Romans 6:1-11
New Life in Christ
Welcome!
Would you open your Bibles to...
2Cor. 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Pray
Intro
√ Chapter 6 – the work of sanctification
Sanctification is the life-long process by which God separates us from our sin.
We understand that the believer does daily conflict with the Flesh (the old nature) which would keep us from sanctification.
In chapter 6 Paul gives us practical advise as to how we can work with God in the sanctification process.
His advise deals with 3 attitudes of the mind along with specific action by which the believer can cooperate with God as He transforms our lives.
Ex. Physical therapy
If you break your leg – a doctor can fix it. However, you won’t walk or run the way you did without help from a physical therapist.
But, the physical therapist can only help you if you work with him/her. If you resist the work of the therapist you’ll find that you will always walk with a limp – a constant reminder of the “old injury”.
To walk in a new way – without that nagging reminder – you have to work with the therapist.
Ap. Salvation is a work of God – we can’t do anything to earn forgiveness of sin or make ourselves righteous.
However, once saved by faith, God begins the work of sanctification in our life to make us more like Christ.
You can chose to work with Him and walk in newness of life…
…or you can resist His work and find yourself always carrying around the reminder that the old man is still got control of your life.
√ For you note takers they are Paul’s advise breaks down like this:
Vs. 1-4 Recognize your new life in Christ
Vs. 5-11 Reckon the old man dead
Vs. 12-14 Yield you body and mind to God’s will
Vs. 15-23 Serve God with all your strength
Recognize your New Life in Christ (vs. 1-4)
Rom. 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
Rom. 6:2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
Rom. 6:3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
Rom. 6:4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
√ Paul begins his discussion of sanctification by addressing a wrong conclusion that many of his critics came to – in context note 5:20…
Rom. 5:20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,
The unregenerate mind would hear this and say…
“That means if I sin more – God’s grace will abound more. Therefore, I can do whatever I want to do and God will be pleased!”
That however is a wrong conclusion! You will find that there are many people today who come to the Word of God with some preconceived idea of how they want to live…
…and then look for some scripture that they can twist to justify there sin!
Peter warned…
2Pet. 3:14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;
2Pet. 3:15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation--as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,
2Pet. 3:16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.
The point is that there have always been people who will twist the scripture to say what it is not saying.
Ap. If you don’t understand something – keep reading and praying. God’s Word must be interpreted in context with…
Itself
Nature of God as revealed in Jesus Christ
If it doesn’t fit that model – you’ve probably misunderstood the scripture and come to a wrong conclusion. Keep on studying and praying until you further instruction.
√ Note Paul’s response to the wrong conclusion that people might come to…
Rom. 6:2 Certainly not!…”
In our modern vernacular…
“No way dude!”
Why? Continuing in verse 2 Paul asks…
“How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”
That is, since we who have trusted in Christ have died to sin – how could we keep on sinning?!
Please understand that Paul isn’t saying that we are no longer capable of sinning…
…rather, having been freed from the power of sin – why would we want to place ourselves under that slavery again?
Ex. A freed captive doesn’t show up again at the prison in which he was held so that he can be imprisoned again!
√ Paul then illustrates this truth by calling our attention to the symbolism of baptism.
Rom. 6:3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
Rom. 6:4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
The symbolism of baptism communicates by means of a visible act what has taken place in our lives in the spiritual realm.
Ex. Down you go = dying to the old nature by faith in Christ.
Out you come = being raised up a new creation in Christ.
2Cor. 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Ex. The caterpillar that “dies” in the cocoon is raised up to new life as a butterfly.
Ap. Just as the butterfly can never go back to being a caterpillar, so we can never really go back to our old life.
You’re born again!
* This is one reason for my personal preference for baptism by full immersion – sprinkling someone’s head just doesn’t capture the picture of what’s happened.
Reckon the old man dead (vs. 5-11)
Rom. 6:5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,
Rom. 6:6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
Rom. 6:7 For he who has died has been freed from sin.
Rom. 6:8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
Rom. 6:9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.
Rom. 6:10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
Rom. 6:11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
√ Alright, so we understand that we’ve died to sin and we are to live for Christ…
…but I find that my old nature is still kicking!
Ex. I find myself still attracted to sinful behavior and thoughts!
What’s a Christian to do!?
Remember our physical therapist illustration? We’ve got to apply the Great Physician’s therapy to our lives and it starts with a new attitude in life.
Vs. 5-11 Reckon the old man dead
Vs. 12-14 Yield you body and mind to God’s will
Vs. 15-23 Serve God with all your strength
We’ll look at step 1 this morning and steps 2 and 3 next Sunday.
√ “Reckon”?
Let’s define “reckon” as the word here in the Bible isn’t the same as we might use it:
Ex. Pie eating contest
“I reckon (guess) he’s gonna eat the whole thing”
As used in vs. 11 Paul tells us to…
“…reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
That is literally, to keep on counting, or to keep on considering, or to keep on reminding yourself, that you are dead to sin.
J.B. Phillips translates it…
Rom. 6:11 In the same way look upon yourselves as dead to the appeal and power of sin but alive to God through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul is telling us that we must take on a new attitude in
life.
Why? Because there is a war going on between your flesh (the old man) and your spirit (the new man) in your mind.
What you decide in your mind will be manifest in your behavior.
It’s a daily battle in which we chose to identify ourselves “in” Christ and no longer a slave to sin.
For it is in Jesus that we find the power to say “no” to sin and “yes” to God.
Please understand that this is more than a mental exercise. It’s not the “power of positive thinking”. We can’t do anything apart from Christ.
Rather, as we reckon ourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus…
…the Lord imparts strength into our soul to live for Him and not for sin!
Ex. Spiritual weapons
2Cor. 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
2Cor. 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
2Cor. 10:5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
Ap. As you and I cry to God for help in those areas of our life where we struggle with sinful thoughts…
…we have His promise that He will bring those thoughts into captivity and into obedience to Christ!
√ What are the weapons that He has given us?
The Word: spend time daily in God’s word it will wash your mind! Eph. 5:26
Prayer: spend time daily in fellowship with Jesus – He imparts strength and wisdom – note the example of Jesus.
The Holy Spirit: God Himself in the Person of the Holy Spirit lives within us that He might transform us into His image. Acts 1:8.
√ On a practical level – use your time wisely
Fellowship: spend time with the saints not the “aints” – I Cor. 15:33 “evil company corrupts good habits”.
Communion: spend time at His table – the reminder of His sacrifice will help to purify your thoughts.
Ex. GIGO – what is true of a computer is also true of our minds!
Close
√ Let me close with this thought to help us understand what Paul is communicating in this section of scripture.
When Paul says that we are to be “dead to sin” – death means separation, not extinction!
So, sin is still with us, however, by identifying ourselves with Christ’s death we are separated from the power of sin.
Thus, the daily battle we face is to chose whether we will reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to Christ.
Or, to allow sin to reign in our body.
Ap. The choice is ours to make!
√ For next week look ahead at Paul’s advise
Vs. 12-14 Yield you
body and mind to God’s will
Vs. 15-23 Serve God
with all your strength