New York UBF – NY University Bible Fellowship (NYUBF)

ROMANS LESSON 10

NEW LIFE OF THE JUSTIFIED (I)
(DEAD TO SIN AND ALIVE IN CHRIST)

Romans 6:1-14 (15-23)
Key Verse: 6:11

“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

Paul says at the beginning of his letter that the righteous should live by faith. (Ro 1:17). This sounds very simple. Yet, as we have been studying chapter by chapter, we have seen that living by faith in Christ is much more complicated than most of us would expect. It seems to me that without proper understanding of the content and chemistry of the gospel, it is almost impossible to enjoy the full benefits of God’s salvation. The fact is, our Christian life largely depends on how we understand the gospel. In his letter to the Romans, Paul does his best to explain the gospel he received from God. God’s salvation is a process of sanctification, which we generally divide into three steps; justification, sanctification and glorification. If justification is God’s salvation from the penalty of sin, sanctification is salvation from the power of sin and glorification is salvation from the presence of sins. In the chapters we have studied, we learned about the grace of justification, especially in 3:21-5:24.

Now Paul moves on to the grace of sanctification (Chs. 6-7). The question is “Can we live our lives free from sin? The answer is not that simple. Some people pretend to have no problems at all. However, when we examine ourselves honestly, most of us must admit that we are troubled because it seems that there is a deviation between what we are supposed to be as Christians and what we are in our real selves. We feel guilty, hypocritical and deeply troubled with our lives because we are supposed to be Christians. We often confess, like Saint Paul who cried out in 7:24, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” It’s very frustrating when we confront our real selves. Some Christians are more troubled because they do not understand what it means to be sanctified. We can call “Mother Teresa” a saint. But can we call ourselves, ordinary Christians, holy saints even though we know that we are not perfect? Are we hypocritical sinners or holy saints? Chapter 6 will not provide a full view of the grace of sanctification, only an introduction. We need to study chapters 7 and 8 as well in order to have a full understanding of what it means to be sanctified.

FIRST, “SHALL WE GO ON SINNING?” (1-2)

Look at verse 1. “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” This objection might have come from Paul’s actual opponents or from his own imagination. Why would someone raise a question like this? It’s because of what Paul said in 5:20, “The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” When Paul said this, he was not speaking against the law of God. What he wanted to emphasize is that the grace of God in Jesus Christ is much greater than the power of sin. However, Paul’s opponents didn’t accept this. They criticized Paul’s gospel of salvation by grace through faith alone because they claimed it was promoting so- called “antinomianism”which means “anti-law.” Theologically, antinomianism is the belief that Christians are not obligated to keep any moral laws, and they have license to sin as they please, because more sin means more grace, and more grace means more glory to God. When we hear the testimonies of those who had been dramatically changed from a wild, sinful past, it seems that they received much more grace because they sinned a lot. Some might even think that he or she should sin more in order to understand God’s grace better. “More sin, more grace!” But that’s a very dangerous way of thinking. If we think this way, it’s easy for us to take sin lightly. Should Christians go on sinning so that grace may increase? Of course not. After all, God does not want anyone to sin. But why would someone think that by sinning we can glorify God? It doesn’t make sense. It’s rather a perverted view of God’s truth.

What was Paul’s answer to the question, “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” ? His answer is “No way!” Paul seems to be outraged by such a charge and said in verse 2. “By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” Paul was saying that we Christians shall not go on sinning because we died to sin. “We died to sin!” What does it mean that we died to sin? A dead person cannot sin. Does this mean that we become so insensitive toward sin and temptation like dead people that we are no longer able to sin? No. That’s unrealistic. According to Paul, we died to sin not in a sense that we cannot sin any longer. We died to sin in a sense that we shall no longer continue to sin because we died legally, not physically, when Christ died for our sin. Therefore, it is illogical to think that a true Christian wants to continue to live in sin as he or she had done in the past. In verses 3-10, Paul explains further about how we died to sin so that we don’t go on sinning.

SECOND, UNION WITH CHRIST IN HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION (3-14)

Look at verse 3. “Or don’t you know that all of us who are baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?” According to Paul, we die to sin when we are baptized into Christ Jesus. Believers in Paul’s time were familiar with the symbol of baptism. In the early church, Christians were baptized by full immersion in water. The Greek word for “baptism” has two meanings, a literal meaning and a figurative meaning. The literal meaning of baptism is “to dip or immerse” and the figurative meaning of baptism is ”to be identified with.” To be fully immersed means that our old self died to sin with Christ when he died, and to rise from the water means that we become a new creation in Christ when he rose from death. Christians are fully immersed through the baptism of the Holy Spirit when they believe in Christ Jesus. At that time, we die to sin and are alive in Christ because we are completely united with Christ Jesus in his death and resurrection.

Look at verses 4 and 5. ““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. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.” The spiritual meaning of our baptism into Christ Jesus is our identity in Christ, our permanent position in Christ or our complete unity with Christ Jesus. In fact, in verses 3-8, the words “buried with Christ”, “united with Christ”, “baptized with Christ”, “crucified with Christ” “died with Christ” and “live with Christ” are repeated. Therefore, when we say that we are a Christian, it means more than just going church on Sundays. It means our complete unity with Christ in his death and resurrection. It’s serious commitment. It’s like a marriage with Christ. (7:16) Recently I went to YMCA to register a family membership with my wife. The lady asked me to show our ‘ID’s. She checked them and asked if we were a married couple. I said, “Of course.” Then she asked that we still have to prove that we actually live together. I was shocked. But I found that many married couples don’t live together. But our unity with Christ shouldn’t be like that. Our unity with Christ cannot be broken, and this unity with Christ brings us salvation in each of each stage, justification, sanctification and glorification.

