Voddie Baucham- Dead to Sin; Alive to Christ

well as we continue our journey through the book of Romans we have now come to Romans chapter 6 and today we'll examine verses 5 through 14 really we're looking at that section this section is chapter 6 verses 1 through 14 but it was important to break off those first four verses on last week to help get a basic grasp and theological understanding of how Paul is connecting chapter 6 to chapter 5 also we need to reiterate again and again that as we move through the book of Romans a couple of things one that the book of Romans like all the New Testament letters was meant to be read in a single setting it was not meant to be broken up into pieces per se in order for us to understand it now it's important for us to understand the component parts so that we understand the whole better but you have to understand it in light of the whole which is why it's important that we remember where we've been and where we're going now the first section of the first movement in the book of Romans is commonly understood to be the first four chapters the entire book is about justification in those first four chapters we see our need for justification and we also see the means by which we are justified and so we've seen in chapter 1 that the Gentiles are in need of justification because they're sinful without the law we see in chapter 2 the Jews need justification because they are sinful under the law you see in chapter 3 that all men are sinful and in need of justification and there in chapter 3 we see that God has made a way for that justification in the person and work of Jesus Christ there at the end of the chapter in chapter 4 we see that this is apply to us by faith those are those first four chapters that condense our understanding of justification we move the and in chapters 5 through 8 to this application of justification and specifically in chapters 5 through 8 we get a better picture of the outworking of justification commonly known as sanctification that's what's happening here in chapters 5 through 8 and it's important that we recognize what is happening here in chapter 6 by looking back and remembering what we saw in chapter 5 and that is the distinction between the first atom and the last atom we have to grasp that and understand the federal headship of the first atom and the federal headship of the last atom in order to grasp what's being spoken of here in what is one of the most complicated chapters in the book of Romans that is chapter 6 we understand in chapter 5 the federal headship of Adam and that because of the one man sin entered the world and death through sin so death passed through all of us sin pass through all of us because our federal head Adam our representative sinned he was our federal head he was our representative and he sinned we've used this illustration before but it bears repeating federal headship is best understood in the context of say for example a monarchy if we live in a monarchy our federal head is the king and if our federal head the King declares war on another Kingdom that means we because we are under our federal head are also at war with this other Kingdom ok that's federal headship our federal head we have federal headship in a sense here if our Congress instead of a king declaring war our Congress now now I'll just forget all of American history after World War two in order to hold on to what I'm saying here when our Congress is the only body that can declare war I know what you're thinking we've been in war since World War two we've never declared a war since World War two but just just just leave that alone for a minute all right our Congress is the only body it's our federal head that can declare war when our Congress declares war we are at war because our federal head has declared war Adam our federal head fell and send and in him we fell into sin but in Chapter five we see the good news that we have a new federal head in the last Adam who succeeded where the first Adam failed the last Adam is the federal head of all of those who belong to him and who are therefore in him by faith you get under the federal headship of the first Adam by birth amen by birth I thought you get under the headship of the first Adam by birth it is not some act that you commit later on in your life you do not make a decision later on in your life that you will align yourself with the first Adam you are born in sin and shaped in iniquity it is your birth that aligns you with your federal head Adam it is also birth that aligns you with your federal head Jesus it is the new birth it is being regenerate or being born again that unites you with your federal head Jesus Christ this is incredibly important to understand because if we don't get this we don't understand chapter 6 in chapter 6 verses 1 through 14 we see the picture of what justification does in granting the believer victory over sin I almost hesitate to say the words because there's so many caveats that need to be offered but justification grants to the believer victory over sin both eschatologically is that big word again remember eschatology eschaton the end of the age what we believe about the end of the age ultimate reality so eschatologically we know that we will ultimately have victory victory over sin but also in a temporal sense in the here and now we have victory over sin and we understand what that means when we understand Romans chapter six this is crucial but before we get there let me help you for just a moment see why it is difficult for us this goes to the heart of our understanding of the gospel and as we've said before we have a warped understanding of the gospel because of the culture in which we live we do not understand what the gospel is we do not understand what the gospel requires we