Today, we are continuing in the book of Romans. We are now in chapter six, Romans chapter six, and I will be reading the first four verses. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not. How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it. Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore, we were buried with him through baptism into death that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in newness of life. This is God's inspired and errant word. It's life-giving. It's powerful. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of the Lord our God abides forever. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for giving us the word. And now, Lord, as the word is proclaimed, may you speak to every single one of us in a very personal individual way by the power of your Holy Spirit speak to us in Jesus name amen in Romans chapter 5 which was a wonderful chapter we read about the tremendous benefits that come along with this basic blessing and that is the blessing that we are justified to forgiven and declared righteous by faith alone. That wonderful blessing of justification, our acceptance with God, but it also brings with it the blessings of peace with God, joy in the Lord, and love, the love of God poured out in our hearts. And if we have been justified by faith, And Paul also said in that chapter, we will be delivered from the wrath to come on judgment day. We don't have to fear that day if we have been justified. And then in verses 12 to 21, Paul contrasted two representatives of the human race, two men, Adam and Christ. And we're all born in Adam, who broke God's covenant. And we're all born in sin because of that. Sin entered the world through Adam, but through Jesus Christ, the one man, Jesus Christ, who is not merely a man, he's the God-man. Those who are by faith united to him leave Adam and are placed into a new realm, a new realm altogether. Sin abounded through that one man's disobedience, but God's grace and righteousness has abounded much more through Christ's obedience. So in union with Christ, Paul likes to say that believers are in Christ. We are united to him by faith. We are in him. All that he has, all that he has done becomes ours. And so those who have trusted Jesus Christ can say that we are under grace, we are under the reign, we are in the realm of grace. And that's good news. But in saying this, and all this is, it's all of grace, it's all a gift. In saying all this, Paul knew that these truths could be easily misunderstood and twisted. Some would take an advantage of these kinds of things, this teaching, as an excuse to go on sinning. And some would, of course, begin to criticize him. Paul, if you say that salvation is free and we can't do anything, don't need to do anything for it, it's a free gift, doesn't that encourage people to keep on sinning and not try to do better in their lives? And that's why he asked the question in verse one. He anticipates the objection. He says, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? And he says, certainly not. King James Version says, God forbid. No way we should think like this. If we, you know, perish the thought, that we would imagine that it's okay to continue in sin now that we're saved by grace. So this doctrine, this doctrine of justification by faith alone, it's a dangerous doctrine. It's only dangerous in the sense that it's misunderstood and then If it's misunderstood, it can be twisted and misinterpreted to mean that we can go our merry way and sin. So Paul's been saying salvation's free, has nothing to do with our works whatsoever. All our righteousness, Isaiah said, is his filthy rags. And there's nothing we can do to earn our salvation. So Paul Are you saying that then it doesn't really matter how we live since it's all been paid for? That we can just kind of take it easy and not worry about obeying your commands? Well, that's what they were charging. They were charging him with giving people the liberty to sin. but he doesn't do that and that's why we keep going in the book of Romans and you as you will see in it and in verse 1 clearly clearly states that may it never be perish the thought that if you think Being justified by faith alone means you can go and continue in sin. That is not what he's saying. That's not what God would say to us today. Well, sadly, some Christians do take grace to mean that, that they can continue in sin. And it's a little subtle, and we perhaps have thought this way ourselves. Well, I know I'm forgiven. I'm justified freely as a gift of God, and I know I'll make it to heaven and that I can't lose my salvation, this is all God's work, well, that means I don't have to be so hard on myself about sin. After all, if I sin, His grace is greater, He's gonna forgive me, so I can just kind of relax about that. Have you ever thought that way or felt that way? We wouldn't necessarily admit that, but some people do live that way. They're very loose with regards to their lifestyle and their preachers and pulpits. Early on in my ministry, and I hope that God has taught me some things along the way, but the first few years of the first church that I preached, I think they got a heavy dose of the law and not a lot of grace. In fact, one of the wonderful men in that church, He was a deacon at the time and became an elder later. He was godly. He was humble. He was very encouraging to me. And he said, Mark, you know, have you thought about