The Expository Study of Romans

Transcription

1 Dead to Sin, Alive to God: Romans 6:5-6 Introduction For the last two weeks we have looked at the first 4 verses of Romans 6. o As the letter transitions into the subject of sanctification, Paul has set out to answer a very important question. Shall we continue in sin, o that grace may abound? In response to that question o Paul has pointed out that we are dead to sin. If we are dead to sin, how can we continue to live any longer therein? Something wonderful happened in our lives o when we encountered the cross of Jesus, when we surrendered our whole self to him, and He came to live inside of us. Sir, Ma am, you are not who you used to be. o Everything changed on that day. You ve been given a brand new life and you should live like it. o Paul s entire point here is that we must live a changed life! We must live a life that reflects o what happened to us when faith compelled us to obey the gospel of Jesus Christ. From verses 3-14, Paul introduces three crucial steps o to living the life of an overcomer. The first of those three steps is Know. o And that s where we left off last week. The believer needs to know o what happened to them when they encountered salvation. The second step is that the believer must reckon o what they know to be true in their own lives. They must count it as being real. The final step is that they must yield their lives to God o on the basis of what they now know and reckon to be true. Paul spends the most time on the first step, o beginning with the question of Know ye not?

2 Don t you know what happened to you in baptism? We started that segment last week by covering verses 3 and 4. o We will continue in it this week, with verse 5 and 6: Text: Romans 6:3-4 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. Exposition 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Verse 4 ended with the statement o that we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. o Now verse five continues that line of thought. If we identify with Christ s death, we will certainly identify with His resurrection o and live a transformed life. We understand that, o in order to be saved, we must be crucified with Christ. But Paul wants to make sure o that we further understand that if we died with Christ then we must be raised with him to walk in the newness of life. o One follows the other. In Christ, death cannot be the end of the story. o What is buried in his likeness must rise to walk in new life. o We cannot die in Christ and remain dead because Christ did not remain dead! To explain that idea, o Paul introduces the image of a seed that is planted in the ground.

3 If you bury a seed in the ground, o you expect life to spring from it. You have the expectation that what is buried in death o will spring forth in new life. o So, Paul says, if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. We were buried with him in baptism. o Like the seed, we were planted. But, unlike the seed, we were planted in unity with another. o We were buried with him, baptized into his likeness, o there is a definite spiritual element here that cannot be faithfully represented in the natural word picture o of a seed that is planted o and springs forth in new life. The word translated as planted together in the KJV o means united, grown together. It is commonly used for the joining of two things that proceed to grow together in unity. o It is used to describe the fusing together of a broken bone or the grafting of a new branch into an old tree. o The analogy in play here is not just that we were buried like Christ. Instead we were buried into Christ. o There was a joining together that took place. We were planted together in the likeness of his death and we shall also be united in the likeness of his resurrection. The end goal then, of death in Christ, is resurrection. o We talked about this last week but there is a definite spiritual side to this discussion. o When we die with Christ in Repentance. We are buried with Christ in baptism. And Paul says that which was buried, o was buried with the expectation o that new life would spring forth. o We are united with Him in his new life,

4 when his spirit comes to live inside of us. o When God fills us with the Holy Ghost, there is a fusing together, a unifying experience that takes place, where it is no longer just me, o but Christ lives in me. o I was joined to him in baptism and now I am joined with him in this new life. The main point here o is that resurrection is the expected outcome of burial. If I have repented of my sins and been baptized in his name, o it naturally follows o that new life will spring forth. o This is why Peter told the crowd on the day of Pentecost: Repent, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins o and ye SHALL receive o the gift of the Holy Ghost. o That is the expectation. If you repent, you will receive the gift. If you are buried with him, o you will arise to walk in the newness of life. o The seed that is planted, is planted with the expectation that new life will spring forth. o The gift of the Holy Ghost follows baptism as naturally as new life follows the planting of a seed. 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. In order to make sure that we understand that, o Paul goes back to what we should know. Our old man was crucified with him o that the body of sin might be destroyed so that we would be set free. This happened so that we would not have to serve sin any longer. o This is one of those things that we must know.

5 We must know that our old man was crucified with Christ o that the body of sin o might be destroyed. When a seed is planted in the earth, o the body of it is destroyed so that the germ, that central life giving core, might live. o In the very center of a seed, which for all intents and purposes looks dead, is the germ of life. o The husk of the seed surrounds the germ. When the seed is planted in the ground the husk is destroyed, o it decomposes o and breaks down in the soil. o That process of death and decomposition provides the nutrient rich environment that causes the germ o to spring to life. o The body, quiet literally dies, so that the new life might be born. This is what Paul is talking about. o The body of sin must die in repentance and be buried in baptism so that we might live in the newness of life. o By the destruction of the body of sin, our old man, our wicked, corrupt, and fleshly self, o is to be crucified. It is to be as truly slain o as Christ was crucified. o That death is to be as complete as the death of Jesus on the Cross, so that the new life may be as real o as the resurrection. Adam Clarke said it this way: o Jesus Christ took on him a body; a body in the likeness of sinful flesh; and gave up that body to death; through which death alone

6 an atonement was made for sin, and the way laid open for the life-giving Spirit, o to have the fullest access to, o and the most powerful operation in, the human heart. He died so that I might live. o So in Christ, I die that the life of his spirit might reign in me. In the context of this verse, the body of sin is the old man. o It is the old sin-dominated personality, the old sinful lifestyle, which was lived under the dominion of sin. Let me be very clear about this: It is not the sin nature. o The salvation experience moves us out from under sin s dominion. But it does not take away the sin nature. o We once walked in the flesh. We were once in bondage to sin. We lived under sin s dominion. o Sin controlled us. o But not any longer. o When we died to sin, we were loosed from the dominion of sin. o However, it has been evident from the very beginning of this chapter that, though it is a tragic circumstance, o it is possible for someone who has been freed from sin s dominion to continue to live in sin. o This is why Paul admonishes us in Galatians 5:16-17: 16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. The flesh lusts against the spirit. o Ultimately, we are still flesh and we still have the capacity to sin. o We still have a sinful nature with its desire to sin. Now, make no mistake about it,