do not understand what the gospel produces we don't speak gospel language and because of that when you get to the ideas presented in chapter 6 and our victory over sin we don't understand sanctification because we don't understand justification now what do I mean by that here's what here's what I mean when you ask a person what is the gospel most people in our culture will immediately begin to give you the plan of salvation not the gospel they give you the Romans wrote of you the plan of salvation and you something like that not a pronouncement of the redemptive work that God has accomplished in the person and work of Jesus Christ that's the gospel the gospel is an announcement of what Christ has accomplished that is the gospel that is the good news okay it's Christ his work not you and your work that's the message of the gospel now if we don't understand that we don't understand sanctification how does a person come to be in right relationship with God ask the average person in our culture and you'll hear phrases like this you'll hear phrases like they make a decision for Christ or your phrases like they invite Jesus in their heart or your he phrases like I have decided to follow Jesus or you'll hear phrases like I I gave my life to Christ hey didi notice the consistent theme running through all of this okay it's Frank Sinatra Salvation I did it my way okay it's what I did I decided I invited I opened I gave i-i-i-i that's the way we understand justification justification is achieved by me doing something in order to get in right relationship with God that's the classic Armenian understanding its synergism synergy two forces working together as opposed to understanding that justification is something that is granted to us by God by grace apart from anything that you or I could ever do that's how we're justifying God saves sinners but that's not the way we talk about salvation and the reason we don't talk about salvation that way is because we do not believe that we are saved that way we are Pelagian to the core again Pelagianism the idea that in the fall there is part of us that is untainted enough for us to be able to reason our way back to God for us to be able to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps for us to be able to decide for God not that we must be born again in order to even see the kingdom of heaven listen to this from Loreen Buettner I've quoted Loreen vet nurse a classic work the reformed doctrine of predestination the number of times I would hope that you would get this that you would that you would have this that you would read this but listen to a better he's quoting here but he says the tres between Calvinistic and our minion basis for morality is clearly stated in the following section of makhmud fetish the two great Springs by which men are moved are on the one hand conviction and idea and on the other emotion and sentiment as these control so the moral character will be shaped don't miss this if we believe that you are justified or you are saved by you deciding you committing you giving you opening whatever the case may be then what do we have to believe about how you're sanctified you deciding you committing it has to be it so if there is a sin problem in your life how do you deal with sin on the larger scale as in going from death to life while I dealt with it by making a decision and devoting or dedicating my life to Christ so if later on in my life I have another sin problem what I need to do we dedicate my life to Christ you follow that I did it the first time it didn't take so I need to do it again I need to redouble my efforts I need to dedicate myself again this alters everything this alters the way we evangelize if I believe for example that man is saved by his own initiative and inclination then how do i evangelize I have to get to that place in that man where I can motivate him to make the right decision how do you help someone who's fall into sin well from an Arminian perspective let's take for example someone who is violent someone is violent what do you do well maybe you give that person a proper outlet what would that look like a punching bag or mixed martial arts class you need to go somewhere where you can get that aggression out your problem is that you don't have the right outlet so you get the right outlet that'll take care of your violence problem that's not familiar how about this a proper understanding your violent because you don't understand and what you need to do is learn how to sympathize with your victims if you knew how your violence affected other people you wouldn't be violent perhaps you need a proper technique learn how to count to ten learn how to take the time out learn how to do whatever again or finally perhaps need a proper environment you need to avoid the triggers that make you violent this all ought to sound very familiar and I'm not talking about outside the church talking about inside the church all these things have one thing in common we believe that this is something other than a sin problem or worse we believe it is a sin problem but the way you overcome sin is by technique understanding will etc etc but if on the other hand we believe that salvation is a monitor gistic work synergistic God and man working together to save man monastic God's saving man by himself without man's help if we believe that salvation is monastic that also changes the way we evangelize if God saves sinners and God uses the foolishness of preaching and the foolishness of the gospel what's my goal my goal is to be as clear with the gospel as I possibly can because that's what God uses it's my goal to somehow manipulate the man into making a decision no because I realize I cannot do that salvation is a work of God so I proclaimed the gospel knowing