Romans 6:15-23 - Whose Slave Are You?
Intro: I read a story this week of
a young girl who accepted Christ as her Savior and wanted to be baptized . An
old deacon in the Church wanted to find out where this girl was really at in
regards to her relationship w/ the Lord asked a few questions "Were
you a sinner before you received the Lord Jesus into your life?" "Yes, sir," she replied. "Well, are you still a
sinner?" "To tell you the truth, I feel I'm a greater sinner than
ever." / "Then what real change have you
experienced?" This was her response "I don't quite know how to explain it," she
said, "except I used to be a sinner running AFTER sin, but now that I am
saved I'm a sinner running FROM sin!"
A) That was a great answer and
one that should mark the life of every believer who has exercised faith in
Jesus Christ !
B) Now in our study here in the
book of Romans we have seen in Ch. 5 that when we became Christians we entered
into a new standing in the Lord
1) In Adam we were Dead in our
sin - Penalty of sin was judgment condemnation & death.
C) But through faith in Christ
we were made alive - freed from the penalty of sin / and able to live under the
grace of God !
1) Ch. 5:20 But where sin abounded, grace abounded much
more,
D) Understanding that
means We are free & able to enjoy
life as it was really intended to be lived in freedom and in fellowship w/ the
Lord
1) But some have misinterpreted
this freedom to mean I can go on sinning
- I can live however I want to because God is gracious
E) He will forgive me ! / Now
in our study last time we noted that such thinking was illogical
1) Not the attitude of a person
who truly has an understanding of Grace
F) Grace doesn’t lead to
lawlessness / but to Liberty to live in the Lord !
1) But we also noted that to
think that we who have received grace would just indulge in sin is not just
illogical but also unscriptural
G) Because Paul says in v. 2 that we who are in
Christ have died to sin!
1) That when Christ died on the
cross we died / and because of our identification w/ Him / we who were dead in
sin became dead to sin
H) we who were freed from the
Penalty of sin were also freed from the Power of sin!
And in V.1-14
Paul presents 3 important Principles to help us make sure that this positional
truth - becomes a practical reality in our lives
A) V.6 Know old man crucified w/ Christ that the body of sin might be done away w/ - Lit. rendered inactive -
paralyzed
B) Once you know that V. 11 Reckon it to be so - add up the facts make a reality - Appropriation
1) Practical application: Present
your members to God as instruments of righteousness Members = Body & mind / instrument
=tool
C) Focus of our study last time
- key understanding - if you desire to live a life of Victory & freedom in
the Lord !
This morning
we are going to pick up in v. 15 where Paul in closing out this section on the
believers relationship to sin adds one more point
A) To continue in sin because
we are under grace is not just illogical & unscriptural / but it is also dangerous
- that is the focus of this last section
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not
under law but under grace? Certainly not!
16 Do you not know that to whom you present
yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of
sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that though you were
slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you
were delivered.18 And having been set
free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I speak in human terms
because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members
as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so
now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. 20
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to
righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things
of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
22 But now having been set free from sin, and
having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end,
everlasting life.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift
of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So Paul begins
here by answering a similar Question in v.15 that was presented in v.1
A) The difference lies in this:
In v. 1 the rhetorical question Paul asked is can we continue in sin- Lit. live
habitually in sin/ since under grace
B) Paul’s answer -NO WAY !
1) In v. 15 the question is not
dealing w/ the issue of habitual sin but of occasional sin
C) It is the idea that a person
might have - it is no big deal if I give
into this sin or that temptation - because God is going to forgive me
1) A little sin / a little compromise isn’t going to hurt me !
D) In the following verses Paul answers that question in a 4 fold way - showing that
1) If you, as a Christian, go
on and sin deliberately, even if it is only occasionally, you must face what
sin will do to you.
E) Paul reveals 4 dangers of giving into sin!
So in the rest of our time this morning we
will look at these 4 things that Paul shares concerning the danger of
presenting ourselves to sin /
A) And we will also note what Paul instructs us to do
instead!
B) So Paul says 1st
of all don’t give into sin because sin
makes you its slave ! v.16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you
are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of
obedience leading to righteousness?
C) Now w/ this mention of slavery Paul would have
really got his listeners attention. It is estimated that 1/3 of the pop. Of
Rome in 1 century were slaves
1) In fact the slave population
was so large that slaves were no longer required to where a distinctive style
of clothing to identify them
D) Because the governing
authorities didn’t want them to realize their numerical strength.
1) Because the Slave Pop. Was
so large in Rome - many of the people in the Church were slaves or used to be
slaves .
Now although
none of us here can really relate to the idea of being a slave - it is true
that all of us in this room are slaves to something
A) Given aspect of human nature is man is made to be mastered
B) T-SHIRT I’m a slave of Christ - on the front - whose slave are you on back / Bob Dylan was right - serve somebody
C) Some people are enslaved to
their work . They have one abiding allegiance in life and that is to their Job.
