Death to Life with Christ - Romans 6 :1-11

Baptism as Public Celebration of Salvation

It's a big day. Well, it's the Lord's Day number one, but you can see we have a new feature in the back here. We've got five baptisms today. So praise God for that and this is a day of celebration and we praise the Lord for Baptism is an outward expression of an inward decision and there's nothing efficacious about the water it's about the decision that's been made and then to be to share that publicly and We thank the Lord for that.

So Anyway, well, we're glad you're here this morning. I wanted to say share those that were at the fellowship last week at the Hufflom house. You braved the elements. Wow 108 degrees or whatever and I think that just is an expression of the love we have for each other.

Really, you know, you wouldn't want to just choose to come out on a hundred and eight degree day. But it was because of the body because of the fellowship that we had and the love that we have for one another and we're Just it was a great day.

And we thank the Hans for that ice cream that put a cap on the top of that at the end of it. So thank you for that. That was really really good. So We had as much we had the misters out and a shade tree overhead, so yeah God was good.

So anyway, thank you for for doing that coming out for announcements. Summer Bible study continues, that's Fridays at 530 here at the church going through the book of Hebrews. Men's breakfast in Bible study is the next one is Saturday August 5th at 9 o 'clock in the fellowship hall.

So all men are welcome to that. The Bible counseling course there was one yesterday. So the next one is going to be August 12th at 11 o 'clock. And you're welcome to just pick up where where they left off so that you don't have to have been coming out to these.

As they progress you can learn you just just walk in cold on it and just come away blessed learning and knowing much more about God's plan. Missionary of the month John and Becky Knox in Japan and there's some more information on the back Board if you'd like to know more about them a great ministry there.

I Think that's all we have for now. All right. Well, let's go to the Lord in prayer our dear Heavenly Father. We thank you Lord that you have gathered us together as believers father that we can celebrate together.

This is your day father. But we can also celebrate The public expression of the faith that you have placed that have put in these people that are that are getting baptized today Lord. We thank you for their faithfulness and their desire to to share with with the flock here today.

God we ask that you would go before us that the Holy Spirit would be with us as We lift our voices in song as we hear your word preached Father, may you be glorified in all of it that we would grow in our own personal faith that we would Appreciate and be have grateful hearts for what you have given us Lord because it is much.

Thank you for your son Jesus. Thank you that we can Enjoy this type of fellowship today Lord. We pray for those that aren't here today that May be home or infirmed father even traveling Lord. We pray that you would watch over them that you would guide their hearts in worship of you father and that they would Know your presence Lord.

So God be with us today at this very moment and We just are grateful and thank you father for faith Bible Church Lord. We commit our time to your care in Jesus name. Amen.

Good morning, and and it's great to know we have a heavenly father and Lord who is with us at all times and.

Let's stand and sing. This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Romans 5:18-21 and the Gift of Justification

Scripture reading this morning is from Romans. Romans chapter 5 verses 18 through 21. Romans 5 18 through 21. Therefore As By the offense of one judgment came upon came upon all men to condemnation even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men and justification of life.

For as by one man's disobedience Many were made sinners So by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded grace did much more bound.

That as sin hath reigned unto death Even so might grace reign to righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. May the Lord add his blessing to the reading and hearing of his Holy Word.

If your life isn't being lived with Jesus, then you ain't really live in your life. Okay.

Baptism, Romans 6, and Union with Christ

Please turn with me to. Romans chapter 6 verses 1 through 11. Romans chapter 6 verses 1 through 11. 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. For if we have been united together in the likeness of his death. Certainly, we also shall be in the likeness of his resurrection. Knowing this that our old man was crucified with him that the body of sin might be done away with.

That we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we also we shall also live with him. Knowing that Christ having been raised from the dead dies no more death.

No longer has dominion over him. For the death that he died he died to sin once for all but the life that he lives he lives to God. Likewise you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This is the Word of the Lord. Let us pray. Father we're thankful that we get to celebrate this reality. What has happened? Inside that we get to see these brave faithful women boldly proclaim their inner salvation outwardly.

Thank you that they are fully In Christ. It's not that they were partially in Christ until baptism and then they're now fully in Christ but they're fully in Christ because they believed that Jesus died for their sin and rose from the dead and father we pray that as we Study your word this morning and see their to see their Baptism that we too would be reminded of our own union with Christ.

That sinners like us would be united Because we have been bought by his blood. We pray that we would celebrate Their outward proclamation and also rejoice in our Union with Christ as well. Jesus name man.