preaching on grace? You know, and I wanted to, of course, think, you know, I'm doing the right thing. You people need to hear the law of God. People need to understand their sin. And that's true. But I was very, you know, well, I wasn't preaching much grace, let's say. But people can go the other extreme. There are preachers out there who preach grace, grace, grace, grace, and that means you never have to worry about obedience. You don't think about living for the Lord because you can't do it, and so you don't even try. And that's not the way, of course, we preach here because Jesus taught that the Christian life is one of discipleship, of following Jesus. If you love me, you obey my commands. Follow me. Take up your cross, deny yourself, and follow me. And that was not to earn our salvation, but he's saying, if you believe in me, if you trust in me, then live for me. That's the bottom line. And the grace of God, you see, according to Titus 2.11, it says, the grace of God teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age. So in other words, God's grace not only saves us, not only justifies us, God's grace immediately upon believing in Jesus begins to sanctify us, begins to change us and make us more holy. So if your understanding of justification by faith alone, wonderful doctrine, causes you to take sin lightly or to relax in striving to obey the Lord, you haven't understood it correctly. If you ever think in your mind, well, it would be okay to go ahead and sin in a given situation because the Lord will forgive me later. If you've done that, you have presumed upon the grace of God. Now, in spite of the fact that Paul states that the believer must not continue to live in sins, in their sin, it seems that many professing Christians, professing Christians, do indeed continue in their sins. Now, we all continue sinning, but there's a difference in continuing in sin and then the Christian, you know, sinning as we go along. Well, we all know people who claim to be Christians, but they never darken the door of a church. They never open their Bible. They do not walk with God. They're not obeying the Lord. Their lifestyle is, it really is more like the world than a Christian. But they would say, oh, I know the Lord, I accept the Lord, you know, whatever they profess to believe. Well, what's the problem here? What's the reality? Are they lost? Are they backslidden? Are they saved? Well, we don't know, you know, a person's heart. But there are several possibilities. And the first Possible reason for this why a person who says I'm a Christian and yet is not living like a Christian at all They're living in a sinful. They're living for themselves and living in sin Is it because they haven't been truly converted to Christ they still really do love the world their heart hasn't been changed They profess Christ, but they don't possess Christ so you have to ask yourself do I possess Jesus does he possess me and Does he truly dwell in my heart? A true believer in whom Christ dwells will not continue in bondage to sin. And we'll talk more about that as we get into this chapter later, but a true believer, however, may continue in sin temporarily. And why does that happen? Well, a true believer might continue in sin for a time, might lapse. If you want to call it backsliding, that's fine. But wander, might drift from the Lord. We do that. I mean, maybe we only do it for a day or half a day. Or maybe we do it for a few days. We have our minds set on other things, and we sort of forget about the Lord. And maybe then we start sinning in ways that we know we shouldn't. So why would this happen? Why might a true believer continue in sin, at least for a short while? Well, there are several reasons there. I think that for a true believer to continue in sin might be that there's a low view of God and His holiness. If you do not see God, even though you're saved by grace, the grace of Jesus Christ, you know you're loved by God, but if you don't see God as a holy God to be feared and revered, you will not be too concerned about sinning against this God. If God is just one of those indulgent parents who never corrects his children, who loves them but says, well, kids will be kids, you know, let them do whatever, you know. No, that's not who God is. So we need to see Him as a holy God. And another thing is a true believer might continue in sin in a momentary lapse or two due to a low view of the seriousness of sin. Again, when people hear that God is love, that He forgives us, some people wrongly assume then that sin must not be a big deal. But sin is serious. Sin is so serious that the holy, innocent Son of God had to become a man and die on the cross, suffering God's wrath. He had to be crucified. Sin is serious. Sin is an affront to God and it's an offense against God and His laws. That never changes. You get saved, that doesn't change. When you sin, it's even more of an offense because you know better if you're a Christian. Another reason that we might continue in sin for a while is because we don't rely on God's grace and power to overcome it. We fight against sin and temptation in our own strength. We look back and say, well, I did pretty good this past week, and we rely on that past experience to think that, well, we can handle it the next week, when it's a day-to-day thing that we need Jesus, we need to abide in Christ because apart from him we can do nothing. So when we sin, when we