6/2/24 “Dying to Live”
“Dying to Live”
Romans 6:1-23
Seeds…have always amazed me!
To me, seeds are one of the most intriguing and inspiring parts of God’s natural creation.
The fact that you can take this tiny pebble-like object – bury it in some soil – give it some water and sunlight….and then in a week or two…. LIFE emerges!
Any of you who grew up on a farm – or have done some gardening - are very familiar with this process.
My fascination for seeds was one reason why I chose to pursue my undergrad degree in the science of agronomy – and I even worked for a seed corn research company in Cottage Grove for a little while after graduation.
Speaking of school, I thought I’d give y’all a little test this morning to see how well you can identify different seeds.
Slide # 1 Acorn (Oak Seed)
Slide # 2 Corn
Slide #3 Soybean
Slide #4 Wheat
Slide #5 Watermelon
Slide #6 Sunflower
Slide # 7 Elm Tree
Slide #8 Redwood Tree
Slide #9 Venus Fly Trap…I had to throw a weird one in there! 😊
It’s amazing to me how a seed is actually a living thing.
Seeds are dormant, embryos of the plant that may eventually grow from it.
…and perhaps the most exciting fact about seeds is this: A seed itself actually must cease to be a seed in order for it to give life!
When a seed germinates, Life breaks free from the seed and sprouts into something new….leaving behind the shell of what once contained it…
The seed, as it were – has now been destroyed…replaced by the materialization of its dormant potential.
I don’t know about you, but I cannot think of any better illustration of what takes place on a spiritual level when someone’s old life of sin and disobedience is buried in the ground – only to be replaced by a new life of faith and obedience to Jesus Christ!
Our passage for today (Romans chapter 6) describes this spiritual process…
Before giving your life to Christ, you were spiritually dormant.
You had the potential within you to transform into a new, living spiritual creature, but the conditions had to be right for this change to take place.
Just as a seed needs soil, water, and light…
You needed to hear the gospel message of hope in Christ, and at the same time, be convicted by the Holy Spirit in order to surrender your old self – and respond in faith to a new life of living for Jesus.
2 Corinthians 5:17 reminds us of this spiritual metamorphosis when it says: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
I know many people who have told me that this passage is their ‘Life Verse’ because it reminds them of the radical spiritual change that God brought about in their life the moment they truly accepted Jesus as their savior…
Maybe you have one of these testimonies of God completely changing your life – your thoughts, actions, attitude, decisions, speech, desires….
They all became miraculously reoriented toward serving your savior rather than serving yourself.
After describing the atonement of Christ in chapter 5, Paul begins chapter 6 with these words in verse 1: “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:1-2)
Here, Paul is addressing one of the main objections to his teaching about grace.
Since Paul was preaching that God’s grace can cover over any sin – and that righteousness is obtained not through the law (Man’s works) but through faith alone in Jesus…
Some of the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders were accusing Paul of teaching that sin was actually productive because it would provide more of an opportunity for God to display His grace and mercy – thus bringing more glory unto Himself.
This is a heresy known as antinomianism – the idea that man’s conduct was unrelated to God’s moral law…basically, that man can do whatever he pleases without fear of God’s wrath or punishment.
Well, obviously, this was NOT what Paul was teaching, and he makes a very emphatic statement to that effect in verse 2 when he says, “By No Means!”
No Way! That is preposterous! Grace cannot be exploited for evil ends!
Paul is in no way advocating a license to sin – just as he is also not advocating a works-oriented religiosity of tradition, ritual, and hollow legalism.
He goes on to say in verse 2 (Romans 6:2) that “…We died to sin: how can we live in it any longer?”
This rhetorical question essentially summarizes the entire chapter – if our old nature has been destroyed, why would we choose to live as though it were still alive?
Personally, I don’t watch horror movies…but I’ve noticed there seems to be an ongoing fascination with zombies in movies over the past couple of generations.
You know, zombies are supposed to be these dead people, but they are still alive to some degree - walking around - apparently without brains….(Maybe this describes some of you before your coffee each morning……? 😊)
To be freed from the compulsion to sin through faith in Christ - yet choose to continue to live in sin – is like being a Christian zombie.
Something is happening in your life that should no longer be happening.
That old, sinful man (or woman) was put to death when you accepted Jesus as your Lord & savior…
So why do you continue to behave as though you are still a slave to sin…a slave to Satan….
It would be like that seed we talked about earlier refusing to allow the new plant to spring forth from its shell….obviously, that would stunt the growth potential of the new plant.
In the same way, when we choose to participate in disobedient, sinful behavior – it stunts our growth as believers.
