WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.819 Good morning, everyone. 00:00:03.820 --> 00:00:05.060 My name is James. 00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:08.400 Good to see you on this chilly morning this morning. 00:00:09.480 --> 00:00:12.700 When I was 18, my parents moved out. 00:00:13.740 --> 00:00:18.820 We were living in Wollongong, and I was in my second year of university, and my parents 00:00:18.820 --> 00:00:22.179 with my younger sister moved to the Hills District of Sydney. 00:00:22.600 --> 00:00:28.940 And I lived with my brother for a year in Wollongong, and then lived on my own for a 00:00:28.940 --> 00:00:29.199 year. 00:00:29.199 --> 00:00:31.480 And it forced me to become an adult. 00:00:32.219 --> 00:00:37.340 It was really wonderful because I learned how to do things like make pavlova. 00:00:37.939 --> 00:00:43.560 And I remember vividly one time getting stiff peaks in the egg whites without a whisk, but 00:00:43.560 --> 00:00:44.200 just with a fork. 00:00:45.259 --> 00:00:50.519 And so I made that pavlova, and then, like any good 18-year-old, ate the entire pavlova. 00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:53.719 And it forced me to become an adult. 00:00:53.859 --> 00:00:54.920 I cooked my own meals. 00:00:55.120 --> 00:00:57.100 I cleaned my clothes. 00:00:57.100 --> 00:00:59.820 I worked to pay rent while I was at uni. 00:00:59.820 --> 00:01:03.359 But then when I finished university, started looking for a job. 00:01:03.840 --> 00:01:05.939 And so I moved back in with my parents. 00:01:06.599 --> 00:01:08.680 And they were still in the Hills District, so I moved into the Hills. 00:01:09.980 --> 00:01:11.780 And there were positives and negatives. 00:01:12.599 --> 00:01:18.099 Living with them meant that I could, you know, find a job, you know, when I was still looking. 00:01:18.099 --> 00:01:24.640 But it meant that I was also living with my parents who treated me like a child. 00:01:25.339 --> 00:01:27.519 And it was frustrating. 00:01:27.739 --> 00:01:30.619 I was 21 at this point, and I'd been used to cleaning my clothes. 00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:34.739 And my mum's cleaning my clothes, and I'm like, mum, I'm not a child. 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:35.500 What are you doing? 00:01:35.500 --> 00:01:40.340 And there was tension because my status had changed. 00:01:40.760 --> 00:01:42.159 I had been a child. 00:01:43.019 --> 00:01:44.400 I became an adult. 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:47.719 And then they were treating me like a child again. 00:01:48.680 --> 00:01:54.379 There's often a tension when a person doesn't act like who they are. 00:01:55.019 --> 00:01:57.939 The married person who acts like they're single. 00:01:58.460 --> 00:02:01.000 The parent who lives like they don't have children. 00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:05.859 The new worker who is still acting like a uni student and sleeping in all morning. 00:02:06.219 --> 00:02:08.659 The adult who behaves like a child. 00:02:09.939 --> 00:02:13.500 There's tension when a person doesn't act like who they are. 00:02:14.580 --> 00:02:19.819 For those who follow Jesus, their status in life has changed. 00:02:20.580 --> 00:02:22.479 They've gone from death to life. 00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:28.219 From the power of sin to the power of God being set free by him. 00:02:28.219 --> 00:02:34.860 And yet, I wonder if we forget our status as God's children. 00:02:35.439 --> 00:02:38.860 And often run back to following our old ways. 00:02:39.620 --> 00:02:41.539 Do we forget who we are? 00:02:42.979 --> 00:02:45.159 We are in the book of Romans. 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:51.960 And over the last few weeks, we've seen our desperate need for God to save us. 00:02:52.120 --> 00:02:55.400 And he does this through his wonderful grace to us. 00:02:56.120 --> 00:02:57.620 He chooses to forgive. 00:02:57.620 --> 00:03:02.060 He chooses to justify us because of his great love for us. 00:03:02.840 --> 00:03:04.599 It's called justification by faith. 00:03:04.840 --> 00:03:06.039 And we saw that last week. 00:03:06.159 --> 00:03:13.099 We've gone from having our head, Adam, to our new head, Jesus, as the one who represents us. 00:03:13.280 --> 00:03:16.240 And we have all the benefits through our new head, Jesus. 00:03:17.460 --> 00:03:21.020 And today, Paul shows us that we're not just saved. 00:03:21.200 --> 00:03:23.840 Our entire status has changed. 00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:30.000 And so it's not right for us to go back to our old way of doing things, our old status. 