I didn't get a chance to do a sound check before so I was running around. We're all good.
Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone and I'm one of the pastors here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church.
And it's my joy to bring God's word to you today.
And we're continuing this morning our series in the book of Romans.
And if you've been with us you'll remember that this book is a letter written by the Apostle Paul.
In the 50s AD and it is called Romans for a simple reason which is that it is written to the churches in the city of Rome.
And it is about the gospel. It's about the good news of Jesus, death, and resurrection.
I've mentioned this to you before and I'll mention it to you again and I'll mention it to you later.
Page 7 of your worship guide, the quote I keep coming back to, that Paul's letter to the Romans is arguably the single most important piece of literature.
In the history of the world.
A modest claim.
I keep reminding you all of that because there is a sense in which Romans is kind of hard.
And maybe you've noticed that as we've dug into it.
There's times when Paul repeats himself and you're trying to figure out, okay, what's new? What's old?
The good news in all of that though is that Romans may be hard but it is also great.
Romans may be hard but it is also worth it.
And as we may have the temptation to get lost a little bit in Paul's arguments,
I want to make sure that you know exactly where we're at as we start this morning.
So we are in Romans chapter 6 and Romans chapter 6 asks one and only one question.
If God's grace is real, we might say since God's grace is real, why do I still have to obey?
Since God's grace is real, why does it matter what I do?
If Jesus lived the perfect life that I should have lived if he took the punishment for my sins,
why can't I do whatever I want?
That would seem to be maybe the conclusion of that.
Okay, so that's the question of chapter 6.
To that one question, Paul has at least three answers.
And that's what we have been working through the last number of weeks, okay?
Answer 1.
This is what we looked at verses 1 through 14.
It doesn't make sense to continue in sin because you can't be both dead and alive at the same time.
You're alive because of your union with Christ, that what's true of Christ is true of you.
When Christ died in his death, you died to the power of sin.
In Christ's resurrection, you experience newness of life, life empowered by the Holy Spirit.
So that's answer 1.
Answer 2 is our answer for today.
It doesn't make sense to continue in sin.
Why would a freed slave go back to his master?
Slavery is already introduced.
We looked at it in verse 6, which was two weeks ago, so we've talked about it some.
And then next week, we're going to see the third argument.
It doesn't make sense.
Why would you do something that kills you?
And we'll see some of that this week as well in verse 16.
So the three answers again are this.
Answer 1, we don't continue in sin because of our union with Christ.
Answer 2, we don't continue in sin because we're no longer a slave to sin.
Answer 3, sin leads to death.
Why would you do something that kills you?
So the question of this passage, this passage this morning, again, is this.
Why would I?
Why should I obey?
So with that, I invite you to join me in reading Romans chapter 6.
We are going to start at verse 15 and go to verse 19.
You can turn in your Bible.
You can turn in your worship guide to page 7.
Wherever you turn, remember that this is God's word.
Jeremiah chapter 23 tells us that God's word is like a hammer that breaks a rock into pieces.
Which is to say, there is nothing so powerful that it can stand in the way of God's word.
So that's why we read now Romans chapter 6, starting at verse 15.
What then?
Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace?
By no means.
Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey?
Either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness.
But thanks be to God that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed.
And having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations.
For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, leading to more lawlessness.
So now present your members as slaves to righteousness, leading to sanctification.
I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.
Our Father in heaven, we do thank you again for your word, which is good and right and true.
It's more precious than gold, even the finest gold.
Sweeter than honey.
Even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb.
We ask that you would make it precious and sweet to us this morning.
That you would use it to show us your mercy and your grace once again.
That we'd be reminded of the great love that you have for us in Jesus Christ.
The freedom that comes to us in the gospel.
Most of all, we ask that you would show us Jesus.
We'd see his glory and his beauty and his power.
His mercy, his grace, his love.
We ask all of these things in his name.
Amen.
I have mentioned to you before, there's a great principle in life, which is this.
If you are starting learning a new topic and you want a great introduction,
one of the best things you can do is find a children's book.
And it's one of the best things you can do because children's books, by definition,
are meant to be simple and clear and basic.
And so you're trying to get at what is the kernel of truth here?
What is the main thing?
You want to master the basics before you move on to the things that are advanced.
If you don't master the basics, the advanced will not make sense.
It turns out there is actually a children's book on the book of Romans.
It's called The Sword by a man named Marty Mikowski.
I brought it with me.
You can see there's two little Roman soldiers on the front.
It is for ages 8 through 12.
Now, I have to confess, it's been a couple years since I was ages 8 through 12.
But I enjoy it nonetheless.
And in illustrating Romans chapter 6, Marty does it this way.
It says, imagine that there's a paintbrush.
All of us know what a paintbrush is, right?
Paintbrush is just an instrument.
So if you put the paintbrush in the hands of a master artist, what's going to happen?