As you have noticed as instead of continuing on our series and Luke We will be hearing from Paul this morning in the book of Romans the book of Romans is One of the most theologically rich epistles in the New Testament and That's why you will not be hearing The book of Romans until later.

It's I'm not mature enough to preach from the book of Romans yet It's it's really deep people spend all their lives just in the book of Romans. Now This morning I read from Romans 6 1 through 11 because today is baptism Sunday and It was fitting to preach on what? baptism symbolizes and This is important because many cults put an extraordinary amount of emphasis on baptism and How much it saves?

But I want to clearly Clearly Teach that there is no salvific event in the outward action of baptism. That's because it would put more spotlight on what we do rather than what Christ has done. The only thing that saves a person is The belief the faith the trust in Christ atoning death on the cross for our sin.

No amount of water can physically wash away our sin and a great example of that actually is from the end of Luke when the thief on the right is saved by placing his faith in Christ and Jesus promises that he will be with him in paradise that day.

There was no time for baptism for that thief and it further shows that God only saves Through the person's faith now in Romans 6 Paul argues that Christ's death on the cross for our sin Not only guarantees our future salvation, but it also transforms our current lives.

Christ's sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection from the dead Not only secured us from the future judgment of God's wrath for our sin. But also he delivered us from the present power of sin. It means our current lives.

Right. Our current spiritual lives are not in the waiting room for heaven. But rather our life apart from sin starts rather now right when we first believe. The moment you believe you no longer belong to sin, but you belong to Christ.

There is a huge transfer in that spiritual realm. Now. Unfortunately, it is a rare concept in the church if heaven is ever really preached anymore. It's mainly on the there's the future promise. But oftentimes Christians forget their new relation to sin the moment they believe.

They live as if sin has full control over them still as It had in their former lives before trusting Christ. They believe as if sin were still their master. All too often Christians speak as though they're still ruled by sin.

You may hear something like this. Oh, I will be anxious until the day I die. Or Something like this. I'm a gay Christian. I can't give up pornography. We identify ourselves with sin. We modify our identity with sin.

We live in subjugation to sin even after trusting in Christ when we have been freed from sin. Now however Paul's response to such claims by the modern church is stated in verse 2. Certainly not. How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it and this morning?

Not only because of those who are being baptized. But for all of us who are in Christ we do need to hear this reminder. Certainly not. How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it and the main point of this text is that because of our Comprehensive union with Christ.

We're dead to sin and alive to God. Because of our comprehensive union with Christ, we're dead to sin and alive to God first. Verses 1 through 5 show us that we're united with Christ in every part of his redemptive act.

So that we could live a new life. We're united with Christ with every part of his redemptive action so that we could live a new life. Now after unpacking the deep theological truth of how of how God Saved us from his wrath through Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross Paul poses a hypothetical argument.

Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Right this this question is not big. It's not that Paul doesn't know the answer to it. It's a hypothetical question to unpack a deeper theological truth.

Right. He's about to show us something. He's about to teach the Roman Church what it means to live as Christians and. This is a question that is directly linked to Romans 520 which was read this morning.

Now the law came in so that the transgression may increase but where sin increased. Grace multiplied all the more or grace abounded all the more. Now this is a legitimate question. Paul is anticipating this argument from those Who are still living in sin, even though they claim that to be believers well if God's grace in Christ is so much bigger than our sin.

That's true. God's grace in Christ is so much bigger than our sin. Then why not live however we want. Because Christ's grace will cover it anyway, right? That's that's the. That's the natural Mindset to the claim that God's grace is so much bigger than your sin there's no amount of sin you can do that God's grace cannot cover and The natural in our perverse mindset, it's like well then I can live however I want, right?

It's to view God's grace as a credit card or a license to sin. I Will live like the world. I will speak like the world. I will indulge in the same filth as the world. Because Christ's atoning sacrifice will cover for me.

Jesus can't handle it. Right, I. That's a tempting thought you can have you can bake the cake and eat it too. And to this mindset Paul clearly answers. Certainly not. This response is the strongest denial possible, right?

So many translators put an exclamation mark not that there's an exclamation mark in Greek, right? It's it's it's strong denial. Certainly not or by no means. Then Paul answers with the rhetorical question.

How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? To die to sin means you have no ties with sin anymore. Just as death would dramatically sever one's connection with really anything, right? When we place our faith in Christ, we're dramatically severed from sin.

We're dead to sin. We kind of use this as an idiom. You're dead to me. You have nothing to do with me. But instead we're saying it to sin sin you're dead to me because We're in Christ. This is not to say that Christians no longer sin.

That will not be possible until either we die or we're resurrected when Jesus comes back right. It's an ongoing battle. Rather what it's saying is that in Christ there is a drastic shift in our relationship With sin.

