New Life In Jesus
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Last week we spoke about , Hope, Peace,Joy and Love
The same topics that we preach during Advent - leading up to Christmas
Paul now moves from Justification ( our standing with God) to Sanctification
Growing and being more like Jesus.
This Chapter really deals with “Freedom”.
Lets read it and talk about it.
Scripture
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?
2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?
4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,
6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
7 for he who has died is freed from sin.
8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.
10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,
13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!
16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?
17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed,
18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
21 Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death.
22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul uses the word “WE” which means - we Christians. This is addressed to you and I.
He asked Questions
Should we continue in Sin - the answer is no.
Does it mean we wont struggle with sin - NO - it means we have the power to overcome it.
WE ARE CALLED TO WALK IN NEWNESS OF LIFE.
As believers you are free from sins dominance.
You have a new Master - Your old Master doesn’t want to let you go, but you are no longer his.
Jesus has broken the power of your old Master.
Your chains have been unlocked - It is up to you to walk out of the prison.
Where sin abounds grace abounds more.
Some believe that once your saved there is no chance of losing your salvation so it really doesn’t matter what you do in this life because it will all work out in the wash in the end anyways.
How many of us have heard the phrases like
It’ll be fine
Your alright don’t worry about it
Its OK God God knows your just human.
Today it seems like everyone is going to heaven- there is no need for holiness - just live life to the fullest and have fun. As long as your happy. Sin is nothing more than a concept and because of relativism - ( knowledge , truth , morality are not absolutes) sin is meaningless.
That is why people don’t think it is sin to have drag shows to little kids at a public library.
Homosexuality is a cultural norm so it cant be sin. Drug abuse is to a point where people are saying maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to legalize everything.
People now call good evil and evil good. - look at our college campuses and the what has been said about Israel in the midst of a evil terror attack.
Sin has a term in theology called Hamartiology –
This disease is evident in
Creation, History, Human Logic, Human Conscience, Human Experience, and Religion Declares it
It is one of the only diseases that people will deny even as they are dying.
Religious Cults Deny it – such as Christian Science – Spiritualists- Unity- Atheists –
It is the terminal disease called SIN
12 There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
19 “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.
Paul says we have died to sin - He gives us the illustration of Baptism-
Baptism into death - We died to the old sinful life - because Christ triumphed over sin and death at the cross.
Baptism into life - His resurrection and ascension - brings us along with Him into life.
We identify with Christ.
You are proud to call yourself Christian - In the early church this could be your death sentence.
People could call themselves Christian all day long. But confess your sins as everyone is watching- immersing yourself in Christ is a completely different story.
Baptism followed immediately after a persons decision to follow Christ
It signifies as He died we die
It signifies as he rose to life so do we. Not only in this life but the one to follow
That is why it was immersion - we are now free from the filth and the shame.
Now you have a totally new start.
27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
You are officially dead to the master of sin.
Sin wants to make you obey its passions . It is like a beast that wants to get out.
Sin might trouble you but will not dominate you when your under grace.
We do have a challenge in the church I call it “ presumptive grace” Bonhoeffer called it “cheap grace.”
cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.
Cheap grace, Bonhoeffer says, is to hear the gospel preached as follows: "Of course you have sinned, but now everything is forgiven, so you can stay as you are and enjoy the consolations of forgiveness." The main defect of such a proclamation is that it contains no demand for discipleship. In contrast to costly grace,
costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus, it comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. It is costly because it compels a man to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says: "My yoke is easy and my burden is light."
It is a call to obedience - Not just obedience but enthusiastic obedience
Obedience leads to righteousness and obedience leads to growth. (sanctification)
Sanctification is by the Holy Spirit
How do we operate in obedience?
Be a non conformist
14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance,
If we realize most people are sheep, just following each other. possibly to death, like bison or sheep going over a cliff. We then say to ourselves Im not going down this road, I know where it leads to.
The rich young ruler “came to his senses” then returned to safety.
You are called to be an instrument of God - Used by him AMEN.
We really are a symphony to the goodness, greatness and love of God -
In Christ we are free - verse 22 says “derive your benefit”
The word derive means fruit. In other words immeasurable benefits.
We produce fruit that glorifies our father in heaven- AMEN
Conclusion
How can we display our fruit to the world?