The Spiritual Meaning of Water Baptism — Keith Malcomson

Praise God. Here this morning, turning to Romans chapter 6, and I just want to change and do an individual message here on water baptism as we prepare to do our water baptism service here this afternoon.

The Spiritual Meaning of Water Baptism in Romans 6

I want to preach a specific message from Romans chapter 6 on this, and this is my title here this morning, the spiritual meaning of water baptism, the spiritual meaning of water baptism. Reading from Romans chapter 6 and verse 1, what shall we say then?

Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? Know ye not, what a question, know ye not that so many of us, as we're baptized into Jesus Christ, we're baptized into his death.

Therefore, we are buried with him in baptism into death, but like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life, for if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection, knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin, for he that is dead is freed from sin.

Now, if we are dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him, knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over him, for in that he died, he died unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

Likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lust thereof.

Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God as unto, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Let's pray together. Father, thank you for the word of God this morning, and the simplicity of this gospel, the power of this gospel, and the truth of what has happened to us in Christ when we were born again.

Lord God, saved by the grace of God, Lord God, I thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ, that in him we have been crucified, we have been buried, and we are risen again. We are new creatures in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new, and to Christ be all the glory and all the praise. No resolution could have done this, no religion could have done this, no tradition could have done this, but the living person of Christ did do what no man could do.

We love you this morning, Lord Jesus, amen. My message, the spiritual meaning of water baptism. You see, the Bible does have various symbols. Here this morning we broke bread, we had the Lord's table, we had the juice and the bread representing, they're symbolic, they're symbolic, they symbolize something.

And do you know what? They symbolize a powerful truth in the Bible, that Christ died for us on the cross, that his body bare our sin. Also, under this pulpit here, I've got a little bottle of oil. The Bible says, if you're sick, call for the elders and they'll anoint you with oil and pray for you.

Now that oil isn't anything special. I think we had one from Jerusalem or Israel or somewhere. It's not special, I can assure you. It represents, it's symbolic. So that oil symbolizes the power of the Holy Spirit.

So when we pray, when we anoint them with oil, it's not the oil that does anything. This little bit of juice that we take this morning cannot wash away your sins or forgive your sins. It is symbolic. And yet there's a powerful dynamic truth.

If you partake of this table wrongly, you could get sick, you could die. That's what the Bible teaches. That's why it's so serious. When you anoint someone with oil, they could instantly get healed. And we know as well, we practice head covering here in this church.

It's symbolic. There's an entire biblical teaching. It's only a symbol. It is nothing in itself. It's not it. It is representative. But also we know that water baptism, the act of being baptized in water is symbolic.

We know that in Acts chapter 2, Acts chapter 8, Acts chapter 9, Acts chapter 19, and various other verses, that when someone got saved, born again, they knew it. They knew that they'd been saved. They knew they were born again.

As soon as you get saved, you get baptized in water. That's what happens. But that baptism in water, it is a symbol. It doesn't have the power to change you. Water cannot wash away your sin. Water cannot change the nature of a man.

I've watched lots of people be baptized in water. It never changed them. They're as big a rogue afterwards as they were before. It is symbolic. And yet it has a powerful, dynamic truth that when you understand it and you believe it, there is power there.

Now when we come to the book of Romans, we actually see that from chapter 3 to chapter 5, we are dealing with justification by faith through the blood of Jesus or through the finished work of the cross.

What Jesus done on the cross, he died for me. He justified me. I receive it by faith. I am forgiven by faith. And so chapter 3, 4, and 5, it is dealing with this experience. I'm washed in the blood. I am saved by grace.

But when we come to chapter 6 that we read here this morning, we are moving from salvation by faith through grace in Christ. We are now moving in chapter 6, chapter 7, chapter 8 to discipleship and this area of sin in the Christian's life.

You see, water baptism, today I'll take about three minutes or less for someone to be baptized in water. It takes no time at all. But what I'm about to preach to you takes a lifetime of working it out.

Yes, it's true of the person who's born again. I have been crucified, buried, and resurrected in Christ. But also, I'm going to live this out over an entire lifetime. And so we symbolize it in baptism in water.