that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation not my manipulation of man it also deals it also affects the way you help people deal with sin because if you were justified by God and his work in the gospel you are also going to be sanctified by God and his work in the gospel and that's Paul's argument here in Romans chapter 6 but he gives us the theological basis and foundation for it it's also by the way changes preaching it does it changes preaching I was I was taught preaching from an Armenian perspective not from a reformed or Calvinistic perspective so from an Armenian perspective if man gets saved by him you don't take an initiative with that part of him that's not affected by the fall my job is to affect that part of him that's not affected by the fall if man gets sanctified and gets better by him learning techniques or changing his environment things like that what do my sermons sound like five ways to have a happy life 10 ways to reduce stress four ways to overcome depression techniques techniques skills some of those things may be good by the way the things that we talked about you know it might not be bad to have a punching bag might not be bad to learn sympathy or empathy that might not be bad at all to learn to avoid certain circumstances right those things are not inherently bad but if I believe that they are the answer I've missed the mark so with that in mind let's look here we'll go back to verse one we'll read all the way through verse fourteen but we'll concentrate on five through fourteen what shall we say then by the way as we read we're going to read this a couple of times but as we read through the first time because I want you to understand that there are two things going on here all is talking about two separate ideas two separate themes two separate ways I want you to see how many times he reiterates this so the first time we read through it every time you see death or dead I'm reading the ESV so if you have the ESV every time you see death or dead would you read that aloud with me okay would you just read that aloud with me every time she deaf or dead what shall we say then are we to continue in sin that grace may abound by no means how can we who died to sin still live in it do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death we were buried there for 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 for if we have been we United with him in a death like his we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his we know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin for one who has died has been set free from sin now if we have died with Christ we believe that we will also live with him we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again death no longer has dominion over him for the death he died he died to sin once for all but the life he lives he lives to God so you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passions do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life and your members to God as instruments of righteousness for sin will have no dominion over you since you are not under law but grace do you think Paul's making a point here over and over and over and over and over again death death death death now when we read again we're not going to look for life because pretty much when you see death the obvious of that you see the life here's what I want us to look for as we read through it again we're going to start again at verse 1 and when you see in him or in Christ would you read out with me again what shall we say then are we to continue in sin that grace may abound by no means how can we who died to sin still live in it but excuse me do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death 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 two might walk in newness of life for if we have been united with him in a deathlike is we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his we know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin for one who has died has been set free from sin now if we have died with Christ we believe that we will also live with him we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again that no longer has dominion over him for the death he died he died to sin once for all but the life he lives he lives to God so you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body to make you obeys passions do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life and your members to God as instruments of righteousness for sin will have no dominion over you since you are not under law but under grace do you see that there's a definite pattern here there's the idea of death and the idea of life by the way that last statement in verse 14 also sums up the concept of death and life but it gives you under law verses under grace under law death under grace life so this is all about death and life it's all about Christ and his relationship to death and life and sin but it is about us in Christ and with Christ and what that has to do the implications thereof for our relationship to sin let's grasp this number one our victory over victory over sin rather is impossible for those in Adam victory over sin is impossible for those in Adam that's important to understand look at verses 6 & 9 look at verse 6 we know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin so before we were in Christ we were in Adam and when we were in Adam we were enslaved to sin look at verse 9 we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again death no longer has dominion over him so death had dominion over us because we were enslaved to sin so death as one commentator writes death and sin are sort of co-regent and one cannot reign without the other so death has dominion over us because we're enslaved to sin that