00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:33.879 But instead, to be who we are because of Jesus. 00:03:34.939 --> 00:03:40.620 And so today, we're going to be challenged and encouraged to be who we are. 00:03:40.620 --> 00:03:42.439 Two points this morning. 00:03:42.879 --> 00:03:45.920 The first status change is from dead to alive. 00:03:45.919 --> 00:03:51.000 And the second status is of slaves to sin to slaves to God. 00:03:51.399 --> 00:03:54.199 Let me pray for us as we begin. 00:03:54.619 --> 00:03:58.459 Heavenly Father, we thank you for Romans chapter 6. 00:03:58.539 --> 00:04:00.039 We thank you for your word to us. 00:04:00.519 --> 00:04:04.560 And we ask that we would understand who we are as your children. 00:04:04.560 --> 00:04:08.740 And that we would continue to grow like Jesus. 00:04:09.460 --> 00:04:09.879 Amen. 00:04:11.580 --> 00:04:16.519 Paul has set out this wonderful picture that there is free grace. 00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:17.500 There is justification. 00:04:17.840 --> 00:04:19.720 You no longer need to work. 00:04:20.620 --> 00:04:24.220 You no longer need to follow a set of rules to be saved. 00:04:24.959 --> 00:04:27.819 In fact, that doesn't actually work to get saved. 00:04:27.939 --> 00:04:29.180 Instead, there is free grace. 00:04:29.180 --> 00:04:33.540 And now Paul answers a question on many people's minds. 00:04:34.140 --> 00:04:37.319 Well, if I'm saved, does it really matter what I do? 00:04:37.780 --> 00:04:39.700 Can I just do anything I like? 00:04:40.319 --> 00:04:43.620 Can I just go on sinning and God's going to forgive me? 00:04:44.040 --> 00:04:44.580 So have a look. 00:04:44.980 --> 00:04:46.439 Romans chapter 6, verse 1. 00:04:47.920 --> 00:04:49.180 What shall we say then? 00:04:50.780 --> 00:04:53.860 Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 00:04:54.980 --> 00:04:57.759 If what I do has nothing to do with my salvation, 00:04:57.759 --> 00:04:59.860 then does it really matter what I do? 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:03.080 Actually, if anything, the more I sin, 00:05:03.079 --> 00:05:05.680 the more God gets to show his grace to me 00:05:05.680 --> 00:05:08.300 so I can have more and more grace from God. 00:05:09.379 --> 00:05:10.560 Isn't that a good thing? 00:05:11.800 --> 00:05:14.519 I remember working through this thinking when I was younger 00:05:14.519 --> 00:05:17.860 and I've spoken to many people who've asked this question. 00:05:17.939 --> 00:05:20.219 Maybe you're asking this question today. 00:05:20.620 --> 00:05:23.299 Does it really matter what I'm doing 00:05:23.299 --> 00:05:25.740 if God is going to forgive me anyway? 00:05:26.939 --> 00:05:27.839 Paul responds. 00:05:27.839 --> 00:05:30.539 And he responds pretty strongly in verse 2. 00:05:31.639 --> 00:05:32.699 By no means. 00:05:33.879 --> 00:05:36.099 We are those who have died to sin. 00:05:36.179 --> 00:05:38.259 How can we live in it any longer? 00:05:39.419 --> 00:05:42.539 It's kind of hard to picture how strongly Paul would have written this. 00:05:42.659 --> 00:05:45.379 But, you know, I can imagine if he was writing this in text 00:05:45.379 --> 00:05:47.019 or writing it on a comment online, 00:05:47.099 --> 00:05:48.500 it would all be in caps. 00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:50.239 By no means. 00:05:50.240 --> 00:05:52.160 Don't do this. 00:05:53.000 --> 00:05:55.460 We have died to sin. 00:05:56.160 --> 00:05:58.680 Sin and the Christian do not go together. 00:05:59.740 --> 00:06:02.939 Now, this doesn't mean that Christians do not sin. 00:06:03.079 --> 00:06:05.400 Some will suggest that Christians just no longer sin 00:06:05.400 --> 00:06:06.480 and that's not what Paul's saying. 00:06:07.079 --> 00:06:11.240 And he's not just saying that sin has no influence over us 00:06:11.240 --> 00:06:13.280 because sin continues to influence us. 00:06:14.019 --> 00:06:17.600 And it doesn't even just mean that sin is inappropriate for the Christian. 00:06:17.600 --> 00:06:23.580 And it's not even saying that the Christian is slowly moving away from sin. 00:06:23.860 --> 00:06:27.000 Paul says that we are dead to sin. 00:06:28.220 --> 00:06:30.560 The moment a person becomes a Christian, 00:06:30.960 --> 00:06:32.620 they have a new master. 00:06:33.320 --> 00:06:35.180 They're under a new power. 00:06:36.060 --> 00:06:40.740 The Christian has gone from being ruled by sin to being ruled by God. 00:06:41.740 --> 00:06:45.120 Previously, we were completely under the power of sin. 00:06:45.480 --> 00:06:46.660 We could not resist it. 00:06:46.660 --> 00:06:50.460 But now, sin cannot dominate the Christian. 