But there is an entire lifetime of truth. It began a conversion, but it continues until we meet and face the Lord Jesus Christ again. And so when we come to Romans chapter 6, it's not dealing with water baptism.

Some people make this mistake. Colossians 2 or Romans 6, it's not talking about water baptism. It is talking about the true spiritual meaning that's symbolized by water baptism. Water baptism does not crucify the flesh.

It does not deal with sin. It doesn't. It cannot do. We know that. But you know what? The truth of what water baptism symbolizes is contained in Romans chapter 6. In verse 1, this word baptism is used as we begin to go into this chapter.

We begin to see in verse 3, baptized into his death. We see this word baptism is used in this chapter in a very real way. It is the Greek word baptizo. It is a Greek word, and I want to explain it to you here this morning.

Baptizo is used 77 times in our New Testament. Thirteen of those times are used concerning John the Baptist's baptism in water of repentance. Six of the times that this is used, it's spoken of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on individuals or groups of believers.

And so we begin to understand this, John's water baptism. Then we see the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It is called a baptism as well. But I want you to see what does the word baptizo actually mean.

Now, there's different Greek words that mean different things. That's obvious. And so if we talk about sprinkling water on someone, that is the word rantizo. It's a different Greek word. You never speak about baptizoing in relation to sprinkling.

It's utterly impossible. Neither is it the word echio. That means you pour water. It's not that word. It definitely isn't. Then there's luthe. It is to wash the body. Now, I'm not a Greek speaker, okay, so forgive me for my Greek.

I barely can keep up with English here this morning. But do you know what? Baptizo doesn't mean to sprinkle. It doesn't mean to pour. It doesn't mean to wash your body with water. What does baptizo mean?

This Greek word actually is totally different from all of them. Let me explain it to you. One of the meanings for baptizo means to dip repeatedly, to immerse completely, to submerge under liquid or water.

It is that no part of the body is above that water. That's what baptizo means. You are plunged in beneath the water. It also means to moisten or soak. If you're not soaked, you haven't been baptized. To sprinkle on your head.

You're not baptized. You haven't been baptized. But do you know what? To be saturated or soaked. This word was used in the first century concerning dying garments. You would take a garment and you would submerge it in the water.

So when it's left in the water, what is in the water goes into it. This is how they used to dye garments. So you would have purple dye in the liquid. You've got a nice white garment. What do you do? You actually moisten it.

Or you want the purple in the white garment. What do you do? You submerge it. That's what it is to get what is in the water you want to get in the garment. And there's a symbolic truth here. What the truth is, when you're baptized in Christ, you want some of that to get into you.

You want to be saturated, soaked, dyed by the reality of the Lord Jesus Christ. It also means to cover totally with fluid, to plunge beneath. And it was used of a drowning man. If a man's drowning, you're going, he's baptizo, he's venito.

I'm telling you, we're not going to see him again. Someone better pull him out of there. And so we see that baptizo is the strongest word possible to explain. You're an identification with the Lord Jesus Christ.

When we're born again, and when we get baptized in water, we are identifying. You're being baptized into the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a spiritual experience. And so notice with me in Romans chapter 6 here, there's three truths I want to give you this morning that are mentioned here.

Crucifixion With Christ

Number one, baptized, verse 3, baptized into his death. Number two, in verse 4, baptized into his burial. Number three, we find it in verse 4 and 5, baptized into his resurrection. These three things, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection is what?

It is the spiritual meaning of water baptism. When we see water baptism today, it represents three things that are happening. Now notice these three things of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

There are three historical facts. They happened at a point in time, in a place. They are literal, three historic facts. They are factually true. They actually happened. Christ was crucified outside of Jerusalem.

He did get buried for three days and his body lay in the grave. On the third day, he was raised from the dead triumphant and ascended on high to the right hand of the Father. These are historic facts.

Also, there are three simple facts of the basic gospel. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul says in verse 1, concerning the gospel which I preach. What was the gospel? What is the definition of the gospel? What did Paul preach?

Well, in verse 3, he says, So Christ gave it to him. Paul wrote it and gave it to us. What are the facts of the gospel that he preached? How that Christ died. That's the first fact. For our sins according to the scriptures.

And that he was buried. And that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. And so we see, this is not only historic fact. It is also the gospel message. These three points of reality. But do you know what?

