"Our Life in Christ"
Sermon Transcript for April 24, 2005
Scripture Reading: Romans 6:1-7 & 11-14
By Rev. Mike Beck
It was interesting this morning. I’d gone down to the local convenience store as I always do, to get my diet Coke, my caffeine for the morning. And Sue, one of the cashiers there asked me what I was going to be preaching about today. And I said, “Well, I’m preaching on our life in Christ.” I said, “Its an appropriate post-Easter message.” And here was her reply. She said, “Well, I think we ought to be doing that all of the time!” And I said, “Do you want to come down and help me preach?” She said, “No, I’d better stay here at the counter.”
But, what I want to do this morning in just a few moments that I have is in an expository way share with you a great passage of Scripture found in Romans, Chapter Six. So if you will, take a pew Bible out from in front of you, turn in the New Testament, it’s found on page 193, the sixth chapter of the Book of Romans. Page 193. And we are going to look at part of this chapter verse by verse because it speaks to what our life in Christ should look like. And it is a very appropriate passage for the weeks following Easter because the Apostle Paul teaches about what it means to be a Christian analogous to the death and resurrection of Christ.
So look with me at Verse One in Chapter Six. Paul begins by saying, “What shall we say, then? Should we continue to live in sin so that God’s grace will increase?” Paul often has a tendency to teach in this way. He’ll use a rhetorical question; then he will answer his own question. But as we begin looking at this passage, be sure to be conscious of the frame of reference. Saul, that great Pharisee who believed that you worked your way to God through your good works, on the Damascus Road encountered the risen Christ and began to be the great proponent that we are saved—not by what we do—but by God’s grace. What God has done for us! So that’s the reason for his question, “Well, should we just continue to live in sin so that God’s grace will increase all the more?”
But notice his answer to that question in Verse Two. “Certainly not!” Notice the exclamation mark. He said, “We have died to sin--how then can we go on living in it?” And, friends, hear me carefully. I read a survey recently done by George Barna of the Evangelical Christians. And do you know what he found? He found very minimal difference between the way they live their lives and the way non-believers live theirs.
Versus Three and Four—“For surely you know that when we were baptized into union with Christ Jesus, we were baptized into union with his death. By our baptism, then, we were buried with him and shared his death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of the Father, so also we might live a new life.” Let me ask you this, “Can persons around you tell a difference in your life B.C. (before you met Christ) and A.C. (after you met Christ)? Boy, I hope they can! Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth.” So you’ve got to be salty. “You are the light of the world.” You’ve got to let your light shine. A quote that I often use in my Confirmation Class, as I work with those fifth graders, is I tell them, “God doesn’t call you to be weird. But He does call you to be different from the world.” Paul here talks about the analogy of baptism. He’s especially speaking of the beautiful analogy of baptism by immersion where as the person is taken under the water, it symbolizes that they have died to their old self. And as they rise up out of the water, it is symbolic to rising to a new and different life in Christ. One of these days in the near future, there will be parking out on this side of our church building. And incorporated with that will probably be a large new lobby just to the East. Let me share a dream I have with you. That in that future new lobby there is a beautiful fountain and incorporated in to that fountain, a baptistery, to where when persons want to be baptized by immersion we can do it here at Grace rather than having to go to another church. That’s the analogy Paul is using here.
In Verse Five he says, “For since we have become one with him in dying as he did, in the same way we shall be one with him by being raised to life as he was.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was martyred for his faith there in a German concentration camp, in his classic book, The Cost of Discipleship, there are these lines. He said, “When Jesus bids a person to come and follow Him, He bids him to come and die.” Now that doesn’t sound very appealing at first, but note the reward! The verse we just read says in the same way that we have died with Him, we will be one with Him by being raised to life as He was. Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly!”
Versus Six and Seven: “And we know that our old being has been put to death with Christ on his cross, in order that the power of the sinful self might be destroyed, so that we should no longer be the slaves of sin. For when a person dies, he is set free from the power of sin.” In Galatians 2:20 Paul put it this way. He said, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Hear me carefully, friends, so often we fail to acknowledge the power of sin. And correspondingly, we fail to acknowledge the power that is available to us through the Holy Spirit to conquer sin. David Seamands, my pastor, you’ve heard me use this quote often. David was my Pastor in seminary and he would often say, “Jesus accepts us just as we are, but He never intended for us to stay that way!”