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:52.620 The Christian, under God's power, 00:06:52.700 --> 00:06:56.500 is able to resist and to rebel against the pull of sin. 00:06:57.820 --> 00:07:00.220 Paul says in Colossians chapter 1, 00:07:00.320 --> 00:07:02.900 that there's a new power at work in our lives. 00:07:03.720 --> 00:07:05.780 He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness 00:07:05.780 --> 00:07:09.180 and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. 00:07:10.379 --> 00:07:12.140 Now, one way to understand this would be 00:07:12.139 --> 00:07:16.560 if there was a country that was under complete control 00:07:16.560 --> 00:07:17.759 by a wicked government. 00:07:17.759 --> 00:07:19.079 Okay? 00:07:19.219 --> 00:07:19.620 Go with me. 00:07:19.659 --> 00:07:22.099 So there's a country under complete control by a wicked government 00:07:22.099 --> 00:07:24.699 and a good army invades, 00:07:25.480 --> 00:07:27.019 throwing out the wicked force 00:07:27.019 --> 00:07:30.039 and giving back control of government 00:07:30.039 --> 00:07:31.879 and communication to the people. 00:07:31.879 --> 00:07:35.719 But the out-of-power soldiers, 00:07:36.339 --> 00:07:37.519 the wicked soldiers, 00:07:37.600 --> 00:07:38.719 they're still there, 00:07:38.879 --> 00:07:40.560 but they've become a guerrilla force. 00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:43.399 So they're not in control of the military anymore, 00:07:43.680 --> 00:07:45.480 but they are still hiding in the bushes. 00:07:45.480 --> 00:07:49.160 And this guerrilla force can create havoc 00:07:49.160 --> 00:07:50.620 for the rightful government. 00:07:51.200 --> 00:07:53.020 It can never take control again, 00:07:53.300 --> 00:07:55.720 but it can make things difficult. 00:07:56.900 --> 00:08:00.800 Being dead to sin means we don't have to obey it, 00:08:01.120 --> 00:08:02.800 even if sin remains. 00:08:04.400 --> 00:08:07.280 And Paul explains this as being dead to sin 00:08:07.280 --> 00:08:09.460 and alive to Jesus in verse 3. 00:08:09.459 --> 00:08:13.199 Don't you know that all of us 00:08:13.199 --> 00:08:15.060 who were baptized into Christ Jesus 00:08:15.060 --> 00:08:17.539 were baptized into his death? 00:08:18.500 --> 00:08:20.719 We were therefore buried with him 00:08:20.719 --> 00:08:22.159 through baptism into death 00:08:22.159 --> 00:08:25.419 in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead 00:08:25.419 --> 00:08:26.919 through the glory of the Father, 00:08:27.339 --> 00:08:29.359 we too may live a new life. 00:08:30.060 --> 00:08:32.019 Paul uses this word baptism. 00:08:32.460 --> 00:08:33.379 In the original language, 00:08:33.480 --> 00:08:36.779 it means being immersed in and you stay there. 00:08:36.879 --> 00:08:38.559 It's this picture of conversion. 00:08:38.559 --> 00:08:42.419 When the Christian is made aware of Jesus' lordship 00:08:42.419 --> 00:08:43.579 and they follow him, 00:08:43.719 --> 00:08:44.739 at that moment, 00:08:45.239 --> 00:08:47.219 just in like chapter 5, 00:08:47.779 --> 00:08:49.259 Jesus becomes our head. 00:08:50.199 --> 00:08:53.259 And he died his death on his behalf for us. 00:08:54.159 --> 00:08:57.919 And his resurrection is our resurrection too. 00:08:59.459 --> 00:09:00.679 And so in verse 8, 00:09:00.739 --> 00:09:01.419 Paul can say, 00:09:01.819 --> 00:09:03.459 if we died with Christ, 00:09:03.559 --> 00:09:06.279 we believe we will live with him. 00:09:06.279 --> 00:09:10.519 All that is true of Jesus is true of the Christian. 00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:12.379 He died to sin. 00:09:12.899 --> 00:09:14.240 He was raised to life. 00:09:14.699 --> 00:09:17.959 And so the Christian right now is dead to sin 00:09:17.959 --> 00:09:20.439 and has a new life. 00:09:20.819 --> 00:09:22.980 It's a status change. 00:09:23.959 --> 00:09:26.360 The Christian's position in life has changed. 00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:29.120 The wicked government has been kicked out 00:09:29.120 --> 00:09:31.120 and there is a new power in control. 00:09:32.539 --> 00:09:34.120 If you are following Jesus, 00:09:34.299 --> 00:09:36.080 your old way of life is dead. 00:09:36.639 --> 00:09:37.179 It's dead. 00:09:38.179 --> 00:09:39.539 You've had two lives. 00:09:39.659 --> 00:09:42.240 There's your before following Jesus' life 00:09:42.240 --> 00:09:44.779 and there's the after following Jesus' life. 00:09:44.779 --> 00:09:46.659 And so even when we sin, 00:09:47.740 --> 00:09:50.220 it doesn't change our status. 