance to fit a semi between you and the mud. Because there was no what this beauty was about to go through the mud! If we care for the paint job with this level of care to make sure its mud-free, why do we sometimes take the new life we’ve been given through grace, four-wheeling. And, sometimes through some sticky stuff.

So what does this mean? How do we apply this? What Paul’s talking about here is that, is that in passing away — we are joined, a stronger word would be unity. We are united with Christ. Paul says that in:

Romans 6:5–6 ESV

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 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.

WE ARE NO LONGER SALVES TO SIN! This means the mud holes of our old life mean nothing. We don’t have to return there to get the seals of the drive-train to expand, and make sure the four-wheel drive still works. So when the devil comes and says: “Oh Richard, my old slave, do this for me.” I can now say with confidence and boldness, I don’t have to obey you! Well — why not? That’s because my old self is dead. You have no more dominion! How do you know you’re so dead, Richard? I can say, didn’t you come to my funeral. My church family was rejoicing. Heaven was rejoicing. And, the gates of hell were mourning — we lost another one.

I wouldn’t advocate that we live above sin today, but we have been given the privilege to walk with the Lord and equipped to do so. We are living a free life of sanctification for the glory of our Savior Jesus Christ instead of living only to satisfy the lusts and desires of this earth suit! A free life begins when the old had passed. Turn you attention to just verse 7 with me.

Romans 6:7 ESV

7 For one who has died has been set free from sin.

Verse 7 is our emancipation! We have out emancipation papers in hand! AND, they say “set free!” It doesn't say set free in one day, one week, or one year. It says “set free!” That mean now! You are set free immediately. There’s no waiting or trial period on your freedom. This mean you don’t have to come up to God, and ask “are you sure God, because I’ve done some stuff in my life, or there might be somethings in there I don’t even want to remember.” So God, if you want have me wait, I can wait. The Bible doesn't teach that doctrine. Look at verse 7 again, “for one who have died has been set free from sin.” That means now! That means if you’re looking from healing from sin, healing starts. That means if you’re seeking peace from sin, peace can start to flow.

Paul uses the analogy of death to illustrate the truth that we are dead to sin. A dead person wants nothing! They are not tempted by drinking, by sex, by money, by drugs that might tempt the old flesh. It’s been fully surrendered at the cross. That person allowed Jesus access that could have been hiding in plain sight. That person allowed Jesus to take that sin and struggle, essentially filling that void with something so much greater. Jesus fills with His perfect grace and love. When a person dies, they are free from the temptation to sin. For the Christian, when we can reach the place where we are able to “consider ourselves dead to sin”, then we can experience that same freedom from temptation. The Holy Spirit of God transforms people who were once dead and walking to alive and walking. At that point, God begins to work on our hearts and minds.

Conclusion

I was reading an article on how busy American are in the 21st century. And, I think may of you would agree — Americans are busy. American’s are busy. And, up until our stay at home order, many of us were going-going-going. Our schedules are overfull, that can make us feel stressed, tired and rushed. You don’t have to answer. But do you feel like that? One of the things that can help us get of course are the things that are constantly pulling for our attention. Some of us can call those distractions. These distractions can occupy our minds and fill our day. The devil likes to do that. He will cause distractions, introduce forgetfulness that can cause us to forget the truth about our identification with Christ.

Believers and un-believers, a like, part of Satan’s goal is to keep you out of the Word of God! He’s going to through everything possible to keep you out of there. That’s because he knows that the Word of God contains in it the power to change lives.

Part of one of Peter’s letters, where he wrote to encourage believers, where he challenged them with a call to be holy. He said:

1 Peter 1:22–25 ESV

22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

There is immeasurable and eternal benefit to being dead to sin! Have you died to sin? Perhaps there’s sin that need to be confessed this morning. Like Peter said, “since you have been born again, not of perishable seed by of imperishable.” Have you died to sin? If you haven’t, I encourage you to respond this morning to the Lord in grace and salvation.

Closing Prayer