You're going to get a masterpiece.
And then he says, but what if you take that paintbrush and you put it in the hands of a toddler?
What will you get?
He says, well, you will likely get a mess on the wall.
Same paintbrush.
Two different people holding it.
And he says this.
This is on the back of your worship guide.
When we walk through life with God as our master, he can use us to create unmatched beauty.
On the contrary, if we allow sin to rule our lives, we can be in a terrible mess.
Paul wants us to consider these questions.
Who is controlling your life?
Who is your master?
And that's one of the major questions here of chapter six.
Who will hold the paintbrush of your life?
If you give it to God and you obey God, he will take your life and he will make it a masterpiece.
If you give it to sin and you obey sin, sin will take your life and there will be a mess.
That actually helps us understand not just this week, but also last week.
You'll remember Andy last week discussed verse 13 of chapter six, which says this.
Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness,
but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life
and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
You could just take the word paintbrush, replace instrument.
Do not present your paintbrush as a paintbrush for unrighteousness,
but present yourself as a paintbrush to God for righteousness.
Then this week it helps us understand verse 16.
Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves,
you are slaves of the one whom you obey,
either of sin, which leads to death,
or of obedience, which leads to righteousness.
So Paul's telling us there's another principle here.
Whoever holds your paintbrush,
that is your master.
If you obey someone,
you are their slave.
There's another truth here,
which is this.
You will have a master.
You will serve someone.
Freedom from religion
will not make you free.
You will serve either sin or God.
There is, in fact,
no independent freedom in this world.
That is a fiction.
There are only two slaveries.
There's only two ways to live.
There's a way to live that leads to death.
And there's a way to live that leads to life.
Some of you may remember
Bob Dylan's song from 1979
called,
You Gotta Serve Somebody.
He says this,
You may be an ambassador
to England or France.
You may like to gamble.
You may like to dance.
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world.
You may be a socialite
with a long string of pearls.
But you're going to have to serve somebody.
It may be the devil.
Or it may be the Lord.
But you're going to have to serve
somebody.
What Paul's telling us here
is whatever you serve,
it will rule you.
If you serve money,
you will be a slave to it.
It will consume your thoughts
and your time,
and your mind will not rest.
You won't be able
to not check the stock market.
If you serve pleasure
and comfort,
it will rule you.
And one day,
someday in the future,
you will be very,
very uncomfortable.
If you serve accomplishments,
you will find
that there is never an end
and that it's never enough.
There is always something more,
and there will always be
someone who is stronger
and smarter
and faster
than you.
If you serve approval,
you will always do
what other people want
and not what is right.
You'll be a slave.
If you serve independence,
if that is more important to you
than anything else,
you may experience
a cruel joke.
You will get it.
You also won't have
the deep connection
that makes life worth living.
Actually,
it might be better
to be a slave.
Slaves actually have
friendships sometimes.
If you make
those things
or anything
your God,
you will serve it.
it will be your master.
You will be
its slave.
Why not just sin
all the more?
For under law
and not under grace,
why not sin
whenever we want?
Paul tells us this,
because it's miserable.
Because it's slavery.
Because those masters
are hard
and cruel.
Now,
you may be wondering,
okay,
we talked about slavery
two weeks ago.
What's the difference
between Paul's point
about slavery then
and his point now?
His point two weeks ago
in verses 5 through 11
was this,
you don't have to obey
sin anymore
because you're not
enslaved to it.
Okay,
that's verse 6.
You don't have to obey
sin anymore
because you're not
enslaved to it.
This week,
verses 15 through 19,
he's saying this,
but if you do
obey it,
you are bound
to it.
if you do
obey it,
it will enslave you.
That's what he's saying
in verse 16.
Do you not know
that if you present
yourselves to anyone
as obedient slaves,
you are slaves
of the one
whom you obey,
either of sin,
which leads to death,
or of obedience,
which leads
to righteousness.
Now,
how did we,
how did we get here?
We're picking up
from last week.
You'll remember
last week ended
with verse 14,
which says this,
for sin will have
no dominion over you
since you are not
under law,
but under grace.
Paul then repeats
that in verse 15,
and so basically
what he's saying,
what he's reminding us
of is this,
there are two ways
to get to heaven.
You can get to heaven
under law,
or you can get to heaven
under grace.
If you're under law
and you want to get to heaven,
you must perfectly
obey every single one
of God's commands,
and never sin.
Now,
if you've been with us,
you know that's not an option.
Romans chapter 3
says this,
for all have sinned
and fall short
of the glory of God.
So being under law,
bad deal.
If you are under grace,
that means you trust
in Christ.
Believe he died
the death
that you deserve.
He lived the perfect life
that you did not.
And that's good.
Because you actually
cannot earn heaven
from the law.
You can't,
and you won't.
You're no longer justified
by your obedience.
