If you’re our guest this morning then you may not know that since earlier this Spring I’ve been preaching through Paul’s letter to the Romans. In fact, this is the sixth sermon in our study—but we’ve had a few weeks worth of interruptions lately so before we continue, I think it would be wise for us to stop and review the main thrust of Paul’s letter thus far. And ,as I prayed this week in deciding how best to refresh our minds on all we’ve learned, God reminded me that, in His providence, a review of our study of Romans has already been built into the worship schedule, because today is Communion Sunday and Communion is a powerful object lesson that underscores the central message of the verses we’ve studied together thus far. As we partake I would remind you that all Christians are encouraged to join us—even if you’re not a member of this church. After all, if you are His, this is yours.
[ COMMUNION SERVICE ]
Prayer:
Father God, Thank You.
Thank you for sending Your only Son to do what the law could not.
Thank You for making the forgiveness of our sins possible.Thank You for giving us what we don’t and could never deserve.
Thank Your for Your grace….expressed in sending Jesus to die in our place.I pray in His name…AMEN
Now, with the review that this picture of God’s amazing grace has given us fresh in our minds, let’s continue with our study of Romans. Turn to chapter 6 and follow along as I read.
1 – What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?
2 – By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
3- Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
4 – We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5 – If we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection.
6 – For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—
7 – —because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
8 – Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him.
9 – For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over Him.10 – The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God.
11 – In the same way, count yourselves 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 evil desires.
13 – Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness.
14 – For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
15 – What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!
16 – Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
17 – But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.
18 – You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
19 – I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.
20 – When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness.
21 – What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!
22 – But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Many of the commentators that I read this past week say that when it comes to helping us understand how to live the Christian life, there is no more significant passage of Scripture in the New Testament than the one we just read—and I would agree. In fact, I think this part of Paul’s letter answers a very important question—especially for this particular church family…namely, “What does a grace-driven Christian look like?” Or to put it another way, “How should the Christian life be lived?
Now—if you were to re-read the portion of Romans that comes before today’s text, you would see that everything up until now has been foundational and propositional. At this point in his letter things change. From here on out we will move into faith and practice…or to put it another way, we will move from JUSTIFICATION to SANCTIFICATION. We will go from focusing on that moment when we are saved from our sins through our individual faith in Jesus…to the years that follow and lead up until that moment we get to heaven and experience GLORIFICATION.
Now—I know that JUSTIFICATION, SANCTIFICATION and GLORIFICATION are familiar words—but to make sure we all are on the same sheet of music let me briefly define them. Justification is what happens in that moment when we understood what Jesus did on the cross and admit to God that we need His forgiveness. In that prayer of confession we are forgiven…our sins are washed away…and we are JUSTIFIED. We are made pure in God’s eyes. It’s JUST-AS-IF-I’D never sinned. GLORIFICATION is what happens the moment we die and enter heaven as we are finally made like Christ. Think of it as the “finish line” of the Christian life. SANCTIFICATION is what happens in the time that we live between those two other “ATIONS.” It’s defined as, “…the gracious and continuous operation of the Holy Spirit by which He delivers the justified sinner from the pollution of sin, renews his nature in the image of God, and enables him to perform good works.”
Now, I know that’s a mouthful and there won’t be a test to see if you remember it all—but there are a couple things I want you to be sure and understand.
- JUSTIFICATION is an act. SANCTIFICATION is a process.
- JUSTIFICATION is a moment-in-time transaction. SANCTIFICATION is a lifelong journey.
- In JUSTIFICATION God declares you to be a righteous person.
- In SANCTIFICATION God develops you into a righteous person.
Does that make these concepts clearer?
This morning I want us to look to this sixth chapter of Paul’s letter for three things that help us to know that, as Christians, we are indeed making progress when it comes to the process of SANCTIFICATION…three things that indicate that grace is indeed molding us to be more and more like Jesus…as we get closer to the finish line of life. So, once again, “What does a growing, maturing, GRACE-DRIVEN believer look like?”
(1) Paul reminds us that a growing Christian considers themselves DEAD to the power of sin.
