United to Christ thus Dead to Sin Pt 3
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Are you guilty of abusing God’s grace, of using God’s abounding grace as an excuse to sin?
This is what the Apostle Paul wants to get across to the Romans.
Because we are united to Christ, this new position that we have enables God to cause his grace to abound to us!
Now as Paul ends chapter 5 and begins chapter 6 he is going to deal with a common misunderstanding and misuses of the grace of God that is ours because of our union with Christ.
Paul wants us to understand something about our union with Christ so that we do not abuse the grace of God, but instead celebrate it.
Paul wanted the Roman believers to understand the realities of their union with Christ so that they would not continue living in sin.
Comprehending your union with Christ is essential for you to stop living in sin.
What must we understand concerning our union with Christ so that we can stop living in sin?
Several truths about our union with Christ.
The first truth we need to understand so that we might stop living in sin is:
I. Our union with Christ transferred us from the realm of sin to the realm of grace
I. Our union with Christ transferred us from the realm of sin to the realm of grace
20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The second truth we need to understand so that we might stop living in sin is:
II. Our union with Christ caused us to share in the benefits of his death, burial, and resurrection
II. Our union with Christ caused us to share in the benefits of his death, burial, and resurrection
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?
1Τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν;
What shall we say then?
ἐπιμένωμεν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ,
Should we remain in sin ( In the state of sin)
ἵνα ἡ χάρις πλεονάσῃ;
In order that grace might increase?
Antinomianism- lawlessness
License- does God’s fee abounding grace give the believer the license to sin all the more?
Romans 6:2 (ESV)
2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
Remember the better translation is: “How can we who died to sin still live in it?:”
Paul is pointing back to something that has already taken place in the past. This is a statement of fact about us, an event that has already happened. He is not describing a present position or condition, he is not describing a process. Paul wants us to see that there is something that has already happened to as as a fact, as an event in our past experience.
Because you are in Christ, you died to sin.
What does Paul mean when he states that we died to sin?
The idea is a decisive separation from sin. Paul is not speaking, in this context, about a separation from the penalty of sin. Paul is concerned here with the power of sin. We died to the disadvantage of sin- that is, its power over us was broken! When we were united to Christ we died to sin, that is, we were separated from the “rule” or the “realm” of sin. A person outside of Christ, the one who is in the dominion of death, is under the rule or the realm of sin. But, when we were justified by faith through Christ, we were united to Christ, we were in Christ, and at that moment we were transferred to a new dominion, the dominion of righteousness that leads to eternal life. If you are in the dominion of righteousness, you are no longer under the rule or the realm of sin (you died to sin), you are now under the rule or the realm of grace. The moment you were united to Christ, sin’s power over you was broken! You died to sin! You died to its rule or its power!
Refutation: That’s all well and good to say that I died to sin, that it’s power over me is broken. But, Pastor Jon- I still sin! And sometimes it sure doesn’t feel like its power has been broken. It still fells at times to have a lot of power over me.
What the Apostle Paul is showing us here in Rom 6 is the truth of our position. Positionally, I am in Christ thus I died to sin and its power is broken over me. But, what is true of us positionally, sometimes takes a while to translate to what is true of us experimentally.
You have an entirely new position. You are now in Christ. And the moment you were united to Christ you died to sin. You were transferred out of the realm and the rule of sin and into the realm and rule of grace. The power of sin at that moment was broken. But, because you were under its rule for so long the habit of obeying the voice of your former master still remains. And sometimes that habit is strong.
What must we understand concerning our union with Christ so that we can stop living in sin?
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?
The first step to take so that you can stop living in sin is to know that you died to sin! So much of your sanctification, your spiritual growth, depends upon your understanding of your justification. What really happened to you when you repented of your sin and put your faith in Christ? You were justified- your sins were forgiven and you were counted righteous in God’s eyes. Then out of your justification came so many other benefits of your salvation. Primary among those benefits is that you were united to Christ, you are IN CHRIST. And the moment you became united to Christ you died to sin. Know that truth Christian, understand it, and believer it. It is vital if you are to have victory over sin in your life.
Paul continues on then in chapter 6 highlighting even more vital and significant truths concerning our union with Christ.
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
Do you not KNOW? Pause and think about this! This idea of KNOWING something is a repeated idea in Romans 6.
Do you not know? Are you uniformed or uncomprehending? Are you ignorant of this?
Who is Paul writing this letter to? The church at Rome. Believers in Christ who are part of a local church in the capital of Rome.
Did Paul start this church? No. Has Paul ever even been to this church? No.
Most likely the church in Rome was started as a result of Peter’s sermon at Pentecost in Acts 2. There were some people from Rome who were in Jerusalem who got saved under the preaching of Peter, went back to Rome, and began a local church.
Paul didn’t start this church, he has never been to this church (Rom. 1:10-11), he has never taught theology extensively at this church! And yet, Paul says don’t you know? Are you uniformed? Do you not comprehend? Are you ignorant of this truth?