You are justified
by Christ's obedience.
And so that's the distinction,
that distinction
from verses 14 and 15
that leads to the question
of verse 15,
which now we've already answered.
The good news
is now you're actually free
to obey God.
Not just that you've been freed
from the slavery to sin,
you actually have
kind of a new slavery here.
You're actually free
to follow God
as your true and real master.
That's what Paul's saying
in verses 17 and 18.
But thanks be to God
that you who were once
slaves of sin
have become obedient
from the heart
to the standard of teaching
to which you were committed.
And having been set free
from sin,
have become slaves
of righteousness.
Obedient from the heart,
that phrase there
gets to what we talked about
at the beginning
of chapter 6.
That the very power center
of your heart
has changed.
We discussed this
when we talked about
the three different ways
of talking about sin.
The power,
the presence,
and the penalty.
And you remember
that when Christ died,
if you're a Christian,
you died to the power
of sin.
You don't have to obey
sin anymore.
sin no longer controls
your heart.
And so that's why
in verse 4
we talked about
newness of life.
Life that is characterized
by resurrection power.
As I've mentioned to you
many times now,
Ephesians chapter 1
tells us
the same power
that raised Jesus Christ
from the dead
is at work in you.
That's the newness of life.
That's what allows us
to obey
from the heart.
In other words,
serving God
sets you free
to do the right thing
for the right reason.
Serving God
sets you free
to do the right thing
for the right reason.
You raise your children now
and you love them
not so that they can
make you look good
or so they can prove
something about you.
That's its own type
of slavery.
But so that they can
go out
and spread
God's glory
even more.
You can make money
for God's purposes.
To provide
for yourself
and your family
and to show
the same generosity
that God has shown
to you.
You can demonstrate
sexual integrity
in your life
because you love
from your heart
God's gift
of marriage.
And you want to
use your body
to bless
other people
rather than
to destroy
and use them.
and when you
experience
success
which I hope
that you do
you can give
glory to God
and you can
actually enjoy it
because you have
the right
perspective.
Brothers and sisters
that's what real
freedom
looks like
feels like
tastes like.
Remember I've
told you this
old quote
from David Gibson
in the created
world
you can only
truly enjoy
what you do
not worship.
In the created
world
you can only
truly enjoy
what you do
not worship
because if you
worship it
it will rule
you.
If you
worship it
it will be
your master
and you
will be
its slave.
I've told you
before and I'll
tell you again
Romans is the
fifth gospel
and Romans is
called the fifth
gospel
because what
Paul teaches
Jesus
taught
first.
Jesus is
talking to the
Jewish leaders
in John
chapter 8
and he says
this
truly truly
I say to
you
everyone who
practices sin
is a slave
to sin.
The slave
does not
remain in the
house forever
the son
remains
forever.
so if the
son sets
you free
you are
free
indeed.
A few
verses earlier
he says
this
also John
chapter 8
if you
abide in
my word
you are
truly my
disciples
and you
will know
the truth
and the
truth
will set
you
free.
Man I
wonder where
Paul got
this idea
of slavery.
I think
he got it
from Jesus.
I think
he knows
that Jesus
sets us
free from
slavery to
sin by
his death
and his
resurrection.
That's what
Paul's been
saying over
and over
again in
this chapter
when Jesus
died
you
died.
Now that
does raise
a question
for us.
How can
we say
that Jesus
sets us
free
if we're
a slave
to him?
That doesn't
sound like
freedom.
That sounds
kind of
odd that
Paul's
using
different
words
than
Jesus
is.
Well Paul
I think
is getting
at this
in verse
19.
he says
I'm speaking
in human
terms
because of
your
natural
limitations.
What Paul's
saying is
this.
Hey I
realize this
may strike
you as a
little bit
odd to
talk about
being God's
slave.
I'm just
trying to
use an
illustration
that you
can understand.
It may
be imperfect
but it
is true.
Following
Jesus
is the
only
way
to
life
and
freedom.
If
the
son
sets
you
free
you
will
be
free
indeed.
We
might
put it
this
way
to
our
God
be
the
glory
to
our
God
be
the
praise
he
alone
the
name
above
all
names.
I
will
boast
ever
only
in the
Lord
my
God
for
I
know
his
glory
is
my
good.
Serving
him
is
real
and
true
freedom.
let's
pray.
Our
father
in
heaven
we
do
thank
you
that
you
set
us
free
from
the
slavery
to
sin.
Set
us
free
to
actually
enjoy
what
you've
given
us
in
this
world
because
we
worship
you
above
everything
else.
We
ask
that
would
be
true
of
us
that
you
would
continue
to
grow
and
shape
and
form
our
hearts
that
we
would
love
your
freedom
we
would
run
away
from
the
slavery
of
sin.
We
ask
these
things
in
Jesus
name.
Amen.