is the lot in life for those of us who are under first Adam and his federal headship which is everyone who has not experienced the second birth that's everyone all of us apart from Christ are slaves to sin and under the Dominion of death every last one of us now as we say this again it's very important for us to understand this doctrine of total depravity what it means to be a slave to sin does that mean that a man is as bad as he could possibly be no by the mercy and common grace of God men are not as bad as they could be amen hallelujah praise the Lord okay every time you've seen some crime that is just absolutely heinous and you ask yourself how could anyone do something like that you know what there are a whole lot of things that you just learned but here's one thing you just learned people are not as bad as they could be because that's not common people are not as bad as it could be because that's not common you hear about something so horrendous that you can't you can barely wrap your mind around it listen if one human being could be that simple all of us could be that sinful but it is by God's grace that we are not and as bad as whatever it is that you heard about is it's still not as bad as it could be so if we're slaves to sin what does that look like let's go to our confession run the best confession Chapter nine on free will number one God has endured the will of man with that natural Liberty and power of acting upon choice that it is neither forced nor by any necessity of nature determined to do good or evil okay man it's not determined that man will do good or evil in Burke number two man in his state of innocence he had freedom and power to will and to do that which was good and well pleasing to God but yet was mutable so that he might fall from it number three man by his fall into a state of sin have wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation so as a natural man being altogether averse from that good and dead and sin is not able by his own strength to convert himself or to prepare himself there unto it is impossible for you to please God apart from regeneration it is impossible it is impossible you are fallen in your sin and you do according to your will but your will is absolutely bent toward sin evil and self-gratification it's like the classic illustration of the carnivore and the herbivore you think about the herbivore you know he only eats plants is he free to eat meat is the cow the cows an herbivore is the cow free to eat meat yes the cow is free to eat meat however the cows will will not choose to eat meat why because it is contrary to his nature so though it's there he's not going to choose it because it's contrary to his nature it's the same thing for those who are falling and Adam you are slave to sin righteousness is there but will you choose it no because it is contrary to your very nature and even when you do things that appear to be good because lost men do things that appear to be good it's sort of like you know a cow who's an herbivore who's going through and eating some grass and there happens to be you know a worm on the grass or an ant on the grass or whatever they might get eaten did it eat meat me yeah that wasn't its intention did the man do something that outwardly looked good yeah but righteousness wasn't his intention righteousness to the glory of God wasn't his attention two soldiers both fall on a grenade and save their respective units did they act out of righteousness was it necessarily a good act and a righteous act you can have one guy who fell on the grenade because literally he valued the lives of those around him and desired that they be saved and rescued and by God's grace he did that act to the glory of Almighty God you can have another guy who was just tired of the war can a man do something a man who is in Adam a man who was completely lost can he do something that looks like a righteous act yes does it all the time but if his motives a soft glorification self gratification and not the glory and honor of Almighty God that act though it appears righteous is actually sinful victory over sin is impossible those who are in Adam there is none righteous no not even one turn with me to the right we'll get there eventually in Chapter eight look at chapter 8 and let's begin at verse 5 for those who live according to the flesh set their minds and the things of the flesh but those who live according to the spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit for to set the mind on the flesh is death but to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace for the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God for it does not submit to God's law indeed it can not indeed it can not those who are in the flesh can not please God I don't write the mail I just deliver it the Bible says that if you are in Adam it is impossible for you to please God there's nothing that you do that is righteous nothing absolutely nothing by the way this is why it is such a travesty to preach moralism and not the gospel you have a man who's lost in his sin he is in the first Adam he is not in the last Adam there is nothing that he can do to please God but you set him in a church and give him five ways to have a happy life 10 ways reduce stress six ways to be a better husband so on and so forth so that he then goes and attempts in the flesh to do that which is impossible and feels better about himself while he's on his way on the Express train to hell because we've somehow communicated to him and all God's interested in is you following the right steps the only thing that matters is for you to be good in these ways know if you have not been born again it is impossible for you to please God nothing that you do is pleasing to God on your best day you deserve hell and