00:09:51.019 --> 00:09:54.199 We don't go back to being unforgiven, 00:09:54.339 --> 00:09:55.620 sinful before God. 00:09:55.899 --> 00:09:59.179 We continue as alive in God. 00:10:00.579 --> 00:10:03.500 But this is a wonderful reality that we can ignore, 00:10:04.059 --> 00:10:04.959 we can forget, 00:10:05.079 --> 00:10:06.100 we can lose sight of. 00:10:07.139 --> 00:10:10.459 And so Paul calls us to do what God does in verse 11. 00:10:10.460 --> 00:10:11.519 Paul says, 00:10:12.360 --> 00:10:14.900 count yourselves dead to sin, 00:10:15.460 --> 00:10:17.840 but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 00:10:19.440 --> 00:10:21.000 Earlier we saw in Romans 00:10:21.000 --> 00:10:26.300 that God counted us righteous in Jesus. 00:10:27.200 --> 00:10:30.340 John used the illustration of doing a park run 00:10:30.340 --> 00:10:32.259 and the fastest runner, 00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:36.000 their time was given to the slowest runner. 00:10:36.440 --> 00:10:38.080 There is a swap that is done 00:10:38.080 --> 00:10:44.160 where God counts Jesus' perfect life for us. 00:10:45.180 --> 00:10:47.420 And so what Paul is calling us to do is 00:10:47.420 --> 00:10:50.460 to see ourselves as God sees us. 00:10:50.860 --> 00:10:53.040 God counts his righteousness for us 00:10:53.040 --> 00:10:57.500 and we're called to see that God does that for us. 00:10:58.780 --> 00:11:00.540 Count yourselves dead to sin. 00:11:01.940 --> 00:11:06.460 Paul is calling us to see ourselves as God sees us. 00:11:06.460 --> 00:11:09.360 That our status has changed. 00:11:09.820 --> 00:11:11.540 That we are no longer sinful, 00:11:11.940 --> 00:11:12.320 fallen, 00:11:12.540 --> 00:11:14.220 but that we are dead to that 00:11:14.220 --> 00:11:16.840 and we are alive in Jesus. 00:11:19.040 --> 00:11:20.540 We are not under sin. 00:11:21.320 --> 00:11:22.940 It's a legal right. 00:11:23.639 --> 00:11:25.980 Our legal position before God has changed. 00:11:26.780 --> 00:11:28.540 But we actually need to take advantage of it. 00:11:28.980 --> 00:11:31.480 There's no point having $14 million 00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:34.540 if you don't take advantage of having $14 million. 00:11:34.539 --> 00:11:36.480 If you're living on the street, 00:11:37.059 --> 00:11:38.319 cold at night, 00:11:38.839 --> 00:11:42.459 you're not living in the reality of what is in the bank. 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:48.379 We need to live with the reality of how God sees us. 00:11:49.779 --> 00:11:53.559 Before we can speak of how this should change our hearts 00:11:53.559 --> 00:11:55.259 and how it should change our actions, 00:11:55.659 --> 00:11:57.579 it has to enter our minds. 00:11:57.919 --> 00:12:01.559 We have to see us and to see each other as God sees us. 00:12:01.559 --> 00:12:04.619 I read a story recently 00:12:04.619 --> 00:12:08.739 of those who were set free from slavery in the United States 00:12:08.739 --> 00:12:10.019 after the Civil War. 00:12:10.839 --> 00:12:12.739 Slavery had been abolished 00:12:12.739 --> 00:12:16.119 and all slaves, young and free, 00:12:16.519 --> 00:12:17.919 had been given their freedom. 00:12:19.199 --> 00:12:21.279 But there were many people who had endured 00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:24.179 long years of slavery 00:12:24.179 --> 00:12:26.759 and they found it very difficult 00:12:26.759 --> 00:12:28.299 to understand their new status. 00:12:28.979 --> 00:12:31.099 And so they heard that they were free. 00:12:33.299 --> 00:12:35.179 But they struggled to understand it. 00:12:35.359 --> 00:12:36.620 They struggled to realize it. 00:12:36.819 --> 00:12:39.739 And when they saw their old master coming to them, 00:12:40.059 --> 00:12:42.199 they began to quake and fear. 00:12:43.239 --> 00:12:45.299 So Martin Lloyd-Jones, the preacher, says, 00:12:45.299 --> 00:12:49.379 we can experience being a slave experientially. 00:12:49.439 --> 00:12:51.919 We can experience that in our lives, 00:12:52.519 --> 00:12:54.620 even when we are no longer a slave. 00:12:55.319 --> 00:12:56.419 Whatever you feel, 00:12:57.319 --> 00:12:59.319 whatever your experience may be, 00:12:59.639 --> 00:13:01.740 God tells us here, through his word, 00:13:01.740 --> 00:13:05.079 that we are no longer under the reign and rule of sin. 00:13:05.659 --> 00:13:06.839 And if I fall into sin, 00:13:07.339 --> 00:13:08.819 as I do, 00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:12.740 it is simply because I do not realize who I am. 00:13:15.299 --> 00:13:16.339 Verse 14, 00:13:16.439 --> 00:13:19.079 for sin shall no longer be your master 00:13:19.079 --> 00:13:22.039 because you are not under the law but under grace. 