Romans 6 - "Delivered: Dead & Alive"
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Good morning!
Good morning!
“me”
Honor to be sharing the Word of God with each one of you this morning
Half excited… but also half terrified
Praying that God will move me out of the way… and that I would be a willing vessel this morning
Announcement about cry room- I am willing to share it
This morning, we will be in Romans 6 together
“we”
Before we dive in to Romans 6, I want to share one of the craziest, most exhilarating, adrenaline-inducing, yet scary memories Elle and I have to date
about a year ago, my wife Elle, my sister, myself, and a few strangers we had never met before all found ourselves in a village
It was the dead of night- pitch black with only a few street lamps burning
not your typical American village/ small town- it was a village designed and built to precisely resemble a village you’d find in the middle east
I was wearing a long. flowing, dress-like garment that went all the way down to my ankles. I was probably quite a sight to see
Elle, my sister, and the others were wearing similar things. Elle was cradling a baby doll in her arms
Soon, a low drone began to pierce the night air. Eventually, the full on whirl of aircraft began echo through the village. Several aircraft, surrounding the village on all sides, began to land beyond the edge of the village
After a couple anxious, tense minutes (that felt like years), soldiers emerged from the darkness with no hint of a warning
The soldiers had guns in their hands, pointed directly at us “villagers” (myself, Elle, my sister, and the others)
While they were clearly stocked with weapons, we were equipped with nothing more than a baby doll (does that count as a weapon?)
We were at the mercy of the soldiers and whatever commands they made. We followed whatever they told us to do with fear and trembling
Now you may be asking how this relates to Romans 6…
Often in my life (and I am sure others’ lives in here), temptation seems so powerful that it seems invincible. It sometimes seems inevitable that we will give in to its strength.
We believe temptation creeps in… then sin then grips our lives in a similar way to the soldiers overtaking the village. We here we are all the while, defenseless and overcome.
Just as the training session will always be vividly etched in my memory, our losses to the darkness of sin and death are often ingrained in our memory. Our consciences often seem seared by the temptations that we surrendered to and allowed to engulf us
The last time I stumbled into that old habit
The last time I used those hurtful words
The last time I fell as a victim to my anxiety, doubt, and hopeless thoughts
we feel as if we are a slave to our situations… slaves to sin
Although many of us think that sin is alive and well in our lives as followers of Christ, God is telling us that we are not only dead to the consequences of sin… but also dead to the power of sin.. and alive in Christ!
This message is entitled “Delivered: Dead & Alive”
Paradox much? How can you be both dead and alive?
The truth we all need to hear this morning is that we are no longer slaves to sin. We are no longer at its mercy. WE ARE DEAD TO SIN
We are ALIVE IN CHRIST because of what He accomplished
Let’s read and dive into these rock solid truths this morning
“God”
Read Romans 6:1-14
What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, since a person who has died is freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him, because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over him. For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness. For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under the law but under grace.
Pray
Let’s go on a journey together. Let’s allow our hearts and minds to experience the truth that we are dead to sin and alive in Christ
verses 1-2
to understand what’s going on here, we first need to go back at what Paul had just written in Romans 5
Romans 5:20
The law came along to multiply the trespass. But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more
Great news!!! But a problem arises really quickly
Here’s the important question: since grace abounds and covers our sin because of Jesus, can we just stop battling against sin?
After all, we do see that sin is powerful and can be fun for a short time
James 1:14-15
But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.
since it seems powerful and inevitable, let’s just let it happen
Or even further… the motive “grace will cover my sin, so grace is pretty much a license to live like hell and go to heaven” (Heitzig)
One thing we will do good to notice- Paul uses the word “know” multiple times in this passage (v. 3, 6, 9)
What you’ll find is, in many ways, Paul is working as a myth buster
Who remembers the tv show “MythBusters”?
do wacky things, like test to see if you could ride a motorcycle across water. Motorcycle Jesus
We find that the myth of a believer to continue in sin, or embrace and welcome sin, is demolished… by nothing else other than the Gospel
Now you may be wondering still about the middle east village story… what in the world did y’all do? Where were you??
Training exercise on a military base close to my hometown
We were volunteers for a military training exercise- training dummies, if you will
Even though it was “practice”, talkin’ about practice, the situation seemed so, so real. And so, so eye-opening! Yet it was not real- merely staged and choreographed
Our apparent dangerous and helpless situation was not all that it appeared to be… in the same way, the same thing can be said about sin’s apparent power in our lives
We are about to look at the pure, simple Gospel together… shall we?
dead to sin
the first part of the paradox, being “dead” to sin, is accomplished in Jesus’ complete victory on the cross
As Jesus died for sin on Calvary’s cross, He paid the debt in full that stood against us due to sin
This is known as justification
“Just as if I never sinned”
In addition to paying the debt we owed (but could never pay) in full, Jesus also took on the wages of sin for us (as given in Romans 6:23). And took care of it for us!
Rather than focus on the goose egg at the bottom of our tab…l we should see the immeasurable cost that Christ Jesus paid for us
If your meal gets paid at Feldman’s after church, you aren’t gonna be like “oh well that’s good. If I order more, will it get paid for too?”
No, you are going to be lookin’ for who paid for your meal!
Now don’t miss how we identify with Jesus in the midst of this
Those who have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior have been united with Him in the likeness of his death (verse 5)
Just as Jesus was buried in the tomb, we are buried in the waters of baptism
Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
alive in Christ
the second part of the paradox, being “alive” in Christ, is accomplished in Jesus’ triumph over the grave… in other words, the stone that was rolled away from the empty tomb
aren’t you thankful for the empty tomb?
This is amazing- we were buried in the likeness of His death in order that we could be like Him in His resurrection. That we could walk in newness of life no longer captive to sin and death
The whole Gospel message illustrates that we will no longer continue in sin, but rather, we would live in Christ’s life
Let us pay special care to not misunderstand this passage or scripture as a whole- we are not sinless or perfect after being united with Christ
...
yet the truth remains, this reality should transform our lives in a very real way. Let’s see how it should transform your life and my life
“you”
If you don’t hear anything else, here this and remember this: You are dead to sin and alive in Christ if you have confessed Jesus is Lord and believed in your heart that God raised Him from the dead
Romans 10:9
If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
If you have made this glorious decision, then you are free *everyone say free* from sin’s bondage.
The stone was rolled away. You aren’t trapped in sin and darkness any longer. Walk in freedom. Walk in light. Walk in holiness.
As long as Jesus Christ never dies again (we know with absolute certainty He won’t- He will reign and live forever)… you too will be dead to sin and alive to God
Allow the myth that sin still has power over you to be busted in your mind… allow the blindfold to be taken from your eyes
Plain and simple- you can say no
Still, here is the ultimate good news: because of what Jesus Christ has accomplished, the war is over.
Although battles rage on, and the spirit and flesh are still fighting, grace now reigns. Life now reigns. God now reigns. Is that good news this morning?
“we”
how can we apply this to our lives and live this out? I am glad you asked
Plain and simple- you can say no to temptation. You can choose to not sin. Romans 6:12-14
1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to bear it.
Whatever thoughts, doubts, anxieties, and fears may be plaguing your mind…
Whatever circumstances and hopeless situations continually fill your life…
Believe and see that those things of old are dead- buried with Christ! Powerless.
You haven’t been left to waste away in the sea of sorrow and forgetfulness, for Christ has called you to Himself. He beckons you to come near. He is preparing a place for you.
John 8:34-36