the grave hear me on this for the sake of your soul hear me on this it's just as true however that victory over sin is inevitable for those who are in Christ look at 6 through 10 look first up respond verse 5 is the connector between the first paragraph 1 through 4 and the second paragraph and so verse 5 and we'll talk more about verse 5 in a minute but verse 5 says but for if we have been united with him and a deathlike is we shall certainly be united with him in the resurrection like his we know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin so we were slaves to sin but now because of the death of Christ in which we are united were no longer slaves to sin for one who has died has been set free from sin now if we have died with Christ we believe that we will also live with him we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again death no longer has dominion over him for the death he died he died to sin once for all but the life he lives he lives to God there is the truth and the reality about us that Paul is communicating he's also communicated this earlier if you look in verses 1 through 4 what shall we say then are we to continue in sin that grace may abound by no means make denied ah may it never be how can we who died to sin still living it do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death we were buried with him in 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 it's impossible it doesn't work it is inevitable that gos who are united to Christ will have victory over sin it's inevitable first John chapter 3 let's go there first John chapter 3 look beginning in verse 4 first John chapter 3 beginning verse 4 everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness sin is lawlessness you know that he appeared to take away sins and in him there is no sin no one who abides in him keeps on sinning no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him little children let no one deceive you whoever practices righteousness is righteous he as he is righteous whoever makes the practice of sinning is of the devil for the devil has been sinning from the beginning the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil no one born of God makes the practice of sinning for God's seed abides in him and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God it is inevitable that those who have been born again who are in Christ will be victorious over sin it's inevitable that makes us uncomfortable and I don't mean it makes us uncomfortable just because we don't understand what it means in the one sense it can make us uncomfortable is we can say well women are you saying that your sinlessness we heard on last week that that's not what paul is communicating here but even beyond that even if we know that Paul's not talking about sinlessness in this life it still makes us uncomfortable one of the reasons it makes us uncomfortable it's because this little fact we've heard this gospel the wrong way for so long and the gospel the wrong way is you are the one that did the work now some people will go so far you know they'll say now God does 99% of the work but you do the 1% that's you know the deciding factor that that's bid a grams famous line DL Moody famous line and deal Moody's famous tract he had this tract and on the outside of the tract was this it was a ballot and it was God Satan and you God has cast his vote Satan has cast his vote now it's time for you to cast the deciding vote that's how we understand salvation I cast the deciding vote I do the deciding work how do we understand sanctification sanctification is God has made it available for me but I've got to learn the steps and work the steps so that I can do the sanctification thing because we've been in that so long when people talk about victory over sin there's a little alarm that goes off in the back of our minds and that alarm that goes up in the back of our mind says oh no no no don't do that because then you get into that once saved always saved and people won't strive for righteousness Danger Danger Danger people won't strive for righteousness you only worry about that if you believe that sanctification is the result of people striving for righteousness I don't believe that your sanctification is not the result of what you strive for Paul is making clear that your sanctification is a result of what Christ has done and applying to your life so my hope is not that you would leave here with a whirring on your mind that is significant enough to keep you working the steps it works if you work it that's not my worry my worry is that you leave here remembering the source of your righteousness the person and work of Jesus Christ that you keep him in the forefront of your mind because that's your only hope of victory over sin guarantees it it guarantees it our mindset thirdly victory over sin is guaranteed by the work of Christ applied to believers scanty by the work of Christ applied to believers let's look a little more closely here at this text three types of hope our forensic hope our eschatological hope and our immediate or temporal hope first of all our forensic hope when you talk about justification from a forensic perspective that is when we talk about justification as in God has declared us righteous that that that forensic Lee or legally God has justified us he has put us in right relationship with himself so that's the first hope that we have we saw that in Romans chapters 1 through 4 and really we saw it in Romans chapter 3 that our hope our forensic hope is in God declaring us righteous by the finished work of Jesus Christ that's our forensic hope our forensic hope by the way gives us freedom or deliverance from the penalty of sin that's our forensic hope I have freedom from the penalty of sin I'm not going to die and