All time & energy - work
D)Some are enslaved to things - they are enslaved to
their possessions
1)All their waking thoughts are given to taking care
of what they have or
dreaming
about how they can acquire more .
E) Others are enslaved to
habits which dominate their existence !
1) The ill tempered are
enslaved to their tempers / the sensual person is enslaved to their bodies
F) I think Bob Dylan like many
others didn’t realize what Paul is saying here that what you present yourself to/ you end up being that things slave
1) All humanity serves under
one of two slaveries - either sin which
leads to death or obedience which leads to righteousness
Now Paul says that we Christians have been set free
from the slavery
to sin. / 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you
obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.
18 And having been set free from sin, you
became slaves of righteousness.
A) In v. 17 Paul speaks of that
form
of doctrine as playing a vital part in our freedom .
1) The word form in gr. speaks of a mold into which
melted metal is poured so that it takes the shape of the mold .
B) The believer is the melted
metal - the doctrine or teaching of the gospel is the mold .
1) Kenneth Wuest the great
Greek scholar is helpful here / Wuest reminds us that v. 17 doesn’t read you obeyed from the heart that form of
doctrine which delivered
You
C) Now that is true statement -
the message of the gospel did deliver us when we believed it but Paul is saying
something else here / Powerful
1) Notice again the v. reads
you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. Or into which ….
D) In other words when we were saved God cast our inward natures into the
mold described here in Rom. 6 / dead to Sin / alive in Christ
E) So The gospel not only
delivers us from the penalty of sin & the power of sin, but it shapes our
Character as well. / If we Present ourselves to it
But what
happens when we as believers choose to do something that is wrong.
A) We are always confronted
with this temptation to live for the moment and indulge ourselves in some sin .
B) And sometimes we try to kid
ourselves into believing it is not very serious. "It won't hurt us anyway," Just a little compromise
C) Paul warns you become a slave to that which you
yield yourself to !
1)Jesus stated this
in John 8:34: "Verily,
verily, I say unto you"He that
commits sin is the slave of sin."
Now the 2nd
thing that Paul mentions in v.19 is that sin leads to more sin
that is how
that works . 19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For
just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness
leading to more lawlessness, so now
present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
A) In v. 21 Paul mentions the
fruit of sin / these 2 are enter connected / sin is like a seed that takes root
& produces a tree that produces fruit
1) Apple seed produces Apple
tree / which produces more apples
B) Sin / lawlessness results in
more lawlessness / more sin! / Classic example is lying !
1) What happens when you tell a
lie / even just a little lie ? Often times you end up telling 20 other lies to
cover the one lie!
C) But yielding ourselves to
sin not only produces sin in us / but it affects those around us as well .
D) Ever notice how when you
wake up in the morning - feel grouchy / so you begin to act grouchy - that is
contagious
1) You raise your voice at your
wife & get a little sharp w/ her & she responds back the same way.
E) Kids / or if single roommate
.
That is the
inevitable fruit of sin, something that Paul reminds us of many times. In
Galatians 6:7 and 8 he says,
"Do not
be deceived [don't kid yourself]; God is not mocked. For he who sows to his own
flesh will from the flesh reap
corruption..."
A) In other words You can't
drop the seed of evil into your heart without reaping from it the harvest,
the fruit of corruption. "...
B) You will always reap what
you sow
An Elderly
man boarded a train, one day & occupied the best seat, and then tried
to reserve still another for himself by placing his luggage upon it.
Just before
the crowded train started, a teenage boy came running up and jumped aboard. "This car is full," said the
man & "that seat next to me is reserved for a friend of mine who has put
his bag there."
The youth paid no attention but sat down saying, "All right, I'll stay here until he
comes." He placed the suitcase
upon his knees while the elderly man glared at him in vain. Of course, the "friend" didn't appear, and soon the train began to
move.
As it glided
past the platform, the young fellow tossed the bag through the open window
remarking, "Apparently your friend
has missed the train. We mustn't let
him lose his luggage too!"
With a horrified expression on his face the old gentleman began to fume
and sputter. The lie had cost him his
possessions! Reap what sow
Math. Of sin
always same add sorrow / sub. Joy / Multiply problems……
The 3rd
thing that Paul mentions about sin is it makes us ashamed v.21 21 What fruit did you have then
in the things of which you are now ashamed?
A) Each of us can look back in
our lives at something we are ashamed of. It leaves a stain in our minds when
we think about it.
B) Shame is the awareness of
unworthy actions and irreparable damage that we do to others and our painful feeling about it.
1) We have all experienced
shame at times. Sin---no matter what it is or how small it always leads to shame.
C) We all know what it is like
to have those shameful deeds that we would like to forget, but can't; hurtful
words that we wish we had never said;
D) So when we indulge in those
little sins - we are immediately confronted by guilt & shame & we open
up the door for the enemy to condemn us
4th Thing Paul mentions as a danger of
sin is also in v. 21 For the end of those things is death.