When we come to Romans chapter 6 and we see that we have been justified by faith. I have been forgiven. I have been washed from my sins. I am saved. I am born again. I'm a new creature. It's by faith I've been saved.

Do you know you go straight into discipleship. This is now the message of discipleship. For those that have come to faith in Jesus Christ. What is the true spiritual meaning of water baptism? Anybody can get baptized in water.

Most of them don't understand it. They've got no concept. It means nothing to say, well, you just do that. Very few, I mean, even mature Christians have little understanding about the true meaning. That's a symbol.

That is the outward act we do. But it's got an entire truth. An entire lifestyle that comes out of that. Let me show you here this morning. The first one. The first spiritual meaning of water baptism is the death of Jesus Christ and our crucifixion with him.

Look at verse 3. It says, know ye not. And underline that word, know. Know ye not. What a question. Do you not even know this? Don't you understand this? Know ye not that so many of us, as were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into his death?

Or look again at verse 6. He says, knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin may be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. Notice in verse 3 and verse 6, he uses this word to know.

Don't you know that you're crucified with Christ? What does water baptism symbolize? You've been crucified with Christ. Not only did Jesus die on a cross, I was crucified with him. And so when you respond, say, I want to be baptized.

I've been born again. You know what you're saying? I know. I know that I have been baptized. I'm getting baptized into the death of Jesus. To know it means be conscious, to become very aware, to perceive or to resolve.

I don't care how long ago it is that you got baptized in water. Can I say, don't you know that you were baptized into the death of Christ? Don't you know that you died with him? Don't you know this? I'm not saying, do you feel it?

You see, some Christians say, I don't feel dead. I don't feel crucified. I don't feel that's a reality. I don't feel that I died to sin. Who said this had anything to do with feelings? You see, too many Christians, they're ruled by what they see and feel and think, by their personal experience.

Oh, but I sinned against God. Oh, I can't get victory over this thing. I don't know how to go forward. You know what? You're ruled by something you should never be ruled by. He says, do you not know? To know is with the mind.

It's to know facts, to know details, to know truth, to know what the Bible says. You say, but sure, it's not a reality in my life. I don't know this thing. But a real Christian has to come to know that they know they've been crucified.

This isn't something you feel or you merely imagine or you confess in the being. You've got to know it. What does the Bible teach? Are you born again? What does the Bible teach? You've been crucified with Christ.

Oh, but I can't feel it. Who said it had anything to do with that? It says if your faith is in the Lord Jesus Christ, you have been. You know now that you're a Christian, you've got to come to know this.

I told you, I said this is an entire life. Right at the beginning, you get baptized and mortared, and you go, that's all there is to know about that. Really? Do you realize you're going to spend the rest of your Christian life finding out the power?

I have been crucified with Christ. Just like, let me ask you, did you see Christ die? Did any of you in this room? I hope none of you has responded. I hope none of you will talk later. But did any of you see Jesus die on the cross?

Were any of you there? Did any of you feel it? Did any of you touch it with your hands? Do any of you have iPhone pictures of it or a video of it? None of you have that. None of you. How do you know Jesus died?

So you're sitting here and go, I know he died. I know he was crucified. No one could talk me out of this. Why is it different with your crucifixion? When it comes to, are you crucified? Did you die? Have you died to sin?

You go, I don't know. I don't know. You know why? Because you're doing it somewhere else. You're trying to perceive this. You need to go back to the Word of God and say, I know, I perceive, I understand.

I believe the Word of God. I have been crucified with Christ. Know ye not? You see, it says here that it is your old man that has been crucified. Or he goes further here. He says, he calls it the body of sin.

Now, what is the body of sin? It is the whole original principle of sin. It is sin expressed through the body. And it is also called the flesh. In Romans 7, verse 5, verse 18, verse 25, and other verses, it talks about flesh.

What is flesh? It is the body of sin. It is that body that sin operates through. That's why Paul, as a believer in Romans 7, he says, there is sin. That flesh, that old nature, that body of sin, it does sin.

It is very real. And so we know that it's not, Paul says, he says, it's not me sinning, it's my flesh. That wasn't an excuse. You know, we've got lots of Christians who blame everybody apart from themselves.