00:13:23.419 --> 00:13:25.379 And yet how often are we fearful of it? 00:13:26.459 --> 00:13:27.299 Stuck in it. 00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:31.139 Not looking to our master who has set us free. 00:13:32.839 --> 00:13:33.759 And so brothers and sisters, 00:13:33.759 --> 00:13:36.679 there is a wonderful assurance for us here. 00:13:37.579 --> 00:13:39.339 We are called to think of ourselves 00:13:39.339 --> 00:13:41.539 as God sees us, 00:13:42.059 --> 00:13:44.500 dead to sin and alive in Jesus. 00:13:45.299 --> 00:13:48.419 We can be fearful of our sin, 00:13:48.779 --> 00:13:50.679 not realizing who we are. 00:13:51.240 --> 00:13:53.379 Or we can see ourselves and see each other 00:13:53.379 --> 00:13:57.719 as God's children with a new status. 00:13:58.939 --> 00:13:59.799 I will sin. 00:14:00.699 --> 00:14:01.479 You will sin. 00:14:01.559 --> 00:14:04.399 You will rebel against God today, tomorrow. 00:14:05.439 --> 00:14:07.279 But that is not who we are. 00:14:08.279 --> 00:14:09.379 We are saved. 00:14:09.899 --> 00:14:10.879 If you follow Jesus, 00:14:11.059 --> 00:14:12.519 you are one of his children, 00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:13.519 part of his family. 00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:16.960 The slave to sin is who I was. 00:14:17.840 --> 00:14:19.960 But now we have a new master, 00:14:20.399 --> 00:14:21.399 a new status. 00:14:22.120 --> 00:14:25.139 And so this means our life should look different. 00:14:26.340 --> 00:14:27.779 Second point today 00:14:27.779 --> 00:14:29.860 is that our status has changed. 00:14:29.980 --> 00:14:31.759 We've gone from being a slave to sin 00:14:31.759 --> 00:14:33.899 to a slave to God. 00:14:33.899 --> 00:14:37.279 And so because of this, 00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:38.500 life should look different. 00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:42.199 Paul in verse 14 asks the same question 00:14:42.199 --> 00:14:44.659 as verse 1 in a slightly different way. 00:14:46.079 --> 00:14:46.500 He says, 00:14:46.720 --> 00:14:47.360 What then? 00:14:47.860 --> 00:14:50.319 Shall we sin because we are not under the law, 00:14:50.519 --> 00:14:51.439 but under grace? 00:14:52.199 --> 00:14:53.039 And he repeats that, 00:14:53.139 --> 00:14:54.120 by no means. 00:14:54.720 --> 00:14:55.480 I love that. 00:14:55.840 --> 00:14:57.819 I appreciate it when Gary read it before. 00:14:58.059 --> 00:14:59.319 By no means. 00:14:59.320 --> 00:15:01.020 And so Paul is again 00:15:01.020 --> 00:15:02.580 coming back to this question. 00:15:03.080 --> 00:15:04.940 What does it actually look like 00:15:04.940 --> 00:15:07.080 to live for the Christian? 00:15:08.280 --> 00:15:10.080 What is our life to look like? 00:15:10.260 --> 00:15:12.540 It is not to continue to go off sinning 00:15:12.540 --> 00:15:13.879 how we used to live. 00:15:13.920 --> 00:15:15.340 Our life is to look different. 00:15:16.540 --> 00:15:18.440 Are we under any obligations? 00:15:18.680 --> 00:15:20.640 Do I need to follow the Ten Commandments? 00:15:20.740 --> 00:15:22.120 Do I have to love my neighbor? 00:15:22.340 --> 00:15:23.380 I was really encouraged 00:15:23.380 --> 00:15:24.780 with what Leland was saying before 00:15:24.780 --> 00:15:27.220 about seeking to read his Bible regularly. 00:15:27.220 --> 00:15:29.100 But do I have to do that? 00:15:30.200 --> 00:15:31.840 It's encouraging hearing him 00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:33.340 seek to be reading his Bible regularly 00:15:33.340 --> 00:15:34.100 four or more times. 00:15:34.259 --> 00:15:35.720 But do I have to do that? 00:15:37.680 --> 00:15:39.200 Paul answers this again 00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:40.800 by talking about our status. 00:15:41.639 --> 00:15:43.220 This time about slavery. 00:15:43.740 --> 00:15:45.019 And the old singer Bob Dylan 00:15:45.019 --> 00:15:47.940 wrote a song that Paul is talking about here 00:15:47.940 --> 00:15:48.580 when he sang, 00:15:49.160 --> 00:15:50.600 you're going to have to serve somebody. 00:15:51.779 --> 00:15:53.259 And so verse 17 and 18. 00:15:53.759 --> 00:15:55.980 Though you used to be slaves to sin, 00:15:55.980 --> 00:15:58.820 you have come to obey from your heart 00:15:58.820 --> 00:15:59.860 the pattern of teaching 00:15:59.860 --> 00:16:01.620 that has now claimed your allegiance. 00:16:02.240 --> 00:16:04.200 You have been set free from sin 00:16:04.200 --> 00:16:06.800 and have become slaves to righteousness. 