go to hell because God has declared me righteous there's also however our eschatological hope our eschatological hope is hoped that we will one day me deliver from the very presence of sin not just the penalty of sin but the presence of sin that sin will be no more where's that hope come from well there's that connector verse 5 for if we have been united with him in a deathlike years we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his that's our eschatological hope there is a time coming when I am going to be free from the very presence of sin I will send no more that time however is not now it is a future hope this point right here in verse five clearly demonstrate that Paul too demonstrates that Paul is not teaching that believers come to a place where they are perfectly sanctified before their glorification that is not true that is an eschatological hope we don't have what is called an over realized eschatology and over realized eschatology is one that brings those things that are future into the present as though they are complete realities now that's an over realized eschatology but I do have a hope that I will one day could be delivered from the very presence of sin but hold on why look carefully at verse 5 for if we have been United with him in a deathlike years we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his someone had asked you before coming in here on what do you base your hope for resurrection what's your answer then just think about that for a moment what would your answer have been well my hope is based on what that's it let's give ourselves a benefit of that we really give him the right answer it's based on Christ and his finished work no it's based off because Christ and His finished work got him a resurrection a man how do you know it's going to get you one well because I believe in Christ in his resurrection so does the devil he was there amen what's the difference between you and him you are in Christ that's your hope of Resurrection you are in Christ we read it earlier did we not in him with him in Christ Jesus with Christ Jesus you are United with Christ you are in Christ the most beautiful picture of this you know I'm going go to Ephesians chapter one we've got to go to Ephesians chapter one and listen to the language of the same author here in Ephesians chapter one as he explains this picture Ephesians chapter one beginning at verse three this is critical it's the key to unlocking this doctrinal issue that can be so confusing blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him by the way we were elected unto what holiness holiness if there's no holiness you're not one of the elect so we do we get uncomfortable when we say wait a minute I get that our victory over sin is guaranteed and wait you know it's inevitable for those but yeah it is it is in love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will to the praise of his glorious grace with which he has blessed us in the beloved in him we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of grace which he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in him things in heaven and things on earth you are in Christ you are united with Christ the closest picture that we have to it is marriage by the way it features five makes that clerk let clear does it here's what's interesting mama when I die I've said this before but let me just let me say it again I die and they notify my next of kin they are not going to notify the woman who bore me in her womb the woman who nursed me from her breast the woman who cared for me clothed me fed me but they're not going to notify my mother because my mother is not my next of kin my wife is how does that happen to that covenant --kw Nyuh that we have that mirrors the union between the church and Christ we are in him which is why all that is his is ours because we are united with him therefore I'm going to have a rest of the resurrection of an eschatological hope but I also have a temporal hope why follow through in verse 6 follow the logic now in verse 6 he says we know that our also again we have hope of Resurrection when I die I'm going to heaven amen that's great I'm glad you believe that but what we have a harder time believing is that we're going to have victory over sin and then we're going to live in righteousness but the same principle that gives you hope of resurrection is the principle that gives you hope of righteousness Lee verse 6 we know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin for one who has died has been set free from sin who died Christ where were you when he died in him which means that that accrues to you his resurrection accrues to you but also this freedom from bondage to sin accrues to you as well we know that Christ verse 9 being raised from the dead will never die again death no longer has dominion over him why do we believe that we're going to have a resurrection because we believe that death no longer has dominion over us because we're in Christ next verse for the death he died he died to sin once for all but the life he lives he lives to God he did not just give you an eschatological hope he gave you a right now hope that right now because you are in him you live a life to God which is a life of holiness and righteousness that you did not earn for yourself but it was earned by the person and work of Jesus Christ that's your victory over sin it is a theological reality it is a theological truth it is as real as your hope of a coming resurrection so ok so uh what I do just sit there and let it happen here's the beauty of Paul's writing those are the indicative now come the imperatives the indicative that's what's true about you the imperatives it's what you do in light of and because of what's true about you in light of and because of