Skip down, now, to Verse Eleven. Paul says, “In the same way you are to think of yourselves as dead, so far as sin is concerned, but living in fellowship with God through Christ Jesus.” Those words remind me of the words of Jesus in John 15:5 in the Upper Room when He said, “Abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Apart from Me you can do nothing.” It has been so exciting these last two or three weeks to see all the leaves come out and the buds to begin to form. But the only reason that happens is that that branch is connected to the trunk, and the trunk is connected and the roots go deep into the soil. The same is true for us.
Verse Twelve: “Sin must no longer rule in your mortal bodies, so that you obey the desires of your natural self.” Friends, desire and temptation are not sin. If you are like me, sometimes you are absolutely startled with some of the thoughts that cross through your mind. Those thoughts in themselves are not sin. But, they can so easily lead to sin if we are not aware of the power of sin and walk closely with Christ. I want you to keep your finger on the page there in Romans 6 that we are at, but I want you to turn over to page 213 because there are a couple of versus I want you to read with me. Page 213, I Corinthians, Chapter Ten, the Thirteenth verse. Would you read it with me, “Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.” But if you want to see the way sin works, turn a little further over to page 292. In the Book of James, we have a wonderful description of why we so often fall into sin. Page 292, James, Chapter One, read with me verses 14 and 15, “But a person is tempted when he is drawn away and trapped by his own evil desire. Then his evil desire conceives and gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” Do you see the progression? Do you see why we have to abide in Christ appropriating the power of the Holy Spirit?
There is a verse in the New Testament where it says, “Satan goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” And any of you could have maybe been to Dane Park in Africa as I have. Do you know what that lion does before he roars? He is one of the quietest animals on the face of the earth. He slowly, almost without a sound, sneaks up behind his prey. And when he roars, is when he is ready for lunch! But prior to that, like temptation, it sneaks up on us and we’ve got to be on our guard. You cannot flirt with sin. That is one of Satan’s greatest lies. He wants you to walk over close to the edge of the cliff so you can take in the view. And just about the time you are taking in the view, he’ll sneak up behind you and push you over! You can’t get close to the edge. And do you know one of the greatest temptations facing men in our day? A temptation that unfortunately is not addressed enough from the pulpit? It is the temptation to flirt with pornography. Years ago you had to go to the X-Rated bookstores. You don’t have to do that any more. It is as close as the click of a mouse in the privacy of a room in your home. That’s why I was scared to death to begin to get on the Internet. Because I knew what was there. I found it to be a wonderful tool, but I’ve had to pray daily to God, “Lord don’t let me go even the first time to one of those sites.” Because medical science has proven it is addictive. Once you start dabbling with that, men, a hormone is released in your brain that wants more and more and more until it has grabbed you. We’ve got to be aware of the power of sin.
And then back to Romans 6, Verse 13: “Nor must you surrender any part of yourselves to sin to be used for wicked purposes. Instead, give yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life,” and then notice these words, “and surrender your whole being to him to be used for righteous purposes.” Here, friends, is one of the paradoxes of the Gospel. Do you know where freedom and victory comes? —Surrender! Leland is out there someplace. Leland was the Senior pastor in my first appointment. I was the Associate. (Some of transcript lost due to tape change). Well, God knew what He was doing and I paid a serious price for that kicking and screaming as I went to prove God wrong. And, Leland, that Lay Witness Mission that we had there in about the second year that I was there serving with you, when that altar call was made it was me that needed to go. And what I said was, “Lord, I give up. The white flag is waving. I surrender. You knew what you were doing all along.” Freedom and victory come in surrender.
And then, finally, Verse 14: “Sin must not be your master; for you do not live under law but under God’s grace.” But, friends, again in the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, don’t turn God’s grace into “cheap grace”. Yes, He forgives us; but He has called us to a life of sanctification, a life of holiness. Bob Dylan, the songwriter said, “You gotta serve somebody.” And so I ask you, “Who are you serving this morning? Who is really on the throne of your life? Is it Christ or is it still your own desires and self-interests?
In your bulletin this morning is a fabulous article by Will Willimon. I want you to read that today. We are not going to take the time to read it now. I want you to read it when you are not distracted. I want you to read it prayerfully. I want you to read it quietly. It is a powerful exposition of what we’ve talked about this morning. Let’s pray, “I am thine, O Lord. I have heard thy voice. And it told thy love for me. And I long to rise in the arms of faith and be closer drawn to thee. Let that be our prayer, O God, so that Christ may be glorified. Amen.”
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