7 we are no longer under the control of the sinful nature. o We have been set free from sin s dominion. But there is still a sin nature in our flesh that must be contended with. o What has changed is that we used to be the slaves of sin but now we have power over sin. o We used to have no choice in the matter but now we have been given authority in Jesus Christ over sin. o We must, however, choose to exercise that authority. He will not force us to live right. He will not force us to have victory over sin. We must exercise the freedom that he has given us. We must determine to walk in the newness of life! When we are born again o there is to be a radical inward change that takes place inside us. o The old man is mortified in repentance, he is buried in baptism and that experience provides o the nutrient rich spiritual environment from which new life springs forth. o The resurrection process, the springing forth of new life, is a work of the Spirit of God o and can only be accomplished by his spirit. o When we receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, we are literally filled with His spirit. o New life is born within us, springing from the death of the old man and our burial with Christ, and that new life fuses us together with him in a spiritual sense. o It is no longer our life alone. Christ now lives within us. This new life o is the result of a work done by the spirit of God in our lives. Likewise, the call to live a separated, sanctified life, o is a call to a spiritual kind of living.

8 It can only be accomplished by the spirit of God living inside of us. This is why Paul said, in Galatians 5:16 o Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. The sin nature is still a very serious reality in your life. Your flesh is still real o and it still has the capacity o and even the desire to sin. o The key to overcoming the sin nature is to walk in the spirit. Listen, this is a spiritual thing, it cannot be accomplished o by your will power alone. This is why so many people struggle to live for God. o If you neglect spiritual things, you neglect the very source from which your new life springs. o If you don t pray. o If you don t fast. o If you don t read and study your bible. o If you don t make church a regular part of your life. If you never put any emphasis in your life at all on walking in the spirit, o then, mark my words, o you will fulfill the lusts of the flesh. o You will find yourself back under sin s dominion. This new life that was born in the spirit must be lived out in the spirit. That doesn t mean o that you have to isolate yourself to a monastery somewhere and essentially go to church 24/7. o But it does mean that you must allow the spirit of God that lives within you to influence every aspect of your life. o It means you must pray. You maintain a spirit of prayer. Always considering God in all things. o You must study his word and let it speak life into you o and you must deny your flesh. Fasting is important because it helps you keep your flesh

9 o under submission to your spirit. o If you are going to walk in the spirit, then you must do these things. You must allow the Holy Ghost o to be a vibrant, real, part of your life. The old man has been crucified with Christ o and has yielded control to the new man, the newness of life that was born within us when we received the baptism o of the Holy Ghost. o The flesh may still be characterized by lusts, temptations, and weaknesses but we now have the power o to resist its influence if we walk in the spirit. o We are not immune to its influence. We are not immune to the snares of sin. But we are not in bondage to them anymore. Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. o We must remember that this life is not my own. I live in Christ. Christ lives in me. I must walk after the spirit and not the flesh! that henceforth we should not serve sin Verse 6 ends with a powerful phrase: that henceforth we should not serve sin. o This is the reason why we have been crucified with Christ, buried in His name, and filled with his spirit, o that henceforth, from now on, we should not serve sin! o Sin may continue to attack us, temptation may still plague us, but we no longer serve it.

10 o Satan will still desire to ensnare us and even enslave us again but we do not have to fall into his trap. o We have been filled with the spirit of God, we have a new life and that new life is not subject o to the dominion of sin! Explain the importance of a beachhead from a military perspective. o It gives a foothold on the mainland. Close o It provides a secure place from which to launch attacks, a base from which to battle the enemy. As long as you have a fleshly body, o the sin nature will have a beachhead in your life from which to attempt to launch attacks. Your flesh will tempt you. o The lust of the eyes, o the lust of the flesh, o the pride of life, these things will continue to plague your heart. o But here s the key: You are no longer under their control. You now have a choice. You must choose to walk after the spirit and not after the flesh. o You must choose to walk in the newness of life. Sure you will be tempted. Sure you will be tested. Sure your flesh is going to war against your spirit. But you have been made an overcomer. What if you make a mistake? o What if you fall down? What if sin becomes what John Macarthur called o the heart-breaking exception in your life? You were trying to live right, you had the best of intentions, o but you failed somehow. Are you forever condemned to return to a life of bondage to sin? o Does it forever erase the wonderful overcoming power

11 of this new life inside of you? No. Absolutely not. You have an advocate with the father o through the blood of Jesus Christ. The believer should not live in sin. The believer should not live under the dominion of sin. But, if, in am moment of weakness, o you fail God, perhaps like Peter failed so terribly on the night of the crucifixion. o Let me reassure you that the mercy of God is everlasting. The same blood that washed away all of your sins, o will cover you fresh and new today if you will simply humble yourself before him in repentance. We are supposed to live the life of an overcomer. o But the devil twists that sometimes into causing good people to believe that because of one mistake, o they are forever disqualified from a life of serving God. o Don t take the bait of Satan, the mercy of God is still real, you can still be an overcomer. o There is mercy and grace at the foot of the cross and the life-giving power of the Holy Ghost can still help you to be an overcomer. The key is walking in the spirit. o Flesh is flesh and it will lead you to sin and destruction every time. o We cannot afford to walk after the flesh. If we do, we are flirting with spiritual shipwreck. o We must walk in the spirit. That s the key to this powerful new life that has been birthed within us!