what's true about you so now we get the verse eleven so you also must there's four things here number one consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ now before we go here let's just back up for a moment before we look at these four imperatives let's back up for a moment so that we don't undo what we just did because we could we could undo what we just did and here's a list of four things that you got to go do go work hard for your sanctification no okay hold on these things we do because of what Christ has done these things we do as a result of what Christ has done so when he gives us these imperatives it's sort of like I'm not used to those two illustrations here it's sort of like in order to understand this and I mean using illustrations because of words and phrases that the Apostle uses okay one is military illustration because he uses military terms here when he says that we offer ourselves God just tools for righteousness it's a military term it's weapons for righteousness so it's a military term and so we've all seen the film's it's d-day World War two greatest military assault in the history of warfare and we'd miss speeches there's always the speech that happens right before you storm the beaches or the speech that happens right before Easy Company goes and jumps out of the airplane they get the speech and in the speech there's always that moment where the commanding officer says something like remember your training you are ready for this you are prepared for this remember your trick now is the commanding officer saying that the act you remembering your training is what really makes the difference no the training is what makes the difference he's just trying to encourage these soldiers to rely on that thing that matters most rely on the training that we get for us as believers it's not remember your training it's remember your victory that you have in Christ so here in verse 11 look at what he says he says so you must also consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus remember your training don't be afraid don't worry about the outcome do what you've been trained to do that's what the commanding officer says what we're being told is Christ has won the victory you consider and you reckon yourself in him that doesn't make you in him it just reminds you of what is true remember what is true your victory over sin comes when you remember what is true the other illustration is the illustration of slavery illustrate that that's it runs throughout this whole chapter the idea of slaves to sin we have in our nation's history a vivid illustration of this truth amendment thirteen slavery abolished December 6 1865 ratified December 6 1865 so we just we just passed the one hundred and forty fifth anniversary of the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment and by the way was the Thirteenth Amendment not the Emancipation Proclamation that ended slavery the Emancipation Proclamation did not free a single slave it was the 13th amendment that ended slavery but listen to the Thirteenth Amendment odd way 13th amendment only into certain types of slavery listen to the 13th a minute neither slavery slavery nor involuntary servitude except as a punishment for crime wherefore the party shall be shall have been duly convicted shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction neither slavery nor involuntary servitude now if you take that middle Clause out then you do get a complete abolition of slavery it reads like this neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist within the United States or any place subject to its jurisdiction but there's that clause except that somebody's convicted of a crime then they can be put into involuntary servitude of slavery which we call penitentiary okay now December 6 1865 you're a slave your slave on a plantation in Mississippi Alabama or New York or Pennsylvania okay and it's December 6 1865 and in that moment you have your forensic freedom from slavery it's the law you're no longer a slave but every bone in your body knows nothing else every fiber of your being that was born on the plantation born into slavery and spent every day as a slave knows nothing else so if somebody would then say to you you're free live like a free man consider yourself free if you're considering yourself free what made you free no it's this declaration that made you free but if someone says consider yourself free they're just saying you need to think about yourself in accordance with that which is true regardless of what you feel or regardless of your circumstances secondly look at verse 12 let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passions there's the second one don't let sin reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passions don't let sin reign in your mortal but don't do it don't let sin reign in your mother by now again is this saying your victory over sin really comes as a result of you gird up your loins and not letting a bit know go back to the illustration the commanding officer when those doors open up everything in you is going to want to stay on those boats stay there you die when the door opens up do not listen to your fear move forward toward the beach to the slave all you've ever known is slavery all we've ever known is yourself as a second-class citizen but you are free remember that you are free and do not act like a slave anymore why am i reminding you because this is the source of your freedom no I'm reminding you because everything in you has been conditioned in the opposite direction and so I'm reminding you of what's already true because your conditioning in the opposite direction same thing was sin you were born in the first Adam Paul's reminding you consider yourself according to what God says it's true he's