We're dead to it. We're no. We no longer belong to the realm of sin and Satan anymore. The world of sin has no power over us. Christians do not and cannot Live according to the same sinful ways as they did before their conversion.

Because we are dead to sin. And in verses 3 to 4 Paul illustrates this new reality with the act of baptism first. Verse 3 shows our union with Christ in his death. Or do you not know that as many of us were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death.

Baptism is used figuratively. Obviously can't be used literally because none of us or even the Roman Church. Anyone from the Roman Church? No one was present in his death. Right, and how do you get baptized literally?

Physically in someone's death, so. The translation here and also how we interpret this is that this baptism is figurative. It's not that when you dunk yourself in the water all of a sudden, right? You're magically transferred to 2 ,000 years ago, right?

But rather what it's saying is. The baptism is here to depict an important spiritual truth of salvation. Just as the person getting baptized is immersed right submerged right into the water Christians are completely United with Christ in his death just as no part of that person's body.

Remains above the water a person when he places his faith or her faith in Christ, they're completely submerged in Union with Christ in his death right, that's the picture of baptism here as Christ died on the cross for our sin.

We too have completely died to sin. That's the picture that baptism portrays. We are fully transferred out of our former lives of wickedness. Now verse 4 takes the baptism metaphor further. 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. Now from our union with Christ death on the cross Paul takes us to our union with Christ burial and resurrection.

Oftentimes we skim over Christ burial. Right, we we don't think about the fact that Jesus was buried after he was crucified. And the reason is because the burial is a flanked by the two biggest events in human history the crucifixion and the resurrection.

Right now Paul however does not leave our union with Christ burial out and the reason is. There is no part in Christ's redemptive work in which his people are ever separated from him. Right. There is no part of Christ's redemptive work in which you are not connected with Christ if You are united with Christ in his death.

There's no way that you're separated from Christ until ever. You're united with Christ in his death means it's a guarantee that you're united with Christ through baptism and resurrection as well moreover.

Just as Christ was raised from the dead by God's glorious power Christians are also raised to live this new life with Christ. Also raised by God's glorious power. Old life dead and new life in Christ a new life in which our relationship with sin is vastly different.

A new life in which sin has no control over us. And. In verse 5 Paul summarizes our complete union with with Jesus in our new converted lives. For if we have been united together in the likeness of his death Certainly, we also shall be in the likeness of his resurrection.

Our unity with Christ Completely comprises every aspect of Christ's salvific act. And Because our former lives have been put to death and buried as Christ was. We look forward to the resurrection that is coming because the past Has been fulfilled one can look forward to the future.

Our Unity with Christ is not just for now, but it looks ahead longingly to the future of the resurrection and Just as sin and death had no power over the resurrected Christ. Sin and death will one day have no effect on Christians on their resurrection day.

Now union with Christ is a doctrine that is often forgotten. However, the whole of New Testament is full of references to our union with Christ. Whenever Paul writes the phrase in Christ he is referring to our union in Christ.

He's not saying in Christ just to fill up the space. Words were expensive back then letters were expensive that back then. When he puts in Christ He meant it to be there. You're found in the realm of Christ.

You're found in the sphere of Christ. Because this King has transferred you out of the domain of darkness into his own kingdom. Right what the synoptic gospel authors would say the kingdom of God kingdom of Christ.

Paul says in Christ you're found in him and through Christ death burial and resurrection. We're rescued from the realm of sin and death and we're transferred to the kingdom of Jesus Christ. We no longer belong to sin and Satan.

But we belong to Jesus. In order for this King To make you his citizen He gave his life for you. That's what in Christ means. In fact, it's a good summary of the New Testament. In Christ if you had two words to summarize the New Testament, it's in Christ.

That's where you were where you are from where you once were. Now. This is important for the church because what that means is because of our whole new Relationship with sin because we're now in Christ our new lives must look vastly different from the old lives.

In fact if a Christian lives the same way that she did before her conversion there is something wrong. Now this is not to say that someone who just recently converted Right is not suddenly perfect. That's uh, that can be explained away by immaturity, right?

They they have not been discipled. They have not been they have not grown but what I'm saying is for years for decades the person after Supposedly putting his or her faith in Christ. There's no change.

There's no fruit. Either she is not truly saved or she is something she is missing out on. Her potential life in Christ and that is one of the saddest thing in life to see a Christian living in the same way as He did before his conversion.

You're not really tapping into the great potential that you could have in Christ. In fact, you're willingly voluntarily enslaving yourselves to sin. There's no taste of freedom there's no hint of joy and peace in Christ and For those people there's no assurance of salvation.