Remember the argument Paul is refuting…Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? If I am now under the rule of grace and the dominion of righteousness, and if no matter how much my sin increases grace abounds all the more, well then shouldn’t we continue to sin so that grace may abound? God FORBID!
Don’t you know? Don’t you know who you are? Or you ought to know! Every believer ought to know this one vital truth. And when you rightly understand this vital truth- the question, “are we to continue is sin that grace may abound,” becomes absolutely ludicrous.
What does Paul expect these believers to know about their salvation?
That all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
Don’t you know this? Are you ignorant of THIS truth?
Every person who was baptized (aorist tense, past tense, statement of fact) into Christ Jesus was baptized (aorist tense) into his death.
Two very important questions:
What does it mean to be baptized into Christ Jesus?
What does it mean to be baptized into His death?
It does NOT mean Baptismal Regeneration
It does NOT mean Baptismal Regeneration
People who argue for this position say that the benefits of salvation are extended to people who are “in Christ.”
The question is how one gets to be in Christ. One the basis of Romans 6:3 some people argue that an individual is placed into Christ through water baptism.
They would teach that it is the act of water baptism itself that places us into Christ. This is baptismal regeneration. It is your water baptism that regenerates you or saves you or places you in Christ.
4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
The idea of baptismal regeneration, that you can be saved through the work of baptism, flies in the face of biblical salvation. Over and over again the NT emphasizes that salvation is not a mater of works. If you attempt to work for your salvation, even the smallest amount, then salvation is no longer a gift but it is your due or your wage. And the Bible says that the wages of our sin is death. Salvation is a gift of God. He has done everything for us through Jesus Christ His Son. All we have to do is receive the gift of God’s salvation through faith. To the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness!
Thus Romans 6:3 cannot be talking about baptismal regeneration. There is another biblical argument against this as well that we will cover in just a moment.
Some suggest it refers to Spirit baptism
Some suggest it refers to Spirit baptism
In the NT we discover that there are two kinds of baptism for the believer. One is water baptism (which we are familiar with), and the other is called Spirit baptism.
13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
Spiritual baptism takes place at the moment of our salvation. All Christians are already baptized by the Spirit of God. The moment you place your faith in Jesus Christ one of the spiritual benefits that your receive is that you are baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ. You are united to the body of Christ. One of the works of the Holy Spirit as a part of our salvation is that we are spiritually united to Christ, to His body, and to every other believer.
One of the incredible benefits of our union with Christ is that we also share in the benefits of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
Don’t you know that all of us who have been baptized (by the Holy Spirit) into Christ (into His body) were also baptized into his death? Because we were untied to Christ by the Spirit we share in the benefits of the death of Christ!
This is a very possible explanation.
Some suggest it refers to believer’s water baptism which symbolically identifies believers with Jesus Christ and His death
Some suggest it refers to believer’s water baptism which symbolically identifies believers with Jesus Christ and His death
Romans 6:3 (ESV)
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been BAPTIZED INTO Christ Jesus were BAPTIZED INTO his death?
What is the meaning of BAPTIZED INTO?
Two Greek words used together: “baptizein eis”
When these two words are used together they commonly form an idiom which has the idea of IDENTIFICATION.
11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
John baptizes in water into (“eis”) repentance.
The meaning here is one of identification. Repentance is an abstract idea. What does it mean to be baptized into an abstract concept? John helps us understand that those who were being baptized into repentance were people who already possessed repentance. John baptized them because they were already repenting. John came and preached to them a message of repentance, and those who responded to John’s message by repenting, by turning away from their sin, they got baptized to indicate to the rest of the world that they identified as people who were already repenting. Repentance was characteristic of them before they were baptized.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Here we are told by Jesus how to make disciples. We are commanded by Jesus to make disciples, in part by baptizing them into (“eis”) the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
If you want to be an obedient follower of Jesus Christ, if you want to be His disciple, you must be baptized by water into His name. What does it mean to be baptized into a name?
To be baptized into a person or into a person’s name means to be identified with that person through baptism.
This is one of the first steps of obedience for a disciple of Jesus. If you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, if you have received the gift of salvation through Christ alone, your sins have been forgiven and you have been counted righteous in God’s sight, then Jesus wants His followers to identify themselves with His name. When you obey Jesus’ command and become baptized by water, it is that event that baptizes you into His name- baptism identifies you with His name.
I think that is Paul’s message in Romans 6:3
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
Don’t you know? If you are a Christian you should already know this? Why? Because in Paul’s day there was no such thing as an unbaptized Christian. They did not exist. People who put their faith in Christ and were saved, immediately identified themselves with Christ through baptism.
So Paul can say to them, you should ALL know this because you have all been baptized.
And the significance of your baptism is argument enough to stop living in sin.
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus. Those of you who have trusted Jesus for your salvation and then have followed Jesus in baptism, your baptism identified you as someone who is in Christ Jesus. Your water baptism is an outward symbol of an inward reality that has already taken place. If you are a Christian then you have been united to Christ, you are IN CHRIST. It is this very truth that you publically professed through water baptism. When you followed Christ in water baptism you publically professed to the world that you identify yourself as a Christian. Your baptism was a badge (so to speak) to the world that you are IN CHRIST. That you identify with Christ. And not only that you identify with Christ, but that because you are in Christ by means of your salvation, you also identify with His death.