Paul wasn't doing that. You know what? He realized he's got a new creature. He's born again. He's alive in Christ. But he's saying there's a problem here that I'm trying to work through. You know what it's called?

The flesh, the body of sin. Sin comes through that old nature. But notice the truth here that is represented by water baptism. When you plunge down into the water, when you're actually put down into that water, you know what it represents?

Spiritually, there's a truth. You were crucified. If you're a Christian, if you're in Christ to be baptized into Christ, what does that mean? I'm getting baptized into Christ. What does that mean? Baptized into his death, immersed, lost, saturated.

That death is going to impact my entire life. There's lots of people who claim Christ. They're not dead to themselves or to sin or to this world. You know what? They're very alive. They don't have any desire to experience this crucified life.

It says in chapter 6 verse 2, we that are, are, what word? Will be? No, are, we that are dead. It's the Eroist Greek tense. It means consummated, finished, a once for all act. In other words, you're not trying to kill yourself.

You're not trying to be crucified. Most Christians are saying, I hope to be crucified. I'm trying to attain onto this. I'm not sure I've got the energy or the power. That old nature, boy, have you ever met him down a dark alley?

Have you ever met him when you went home and you close the door and you've just been with people and you get angry or whatever else and you meet that old fallen nature? I want to tell you, it's a very, very real thing.

And yet here, it's not trying to crucify him. The Bible says you were crucified 2000 years ago. I was crucified on that cross. I haven't seen it. I wasn't there. It's not a feeling. I know it to be true.

It is as factual and as real as Jesus dying upon the cross. It actually says here in verse 6, knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Christ. So what does that mean? That the body of sin might be destroyed.

Notice that word destroyed. That henceforth we should not serve sin. Are you serving sin? There's a way through this. You've got to realize the old nature, your flesh has been destroyed. If you begin to know this and understand it and grip it and believe it and stand on the word of God, you know what?

You no longer serve sin. It's a very real thing. What does the word destroy mean? It's used 26 times in our New Testament. 25 of those times the apostle Paul uses it. It doesn't mean eradicate it. It doesn't mean to put out of existence.

It doesn't mean to pull up by the roots that there's no more evidence of it. It doesn't mean that. This is what the Greek word for destroyed means. That means to render it entirely idle, to render it inactive, to make of no effect, to make inoperative.

You know a car, you can make it inoperative. Just know how to take a few certain things out. The car's still there. Oh, it's still in its place. All the parts are there. But if Paul being a mechanic knows that certain thing to take out, and if you remove that one little item, you know what?

All day long I could fiddle with it and not do any harm to it. But he could go in there and take one thing out. The car becomes inoperative. It means to become without power, to put out of use, to put out of business, to fire.

And he has ever been fired. Well, Brother Clendon used to say, as a preacher, pastor, if you haven't been fired two or three times in your lifetime, you're not much of a preacher at any rate. Well, thank God I haven't been fired yet.

So I'm just holding on here. But this destroying the old man or the body of sin means to fire him. It means to unemploy him. In other words, he was employed. I rely on him. I expect him to operate. I am looking from the function.

I allow him. But you know what? To destroy. Remember, it's this experience of being crucified with Christ. It fires him. It actually puts him in prison. He's not dead in the sense of annihilated. But it said, you've got a death penalty hanging over you.

You know, one of these days, I'll never have this flesh life again. It is going to be eradicated. I'm not going to have to fight sin again. I won't be tempted again. I won't fail God again. I wish I hadn't failed him, but I have.

I have failed him. But I know that the truth of this and the power of this is the secret. I want to tell you this morning, this is what water baptism symbolizes. Anyone can look at water baptism and say, I'm just getting baptized because I believe in Jesus.

No, it means something. I have been. It's screaming out to us today. You've been crucified with Christ 2 ,000 years ago so that you will no longer be a servant of sin. It says in verse 6, to not serve sin.

Verse 7, freed from sin. Verse 17, delivered from sin. It's a very real thing. In verse 5, it says that we're planted together in the likeness of his death to mean grown up with, closely united with. See, we want to be identified with Christ, but not his death.

