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This is a sermon based on Romans 6:1-14, and it is a continuation of a series of messages on the Epistle of Paul to the Romans. The series had been temporarily suspended during the Advent Season and the related holidays, and now has resumed.
Written Excerpts:
Introduction:
Today we are picking up where we left off in our series of messages on
the letter of Paul to the Romans. That last few messages I gave before the Christmas season, were dealing
with the subject of justification in chapters 3-5. We learned that justification is primarily a legal term and it has to
do with the idea that God clears our record of sin and he credits us with
righteousness because of the sacrifice of Christ. We were under condemnation because of our sin, but we have been
acquitted and pardoned.
In chapter six, Paul goes further to explain that the righteousness of
God provided through Jesus Christ is more than just a legal transaction in our
behalf. It is truly a gift of grace that actually produces the righteousness of
Christ in our conduct or behavior. When God erases our record, we say that He imputes
righteousness, but when He transforms us He imparts righteousness. The main emphasis of chapters six through eight is regarding the
impartation of God’s righteousness, and this is usually referred to as
sanctification.
The word sanctification is a noun that means “holiness,” “purity,”
“separated from the ordinary,” and various other shades of meaning. In its most
common form it refers to the fact that we are granted the same character of
God, who is holy.
My heart is burdened and so full of passion for this subject, that I
hardly know how to begin this message. I can promise you that this message
isn’t offered with the intention of making us feel good.
The spiritual state of the evangelical church today is disheartening.
Most people who profess to be born-again-Christians today think of salvation as
merely God’s way of forgiving our past and giving us a “ticket” to heaven. They have no clue about the biblical mandate for each of us to
experience a complete transformation of our motives, our attitudes, our values,
and our conduct.
Most of you know that I recently attended a Pastor’s conference in S.C.
The theme of the conference was the same as the book that was authored by the main
speaker, “Called to Be Holy.” Since his topic coincides with our subject
today in Romans 6, I want to share some of the things the speaker, Dr. John
Oswalt, gave to us (his source for statistics was George Barna, a popular
Christian researcher).
·
We do
not want our Christian faith to make us holy, we only want it to make us happy.
[The average Christian on the street today doesn’t seem to be all that
interested in being as holy as God wants, only so long as they are happy. In
fact, I’ve literally heard some people express the viewpoint that God wants me
happy, so whatever it takes to make me happy is what God wants.]
·
Faith
today [for most Christians] begins with personal felt needs and ends with
convenience and simplicity [i.e. ease, comfort]. [i.e., we often come to Christ
because of some problem that we want relief from, and we continue living out
our faith according to what is convenient or pleasant, but avoiding, as much as
we can, especially anything that requires sacrifice, work, or suffering.]
·
Christians
watch TV 7 times more than the time they spend in all spiritual pursuits
combined [i.e., personal devotions, church attendance, discipleship, etc.].
[It’s no wonder most Christians today have moral values and priorities that
mirror Hollywood
·
There
is no observable differences between the values of the church and the values of
the world. The six primary values of each group were described as:
þ
Material
well-being
þ
Satisfaction
þ
Happiness
þ
Approval
þ
Comfort
þ
Convenience
·
George Barna
– “We have not transformed our culture because we are neither grieved nor
embarrassed by our sin.”
·
The
message of the entire NT assumes the foundation/ background of the OT. The NT
answers the questions of the OT. If you do not know the questions, there is a
good chance you will misinterpret the answers.
·
The
primary “answer” of the NT is the cross, but what is the question?
·
Most
people believe it is, “How can my sins be forgiven and I be assured of heaven?”
·
But the
real question is, “How can a deeply corrupted human being ever share the
character of a holy God?” [and live once again in perfect communion with Him?]
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they died spiritually and immediately
lost the intimate fellowship they had enjoyed, and they lost the holy, godly
character they had been created with. We learned earlier in the book of Romans that this defective condition
has been passed on to all humanity. We have inherited our first parents’
condition.
But, salvation and redemption is all about restoring what was lost: the
character of God, the fellowship and intimacy with Him, and ultimately, the divine
peace and order He designed for all of His creation.
IV. God's righteousness is revealed through
sanctification. (6:1-8:39)
Wuest's Word Studies – So
Paul proposes the question, "What shall we say then?" — say then
to what? We go back to 5:20 for our answer which we find in the apostle's
statement, "Where sin abounded, there grace was in superabundance, and
then some on top of that."
The question raised shows that
some had concluded that the more we sin, the more we demonstrate the grace of
God, and they also concluded that sinning was a normal part of the Christian
life.
(If sanctification means anything, it means that sin has been
conquered. Or to state it another more positive way…)
A. Sanctification means grace has been victorious.
(6:1-23)
i. Victory comes through knowledge of the
truth. (6:1-10)
I am using this point of the
outline to express the observation of Dr. Warren Weirsbe who pointed out that
various forms of the word “know” are used 4 times in this chapter.
a. The truth is we have died to sin. (6:1-7)
“died to sin” (v. 2); “baptized
into his death” (v. 3); “buried…into death” (v. 4); “crucified with him” (v.
6); “dead with Christ” (v. 8)
b. The truth is we are alive in Christ.
(6:8-10)
The gospel of grace is two-fold:
it makes us dead to sin, but it also makes us alive in Christ. Sanctification
is not only separation from something, but it is joining in with something
different. The primary emphasis in verses
8-10 is about new life in Christ, but the same concept has already been
expressed in some of the earlier verses as well. (see vv. 4-5)
v. 8 – “…we shall also live with
him.”
v. 9 – “…Christ being raised…
dies no more.”
v. 10 – “…he lives unto God.”
ii. Victory comes through identification with
Christ. (6:11-14)
Wuest's Word Studies - The
word "reckon" is logizomai, "to reckon, count, compute,
to take into account…"
a. Identification is a fact to be accepted.
(6:11)
The whole point in Paul’s use of
the word “reckon” is to get us to believe it without reservation. He also puts
this in the form of a command. It isn’t an option, we must figure, compute that
we are dead to sin and that we are alive to Christ.
b. Identification is a fact to be practiced.
(6:12-14)
Why do we need to accept the
fact and “take it into account” in all that we believe?
So that it will affect our
conduct. (v.12) “therefore” “let not…” (v. 13) “neither...”
Conclusion:
What does God really want?
I believe that if we truly
understand the message of the New Testament (and particularly passages like
Romans 6-8), we will come to understand that God wants us to be re-made in His
image spiritually and morally so that He can once again resume intimate
fellowship and communion with creatures that share His character.