drift from the Lord as Christians, it's due to the fact that we fail to abide in Christ and rely on the resources that God has given us. And then one final reason, which leads us back into our text, that Christians may live in sin for a time is that they haven't understood the truth of their identity with Jesus Christ. They haven't understood the truth of Romans chapter 6, which we're only touching on the first four verses today, but it's here in this chapter that Paul explains that believers have been united to Jesus Christ and that we need to understand ourselves as identified with him, in union with him, as those who are in Christ. Even as new creations Christ. See, if you know Jesus Christ, savingly, you are not the same person you were. You have undergone a change, a radical change. You have a new record, a new identity, a new relationship. You have a new nature. You've been born again. Now far too many Christians, I think, are ignorant of these basic truths, or they don't think about them, they don't call them to mind, and they live defeated lives. Someone has said that if Satan can keep a Christian ignorant, he can keep him impotent without any power to live the Christian life. So Paul is teaching that the believer, in this chapter, the believer is identified with Jesus in his death, his burial, and his resurrection. And just as we were identified with Adam in our sin, our condemnation, now we're identified with Jesus in righteousness and new life. So, because of this new and living relationship with the risen living Lord, we have an entirely new relationship, not only to God, but to sin. A new relationship with sin, if you will. And Paul says, we who have trusted Christ have died to sin. We have died to sin. You have died to sin if you've trusted in Christ. I have died to sin if I've trusted in Christ. How shall we who have died to sin live any longer in it? Well, what does that mean? First thing to notice is that it is a definite act that occurred once and for all in the past. We have died to sin. If you study the Greek, the tense of that verb is one of those that says it's a definite act that has occurred at a point in time in the past once and for all. When did that happen? When did we die to sin? It happened when we ceased to be in Adam and we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and became placed in Christ. We became connected to, united to Him. So it happened when the moment we believed in Him, the moment we were justified by faith. But what does it mean that we have died to sin? It does not mean, of course, that you will never sin again. Otherwise, we wouldn't have a prayer of confession, right? We wouldn't do that in the church because we would have stopped sinning. That's the false doctrine of perfectionism. And, you know, that at least some believers can reach a place where they never sin again. I don't believe that for a minute. I don't believe the Bible teaches that. I think that contradicts all of Scripture. It certainly contradicts what Paul is going to say in Romans chapter 7. In Romans 7, he details the struggle that he and every believer has. It's an ongoing struggle. It's an ongoing battle with sin. So having died to sin does not mean there won't be a battle or that you won't have to, that you won't sin. No, you'll have to fight it. So it doesn't mean that we become perfect. And when Paul says that we have died to sin, it doesn't mean that we ought to die to sin. No, he's stating it as a completed fact, not something that we have to do ourselves. We have died in sin. It's already true. He's not saying that we must here put sin to death. Now he will say that in Romans 8, but he is not saying that here. He's simply stating a fact, something that has happened, something that, and anything that the Bible says as a fact, as a truth, especially something that is completed in regards to the Christian life, that's something that we need to reckon, that's something we need to count as true in our lives. So in what sense then has the believer died to sin. In Romans 5, remember Paul talked about, he contrasted the reign of sin with the reign of grace. So if you're a believer, you have died to the reign, to the rule of sin. You're no longer under sin. You're no longer in the realm where sin rules. You've died and entered another realm, and that's the realm of God's grace, the realm and reign of grace. Here's how Colossians chapter 1 verse 13 puts it says for he has delivered us from the power of darkness and has translated in us into the kingdom of his dear son we once were darkness but now we're light in the light so before you were justified by faith you were under the rule and dominion sin you were a citizen of this world And now you're a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. You were once doing what your father the devil told you to do, and now you're doing and following what your new master tells you to do. Grace has taken over, where sin once ruled. That's what it means that you've died to sin. So the power of sin has been broken. You as a Christian you before you got saved you couldn't do anything but sin Really? Even though you might have done some nice things some good things you did them for yourself You didn't do them to glorify Jesus Christ. You would save your soul because you weren't saved so but now that you have come to know Jesus Christ and and die to its power, the power of sin has been broken, you don't have