reminding you do not give yourself to that to what you no longer belong thirdly verse 13 do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life and your members to God as instruments of righteousness militaristic terminology here you're a weapon of righteousness not a weapon of unrighteousness there's a connection here it's not just don't give yourself over there but give yourself over here don't let sin reign in your mortal body give yourself to God that's how you don't let sin reign in your mortal body give yourself to God you come to the cross again and again and again that's how that's your victory it's the cross remind yourself consider it to be true don't give your members over there but give your members to God how do you give your members to God those ordinary means that's why you need to come to church and hear the gospel preached to get it again and again that's why we have the Lord suffer to remind us of his death and resurrection again and again that's why the goal of our singing is to remind you of that which is true again and again and again that's why you worship and your families on a regular basis because you need this again and again and again and to the degree that we give ourselves over and over and over to God and remind ourselves again and again and again of that which is true there's victory and here's the fourth thing I love this you get those imperatives and just in case you're about to run off the deep end and think that this is just about you and it's not about the indicative how does he sum it up in verse 14 he goes back to the indicative she look at verse 14 for sin will have no dominion over you since you are not under law but under grace sin will have no dominion over you because you're not under law you're under grace you don't live there anymore that is not your hope this is not works righteousness you're not Israel under the Old Covenant your covenant is not based on you standing here and say all these things we will do no your account is based on this this is the New Covenant in my blood Christ has accomplished it so does this mean that we're free from the law no the law is good we'll see that in chapter 7 but we're free to obey we weren't before we didn't have what it required before we were under the old Adam and everything in us was herbivore now our nature has been changed and you're a cow that can eat steak and nature's changed you're not the same so here's what Paul does here's all the theology to help you understand who you are in Christ and the victory that you have and here's what you do with it first thing he tells you to do with it is consider it to be true of you secondly don't give yourself to the campus you don't belong to more but thirdly give yourself to the one to whom you belong and right after it he says because all that theological truth that I told you before is true here's the truth here's what you do with it and oh by the way you do it because it's true the indicative and the imperative you do it because it's true when the door is open you get out and your head toward the beach your body's going to be saying but wait a minute that's where the guns are that a shooting at me don't listen to your body listen to your training you do what we've taught you to do now not what your old reflexes tell you to do you're doing what we taught you to do is your only hope of survival you're free now you're not a slave anymore but wait a minute I was born a slave all I've ever known is slavery I'm in a different class of people than this person I belong to this person no no you don't you're free don't act like a slave anymore although every fiber of your being has been conditioned to act like that and like nothing else there is another truth and another reality that overrides live in accordance with that truth in that reality those are the two illustrations that run through this passage Paul uses them both to say to you and to me you are no longer under the last Adam you are no longer a slave to sin you are no longer under death's Dominion you are no longer under the law you are now under the federal headship of the last Adam Christ and in him you have been victorious over death in him you will ultimately be free from the very presence of sin and your own bodily resurrection and in him in the meantime you live a life unto God and whereas every fiber of your being has been conditioned for your whole life to go in the opposite direction you believe what's true not what you were used to you live in accordance with what's true not with what was necessarily comfortable for you at a time in his book the mortification of sin John Owen uses this illustration Owen says what a man is being crucified at first he yells out and his cries are great but eventually they become fewer farther between not as noisy anymore oh there may be moments when he musters up the strength to crowd again in agony but they won't continue eventually and blood and life is gone he will lie there dead this one argues is what the mortification of sin is like when there is a sin that's used to controlling your life and you nail it to the cross it will cry out in agony and its cry will be great but if you leave it there eventually those cries become fewer and farther between they have less steam in them less energy in them less power in them and eventually their life force is gone and they die there on the cross that's the reality those of us who are in Christ their sin is nailed to the tree don't have pity on it leave it there let it die because you are in Christ and that's not yours anymore let's pray

Channel: Jab Junior

Views: 47,161

Rating: 4.7897725 out of 5

Keywords: Sin, reformed, theology, gospel

Id: Azzjfgv-TVE

Length: 68min 15sec (4095 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 31 2012