00:16:08.100 --> 00:16:09.320 No one is free. 00:16:10.399 --> 00:16:12.600 Every single person is a slave. 00:16:12.899 --> 00:16:14.560 They're either a slave to sin 00:16:14.560 --> 00:16:17.340 or a slave to God. 00:16:18.460 --> 00:16:19.779 We all have a master. 00:16:20.680 --> 00:16:22.960 And when our master is sin, 00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:26.620 verse 23 tells us that what we earn, 00:16:27.800 --> 00:16:29.000 we earn death. 00:16:29.100 --> 00:16:30.519 Our wage is death. 00:16:31.100 --> 00:16:32.480 But when our master is God, 00:16:32.540 --> 00:16:33.759 we don't earn anything. 00:16:34.660 --> 00:16:36.100 Because we can't earn anything. 00:16:36.379 --> 00:16:38.639 Instead, verse 23 tells us, 00:16:38.680 --> 00:16:39.280 do I have it there? 00:16:39.340 --> 00:16:40.040 I don't have it there. 00:16:40.340 --> 00:16:41.920 What verse 23 tells us 00:16:41.920 --> 00:16:43.860 is that instead we are given a gift. 00:16:44.019 --> 00:16:45.600 A gift of eternal life. 00:16:46.700 --> 00:16:48.080 The point of Romans 6 is that 00:16:48.080 --> 00:16:50.440 we're all serving somebody. 00:16:51.160 --> 00:16:53.259 We're all a slave to something. 00:16:53.820 --> 00:16:55.200 Some bottom line, 00:16:55.420 --> 00:16:57.060 something is driving us. 00:16:57.420 --> 00:16:58.879 Something has mastered us 00:16:58.879 --> 00:17:00.680 and we are all slaves. 00:17:02.139 --> 00:17:04.480 What are you offering yourself to? 00:17:04.480 --> 00:17:07.000 If you're following Jesus, 00:17:07.140 --> 00:17:09.720 don't go back and become a slave to sin. 00:17:10.700 --> 00:17:12.819 Are you a slave of people's opinions 00:17:12.819 --> 00:17:14.779 or God's opinion? 00:17:15.400 --> 00:17:17.140 Are you a slave to the bottom line 00:17:17.140 --> 00:17:18.180 of your bank balance 00:17:18.180 --> 00:17:19.660 instead of seeing the riches 00:17:19.660 --> 00:17:21.579 freely offered through God's grace? 00:17:22.420 --> 00:17:24.599 Are you a slave to obeying your family 00:17:24.599 --> 00:17:27.099 in the hope that they might be proud of you 00:17:27.099 --> 00:17:28.740 when you have a God 00:17:28.740 --> 00:17:30.380 who longs to be close with you? 00:17:30.380 --> 00:17:33.420 Are you mastered by a desire 00:17:33.420 --> 00:17:34.520 to be with someone 00:17:34.520 --> 00:17:36.240 so that your behaviors shape 00:17:36.240 --> 00:17:37.940 your desire to get affection 00:17:37.940 --> 00:17:40.480 instead of seeing the affection 00:17:40.480 --> 00:17:43.040 and love you already have in Jesus? 00:17:44.800 --> 00:17:46.700 We're all controlled by something 00:17:46.700 --> 00:17:49.920 and when it's anything other than God, 00:17:50.040 --> 00:17:51.020 it leads to death. 00:17:52.320 --> 00:17:55.200 But there is a kind and generous master 00:17:55.200 --> 00:18:00.060 and we've become slaves to righteousness 00:18:00.059 --> 00:18:03.319 that Christian doesn't have to obey God 00:18:03.319 --> 00:18:04.500 to be saved. 00:18:05.019 --> 00:18:08.019 But we do obey to have a life filled 00:18:08.019 --> 00:18:09.619 with the fullness of God, 00:18:10.579 --> 00:18:13.379 to have a joyful, flourishing life. 00:18:14.879 --> 00:18:16.519 Tim Keller has an illustration 00:18:16.519 --> 00:18:18.940 about birds and fish. 00:18:19.379 --> 00:18:20.159 It's not birds and bees, 00:18:20.259 --> 00:18:21.099 it's birds and fish. 00:18:21.839 --> 00:18:23.259 The fish in the water 00:18:23.259 --> 00:18:26.980 is stuck in his situation of the water 00:18:26.980 --> 00:18:28.920 and he sees the bird 00:18:28.920 --> 00:18:31.799 and longs to be free like the bird. 00:18:31.940 --> 00:18:33.559 He sees the bird and thinks, 00:18:33.740 --> 00:18:34.900 I want to be like that. 00:18:35.900 --> 00:18:37.920 And so the fish flops out of the water 00:18:37.920 --> 00:18:41.559 and goes on the ground and dies. 00:18:43.240 --> 00:18:45.579 Because the fish is made for water. 00:18:45.579 --> 00:18:49.039 That's where the fish finds its freedom. 00:18:50.339 --> 00:18:52.539 In our current world, 00:18:52.779 --> 00:18:55.079 we hear being a slave to anything 00:18:55.079 --> 00:18:55.839 and we can think, 00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:57.480 I don't want to be a slave to anyone. 00:18:59.659 --> 00:19:01.460 But we're all slaves to something. 00:19:01.579 --> 00:19:03.079 We want to search for freedom, 00:19:03.179 --> 00:19:04.379 but we find freedom 00:19:04.379 --> 00:19:07.539 when we live in the way God has made us to be. 00:19:07.539 --> 00:19:09.279 The fish finds its freedom 00:19:09.279 --> 00:19:10.759 when it lives in the water. 