A) Sin leads to death ! Now it
might not result in physical death but sin has a deadening effect on us
B) When I give into sin /
deadens my sensitivity to the H.S. / sin can kill intimacy in a marriage or
friendship
1) Sin not dealt w/ always
produces or results in death !
C) I think a very clear picture
of what Paul is describing here as the results of sin is seen in the life of Samson.
Of all the
guys in the O.T. Samson is probably the most vivid picture of a wasted
vessel
A) The H.S. would come upon
this guy and empower him w/ incredible strength enabling him to conquer whole
armies single handedly
B) We read of one time where he killed 1000 men all by himself
C) Yet Samson instead of
yielding himself to the Spirit of God - continually yielded himself to his
flesh.
1) One compromise after another
/ lit. playing w/ sin - thinking he was untouchable / he went so far as to
completely ignore his Nazarite Vow
D) Listen to what happened to
Samson Judges 16:21 Then the Philistines took
him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with
bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison.
E) And the Philistines would go by & mock Samson
- How the mighty Samson has fallen - kids know doubt threw stones at him
Guys that is
what exactly sin does ! It will blind you / it will bind you & it will
leave you grinding in misery & shame in as it’s slave !
A) Samson’s sin led to his
eventual death w/ the Philistines
B) God still accomplished his purposes but it could have been another way!
C) Samson could have ended up
as a hero instead of a picture of wasted potential / of a wasted vessel
1) if he would have just presented himself to God
What about You
? Whose slave are you? Paul says you are either a slave to sin or
you are a slave of righteousness
A) It all depends on who you are presenting yourself to !Who you are
obeying
B) Paul says you are free in
Christ - now act like it / present yourself to him
V.22,23 But now having been set free
from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and
the end, everlasting life.23 For the
wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
Now I was
reading in Luke Ch.9 few days ago in my devotions & the Lord reminded me of
something that relates to what Paul is saying here about being those who desire
to be instruments of righteousness / turn
A) V.23 "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross daily, and follow
Me.
B) Jesus was the consummate
example of a life that was yielded as an instrument to God
1) He was the consummate
example of a man who presented his members as instruments of righteousness to
God
C) Now Jesus said : "If anyone desires to come after Me - or if anyone desires to be like me Here is what you do !
1) Deny self - your ambitions -
desires - rights - needs - that desire
to please self
D) That is what gets us in so much trouble is self ! / Jesus says to deny self
& die
to self - take up your cross & follow
me - DAILY
1) Daily thing - Paul
Rom/12 Present yourself as a living
sacrifice
Understand
that when Jesus says to take up your cross He is not talking about enduring
through a bad marriage
A) Not talking about suffering from allergies / or enduring through a bad
Job
B) The cross was an instrument
of redemption - and it was the greatest expression of the Love of God man has
ever seen
1) Jesus - Denied Himself when
He left the glory of heaven & concealed His deity & came to earth as a
man / not to be served but to serve
C) And then He took up the
cross & laid down His life in order to redeem lost man - the cross was an
instrument of death that brought life
D) So if we are going to be those
who like Jesus presented His members as instruments of righteous to God
1) We daily need to deny
ourselves & die to ourselves in presenting ourselves to God as a vessel
through which He can display His love
E) So that we might be as Paul
says in 2 Cor. 5:18 Ministers of reconciliation
Now in closing
- Some of you here are missing out on what God has for you / because instead of
presenting yourself to God
A) Instead of denying yourself
& seeking to die to self / you are still serving yourself - still trying to
please your self
B) But you are frustrated
because it is never enough - never satisfied - never fulfilled - you slave away
at work - move up the ladder of success
1) You accumulate more stuff -
but there is never a lasting satisfaction
C) Surrender to Jesus today !
But as I
pondered all of this yesterday - I realized that the reason why many of us do
not present our members to the Lord to be used as instruments for His glory
A)It isn’t because we are out
there pursuing self & sin - but it is simply because we have been duped
into thinking - He doesn’t want me
1) He can’t use me / I have no
talents no skills nothing to give nothing to bring / God would never use me !
B) As I pondered all of that - and
I know that is how many of us feel from time to time / reminded of another
passage in Luke 9 :12
Feeding of the
5 thousand - Took 5 loaves & two fish / which John’s gospel reveals was
given by a young boy
A) Jesus took that which was
given and multiplied it to feed the multitude
B) Guys that is exactly what
the Lord does w/ us - He takes the little that we have to give / what ever that
might be and He multiplies it
C) So we need to not focus on
our lack of sufficiency - but on Him who is totally sufficient - Present
ourselves to Him
I’M A SLAVE OF CHRIST - ( BONDSLAVE - I HAVE A
CHOICE ) WHO’S SLAVE ARE YOU ?
Now for some
of us here the thing that keeps us from being a vessel is no