Dead to Sin; Alive to Christ
Romans 6:1-11
Vs. 1a
- “What shall we say then?” This question is Paul hearkening back to the last few verses of Romans, Chapter 5, specifically, Romans 5:20-21.
- These verses talk about “sin” and “death.”
- Some of you are saying, “Oh great! I’ve come to a church that is going to be talking about ‘sin’ and ‘death.’ Aren’t there more exciting subjects we could talk about?”
- Ex. I have this little article you might enjoy. It might illustrate that the wages of sin is death.
John invited his mother over for dinner. During the meal, John’s mother could not help but notice how beautiful John’s roommate was. She had long been suspicious of John’s relationship with his roommate and this only made her more curious.
As she watched the interaction of John and his roommate she began to wonder if there was more to the relationship than met the eye. Reading his mom’s thoughts, John said, “I know, Mom, what you must be thinking? But I assure you that Julie and I are just roommates.”
About a week later, Julie came to John and asked if he had seen the gravy ladle. Julie said, “Ever since your mother was here I haven’t been able to find that beautiful silver gravy ladle. You don’t suppose she took it do you?” John said, “I doubt it but I’ll write her a note just to make sure.” So, John wrote his mother a note: “Dear Mom, I’m not saying you did take the gravy ladle from my house, and I’m not saying you didn’t take the gravy ladle, but the fact remains that one has been missing since you came over for dinner.”
Several days later, John received a letter from his mother that read, “Dear Son, I’m not saying that you do sleep with Julie and I’m not saying that you don’t sleep with Julie, but the fact remains that if she was sleeping in her own bed, you would have found the gravy ladle by now!”
- And that’s with Mom. Guess how much easier it is for God to know our sin?
- So, we say, “Nobody’s perfect.” Why not? For this is what Paul is discussing.
- Why isn’t anybody perfect? What does it mean that we are not perfect? Why can’t anyone be perfect?
- Sin has come into the world and all of us must face it; we must all face our sin head on.
- Ex. People can say, “Oh that sin stuff? I don’t believe in sin. That’s just some archaic relic of the past that those right wing conspirators, those Bible thumpers, believe!”
- Yet, they have to look around and notice that everyone dies! A recent study has shown that there is 100% mortality in the human race!
- Romans 5:21 “sin reigned in death.”
- Ex. People try to redefine death but they can’t get away from it. In Lion King, the Disney movie, it was the “circle of life” and death was not mentioned, so you’re not dying, you’re just entering the “circle of life.”
- Ex. Awards for Double Speak: a hospital in Philadelphia received an award because instead of saying “death” or the “loss of patients,” they said it was “a diagnostic misadventure of high magnitude.” That is how they wrote it. Likewise, a hospital in California stopped using the term “death” and started calling it “a negative patient outcome.”
- For every 100 people born, 100 people die! This is the result of sin. Death reigned because of sin.
- We are worried about the “Atom bomb.” Well, an “Adam bomb” went off in the garden. No one beats the odds on this death.
- But, there is a second Adam, Jesus Christ. Just as sin was passed on to all men, so even more, our new Adam has passed on His life to all who believe.
This is where we are now in Romans
- Looking again at Romans 5:20-21, in the same way that sin has abounded in our lives, now grace can abound in our lives.
- In chapter 5 we learn that the penalty of sin has been dealt with, and in chapter 6, we will learn that the power of sin has been dealt with.
- In chapter 3-5 we have talked about justification; from chapter 6 onwards, we are talking about sanctification.
- In chapter 5 we hear about our change of position; in chapter 6 we hear about our change of condition.
- If we have been justified by faith through God’s grace, does that mean that we should just go out and sin all the more, because we are forgiven? Should we be as bad as we can, so God gets more glory?
- Now, Paul has a bunch of questions and answers:
Romans 6:1a
What shall we say then? Shall we continue to in sin that grace may abound?
Romans 6:15
What then? Shall we sin because we are under grace?
Romans 7:7
What shall we say then? Is the law sin?
Romans 8:31
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Each time that Paul answers a question, it generates another question and he builds around three different ideas in chapter 6.
- Paul’s progression in chapter 6 is from knowing to reckoning to yielding.
- How does all this work out in our lives? He is dealing with the mind (knowing); the reckoning (will); and our yielding (heart condition).
Vs. 1-2
- Every time you read about sin in this chapter, the definite article is used, meaning “the sin.”
- The principle of sin is being broken since we received Christ.
- The old man/ the sinful man/sin are all just talking about our fallen nature. It is deeper than our physical appetites!