You see, foundational to living the Christian life is this understanding that when we put our faith in Jesus—when we were JUSTIFIED—our old sinful self died and no longer needs to control us. As Paul puts it in verse 6, it was crucified with Jesus on the cross so its dead—powerless. Think of it this way—DEAD MEN DON’T SIN. They don’t do they! And maturing believers know that their old self is dead. It is lifeless and no longer has any real POWER over them. They know they don’t have to SIN—that, thanks to what Jesus did FOR them on the cross and offers to do IN them every day, they can be free from the control of sin.
Look back at verses 6, 7, and 11 where Paul says, “…we know that our old self was crucified with [JESUS] so that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
Have you heard of those “hidden pet fences?” It’s a wire under the ground that goes around the perimeter of your property and it’s used to keep your dog in your yard. Your pet wears a special collar and if he ever crosses the point where that wire is buried, he gets a friendly jolt that makes him think twice about leaving the yard in the future. Well, there’s a yard like that in our neighborhood. I know because the owners have a sign saying it is there and I can testify that it works. This family has a big red very hyper Irish Setter and whenever Sue and I walk by it comes running at us barking all the way but it always stops short of that invisible fence. It’s a slave to that electronic marvel.
I am told that after a while you can turn the invisible fence off, and your dog will still stay within those boundaries because he is “enslaved” to the fear that he will be shocked if he doesn’t. He can’t help himself…he’ll bark like crazy and run full-tilt toward people who walk by the house or a cat that happens comes near…but the moment he gets to that “invisible fence” he’ll put on the brakes. In my mind, sin is like that—it controls our actions such that we can’t help ourselves. In those days before we come to faith in Jesus when given the option—more often than not, we always stop short of God’s best. We can’t help ourselves. We always tend toward the selfish…the sinful. But—when we accept Jesus’ offer of grace—when we invite Him into our hearts and lives…well that “old sinful self” dies. As Paul says, it is crucified with Jesus on the cross and because it is dead, it need no longer control our actions. Well, truly grace-driven believers understand this. They know the “switch” on the power of sin has been turned off. There’s no voltage in it anymore. Their experience of grace FREES them to live for Jesus instead of self. So, when confronted with temptation—when they approach that “hidden fence” that used to dictate their actions—they think, “No…I don’t have to sin. I don’t have to stop short of Godliness—not anymore. That’s my old self. That’s not me anymore. It’s dead! I’m a new person and with Jesus’ help I can choose not to sin.”
St. Augustine, who was converted as an adult, was once approached by a woman who had been his mistress. When he saw her he turned and walked away quickly but she called out after him, “Augustine! It’s me! It’s me!” Quickening his pace, this new believer called back over his shoulder, “Yes, I know. But it’s no longer me.” Augustine knew that because of his experience of grace because of his faith in Jesus, his old self was dead. He had “died” to that way of thinking. He could now choose righteousness instead of sin. He understood that as Paul writes in 2nd Corinthians 5:17, “If anyone is IN CHRIST, he is a NEW creation. The old has gone, the NEW has come.”
Well, what about you? Do you COUNT yourself—CONSIDER yourself dead to sin? To you understand that as a Christian…as someone Who has been graced by God …you don’ t have to sin? Or are you still allowing your “dead” self to dictate your actions?
This leads to a second characteristic of GRACE-DRIVEN believers.
(2) Like Augustine, they have learned to decide every day to stop allowing sin to rule their lives.
Look back at verse 12 where Paul says, “Therefore—do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.”
The “THEREFORE” means that because of the fact that we consider the old self dead…we do something. We stop allowing it to rule our thinking and acting. You see, it’s not enough that we COUNT ourselves dead to sin, we have to consciously decide to live a different kind of life—a life that is set free from the power of sin. The early church fathers called this “the MORTIFICATION of sin,”—referring to the daily decision to put sin to death—and maturing believers embrace this way of living. This can involve changing your lifestyle by dying to sin in general or it can mean dying to one particular sin…some behavior or attitude that you really struggle with. But, in any case, Psalm 119:133 is a prayer that maturing believers learn to pray every day, “[God,] keep Your servant from willful sins; may they not RULE over me.”