…and if you find yourself immersed in sin to the degree that it becomes a habitual, defining characteristic of your life…
You need to re-evaluate whether you truly are a follower of Jesus Christ.
The genuine believer and sin should be like oil and water – they should not naturally mix together.
Why would you desire to remain a captive of sin when you have been set free from its clutches?
Galatians 5:1 says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
John 8:36 says, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
Later in Romans chapter 6, Paul describes what the life of a believer ought to look like concerning sin (Romans 6:18) “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.”
All of us are slaves (Or, servants) of either righteousness….or sin.
If we are slaves to righteousness, that means we can no longer be slaves to sin…It’s one or the other.
Jesus himself says in Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other…..”
The problem is, we humans tend to get lazy when it comes to remembering to do what it takes to stand our spiritual ground against temptation.
We sluff off on reading our Bibles – we neglect time in prayer – we prioritize other things ahead of participating in the church body on a regular basis….
This makes it so much easier for Satan to make us fall back in love with sin.
Has anyone ever heard of ‘Stockholm Syndrome?’
There was a bank robbery in Sweden in 1973 where the bank robbers held a group of hostages for 5 days.
During that time, the victims became emotionally attached to their captors – to the point that when they were offered to go free, many declined the offer!
…they wanted to remain as captives to these dangerous criminals.
This seems crazy, right?
But before we judge these people too harshly….don’t we sometimes do the same thing with our sin?
We have complete freedom in Christ to reject temptation every time it comes our way – yet, at least occasionally, we choose to remain in a position of captivity.
On a certain level, we are forever infatuated with sin.
Have you ever heard someone give their testimony describing their old, sinful lifestyle with a sentimental attitude of fondness?
“Oh man, back in the day before I met Christ, I did some crazy stuff dude…I was One. Wild.Child. – The cops all knew me by name, I was #1 with the ladies, I could put away a 12 pack and not blink an eye….”
The only thing missing from that kind of story is….”Man, it awesome!”
Rather, we ought to be embarrassed by our old, sinful behavior.
There is something about sin that will always entice us – even the most mature of Christians….this is why Paul tells us in Ephesians to put on our spiritual armor every single day!
We tend to severely overestimate our own ability to refrain from sin – and at the same time - severely underestimate the ability of Satan to resurrect sins in our lives that once entangled us.
Quite a few years ago, the Italian Rowing team traveled to Australia to compete in the America’s Cup competition.
While there, the team decided to take a ride into the Outback to see if they could find a kangaroo in the wild.
Well, they certainly found one when their Land Rover actually struck a kangaroo!
The young men got out of their vehicle to assess the damage – as well as to assess the damage to the kangaroo…
It happened that one of the rowers – decked out in his fashionable Gucci jacket - hatched the great idea to put his sparkly coat onto the seemingly lifeless kangaroo and take some pictures.
Well, just as the young man was about to take his first picture, the dazed kangaroo – wearing the Gucci jacket - suddenly gets up and runs off into the woods…
So, somewhere in the Outback is a very fashionably dressed Kangaroo…WITH car keys in the pocket…AND the team’s credit card!
Folks, we can make the same mistake when it comes to playing with temptations that we assume are no longer active in our lives…
They can very easily be revived if we are not serious about standing our ground against them.
Let’s be real folks, if you are a believer, then you experience the war that wages within you when it comes to resisting temptations of any kind.
Galatians 5:17 reminds us of this truth when it says, “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.”
Next week when we look at Romans chapter 7, we’ll notice that Paul writes an entire section of scripture on this truth as it pertains to his own life.
Even the Apostle Paul struggled with temptation and sin in his life – I think it’s safe to say that the rest of us do as well.
That is why it’s so important for us to take counter-measures against the strategy and artillery of our enemy…this book (The Bible) is the key to victory…Let’s use it!!
D.L. Moody once famously said, “This book will keep you from sin…but sin will keep you from this book.”
Stay in the Word, folks…it’s the only way to consistently live victoriously as a follower of Jesus Christ.
In verse 3 of our passage for today (Romans 6:3) Paul uses an important phrase to describe our relationship to Jesus – as well as our relationship to our old self.
Verse 3 reads, “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ were baptized into his death?
Verse 4 (Romans 6:4) continues, “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
What Paul is saying here is that those who have placed their faith and trust in Jesus have been made one with Him, so to speak.
…And just as Jesus died and was buried – demonstrated through our act of baptism - so too is the old man (Or old woman) put to death…
…And just as Jesus was raised from the dead, so too are we raised with him in new life!
Folks, isn’t that a beautiful picture of the saving work of Jesus for each and every person who believes upon His name? (Amen!)
