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Good morning friends,
Let’s begin today with an important question: What differences, should be evident in my life and yours… from who we were before we trusted in Jesus… if we are authentic, born-again (John 3:3-7) Christians, living in genuine relationship with Jesus Christ?
This is the primary focus of the chapter of God’s Word we are reading today, Romans 6.
So I invite you to look back, and look around. Look back, to who you were before Jesus, and look around to a world, far from God. Now let’s look through the lenses of Romans 6.
Paul opens with a challenging statement…“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.” (6:1,2) Then Paul goes on to explain that, when a person has authentically trusted Jesus Christ for their salvation, it should result in several profound changes in their life, which should be evident to all. And Paul explains WHY!
Look at verse 3 my friends: “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus, were baptized into His death?“ May I invite you to link this statement with Galatians 3:27 and 1 Corinthians 12:13?
This is talking primarily about the work of the Holy Spirit uniting us with Jesus Christ and His atonement work for us, during our salvation experience. As we work through Romans, Paul is going to help us understand that our salvation is like a diamond, with many beautiful aspects to it. This is one, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit INTO union with Jesus.
This miraculous aspect of our salvation is represented, when a person is baptized by immersion in water.
As we are lowered down into the baptism water, it represents that we are united with Jesus in His crucifixion death and burial. As we are raised up out of the baptism water, it represents that we are united with Jesus, in His resurrection to a new life in relationship with God. Please understand this, it is another unique aspect to Christianity. No other religion in the world comes anywhere close to this claim that you and I can live in union with God!
As we carefully read Romans 6 today, we’ll see Paul unpacking this concept in almost every verse in the rest of this chapter. Look at vs. 6&7 “For we know that our old self was crucified with Him (Jesus) so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.”
Paul likes to use this phrase “old self” to speak of the person you and I were BEFORE we trusted Jesus and God saved us. Remember, in 2 Corinthians 5:17 Paul wrote “…if anyone is IN Christ they are a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come. All this is from God…”
So when a person authentically trusts Jesus Christ for their salvation, in effect they are placing themselves onto the cross with Jesus, and putting to death their sinful self. They are crucifying their greed, selfishness, deceitfulness, lust, anger, and every other aspect of their life, which has been sinful. They are not simply sorry for their sinful past. Not even making some type of pledge to be better in the future.
A person entering into a genuine, salvation relationship with Christ is rejecting every part of themselves which was sinful, and asking God to awaken in them a new holy life, so they no longer live under the old evil influence or control of the past. That’s why Paul uses the example of a dead person being freed from sin in vs. 7, do you see that my friends?
But here’s an important question: Does God kill your old self? No! That’s why even as Christians we find ourselves still struggling with the temptations that might draw us back into the darkness. But there’s an old proverb that says… every person has two dogs inside them, a vicious pit bull and loving golden retriever, whichever one you feed will rule your life, and be your best friend!
So it’s time for some reflection isn’t it? When you compare yourself today, with who you were BEFORE you trusted your life to Jesus, how much of the sin and evil which was part of your former life, is still a struggle today? And why?
Look closely at Romans 6:11-14 and I think you may find some of the answer for the struggle that you face with your former sinful life trying to creep back in to your present. May I point out some things I see here…
1. It’s an ATTITUDE: “Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (6:11) That’s a state of mind, an attitude, would you agree?
2. It’s a DEFENSE Posture: “Do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desire.” (6:12) It’s currently football season in America… we understand all about DEFENSE don’t we? The same is true for global “football” (soccer)… defense is vital in combating the OFFENSE of the enemy! So how to do you DEFEND your heart (Proverbs 4:23) and your mind (Romans 12:1,2; Phil. 4:8)?
3. It’s AVAILABILITY: “Do not offer the parts of you body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourself 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.” (6:13)
We understand don’t we? Our hands can either open and help someone, or clench as a fist and hurt. We can open our wallets to help, or close them and turn away in the face of need. We can smile, or frown. We can encourage, or criticize. We can open our heart and empathize, or we can close our heart and disregard the pain of others. We can listen to someone and then pray with and for them, or we can turn away. We can be available to God and how HE wants to use us as His hands, His smile, His wallet, His caring heart, OR we can refuse, and in our refusal, we offer ourselves to the devil, to be used to inflict more pain in our world!
4. It’s a CHOICE: “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him… you are slaves to the one you obey – whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or slaves to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (6:16)
So… let’s take a close look. What do you watch on TV, or read, or what websites do you frequent on the internet? What type of jokes do you tell or enjoy? Where does our conversation go when there’s no urgent matter to discuss? How quick are we to criticize or complain or judge or even slander? How easily does our mind drift into coveting what others have, or lust or resentment? If we look closely at our answers to those questions, we will see where we are in this vs. 16!
And finally… link vs. 18 with 21&22: “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness…What benefit did you reap…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.” This my friends is a statement of the reality of a new life lived IN union with Jesus Christ!
So you see the power of this concept of being baptized into union with and living in close relationship with Jesus? Now a question. . . is it your experience? This is not theory, not philosophy, this is practical, authentic Christianity, the way Jesus designed it. This is why I have chosen the phrase “Walking with Jesus”! Do you see it?
Now one last verse of Romans 6, perhaps the most famous of all. Hopefully now you understand it much better… “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (6:23) And when Paul speaks of ‘eternal life’ he does NOT only mean life after death. Here he is calling us to understand “eternal life IN Christ Jesus” begins the moment a person is authentically saved, born again, and baptized by the Holy Spirit, INTO union with Jesus.
You noticed the very last word of this chapter, right? “Lord”
If you’ve been on this journey with us for a while and you read through Exodus, do you see the difference between the word “LORD”, Moses met at the burning bush in Exodus 3, and the word “Lord” here in Romans 6 and throughout the New Testament?
Here the word “Lord” is the title Master, Ruler, the One in authority, who I am submitting my life to. So in the phrase “Christ Jesus our Lord” we understand “CHRIST” means the long awaited Jewish Messiah. “JESUS” means Savior, Deliverer, Rescuer…for Jesus came to deliver us, save us, from our sin and sin condemnation. So now we understand the power of those last three words of Romans 6.
But… here’s the question: How will your lifestyle and mine, reflect the reality that Jesus is “Christ Jesus our Lord” in your life and mine today… in our words, attitudes, choices, actions?
How will our lives today reflect the truth that as authentic Christians we are ‘baptized into union with Jesus”?
What have we learned today that should make a difference in how we live today?
Have a great weekend ‘Walking with Jesus” my friends!
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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