The fact is many of us haven’t learned to make this decision. I say this because many of us are way too cozy with sin. We’re saved…but our daily decisions to yield to temptation in one form or another constantly hinders our spiritual growth…slows our sanctification. I’m reminded of the little boy who fell out of bed one night. His mom heard him crying, ran into the bedroom, picked him up and put him back in bed. After tucking him in, she asked, “Honey, why did you fall out of bed?” To which he answered, “I guess I stayed too close to where I got in.”
Well, are you making that mistake? Are you staying too close to where you “got in” to Christianity? Are you letting your old self—your DEAD self—rule? Do the words of this anonymous poem describe you?
“I lived for myself alone, for myself and none beside…
Just as if Jesus had never lived, and as if He had never died.”
Look back at verses 1 and 2 where Paul asks, “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? This phrase “by no means” is as blunt, forceful, and absolute as it can possibly be in the Greek. It literally means, “May it NEVER be!” The KJV translates it, “God forbid!” Phillips’ version says, “What a ghastly thought!” I guess in modern slang it would be, “No way!” Paul is saying it should be UNTHINKABLE that someone who has experienced the grace of God would decide over and over again to continually yield to sin.
In his book The Grip of Grace, Max Lucado writes, “How can we who have been made right not live righteous lives? How can we who have been loved not love? How can we who have been blessed not bless? How can we who have been given grace not live graciously?”
Paul is stunned that we would think an alternative would even exist. And wouldn’t you agree? I mean, how could grace lead to anything but gracious living? I’m sure you’re all thinking—of course it should! And—by the way pastor—I’d never treat God that way. I’d never cheapen His grace. But we do don’t we?! We do—DO the unthinkable! Over and over again we persist in letting our dead old self rule and when we do…when we sin…we are saying to God—not “by NO means,” but rather…“By ALL means, I choose to do this wrong thing, because I know that when I confess it to You, Your grace will about and You will forgive me…and then I can go and choose to sin again.”
Friends, if we are to grow spiritually…if we are to progress toward Christlikeness, we must learn that as Titus 2:11-12 says, “Grace…teaches us not to live against God nor to do the evil things the world wants us to do. Instead, that grace teaches us to live now in a WISE and right way and in a way that shows we serve God.”
And it is WISE to resist sin—it makes sense to live righteous lives. Look back at verse 21 & 22 where Paul says, “What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.” In other words—Paul is saying it’s a no-brainer!
I like how Lucado puts it. He writes, “Do you miss the guilt that sinning brings? Are you homesick for dishonesty? Do you have fond memories of being lied to and forgotten? Was life better when you were dejected and rejected? Do you have a longing to once again see a sinner in the mirror? It makes no sense to let sin rule.” And it doesn’t!
A third principle of spiritual maturity we find here is this…
(3) Growing believers choose to yield their whole body—every part—every aspect of life—to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
To review…grace-driven Christians UNDERSTAND that they are dead to sin’s control and because of that knowledge, they decide not to let sin rule and then finally, moment by moment—from head to toe—they choose to live for God. Look at verse 13 where Paul says, “Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life.”
As I inferred a moment ago—every day—a hundred times a day—you face the choice to serve sin or to serve God. Think of it like this. As Brian Bill, pastor of Pontiac Bible church says, “The parts of your body can be used for ROTTENNESS or RIGHTEOUSNESS.” So let me ask you some particularly personal questions…questions that will determine whether or not you have yielded every part of your body to Jesus. Let’s start with YOUR MIND. What thoughts do you entertain? Colossians 3:2-3 says, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Is your MIND set on things above? Or—do you dwell on earthly things? Is Jesus happy with the extent to which you have yielded your mind to Him?
What about your HEART? What do you value most…cherish most? On what are your emotions centered?
Let’s “look” at your EYES. Have you been using them to look at things you should not be looking at? Men—do you need to make the kind of pledge Job did in Job 31:1 when he said, “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl.” Women—do you need to make a similar covenant with Jesus or have you truly chosen to yield your eyes to Jesus?
Okay—what about your MOUTH? What kinds of statements come out of your lips most of the time? Proverbs 13:3 says, “He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.”
Let’s move on to the EARS…have you been listening to gossip, or slander? Proverbs 18:8 says, “The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down into a man’s inmost parts.”