Real biblical Christianity is baptizo. It is immersed. It is saturated with this death of Christ. His death became my death. He died for my sins, but also I was crucified with him. This is the answer to your sin problem.

Are you fighting sin? You're trying to defeat it up there, down the road. One of these days, I'm going to get the better of you. One of these days, flesh, I'm going to wrestle you to the ground. John Bunyan, writing Pilgrim's Progress, he met this old nature on the road, the Christian.

He went, praise God, I'm born again. I'm walking with God. It wasn't too long until he met his old nature. He was called the old man. Do you know what he started doing? Nipping him. You ever had a donkey nip?

They're horrible. They're horrible. I tell you, I've done it once or twice to Candice. It's horrible. She runs when she thinks I'm going to give her a donkey nip. It's the worst thing imaginable. Do you know what that old man was doing to Christian in Pilgrim's Progress?

He'd come and he nipped him and he wrestled him to the ground. Have you ever had that experience or are you so perfect? A real born again Christian makes that old flesh. I tell you, sir, it's a terrible thing.

And yet, remember, you've got to know this. You were crucified. You've been planted in the likeness of his death. It's in him. You're in his death. There's power in this death. You're not going to defeat it up the road.

You need to look back to Calvary, to the cross, to his work, to his work in your heart. And you know what the secret is, is knowing it. Oh, but I don't feel it. I know, I know. But I got defeated along the way.

I know, I know. But you know what? You need to go back to Calvary and go, I know. You've got to know this. Second of all, the spiritual meaning of water baptism is burial in Christ. Not only to be crucified, but to be buried.

Burial With Christ

Look at verse four. Therefore, we are buried with him. This isn't something that you do apart from him. It is in him or with him by baptism. Was he buried? His burial was a historic fact 2 ,000 years ago.

You're not trying to bury your old man. You're not trying to get rid of it along the way. That happened 2 ,000 years ago. You were buried with him by baptism or by immersion into his death. So a lot of people only had a sprinkling of this baptism.

Oh, it might affect my life. I know, I know. I only want immersed, sprinkled, maybe a little pouring of the death of Christ. No, no, no, no. This is far more. What about the burial? Oh, but I want to be seen.

I want to be at the forefront. I want to live my life for Christ. I want him to use all my gifts. Maybe he'll say, I never want to use that stinking gift of yours. You keep saying, look at this. You can use this, Lord.

So I don't want that. I want this over here. So he'd done with the rich young ruler. Master, what must I? I'll keep any commandment. All the commandments I keep. Wonderful. Just deal with this one issue.

Oh, no, not that issue. Master, why don't you tell me to do all the others? I don't want all the others. I want this one thing. It says he turned around, walked off sad. He didn't want to be buried with Christ.

You know, it's okay to have theology and doctrine and statements on your lips and to go through the ritual of baptism or Lord's table. But you know what? There's a power with this. Have you been buried with Christ?

It means the putting away of the life. You've been crucified. You know, you understand you've been crucified. And so you're buried. Who do you bury? Do you bury dead or living people? Do you bury someone who's walking about?

Have you ever tried to grab someone who's very much alive and say, I'm going to bury you. I think you're going to see them run at the speed of a thousand gazelles. You go, where did he go? He went that way.

He's running. You don't bury living people. You bury dead people. I heard about a lady once whose husband died, but she refused to allow him to be buried. She wouldn't let them. Her mind was a bit off.

She had problems. But he died and says, no, no, I know he's alive. She had him sitting in the seat. She sat down and talked to him. But she said, you're not going to bury him. I talk to him every night.

I haven't had this little trouble with him. There's 50 years. It's wonderful. You're not burying him. These are the best times I've ever had with him. He agrees with everything I say. You know, that lady, she was not convinced her husband was dead.

Therefore, she would not let him be buried. Some of you, because you're not convinced, you are not convinced that you're crucified. You are not convinced that you're dead. You've never, you've never walked through this burial.

Burial is immersion, buried with Christ. If a dead body only has some soil sprinkled on it, it's not buried. If you lay a body in the graveyard, it's not buried. You've got to literally go down six feet, put the body down, cover all the soil back.

It's gone. It's gone. You'll never look at that body again. It's gone. It is buried. What is the key to this? If being crucified with Christ, the secret is knowing this and looking back to the cross. What is the secret of burial?