to live under its control any longer. Again, notice I didn't say that you will be perfect, but to continue in sinning In the way we live, as if we were not even Christians, as if nothing had happened, if we continue in the lifestyle of an unbeliever, so to speak, it's totally out of accord. It's totally inconsistent for those who have died to sin. Actually, it's impossible. It is impossible. Because here's the way the Apostle John put it in 1 John 3, 9. No one, he said, who is born of God will continue to sin. And it means to continue in sin as a way of life, a sin-dominated life. No one, he says, who's born of God will continue in their old ways. It's impossible. And the reason is, he says, because God's seed remains in him. He cannot go on sinning because he's been born of God. He's been taken out of the realm of sin. He's died to sin. He's now in this realm of life and of grace. But don't we still sin as Christians? Yes, that's why we have the prayer of confession to help us to confess those sins. We sin every day. Our confession of faith says that even as Christians, we sin every day in thought, word, and deed. And so sin still exercises a powerful influence over our lives. What is the deal here? Well, yes, sin still exerts power, but grace abounds and exceeds the power of sin. So we still have sinful desires, but by grace, godly desires overcome those sinful desires. Now it's again, it's a battle. It's not an easy thing. We'll see more, you know about what this battle is like as we go on in the book of Romans, but We fight the good fight of faith the Lord fights with us and he gives us the resources so We will overcome you Jesus in Paul says in Romans 8 and We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Okay? That's something to reckon on once again. So, why then do we find this inconsistency in our lives? Well, I think there's just a distinction to be made. Who are you in Christ? I am justified. I'm adopted. I'm a child of God. I'm forgiven. I'm accepted. I'm loved with an everlasting love. I'm in Christ. That's my position. But there is a difference between our position in Christ and living out that position. It's just the way it is. The two have not perfectly aligned yet. In heaven, our position and our practice will be the same. There will be no variance whatsoever. So, until we get to heaven, there's going to be some inconsistency in the life of every single believer. I know that you don't think I'm perfect, and I don't think anyone in here is perfect without sin. There is some inconsistency in my life and in your life. But until we get to heaven, what do we do about it? Well, our goal should be every day that we live in this world that there be a little bit less divergence between who we are in Christ and how we live for him. That the two would start to come closer and closer. As we go along, again, only in heaven will they be the same. But let's try to close the gap by the grace of God. That should be our desire and our goal. Reckoning that we've died to sin, relying on the grace of God and his resources to enable us to walk more and more in wholeness of life. But here's another question then about dying to sin. How is it that we died to sin? How did it come about? Well, in verse three, I'll read. Paul said, or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death. Again, we were under the reign of sin. We were in Adam. But when we are regenerated by the spirit of God, when we're born again, then we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And we are baptized into Christ. Now, most people, when they read that word, baptized, they immediately think of water baptism. But as has been said, there's not a drop of water in this passage. Although most commentators think this is referring to water baptism, I'm convinced that it's not referring to water baptism at all. One preacher put it this way, if you find water in this verse, then you've missed the meaning. James Montgomery Boyce said this, he said, when used in the New Testament, this word, baptizo, Greek word for baptism, more often in the New Testament refers to our union and identification with Christ than to our water baptism. Now obviously sometimes when we read the word baptism it is talking about water baptism. Jesus says, Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. He's talking about you apostles, baptize them with water, a symbol of the work of the Spirit in cleansing, and do it in the name of the Trinity. That's water baptism. But I'm convinced that there is no water here, but rather he is using the word baptism to refer to our union with Christ, our being merged into oneness with Jesus. If Paul did mean water baptism here, then basically he'd be saying that you're saved by being baptized with water. Now that would contradict everything he said so far, that justification is through faith alone and not any symbols, ceremonies, or works. And if you take that position, that this passage is referring to water baptism, then you also have to say, well, then baptism is necessary for salvation. I better join the Church of Christ or the Catholic Church or those who teach. this sacramental view that says that the rite of baptism incorporates you into Christ. No. The rites and ceremonies of God, the ones he's ordained in the Old Testament for them and in the New Testament for us, baptism in the Lord's Supper, these are outward means, but there's an inward work that must take