What about your HANDS? Are you grasping the things of the world or are yo using your hands to serve?
Consider your FEET. Are they taking you where you shouldn’t be going or are your soles surrendered to the Savior? Psalm 37:31 says this about a righteous person, “The law of his God is in his heart; his feet do not slip.”
What about your INTIMATE PARTS? 1 Corinthians 6:13 says, “The body is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.” Is Jesus Lord of that part of your body? Is He pleased with your attitudes and actions in that area of your life?
One pastor put it this way, “When your lips become His, your eyes become His, your ears, your hands, your feet, all become His, do you know what’s going to happen? You’ll be His.”
And he’s right—it all comes down to a choice—a choice as to who you will serve in life? Who will be your master? Sin or righteousness? Self or Jesus? Maturing believers grow in their love of Jesus such that they change from the former kind of slavery to the latter. The more they understand and experience God’s grace—the more they experience the freedom that His rule brings—the more they grow in their love for God—well, the more they are compelled or ENSLAVED to live in ways that please Him.
Lucado writes,
“Of all the names I’ve been called, no one has ever accused me of being a neat freak. Some people have a high threshold of pain; I have a high threshold of sloppiness. Most of my life I’ve been a closet slob. I was slow to see the logic of neatness. Why make up your bed if you are going to sleep in it again tonight? Does it make sense to wash dishes after only one meal? Isn’t it easier to leave your clothes on the floor at the foot of the bed so they’ll be there when you get up and put them on? Is anything gained by putting the lid on the toothpaste tube tonight only to remove it again tomorrow? I was as compulsive as anyone, only I was compulsive about being messy. Life was too short to match your socks, just buy longer pants! Then I got married. Denalyn was so patient. She said she didn’t mind my habits…if I didn’t mind sleeping outside. Since I did…I began to change. I enrolled in a twelve-step program for slobs. (‘My name is Max…I hate to vacuum’) A physical therapist helped me rediscover the muscles used for hanging shirts and placing toilet paper on the holder. My nose was introduced to the fragrance of Pine Sol. By the time Denalyn’s parents came to visit, I was a new man. I could go three days without throwing a sock behind the couch. But then came the moment of truth. Denalyn went out of town for a week. Initially I reverted to the old man. I figured I’d be a slob for six days and clean up on the seventh.
But something strange happened, a curious discomfort. I couldn’t relax with dirty dishes in the sink. When I saw an empty potato-chip sack on the floor I—hang on to your hat—I bent over and picked it up! I actually put my bath towel back on the rack. What had happened to me?”
Indeed—what had happened? Max had entered into a love relationship with someone who had a higher standard than he and he allowed this relationship to change him. He’d become enslaved to cleanliness. This is the heart of Paul’s argument. He’s saying that when we truly let Jesus move in to our lives—things change. We put our houses in order out of love for Him. Grace drives us to do this. We find ourselves wanting to do good—to grace as we’ve been graced…to live in ways that please the God we love. As Paul puts it in verses 17-18, “In the past you were slaves to sin—sin controlled you. But thank God, you were freed from sin and now you are slaves of goodness.”
Okay, let me ask you—how GRACE-DRIVEN do you look? As you hold your life up against these three descriptions of a maturing Christian—how does your life compare?
Let us pray.
Father God, In the moments that are to come, open our eyes so that we can look clearly at our lives—help us to understand Who or what is truly our master in life. Help us to be free of the control of our old dead sinful self…so we can taste the true freedom and life that comes from being a slave of righteousness. Show us those parts of our lives that we need to turn over to Your control so that we will acknowledge Your reign in every aspect of life. But most of all Father—constantly remind us of Your grace—and use that reminder to compel us to live in ways that show how much we love You. I ask this in Jesus name. AMEN
As we stand and sing, I invite you to respond publically in any way you feel led. Come and profess your faith in Jesus…come and ask to join our church…but come as God leads.
BENEDICTION:
Let the PEACE OF CHRIST rule in your hearts
since as members of one body you were called to peace.Let the WORD OF CHRIST dwell in you richly
and whatever you do…in word or in deedDo it all in the NAME OF CHRIST
giving thanks to God the Father through Him