Rom 6-Dying to Sin

| Dying to Sin! Romans 6:1-14

August 6, 2006 (New Century Version) So do you think we should continue sinning so that God will give us even more grace? 2No! We died to our old sinful lives, so how can we continue living with sin? 3Did you forget that all of us became part of Christ when we were baptized? We shared his death in our baptism. 4When we were baptized, we were buried with Christ and shared his death. So, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the wonderful power of the Father, we also can live a new life.5Christ died, and we have been joined with him by dying too. So we will also be joined with him by rising from the dead as he did. 6We know that our old life died with Christ on the cross so that our sinful selves would have no power over us and we would not be slaves to sin. 7Anyone who has died is made free from sin’s control.8If we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. 9Christ was raised from the dead, and we know that he cannot die again. Death has no power over him now. 10Yes, when Christ died, he died to defeat the power of sin one time—enough for all time. He now has a new life, and his new life is with God. 11In the same way, you should see yourselves as being dead to the power of sin and alive with God through Christ Jesus.12So, do not let sin control your life here on earth so that you do what your sinful self wants to do. 13Do not offer the parts of your body to serve sin, as things to be used in doing evil. Instead, offer yourselves to God as people who have died and now live. Offer the parts of your body to God to be used in doing good. 14Sin will not be your master, because you are not under law but under God’s grace.PRAY Memory Verse:We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? –Romans 6:2 (NIV)  Intro: When someone has significant influence in your life your actions are conditioned to particular responses with them. i.e. a person just out of the militaryi.e. when Cheryl was away… This Week:The foundational truth: vv. 1-10Next Week:The Practical Ramifications: vv. 11-13The Summary: v. 14 The foundational truth:vv. 1-10: You have died to sin.1. The question of freedom to sin (vv. 1-2)[(NIV) 1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?]The Question: Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase (abound)?Q: If grace reigns and will, ultimately, win over sin, doesn’t this lead to lazy morals and loose living?This is a reasonable question to ask.  The Russian monk Rasputin, who dominated the Romanov family in their final years, taught that salvation came through repeated experiences of sin and repentance. He argued that because those who sin more require more forgiveness, those who sin with abandon will as they repent experience greater joy; therefore, it is the believer’s duty to sin. Today this thinking is very common among those who wish to justify their sexual lifestyles. (R. Kent Hughes)– the essence of religion: do the right things & refrain from the wrong things & you will get to heaven.– The essence of Christianity: acknowledge to yourself, to God and to the world that you can do absolutely NOTHING to make yourself acceptable to God. Only faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ can accomplish that.The answer to the question in v. 1 actually means: “That is unthinkable.” “It is absurd!” Why?Because “we died to our old sinful lives, so how can we continue living in them?” (v. 2 NCV)It is an either/or. Either sin reigns OR grace reigns. Both cannot. The Bible clearly teaches that the fruit of each will be clearly seen…“It is a lamentable fact that one man who dishonors the gospel by an unholy walk does more injury to the souls of men than ten holy ones can do them good.” (Donald Grey Barnhouse)   2. The issue of identity (vv. 3-10)(R. Kent Hughes) Verses 3–14 answer the question, How do those of us who are under grace live without being characterized by sin? How are we to live lives of victory? First, by understanding the nature of our identification with Christ (vv. 2–10). Second, by accepting our identification with Christ as true (v. 11). Third, by yielding to the Christ with whom we are so wonderfully identified (vv. 12, 13). F    Side note: regarding baptism:Rom. 6: 3-4 – are often seen as problematic for us paedo-baptists. Romans 6 is not speaking about baptism here, in the sense of the sacrament. The chapter is about the tension between grace and obedienceThe overall emphasis of these verses is upon our profound identity with Christ. Baptism bears with it the idea of identification, especially when it is linked to a person’s name. For instance, 1 Corinthians 10:2 tells us that the Israelites were “baptized into Moses”—referring not to water baptism, but to the fact that they became united with him as never before as they recognized his leadership and their dependence on him. (R. Kent Hughes)In other words, just as our baptism is a sign & seal of the covenant of grace, and a sign of our identification with the body of Christ, so also, we are to see our identity in Christ, in His death and resurrection. |   | Certainly the identification with Christ in our baptism is a biblical concept. It is just not the point of THIS passage.F    In Christ each of us, who know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, have died.We died. – past tense – fait-accomplaeVv 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11:2We died to our old sinful lives3We shared his death. 4We were buried with Christ & shared his death. 5We have been joined with [Christ] by dying too.6 Our old life died with Christ on the cross 11You should see yourselves as being dead to the power of sin and alive with God through Christ Jesus.It is important to distinguish between what is DONE and what we are called to DO because of what has already happened.The issue is not what I have done, but rather my identification with what Christ has done.The specific emphasis of verses 3–5 is that we are so profoundly identified with Christ’s death and resurrection that we actually did die with him and truly were raised with him, so that we now share in his resurrection life. Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”The starting point of dealing with the question of Christian liberty which has been turned into a license to sin is our knowledge.We must know that we have, indeed, died with Christ, and having died with Him we have also been raised with Him and are seated with him in the heavenly places.  [Eph. 2:4-6 (ESV) 4But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—6and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus]The already—not yetF    We must also know that because of what Christ has done and our identification with it we are no longer in bondage to sin.Rather than arguing that we should indulge in sin because we are under grace is totally out of accord with the purposes of God’s grace! It is just the opposite. If anyone is truly a Christian they will find it impossible to continue in sin without driving themselves crazy.“Those who argue that grace allows a buffer for sin—that their sin will ultimately glorify God anyway—are revealing they are not under grace! They are not Christians, no matter how much they argue otherwise.” (R. Kent Hughes) Summary / Review: The foundational truth which this passage emphasizes is that we, who have embraced Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord have died to sin. It is a completed fact. It is a reality which cannot be undone.For us to casually, or even worse, to intentionally continue in sin because of some warped understanding of grace that seems to say it doesn’t really matter, is to deny our faith. It is a clear statement that we do not really understand the gospel and that we are probably NOT really Christians.When a person professes to be a follower of Jesus Christ and then continues to live in sin they are dishonoring God and condemning themselves and many others who, in observing them, find justification for their own sin.We need to understand that while our salvation is not determined by what we do and do NOT do, it is evidenced by it. When we understand the grace of God we also understand that we have died to a way of life which gives in to sin. That is no longer who we are. In Christ we are new people.The specific emphasis of these verses is that we are so profoundly identified with Christ’s death and resurrection that we actually did die with him and truly were raised with him, so that we now share in his resurrection life. As such we need to distinguish between what is DONE and what we are called to DO because of what has already happened. We need to understand that the issue is not what I have done, but rather my identification with what Christ has done, that both makes me right with God AND empowers me to live for Him. That is the key understanding and applying the truth that we are no longer in bondage to sin.A Truth to Remember: If you have trusted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you have died to sin. You cannot go back. A Challenge to Consider:Does your life point to the grace of Christ through humble obedience, or does it dishonor the Name of Christ through casual rationalization of sin? Communion |