Read verses 6 and 7. “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.” What do we know? We know that our old self was crucified with Christ, and as a result our body of sin might be done away with. We are no longer be slaves to sin. What does it mean that body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin? It means that the power of sin in us has been weakened in us, so that sin can no longer be as domineering and powerful over us as it used to be. Verse 7 reads, “because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.” It does not mean that we are completely free from sinning. It means that the penalty for our sin had been fully paid through Christ, so that we are no longer under the condemnation of our sin. This is a very important truth that we should not forget but remember always. That’s why Paul said in verse 3, “Don’t you know” and in verse 6, “For you know…” Also in verse 9, “For you know…”

Know what? We know that when we are united with Christ in his death and resurrection through our faith, we are no longer under the condemnation of sin. The power of sin has no more dominion over us as it used to. Before conversion, we had no other choice than to give in to the power of sin. We were slaves to sin. Now, after conversion, our situation is different. We now have a choice. We have freedom not to sin, but to serve the living God. Especially through the indwelling Holy Spirit, we can overcome the power of sin. Although we are not perfect, we have a new way of living in Christ Jesus.

Some unbelievers think they can control their sinful desires when actually they can’t. They don’t take sin seriously enough. However, they are actually totally powerless to overcome the power of sin. We see so many examples of this kind of people in the world. On the other hand, although Christians who have been crucified with Christ seem to be struggling, they are actually handling their problems much better because they know how to deal with the power of sin and death. Of course, we are not perfect. We are vulnerable in our physical body. Yet, we don’t have to be enslaved to sin. If we are willing to be united with Christ and let the Holy Spirit control us in every aspect and step of our lives, we can be continually sanctified and be transformed in the image of our Lord Jesus Christ. We become a new creation day by day. This is not a small matter. In the world, people evaluate things based on what they have and what they have achieved. But Christians value things differently. Most of all, we have a glorious hope, that because of our union with Christ in his death, we will also live with him forever and ever. (8)

How do we know that we will live forever? It’s because we know and believe that Christ who died for our sins also rose from the dead as the first fruits of the glorious resurrection. Read verses 9 and 10. “For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.” People are afraid of dying. But we Christians don’t need to fear because we know that death means a glorious life in a new body of heaven and that we will live forever with our Lord Jesus Christ. This will complete the process of sanctification in us. Knowing this truth means to practice this truth in our daily life. So what should we do for the process of sanctification on earth? We can learn basically two things in verses 11-14.

Firstly, We Should Count Ourselves Death to Sin but Alive in Christ (11). Look at verse 11. “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ.” Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit in us. However, it does not happen automatically. We need to desire and cooperate with God by making every effort to be united with Christ. Verse 11 says that we need to count ourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ. What does it mean to count oneself dead to sin but alive to God in Christ? The word “count” means “to consider” or “to regard.” It does not mean that we pretend that we are dead. It means that we should accept the fact that we who are justified in Christ are already dead to sin but alive to God in Christ, so that the power of sin and death can no longer rule over. Rather, the power of life in Christ may continue to live in us. Simply speaking, we need to surrender ourselves to Christ day to day. In his letter to the Galatian churches, Paul gives a beautiful summary of the divine principle of sanctification by saying “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal 2:20)

SECONDLY, WE SHOULD OFFER THE PARTS OF OUR BODY TO GOD AS INSTRUMENTS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (12-14). Read verses 12-13. “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 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 live; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.” Last night, I was deeply touched by the story of Merlin German, a US Marine Sergeant who survived being burned over more than 95 percent of his body in Iraq and established a charity to help burned children. He was severely wounded around three years ago en route to Camp Ramadi when his Humvee hit a roadside bomb. He was not expected to survive, but he was transported to Germany and then to Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas, where the U.S. military’s top burn-unit is located. He spent nine months in intensive care and underwent more than 100 operations. He moved out of the hospital into his own home after 17 months of treatment. What he did in his hometown was not to pity himself or blame others. Instead, he founded Merlin’s Miracles, a charity that aims to assist burned children and their family members. Sadly, he died last month of complications after surgery. From a human point of view, the death of this young Marine was one of many tragedies. But in light of today’s passage, his life was a true inspiration because he offered every part of his body as an instrument for the right cause to the very end of his life.

We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10) If you are given much from God, much will be demanded from you. However, how easy it is to be concerned about “I, my, me, mine” all through our lifetime and reluctant to serve God as God’s servant. As we learned from 2 Corinthians 5:21, we are called to the ministry of reconciliation. Ministry is not about status or position but about service. We must ask ourselves, “Am I offering myself as an instrument of righteousness in service to God and humanity?” What kind of service am I offering to others at home, school, church workplaces and wherever I may be? How are you using God’s given talent, gift, time, money and life as instruments of righteousness? Are any of you sad because you don’t have a stable and high paying job? You shouldn’t worry because you actually have a lot of work to do in every corner of the world. If we know the heart of God and His vision for this world, there is so much work to do. Are you unhappy because you are not getting enough recognition and attention for what you do?

Don’t worry. God will pay you back surely and abundantly in His due time. We must know that we are not left alone and God is with us, Immanuel. As Jesus promised before his ascension to heaven, he is always with us. (Mt 28:2 20) He even sent the Holy Spirit to dwell and work in and through us. We have to struggle with sin as long as we live in our physical body. We make mistakes. We often fall. But we can be confident that God, who began the good work within us, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. We are not to be intimidated or discouraged by our present situation because we are being renewed day by day. We are still holy saints, who are justified and being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Until the final day of glory, we are to fight the good fight of faith, counting ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ. We are to offer the parts of our body to the Lord as instruments of righteousness.

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