What Paul tells us this morning is that We don't live in the same sinful manner enjoying the same sinful things. Speaking in the same sinful way because you belong to someone else. Because you belong somewhere else it's as if living in Sacramento on a hot summer day and you're wearing the same thing you would wear if you were in Antarctica, it's first ridiculous, but Unnatural.

Christians who have been transferred to Christ cannot live in the same way as They once were now. What does our new life look like in union with Christ? Our union with Christ frees us from the power of sin.

Our union with Christ frees us from the power of sin. After developing the comprehensive nature of our unity with Christ Paul gives us the implications in our current lives. Knowing this that our old man was crucified with him that the body of sin might be done away with.

That we should no longer be slaves of sin. The knowledge of our full union with Christ transforms how we live. Here our old man was crucified with Christ and the old man in Pauline epistles Paul's letters signify.

It's the old man signifies the former lives and sin. Right the sinful lives that we once lived before our faith in Christ. The body of sin similarly is our body that is rendered powerless. Against sin it had it.

It was completely weak against sin and the old self that attached To perverseness right and wicked desires like a piece of metal to a neodymium magnet our old self. That old self was subjected to sin as slaves.

They were bound to sin shackled to sin. And how are we freed from the slavery of sin. Verse 7 tells us for he who has died has been freed from sin. Death is required to be freed from slavery. Hence why our union with Christ's death severs us from sin.

When Jesus died you also died with him. As Christ died we with him we are freed from the bondage of sin. We're no longer slaves to sin, but freed men and women and. Our relationship with sin has totally changed afterward.

And now what are the implications of dying with Christ? Verse 8 now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live it with him. Dying with Christ guarantees life with Christ. Dying with Christ guarantees Life with Christ and just as Christ's death Inevitably led to Christ's resurrection.

There was no other way. Believers who are united with Christ in his death Inevitably are united with Christ in his life in his resurrection. Now verses 9 through 10 described the results of our resurrection with Christ knowing that Christ Having been raised from the dead dies.

No more death. No longer has dominion over him. For the death that he died he died to sin once and for all but the life that he lives he lives to God. Because the resurrected Christ conquered death once and for all.

We have assurance that we too will be freed from sin and death once and for all. The union with Christ allows for that. You are with him and our union with Christ in resurrection Guarantees the future complete deliverance from sin and death.

But it's not just about the future it starts now. Therefore Paul answers his hypothetical question from verse 1 in verse 11. Likewise you also Reckon yourselves consider yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but a life to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Christians must consider constantly their new state in Christ. Their new state of freedom from sin once and for all. This is why Christians do not live To sin their lives do not revolve around sin so that grace may abound.

Their union with Christ makes their makes them a new creation severed from sin dead to sin. Now Christians is This how you view yourself when you're tempted to sin. Do you remind yourself that you're dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

You no longer are under sins authority. Despite the sweet temptations or severe threats. Sin no longer has power over you because You died to sin when Christ died for your sin your old sin your pet sin.

Right the one that has been poking its head every once in a while May be still persuasive and enticing. But Paul reminds us however that sin has lost all its power over you because you're dead to sin and Alive to God in Christ.

It's not because you've worked hard. It's not because of Your good deeds or that you're good enough. I was never bad in the first place. I Never murdered Never cheated on my wife. No. It's because whom you belong.

It's because of your new allegiance. It's because of whom you are united. That transforms your relationship with sin from a slave of sin to free in Christ. All who are getting baptized today have tasted this freedom from sin and desired to proclaim it publicly and Today their baptism is not what frees them from their sin because they're already freed in sin because they believe in Christ.

But their baptism is the public display of their internal freedom from sin and their union With Christ. And I will end with this famous illustration from Martin Lloyd-Jones a famous Welsh pastor and his sermon series on Romans is Very well known and he used this as an illustration.

Christians relation to sin is like the former slave Running into his old master on the street. Although the former slaves heart may jump at the sight of his old master He must remind himself that he is a freed man.

His old master bears no power Over him anymore. His old master has no authority to subjugate him again however, he is under a new master a kinder master Who died to free him once and for all and that dictates?

Illustrates Our union with Christ. It's a different life. It's a new life. It's a better life. Let us pray Father we're thankful this morning that we get to study and hear about the you our union with Christ.

Thank you that you sent your son to die for our sin and that he was buried and he rose from the dead on the third day and All through that we are united with him. Help us to live according to our identity.

Help us to reflect your glory as we live in Union with your son Jesus Christ in his name. We pray. Amen.