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:14.679 And whilst it looks like it's bound to slavery, 00:19:14.680 --> 00:19:16.840 that is the best place for it. 00:19:17.460 --> 00:19:19.080 I wonder if we are swimming 00:19:19.080 --> 00:19:21.920 and we are seeing people leap out of the water, 00:19:22.500 --> 00:19:23.860 chasing sin, 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:24.539 and we say, 00:19:24.640 --> 00:19:25.660 oh, look at them. 00:19:25.900 --> 00:19:27.440 They're leaping out of the water. 00:19:27.560 --> 00:19:28.700 That looks so great. 00:19:28.920 --> 00:19:30.380 I want to be just like them. 00:19:30.560 --> 00:19:31.799 And then we don't notice 00:19:31.799 --> 00:19:34.360 that they're just chasing after 00:19:34.360 --> 00:19:36.440 something that is going to be the end of them. 00:19:38.120 --> 00:19:39.480 Instead of seeing that, 00:19:39.880 --> 00:19:40.860 obeying God, 00:19:41.140 --> 00:19:43.779 both shows that we love God. 00:19:44.680 --> 00:19:46.640 But also it's the best way to life. 00:19:47.320 --> 00:19:49.019 It's the way to human flourishing. 00:19:50.440 --> 00:19:51.460 So what do we do? 00:19:52.620 --> 00:19:54.140 We saw in the first point 00:19:54.140 --> 00:19:56.160 that we need to change our minds. 00:19:56.259 --> 00:19:59.539 We need to see ourselves as God sees us, 00:20:00.539 --> 00:20:02.160 as having a new status. 00:20:02.680 --> 00:20:05.039 And then in verse 13 and 19, 00:20:05.200 --> 00:20:06.720 Paul calls us to action. 00:20:06.720 --> 00:20:08.440 He says, 00:20:08.440 --> 00:20:11.500 do not offer any part of yourself to sin 00:20:11.500 --> 00:20:13.920 as an instrument of wickedness, 00:20:14.019 --> 00:20:16.860 but rather offer yourselves to God. 00:20:16.980 --> 00:20:17.600 Verse 19, 00:20:17.940 --> 00:20:19.480 just as you used to offer yourselves 00:20:19.480 --> 00:20:20.860 as slaves to impurity, 00:20:21.660 --> 00:20:24.000 so now offer yourselves 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:25.980 as slaves to righteousness, 00:20:26.579 --> 00:20:27.500 leading to holiness. 00:20:28.660 --> 00:20:29.539 Paul is saying, 00:20:29.779 --> 00:20:31.600 be who you are. 00:20:31.599 --> 00:20:34.679 Be controlled in your behavior. 00:20:35.599 --> 00:20:37.219 Offer your whole body, 00:20:37.319 --> 00:20:38.059 your whole members, 00:20:38.159 --> 00:20:38.779 your heart, 00:20:39.059 --> 00:20:39.899 your actions, 00:20:40.039 --> 00:20:40.579 your soul. 00:20:40.759 --> 00:20:42.099 Offer them to righteousness. 00:20:43.579 --> 00:20:45.819 Offer your whole self to purity, 00:20:46.240 --> 00:20:47.159 to love, 00:20:47.399 --> 00:20:48.259 to generosity, 00:20:48.559 --> 00:20:49.199 to kindness, 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:49.980 to patience, 00:20:50.099 --> 00:20:50.719 to gentleness, 00:20:50.839 --> 00:20:51.759 to self-control. 00:20:52.819 --> 00:20:53.559 Obey God, 00:20:53.659 --> 00:20:55.799 but not based on your feelings 00:20:55.799 --> 00:20:56.799 or your situation, 00:20:57.059 --> 00:20:58.599 but on the reality of the gospel. 00:20:58.599 --> 00:21:01.619 Because God has considered you righteousness, 00:21:02.419 --> 00:21:03.439 considered you righteous. 00:21:04.799 --> 00:21:07.459 And so be the status change. 00:21:08.639 --> 00:21:11.539 We are no longer under the power of sin, 00:21:12.359 --> 00:21:13.980 but we are God's. 00:21:14.899 --> 00:21:17.439 Sin doesn't reign even when we struggle with it. 00:21:19.059 --> 00:21:21.799 Viewing ourself as righteous in Jesus 00:21:21.799 --> 00:21:23.359 is a great assurance, 00:21:23.779 --> 00:21:25.879 and it motivates us to obey God, 00:21:26.359 --> 00:21:27.819 to live the new status, 00:21:27.819 --> 00:21:28.799 not to earn it, 00:21:29.419 --> 00:21:31.359 because it is who we already are. 00:21:32.779 --> 00:21:34.079 If you are still thinking about 00:21:34.079 --> 00:21:35.559 what it means to follow Jesus, 00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:38.960 to offer yourselves to righteousness, 00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:42.700 to what this status would look like. 00:21:43.819 --> 00:21:46.000 Everything we are yearning for 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:47.859 and searching for in life 00:21:47.859 --> 00:21:50.879 is found in this status as a child of God. 00:21:51.639 --> 00:21:54.579 Are we searching for meaning and for purpose? 00:21:54.579 --> 00:21:57.480 Are we looking for recognition and joy 00:21:57.480 --> 00:21:59.339 for a person who will love us? 00:21:59.859 --> 00:22:01.720 That is only found in God. 00:22:02.659 --> 00:22:04.319 And the status as a child of God 00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:06.779 is higher than any other status. 