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ (we identified with Christ) were baptized into his death? (we identified with the death of Christ)
What does that mean? Our baptism was an outward symbol that we have been united to Christ and that we are trusting in His death, burial, and resurrection. And that we share in the benefits of His death!
All of the benefits of the death of Christ are my benefits! Let me repeat that … ALL of the benefits of the death of Christ are MINE!
I am united with Christ, and my baptism was a picture of that reality. And my baptism was a picture of my sharing in the death of Christ!
Shall we go on sinning that grace may abound? Don’t you know that when you followed the Lord Jesus in believer’s baptism that you publically proclaimed an identification? Don’t you know that you share in Christ’s death? How can you go on sinning if you truly know who you are in Christ? How can you go on sinning when you publically identified with Christ? God forbid that we continue in sin knowing what we know about our reality in Christ! We are united to Christ, we are identified with Christ, and we share in the benefits of 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.
4συνετάφημεν οὖν αὐτῷ
Therefore, we were buried together with Him
διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος
through baptism
εἰς τὸν θάνατον,
into death,
You also identified yourself through your baptism with the burial of Jesus Christ. What does that mean?
When we identified as a Christian, we also identified as one who participates in the death of Christ. One who identifies with the death of Christ also identifies with the burial together with Christ.
Notice who powerful this is! In God’s eyes when Christ died, you died with Him! When Christ was buried, you were buried with Him!
20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
This is the power of our union with Christ! When Christ died, I died with Him. The benefits of His death are MINE!
6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
This is the power of our union with Christ! When Christ was raised up from the dead, I was raised from the dead! The benefits of his resurrection are MINE! So much so, that God already sees me seated with Christ in heavenly places!
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.
So too when Christ was buried, I was buried together with Him. The benefits of His burial are MINE! What are the benefits of Christ’s burial? The burial of Christ indicates the reality of His death. He really did die, and His death was final and definitive! So too my death to sin and its power and its penalty are final! My death to sin is definitive, beyond question, absolutely certain.
39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”
39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
He really is dead! He has been dead for four days, and he is buried. He is so dead he stinketh. It is certain, final, and definitive!
Believer, so too is your death to sin. And you should know this! If you are a Christian, and have followed the Lord in baptism, you gave public testimony to this very reality! You identified yourself as one buried together with Christ!
By the way- this is one of the important reasons we baptize by immersion! Your baptism is meant to picture the reality that has already taken place in you through your union with Christ. Your baptism is an external symbol or badge that you are one who had died with Christ, who has been buried together with Christ! This is exactly pictured when you are plunged down under the water! Sprinkling or pouring does not give testimony to the inward reality that you have died and have been buried together with Christ!
If you have never followed Jesus in obedience through baptism I invite you to do that soon. Why would you not want to publically identify yourself with Jesus?
Notice our baptism also identifies us as ones who share in the benefits of the resurrection of Christ.
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.
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.
Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? Absolutely not! Don’t you know who you are Christian? Don’t you remember what your baptism signified? Don’t you remember who you publically identified with? You identified yourself as a follower of Jesus Christ. And as an individual who has been united to Christ, and therefore united to His death, burial, and resurrection. If you know these things you would be insane to willfully desire to continue in sin!
The third truth we need to understand so that we might stop living in sin is:
III. Our union with Christ rightly understood compels us to godly living
III. Our union with Christ rightly understood compels us to godly living
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.
Our union with Christ means we share in the benefits of the death of Christ and the burial of Christ and the future resurrection of Christ! We are guaranteed, because of our union with Christ, to be resurrected from the dead one day!
5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
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.
But that certainty of participating in the future resurrection from the dead not only affects my eternal destiny, it is so powerful that it affects my day to day living right now!
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.
Paul tells us that we are already benefiting from the power and influence of the resurrection. In other words, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ both empower and summon the believer to live a new kind of life right now.
As we understand rightly the power of our union with Christ it compels us to walk in a new way. Our lives become practically transformed. I no longer live my life according to the old manner. I know long live the way I used to live when I was under the realm of sin and the dominion of death. I am live my life in a new manner- I walk in newness of life. My life changes, as one who is dead to sin, and as one who shares in the benefits of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ- I can right now live my life unto righteousness!
The very question- shall we continue in sin— becomes absolutely ludicrous!
Continue in sin? Don’t you know who I am? Don’t you know what is true of me? I am united to Christ, I am in Christ. I share in His death and burial and I also share in the power of his resurrection. Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father! That same glory is at work in my life right now empowering me and compelling me to walk in newness of life!
What must we understand concerning our union with Christ so that we can stop living in sin?
Know these truths about who you are believer!
I. Your union with Christ transferred you from the realm of sin to the realm of grace
II. Your union with Christ caused you to share in the benefits of his death, burial, and resurrection
III. Your union with Christ rightly understood compels you to godly living
Don’t you know who you are? Live like it!