It is reckoning. In chapter 6, verse 11, it says, Likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead. You've got to reckon this, that you're dead. This term reckon is used 41 times in the New Testament. 19 of those times, it's in this book of Romans.

It's an important word in the book of Romans. It also means counted. It's a mathematical term. Soph working in the bank now, not sure if he would still be working there, if he would have been the old Soph.

I think the new Soph can manage to hold things down the way the old Soph. Do you know when Soph first come in, he never got out of bed before two in the afternoon. That was the old man. I want to show you, I never tried to drag him out of that bed.

I wouldn't have dared. It would have taken dynamite to change that guy. He is a guy, a limerick guy. He is saturated in this world. I would have been a fool to try and have changed his life. But do you know what?

I do know if a man gets born again, there's going to be a burial of that old life. Here, drugs were sold. Here, DJing, it's gone. It's gone. You heard a man who's buried the old life. Where is the drug seller?

Where's the drug buyer? Where's the DJ? He's buried. You know what? Someone become convinced that old life's dead. Now it needs to be buried. How do you do that? You reckon it to be true to put to one's account.

Nor would you say, this is in my bank account. I'm buried. It's gone. I'll never see it again. Some of you just leave the doors open. That door's open. That door's open. That door's open. That door. And then you go, I'll just pop over here.

And then I'll just pop back in. And then you'll pop back over there. Sure, you've never closed the door. You've never buried. You've never reckoned it to be true. Those doors are closed. I'll never go back through them again.

Since I'm telling you the power, the simplicity of this gospel, it means you have to not only know that you're crucified, you've got to reckon that you're buried. You've got to count it to be true. You've got to impute it that that life is gone.

It's buried. You know, when we talk about something being buried, we mean it's gone. It's never going to be revisited. You've got to estimate. Again, not feel it, not understand it, but you've got to believe it and act upon it.

Acting upon a fact. Remember what Candice taught the kids about facts? Two never becomes one. Three can never be one. It's utterly impossible. With mathematics, we deal with numbers, and numbers are always facts.

So when we come to Romans 6, we're dealing with facts. It was a fact. If you're born again, you're baptized into the death of Christ, into the burial. You are submerged into his burial. I don't have the power to bury myself.

I don't have... I know, I know. I would hate to try and bury you, I assure you. I don't have the power to close this old life off. I don't have the power to turn away from all that. I know, but the power is in Christ.

Christ was buried. It's with him. You see, you need to understand your Christian mass, biblical mass. I hated mass at school. I mean, I utterly detested. I couldn't understand why they taught science at school, chemistry, biology, physics.

I went, who in their right mind would ever want to study these? I couldn't understand. Mass was maybe above all of them. It was worst of all. I went, who would ever want to sit in a classroom and learn times tables?

You'd have to be demented. There's something wrong. I want to go draw pictures. I want to play handball out in the schoolyard. Who would want to learn mass? But I tell you what, when I come to this Bible, I learnt my mass.

I am buried. I believe it to be true. It is a fact. That old life is gone. Believe that you died in Christ and were buried. Verse three, it says, know ye not that so many of you as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death.

Then notice verse four. Therefore, because of this fact, because of this, therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death, not reckoning future. I am trying to bury. I hope it will happen one day.

One of these days, I'm going to see the back of this flesh. You're looking in the wrong direction. I was buried. My entire old life of sin was buried with Jesus Christ in the tomb, and it doesn't have power to come alive again.

It is buried there. Christ put it there. It is a finished work. Do you remember Abraham in Romans chapter four? It was an impossible act. God says, you're going to have a child. Abraham, you're an old man.

And see with this girl of yours that has followed you about all these years, married all these years, neither of you, both of you are dead. Neither of you can have a child. Now you're very old. What does it say in Romans 4, 19?

It's the same principle. And being not weak in faith, he considered not now his own body dead when he was about 100 years old. Neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb. Some of you are consumed with that old nature.

You're saying, but it's alive. I know it's alive. I can't do anything about that. You know what? You need to get into the realm of faith. I'm telling you like Abraham. He could have looked at that old girl and said, no, no chance.