Romans 6:1-14 -  The Old Man Nailed

 

Intro: The Verses that we just read are some of the most powerful & profound verses in all of Scripture An understanding  and

A) An Application of what Paul is saying here will take us from the realm of simply enduring the Christian Life to enjoying the Christian life

 

B) There is a difference between possessing eternal life, which all Christians have, and possessing that abundant life which the Lord came to give.

  

C) Now  In the closing part of chapter 5, the apostle began to describe to us the tremendous change that was introduced by Jesus Christ

1)  when he died on the cross and rose again from the dead

 

D)That Jesus came  to undo, through his death and resurrection, what the first Adam did to us the Garden

1)  That great contrast runs all through the second part of chapter 5 & was the focus of our study on Wed. night !

 

E) In which Paul built a case showing how  we were dead in Sin apart from

 Christ - that was our link to Adam

1)And the  Penalty was of Sin was death / condemnation & Judgment

 

F) But in Christ Paul revealed that we have been Freed from that penalty of Sin which is death / Given Justification & Life

 

 

Now As We come to Chapter. 6 Paul reveals that In Christ we have not only been freed from the Penalty of sin / also from the Power Of sin /

A) If you are taking notes there are 4 things I want you to note / that Paul reveals about the Victory we have in Christ !

 

B) 1st of all Paul reveals the We have a  New Identification / v.1

C) Now Paul begins by answering a question that would have naturally arisen because of the way he ended Chapter. 5 ( Look at v. 20 )

1)  Concluding what we have been given in Christ Paul says 20  Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,

 

D) Now hearing that - someone would ask / well lets just sin then / There are those today who live w/ that type of mentality

1)  Oh this sin that I am about to indulge in is no big deal / because God will forgive me /

 

E) People rationalize all types of sin w/ that logic / but a person who does that doesn’t have a clear understanding of Repentance - to turn away

1)  To turn & go the opposite direction / from sin to God

 

F) Nor do they have a proper understanding of what it means to be under the grace of God !

 

 

Grace doesn’t lead to Lawlessness -( Idea that says I can do whatever I want to because I am under grace )

A) It doesn’t lead to Carnality / nor does it lead to laziness - I’m just going to kick back now & be a couch potato for Jesus

 

B) True understanding of the grace of God - leads to liberty / but not a liberty to indulge in sin because the person who truly grasp God’s grace

1)  That would be the farthest thing on their mind

 

C) True understanding of God’s grace leads to a liberty / a freedom to enjoy life in the Lord ! G.R.A.C.E.  God’s riches at …… expense

1)  I realize - that I don’t have to perform in order to earn favor w/ God - but I realize I am at favor w/ God ! Theirs Peace / theirs access

 

D) My approach w/ God goes from being a responsibility to a response

E) Bible reading / prayer / sharing / ministry isn’t a have to - duty - but a get to / a want to / a privilege !

 

F) Plus I am filled w/ a confidence in my walk / as I come to understand that God is for me !  God is w/ me / Psalmist declared His mercy surrounds me

1)  Those of you who have played competitive sports might relate to this analogy

 

G) I remember there being times when - I was playing ball - preseason competing for that starting position !

1)  So much pressure - you don’t want to do anything wrong - don’t want to make a mistake - so you press & your tense / not enjoyable

 

H) But then the coach says OK you got the job - starting shortstop batting leadoff - / there is a relieve & a rejoicing / Pressure is gone !

1)  Knowing you have the coaches favor / gives you a confidence to go for it - play more aggressively take some chances

 

J)   No longer worried about your performance !

 

 

Well that is how the Lord wants us to feel - accepted on the Basis of Christ performance / free to worship / free to serve / free to Live

A) Enjoy our life in the Lord - blessings in store / suddenly your life takes on a whole new perspective

 

B) Christian life becomes a life of adventure ! Living w/ an understanding that I’m accepted in the beloved / Blessings available /

1)  Even through the trials - all part my Fathers plan to bless me & grow me up in Him !

 

C) That is what grace results in !   So Paul answers the question What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?  Certainly not

1)  It is illogical but it is also unscriptural because of our New Identity v2

How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?  3  Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  4  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.  5  For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,

 

What is our New Identification ?

A) We have died to sin / which is in the aorist tense which means it is a completed act / when we were Baptized into Christ !

 

B) Now This has nothing to do with water baptism, but rather with our being joined to Christ. United to Him, being made one with Him.

1)  As we were previously in Adam, so now we are in Christ. 1Cor.12:13   

     For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body;.

 

Bb) When you give your life to Christ you are automatically baptized into the family of God !   You become a part of Christ / One w/ Him

 

C) Since we are one with Christ everything that happened to Him literally, happened to us spiritually.

1)  He died and was  buried. We died and were buried /  He was raised, we have been raised. 2 Cor. 5:17  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

 

D) Now even thought this is not talking about water baptism it is speaking of what water Baptism symbolizes ! 