place. The outward observance of the sacraments does not bring about the necessary work of the Lord. Neither Paul nor Christ himself ever made salvation tied to a ritual, to an outward ceremony. That's just not the way. Jesus tore that idea down because the Jews trusted in circumcision. They trusted in the ordinances and the outward, you know, things that they had. But they didn't trust in the Lord who was behind those ordinances. So water baptism cannot save you. It's the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the heart of an individual that saves. It's the baptism of the Spirit that incorporates you into Christ. So water baptism does symbolize that reality. We talked about that recently when we had baptisms. But Paul, I believe, I'm convinced, is not speaking about the symbol here. He's speaking about the reality. Here's what 1 Corinthians 12, 13 says, for also by one spirit, we are all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free, we're all made to drink into one spirit. So spirit baptism is what incorporates us into Christ. And he's clear in that verse that he's talking about being baptized by the spirit. Now spirit baptism is not, as some people teach, not for a select few who want to go on to, you know, higher things, if you will. No, he says we are all baptized by one spirit and put into the body first. That's what happens at conversion. It's the initial step. It's not a second step or a second blessing. And so you were baptized by the spirit when you received Christ. When you receive Christ, you receive everything. Now, you don't enjoy the benefits of everything. It's what Christian growth is all about. But you have everything in Christ. You're in union with him. And that means you've been united with Jesus in his death, his burial, and his resurrection, even his ascension. You know, Christ's burial, here in 1 Corinthians 15, he says, you know, I preach to you the gospel, and here's what it is, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, he was buried, and then he rose again on the third day according to the scriptures. Why did he have to throw in the burial part? What's the significance of that? Christ's burial was proof that he truly died. You don't bury a live person, although that has happened, unfortunately, in situations. But no, they verified that Jesus had died. They even stuck the sword into his side and out came water and blood, signifying that death had already taken place. And so they buried him. You know, when a person dies and you bury them, they are finished with this world. Even if they were buried alive, they won't be alive for very long. They are done with this world. So burial is an indication that you're done. Your relationship to this life and this world is over when you're buried. But we've been buried with Christ through the baptism of the Holy Spirit. If you and I go back to living and continuing in a sin dominated life, that doesn't make sense. We can't go back. How can we? We've died to sin and we've been buried with Christ. But we were also raised, not raised as a dead corpse, but we're raised spiritually to newness life verse 4 just as Christ was also raised from the dead by the glory of the Father even so We also Should walk in newness of life. Oh, there's that word of obligation should there is still an ongoing obligation for the believer to When is that oblation? We should walk in newness life. Why? Because Christ has been raised from the dead. Just as Jesus was gloriously raised from the dead and he came forth alive in a glorified body, never to die again in that glorified body. So, as Ephesians 2 says, but God has made us alive together in Christ. He's raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. This is talking about the spiritual realities. You were dead in sin. And Ephesians clearly says, you were dead in your trespasses and sins. But now in Christ, you've been made alive and you have died to sin. Been made alive, you've died and then been made alive. The question is now, okay, what now? then walk in that newness of life that you have. Live, not as a dead man, not as one who's still in his sins or her sins, but live a new life. Jesus told us to pray in the Lord's Prayer It's one of the first petitions in the Lord's Prayer. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Well, in heaven, remember I said that two things are brought together. The angels of God that are in heaven, they live a perfectly holy life. The saints of God who have departed and gone to heaven, they now live a perfectly holy life. So the thing for us is, again, to try to close the gap. and to live as if we were those who are in heaven. Lord, let your will be done in my life today as it is with the angels and departed saints in heaven. We're already seated with Christ in heavenly places. You've already been raised. You're alive in Christ if you are in Christ. So begin walking and living as that new person by living as Christ lived and by doing his will. Now, today, if you aren't sure that you know Jesus Christ, have you been born again? That is a question. And today, I would urge you to receive Jesus Christ, to turn from your sins, ask him to come into your life, to your heart, to take over your life. Ask him to give you the new birth. It's not something that you can do. He must do it. But if he's calling you, if he's drawing you to do that, Then do it today. Do it in your heart before God as we pray. Let us pray.