Romans 6:20-23 "The Fruit of Sanctification"

Introduction

Once you go through Romans 6 it is very obvious that the Apostle Paul is certain that those who are truly justified by faith alone in Christ will be engaged in sanctification.

This is because if the Holy Spirit has regenerated you then His presence in you will continue the process of transformation.

What has happened on the inside will progressively work to change the outside. Paul was confident of this as he says in Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

This ongoing transformation is one of the primary reasons we were redeemed. God is glorifying Himself through our being justified by grace through faith alone. But faith is never alone because the good works of our sanctification are the by-product of true saving faith.

If you don’t have that fruit your life by default will produce fruit of another kind. Look at verses 20-21:

I. The Fruit of Slavery to Sin (20-21).

All of us have a history with the fruit of our slavery to sin. When we were in that state we were “free in regard to righteousness.”

In other words there was no sense of obligation for us to pursue righteous behavior to the glory of God. We were separated from Him and living for Him out of our love for Him was not something that we even factored in to our motives and our actions.

This shouldn’t surprise us. We all have spent time living to and for ourselves. And the fruit that we bore tells the story. The Lord Jesus declared in Luke 6:43-45 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

Notice that it is the condition of the heart that determines the nature of the fruit.

So the question that we may want to reflect on is, “What was the ultimate benefit of the of the fruit that we bore when we were slaves to sin?”

Back when we were doing the things we would be ashamed of now. There are a lot of things that Paul alludes to in general but in the end they all led to the same place. “For the end of those things is death” (end of verse 21).

Life outside of Christ is like being on Spiritual death row. Some describe that final walk from a holding cell on death row to the electric chair as “dead man walking.”

From a Spiritual perspective that is what life is like when someone doesn’t know Christ.

Christian what was it that you left behind that was too great a price? What benefit from a life of slavery to sin was greater than the abundance of the benefits of God’s sovereign grace to you in Christ?

Paul points us in the direction of our transformation in Christ in verse 22. Look back at your text:

II. The Fruit of Slavery to God (22).

Our status has changed because of God redeeming us in Christ. We are slaves to God and we have been set free from sin.

We didn’t set ourselves free, God set us free in redeeming us in Christ and regenerating us by the Holy Spirit in order that we could believe the gospel.

The fruit that is produced is different because our status and position has changed. A life that is regenerated, born again leads to sanctification. We could call this discipleship or fruit bearing but it is still change being worked in us by God.

We were redeemed for this as we live in the world. John 15:1-17 is our Lord describing Himself as the vine and His disciples as the branches.

One of the great truths He declares is the necessity of abiding in Him. He says in John 15: 8 “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”

Fruit bearing shows forth authentic discipleship in the Christian life.

Our Lord then says in John 15:10-11 “10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Jesus is telling us that obedience to His commands are the hallmark of abiding in a love relationship with Him. And this is the basis of the fullness of joy in the Christian life.

Then we see Him make reference to His purpose working in us in John 15:16 “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.”

So the fruit of our slavery to God, just to name a few, freedom to righteousness, relationship of love with Christ, proof of authentic discipleship, basis for effective prayer life, fullness of joy in this life and ultimately eternal life to come. Oh my so much better than “Dead Man Walking” doesn’t it?

This is why it is so easy for Paul to put it in a principled summary in verse 23 of our text:

III. The Stated Principle (23).

This is a verse that many of us have memorized and may have even quoted when doing evangelism. And certainly there is application in that context.

But this summary principle is not dealing with justification exclusively. Paul is expressing a wholistic principle of not just our justification by faith alone but also of God’s work of sanctifying us too.

This is our journey in the Christian life. Faith alone is the root of our justification and good works of obedience in sanctification are the fruit of our justification.

Conclusion

It is where the gospel transforms us from the inside out to the point that our actions manifest the glory of God.

Some years ago back on June 17th 2015 a 21 year old white supremacist (Dylan Roof) walked into Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.

He opened fire killing 9 church members including the Pastor.

The only response the church gave were statements of forgiveness and appeal of mercy for the shooter’s eternal soul. It was powerful! But how do they do that?

America watched a horrific crime of the worst kind, a crime that was meant for evil to be confronted with the power of the gospel in the lives of those in that church.

It brought me to tears because I knew that is the power of the Cross. The world can’t understand that. The world has no matching alternative.

The power of forgiveness begins with God working it in us for His glory as it is shown to a lost and dying world.

Maybe Christian there is no mass murderer that you have to forgive. Maybe it is just your spouse, or maybe it is just obedience to Christ of another category that you are being challenged in today.

Christian the gospel calls us to bear the fruit of sanctification in our lives. Come to His grace and confess your sin and live for His glory.

Unbeliever you need a transformation that your eyes may be opened to saving faith. Perhaps today is your day. Believe! Let’s pray!