1)  Baptized 70 people at the wave /   Baptism - speaks of outward profession . but symbolizes old man buried / new man raised

 

E) Empowered to walk in that newness of life in Christ !

 

So is Paul saying that in Christ we never sin? No - not sinless perfection /

A) Note Paul doesn’t say we have died to sins as in sins plural - but to sin

 

B) He is speaking of the Power of sin / that before we came to Christ held is in bondage ! He is speaking of sin in form of bondage

1)  Our old sin nature / that as hard as we tried to do the right things we still blew it because we were still under the power of sin !

 

C) When Paul says we died to sin - Died to the Power of sin - because of our identification w/ Christ ! Identified in His death & Resurrection.

 

 

Now Paul makes this point even more clear - in v. 6-10 we he shares w/ us some radical information / 2nd point /  Victory because of radical information

A) 6  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. 7  For he who has died has been freed from sin.

 

B) Now this is such a key point - I can live in victory when I realize that my old man was crucified w/ Christ - body of sin done away w/

1)  Phrase done away is key - gr. Katargeo = rendered inactive / paralyzed

 

C) Paul doesn’t say that the old man was / old sin nature was annihilated / or completely destroyed - it was just paralyzed

1)  See as long as we are in these bodies we are going to battle w/ the flesh / old man

 

 

D) But victory comes when we understand that the old man has been rendered in active !    Coach Clark - Yell at me all he wants

1)  Friend / bully intimidating / 13 bully was paralyzed from neck down in an accident /  went to the Hospital - he was no longer intimidating

 

E) Now the bully could have said When I get out of here I am going to get you but it would just be words ! Hot air / rendered inactive

 

 

That is what Paul is saying the status of our old man is He has been rendered inactive / Power to control us & to intimidate us is gone !

A) The only power that he has in our lives is what we give him / by listening to him / falling for his lies

 

B) We are told in James 4 :7 to resist the Devil / word resist can me to not listen to ! He is always going to be there - always making noise

1)  Tune him out ! Music in a restaurant or store

 

C) So our old man was crucified w/ Christ - on the cross & his power in our lives has been rendered in active !  It’s Radical Information

1)  The Old man has been paralyzed - no longer under his power or his intimidation !

 

D) In the book of Judges in Chapter. 4 we have a powerful illustration of what Paul is teaching here in Romans 6

 

The scene in Judges 4  is that the Children of Israel had been in Bondage to the Cannanites for 30 yrs / intimidated / dominated & oppressed

A) After 30 yrs of this they cried to the Lord for mercy / and the Lord heard them and raised up a deliverer - woman named Deborah

 

B) So under the Leadership of Deborah - the people of Israel engaged in battle against the army of the Cannanites who were led by General Sisera

1)  The Cannanites came out for the Battle - w/ 900 Chariots / which in those days was the equivalent of a Phantom Jet or A-1 Tank

 

C) The Israelites didn’t even have one Chariot / they were greatly out numbered & out gunned / but the Lord was on their side / Victory

 

D) During the battle when Israel started to have victory - Sisera began to flee

1)  He was running through the camp of the Israelites when he spotted a familiar face ! Woman named Jael

 

E) Jael & her husband Heber were Cannanites who had defected over to the side of Israel yrs earlier /          Heber = crossing over

 

Well Sisera sees Jael & recognizes her - runs up to her & says Jael you have got to hide me in your tent.

A) Jael  agrees to let him hide in the tent - but then the old General / this guy who used to dominate her starts ordering her around

 

B) Give me something to drink / stand watch at the door / if anyone ask if there is a man in here lie & tell them no !

 

C) Well that is just like what the old man starts to do in our lives / tries to  get his foot in the door / starts to order us around - /

1)  starts to demand that we satisfy him

 

D) Listen to what Jael does next - Sisera the old General falls asleep & Jael comes up to him & Drives a tent stake right through his head !

1)  She Nailed the Old Gen. / literally

 

E) That is what Paul says happened to our old man - he was nailed to the cross / rendered inactive / Powerless in my life !

 

F) I’m free to Choose not to sin / but to walk in the Spirit / I can resist sin Because there is a new power in me/  which is what Paul says in v. 8-10

 

  Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,  9  knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him 10  For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 

 

E)Because Jesus Lives & we are made alive in Him . Sin and death are over, as far as we are concerned, because that is what is true of Jesus.

1)  He lives now, and he lives under the will and by the power of God.

 

F) Therefore, Paul says, the same thing is true in our lives

1)  His power is available to us. When we decide not to sin, we

       have the power to carry it out, because Christ is living in us.

 

 

Brings us to the 3rd thing we need to see that reveals the Victory we have in Christ !  New Identification / Given some radical Information

 

A) Should lead to a Simple appropriation ! V.11  Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

B) The word Reckon is a term used in accounting which means to add up the numbers or the facts & see that they are so !