- Ex. You know what it’s like when you go out to eat. You are already stuffed, and yet the dessert tray comes around and wow! it has nothing to do with your physical body, because you are stuffed, but you go for more; it is your carnal nature.
- This is what we wrestle with! This is our fallen nature!
- Ex. We can put on the religious exterior, but we still react to lustful images. For instance, we still react in traffic because that old nature is still there!
- Our flesh and Spirit are in a battle with each other! It is a pitched fight.
- Ex. I heard someone say one time, that most preachers today hit us with “No, no, no,” but what it should be is “Know, know, know”.
- I believe that spiritual information should lead to revelation, which should lead to transformation.
- Charles Spurgeon said, “Dead men don’t wrestle.”
- Before you were saved, you could go out and sin in abundance and no problem, but now as a Christian you have life within you, and you do wrestle with this battle with the flesh.
Vs. 3-4
- Is Paul talking about water baptism or spirit baptism here?
- He is talking about being “placed into” Christ. Adam infected our nature, but now we have been grafted into Christ, the second Adam.
- Just like we were placed into Adam as sinners, we are now placed into the newness of the second Adam, and we now have new lives!
Vs. 5-6
- You have died with Christ, and you have risen with Christ.
- Your life is now hidden with Christ.
- Do I understand all of this? No, but I don’t understand electricity either, but we flipped on the lights. I don’t understand the function of the eye, but I’m looking at you.
- We need to know, and realize, that we have entered into the death of Christ, and we have entered into his death and resurrection.
- We are washed in the blood of Christ; we have died and been raised with Him.
Vs. 6
- You are no longer a slave to sin! Go to a cemetery and listen. Lay down and listen and see if you hear anyone complaining with anyone else.
- If we are dead in Christ, the power of sin has been broken, and we should now enter into the resurrection of Christ.
- Remember what it was like being a slave to sin? It all became so worthless, so depressing, and so meaningless. Do we want that life again?
- You were a slave to sin! It mastered you! It was miserable!
Vs. 7-10
- The sin principle has been broken! But does that mean that we no longer struggle with sin?
- No, the Apostle John, near the end of his life says:
1John 1:8
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
- He knew about that sinful nature.
- However, in 1 John 3 he says we no longer “habitually sin.” This means that sin is no longer our lifestyle. Listen, if you have said that you have received Christ, but there is no change in your lifestyle and you’re still living in fornication or some other sin, you need to examine your life and see if you are really in the faith. I struggle with stuff too, but my life has drastically changed! I sin because I’m stupid, but sin is not holding a gun to my head saying “do it, do it, do it.”
- Through the power of the Holy Spirit, He has changed our value system, our lifestyle. You need to know that.
- Ex. The following sad statistics come from the Orange County Register: How do churches and pastors today of mainline churches view/stand on theological issues like biblical infallibility: “Many take a decidedly non-fundamentalist view, according to a survey of 7,441 ministers taken by sociologist Jeffery Hadden. Do you believe in Jesus Christ’s physical resurrection as a fact? 51% of Methodist ministers said no; 35% of Episcopalians said no; 33% of American Baptists said no; 30% of Presbyterians said no. Do you believe in the virgin birth of Jesus? 60% of Methodists ministers said no; 49% of Presbyterians said no; 44% of Episcopalians said no; 34%of American Baptists said no. Do you believe the scriptures are the inerrant Word of God in faith, history and secular matters? 95% of Episcopal priests said no; 87% of Methodist ministers said no; 82% of Presbyterians said no
- But the Apostle Paul said, “Know that Christ has been raised from the dead.” K..N..O..W!
- We need to know these things! God honors His Word above His name, and heaven and earth are going to pass away, but not one jot or title is going to pass away from God’s Word.
- Paul is saying that death and sin have been reigning since Adam, but now the grace of God is reigning over sin and death.
- We are beneficiaries of newness of life because of Christ.
- We must know this. KNOW! If we know, we must reckon, moving from knowing to our will.
Vs. 11
- What is he saying we must “reckon”? That you are dead to sin! Not that you can somehow rehabilitate the sinful nature.
- Someday, I’m going to stop.
- And then never move on to walking in the Spirit.
- No, you must, with your will, decide your flesh is dead!
- Reckoning is an accounting term. Calculate yourself dead to sin.
- Satan no longer has power over your life! You can reckon yourself dead to that old man.
- You are dead to sin and alive to Christ. You must tell yourself that!
This sermon was produced at Mountain Springs Church in Colorado Springs, with Senior Pastor Steve Holt. www.mountainsprings.org
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