Our resurrection through Jesus is just like that seed containing dormant life – after being buried in good soil…it soon bursts open with new life!
Brothers & Sisters in Christ, you indeed are a new creature…you were completely transformed and given freedom from sin when you believed in the name of Jesus.
So….let’s act like it!
Choose to live each day in accordance with your new spiritual nature.
There is no reason to succumb to sin – you are no longer held captive to it any more…It has no power over your life any longer…
...unless, of course, you voluntarily give it influence over your life.
And, unfortunately, we see that happen to Christians way too often these days!
We see professed believers act un-Christian-like and fall into all sorts of sins…
…And we wonder why the younger generation doesn’t want anything to do with the church – or organized religion of any kind.
If young people are good at anything these days, it’s being able to smell a hypocrite.
And folks, there are way too many people attending churches today who say they are following Jesus, but their actions are no different than the rest of the world….they are definitely not salt and light.
Young people see this – and they are turned off.
…And can we blame them?
When someone says one thing - but acts in a way that goes completely contrary to what they profess to believe….it’s difficult to have respect for that individual.
So, if we want to attract people – of any age – to the faith….we need to be consistent in our walk with Jesus…
…and to ‘walk the talk’ we must avoid sinful behavior.
…and to do this, Paul tells us in Romans chapter six to Reason, to Reckon, to Resist, and to Replace.
To reason is to grow in the knowledge of God’s Word.
2 Peter 3:18 says to “….Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”
Education is vital in anything.
For instance, If a doctor is going to perform surgery on you, you want them to be very knowledgeable about what they are doing, right?
Same goes for avoiding sin….we need to know God’s Word well enough to discern when something is sinful and needs to be avoided.
The second tactic in avoiding sin is to reckon.
In verse 11 (Romans 6:11) The New King James Version reads this way “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The biblical definition of reckon is to calculate or estimate something to be true.
We must reckon ourselves dead to sin – because we are dead to sin.
Unfortunately, many Christians still live defeated lives because they don’t truly believe that they can be victorious over sin!
Paul reminds us in Romans 8:37 that “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
Believers are indwelt with the Holy Spirt, the actual presence of God…
You have the greatest power imaginable at your disposal – yes, understand that you have been given the power to not succumb to sin.
The third tactic in avoiding sin is to Resist.
Verse 12 (Romans 6:12) of our passage says, “Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.”
Notice these 3 words in this passage “Do not let”
In other words, we have been given the ability to resist sin – so it is our responsibility to do just that.
There’s the story of a pastor who was driving a bit too fast and got pulled over.
The pastor thought he’d try to sneak his way out of getting a ticket by telling the officer “Blessed are the merciful” as he handed over his driver’s license.
The officer went to his vehicle, then came back a few minutes later with a ticket in his hand and as he handed it to the pastor he said, “Here you are sir, go and sin no more!”
The pastor knew what he was doing was wrong – and yet he allowed disobedience to reign in his driving habits.
Those besetting sins – those addictions, those sinful ruts that we find ourselves continually falling prey to….
scripture tells us that not only do we have the power to avoid them – we also have the responsibility to avoid them.
James 4:7 plainly says, “….Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.”
Run! Just like Joseph did when Potipher’s wife wanted to drag him into sin…Run and don’t look back!
A fourth and final tactic in avoiding sin is to Replace.
Romans 6:13 says. “Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.”
In other words, get busy doing God’s work in your life – wherever you happen to be.
Cultivate your new nature in Christ by doing the things that bring you closer to God!
Not too long from now, we’ll begin to see farmers cultivating their cornfields…
A cultivator is an implement that digs up the weeds between the rows of corn – allowing the corn to establish itself before weeds have a chance to reemerge and hinder its growth.
When you are busy reading your Bible, serving others, spending time in prayer…you are actively pulling the weeds of temptation out of your life – and allowing for sanctification to blossom.
Every part of our body can be used for good – or for evil.
Your mind, your eyes, your mouth, your ears, your hands, your feet…
When we know that we are being tempted, I like to think about how my daughter and son-in-law trained obedience into their dog.
They would stick a treat right in front of Lucy (The dog) and say “NO”, meaning she was not to eat the treat until told to do so.
Ever since she has been trained, I notice that Lucy never looks directly at a treat that is put in front of her, rather, she looks at her master…
She looks at the face of her master and waits until her master tells her she can have the treat…if they never say “Okay” she will not eat it.
But to resist the temptation, she looks at the face of her master.
Brothers & Sisters – when you are tempted to sin – look at the face of the master…and remember the sacrifice that he made for you.
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace”
Let’s Pray.