1)  See that this is a fact ! Died to Sin / raised w/ Christ / Old man rendered in active !

 

C) Example lost your Job & you are in Debt - 10,000 dollars Living in poverty barely surviving / old clothes / little food /

1)  - Friend writes you a check for  $25,000  / Now to  appropriate the Check - you have to cash it !  / Then use it to pay off your debt

 

D) The rest to live on / you could buy some new clothes / get some food / go out to the Chart house if you wanted to

1)  But lets say you didn’t think the Check was any good so left it in your wallet / never cashed it

 

E) Now if that was the case /  the reason for your poverty would be because you didn’t appropriate the check ! Didn’t put it into the account !

1)  Your poverty would be due to your failure to really believe what your friend did for you !

F) So to w/ appropriation / Jesus who was called the friend of sinners paid the entire penalty for our sins / and slew our old nature in the process

 

G) The question is not whether His provision is sufficient but whether or not we reckon it to be true !

 

 

Brings us to the 4th point  in Paul’s outline / the Practical application V12 12  Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.13  And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14  For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

 

A) Paul is not teaching positive thinking here. He's not saying, just visualize yourself dead to sin, and alive to God.

 

B) No, he's saying, you are dead to sin as a rule of life, these are the facts, now act on them. /    This is How it works practically

1). Choosing to do the right thing,  knowing that sin can no longer

     controls you unless you allow it to.

 

C) Do not let sin reign! As long as we are in these bodies sin will be

       with us, and trying to rule over us. " For the flesh lust against the

         spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. Walk in the spirit and you

          shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh." Galatians 5:17,16

 

D) The word Present means to Yield or to submit yourself to / before saved we were submitted to sin

 

 

Members speaks of - our physical bodies as well as our mental powers.

A) Before Christ my strength, my energy, my appetites, my speech, my  mind, my imagination, my emotions were used in the service of sin

B) Used to please myself / fulfill my fleshly appetites /

 

C) But now Paul says Don’t Present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin   but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead,  and your members as instruments of righteousness to God

 

D) Word Instrument = a tool or a weapon ! Through Christ our members which were once used for destruction - now used as a tool for God

1)  A Vessel that He can poor into & Pour out in order to bless others

 

 

Again we have another illustration of this in the O.T. book of Joshua /

A) In the Promise land - the Lord said it is all yours 3  "Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.

5  "No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.

6  "Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.

 

Aa) The Lord told Joshua to  Possess the Land / every place that the soul of your foot stops I have given to you

 

B) In Chapter. 5 we find Joshua out surveying the scene Jericho walls that were 100 ft high & 50 feet thick  / battle strategy / runs into the Lord / read

13  And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, "Are You for us or for our adversaries?"14  So He said, "No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, "What does my Lord say to His servant?"15  Then the Commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, "Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy." And Joshua did so.

 

B) Joshua runs into this guy dressed in Battle array - Commander / Christiphony /  For us or for our adversaries / NO / wrong question !

C) Are you for me ! / That was the issue / the secret to victory wasn’t going to be in a right strategy

1)  The secret to victory is not getting into the  right program but it is being submitted to the right person.

 

D) Joshua had victory over Jericho because he presented himself to the Lord / he submitted himself to the Lord’s leadership !

 

 

Now sometimes we find ourselves like Joshua in dealing w/ sin ! We are out looking for a strategy - looking for a solution for victory

A) But in actuality the strategy has already been given to us / there in Chapter. 6 of Romans !   Know - Dead to sin / Know old man rendered inactive

 

B) Reckon it to be so !   And Present your members to God as instruments /as tools or weapons of righteousness !

1)  See Joshua had the promise of Victory over his enemies / but he needed to Yield himself to the Lord / Same is true for us

 

C) Victory is already been won in Christ - we experience that Victory when we yield ourselves to Him!

 

 

Now I Have got into trouble in the past for comments that I am about to make / so I want to be careful - listen close previous what about to say

A) By saying this / when it comes to AA & NA - groups like that which employ the 12 step program - or something similar to it

 

B) I have no doubt in my mind that those programs have been effective in helping some people quit using drugs etc

1)  But here’s the thing - I think we need to understand - is if you are a Christian you don’t need a 12 step program

 

C) You Just need to appropriate what Christ has done for you

D) Realize that the Power of that old man / that sinful addiction was nailed to the cross of Christ & has been rendered inactive / paralyzed !

1)  Through Christ I have the Power to say no to sin - and walk in a

   newness of Life

 

E) See for the believer the answer isn’t in a 12 step or 20 step program / but in a Person ! What Jesus has already did for me

 

F) I am identified in his death & Resurrection - Power to walk in Victory

 

G) Choose to reject that or accept it and experience  victory

 

 

H) W/ out Christ you are on your own!