00:22:07.939 --> 00:22:10.720 For the brother or sister who is a Christian, 00:22:11.359 --> 00:22:13.439 who is struggling with being who they are, 00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:16.580 let me get really practical with what it means 00:22:16.580 --> 00:22:21.500 to offer ourselves to righteousness 00:22:21.500 --> 00:22:25.360 and to think of ourselves as a new status. 00:22:25.359 --> 00:22:29.639 When we come to a daily situation to sin, 00:22:30.639 --> 00:22:32.019 we have an option. 00:22:32.899 --> 00:22:35.479 Am I going to offer myself to God 00:22:35.479 --> 00:22:36.799 as a slave to righteousness, 00:22:36.959 --> 00:22:39.579 or am I going to offer myself to sin? 00:22:40.079 --> 00:22:41.479 My old way of life, 00:22:41.539 --> 00:22:44.439 who I was before I was saved. 00:22:44.899 --> 00:22:46.639 And so there's a cycle that happens. 00:22:47.199 --> 00:22:49.019 There's stages you can go through, 00:22:49.099 --> 00:22:50.379 which you can see on the screen. 00:22:50.759 --> 00:22:51.699 There's a cycle that happens. 00:22:51.700 --> 00:22:52.440 There's an event. 00:22:53.259 --> 00:22:54.440 There's a situation. 00:22:54.600 --> 00:22:55.100 There's a problem. 00:22:55.240 --> 00:22:56.580 There's a desire to sin. 00:22:57.140 --> 00:22:58.120 There's a thought. 00:22:59.279 --> 00:23:02.120 There's a feeling that wells up inside, 00:23:02.240 --> 00:23:03.759 and then there is a response. 00:23:04.840 --> 00:23:07.620 And so if someone says something 00:23:07.620 --> 00:23:09.059 that I think will make me feel, 00:23:09.240 --> 00:23:10.400 make me look bad, 00:23:10.799 --> 00:23:13.240 if someone puts me down in a social setting, 00:23:13.340 --> 00:23:14.600 that's the event. 00:23:14.599 --> 00:23:17.480 And I have this opportunity. 00:23:17.819 --> 00:23:20.480 Am I going to offer myself as a slave to sin 00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:22.359 or a slave to God? 00:23:22.399 --> 00:23:25.240 Am I going to revert back to who I was, 00:23:25.619 --> 00:23:28.159 or am I going to be who I am? 00:23:29.559 --> 00:23:32.279 If I let my desire to look good 00:23:32.279 --> 00:23:35.459 and defend myself, be my master, 00:23:35.839 --> 00:23:36.179 I'm going to, 00:23:37.019 --> 00:23:37.879 my thought, 00:23:38.279 --> 00:23:39.339 the second thing that happened, 00:23:39.719 --> 00:23:40.719 is going to be quick. 00:23:41.259 --> 00:23:43.480 You need to put this person down. 00:23:43.480 --> 00:23:45.640 They've said something bad about you. 00:23:46.319 --> 00:23:47.400 They've rebuked you, 00:23:47.519 --> 00:23:48.940 and you need to get back at them. 00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:50.120 You need to defend yourself. 00:23:50.680 --> 00:23:52.920 Maybe you need to put this person down 00:23:52.920 --> 00:23:54.620 and joke about them 00:23:54.620 --> 00:23:56.620 so everybody turns on them instead. 00:23:57.059 --> 00:23:59.240 I must pay them back for hurting me. 00:23:59.480 --> 00:24:02.299 That's the thought that will run through my mind. 00:24:03.339 --> 00:24:04.900 And the feeling that comes up 00:24:04.900 --> 00:24:08.640 is anger and bitterness and rage. 00:24:08.640 --> 00:24:12.360 And then the response can be 00:24:12.360 --> 00:24:13.720 that I lash out with words. 00:24:17.100 --> 00:24:20.420 I'm not sure if you can see yourself in that, 00:24:20.480 --> 00:24:22.259 but this is a cycle we all go through. 00:24:24.220 --> 00:24:26.620 But what would it look like to remember who I am? 00:24:27.180 --> 00:24:29.900 What would it look like to remember who I am, 00:24:30.160 --> 00:24:31.960 that my status has changed? 00:24:31.960 --> 00:24:34.620 To remember, 00:24:35.079 --> 00:24:37.680 to see myself as God sees me, 00:24:37.740 --> 00:24:38.579 as his child. 00:24:39.019 --> 00:24:40.140 Set free from sin. 00:24:40.299 --> 00:24:41.759 Set free from that situation. 00:24:42.900 --> 00:24:44.160 And so in that same situation, 00:24:44.259 --> 00:24:44.920 the event could be 00:24:44.920 --> 00:24:46.920 somebody says something critical of me, 00:24:46.980 --> 00:24:47.840 they put me down, 00:24:48.759 --> 00:24:49.640 and my thought, 00:24:50.039 --> 00:24:51.940 instead of immediately leaping to defense, 00:24:52.079 --> 00:24:52.700 could be, 00:24:54.160 --> 00:24:54.519 do you know what? 00:24:54.539 --> 00:24:55.539 That person has pointed out 00:24:55.539 --> 00:24:56.960 some difficult truths about me. 00:24:57.400 --> 00:24:59.880 I really don't like that, 00:24:59.880 --> 00:25:01.340 but I need to be aware of it. 00:25:01.760 --> 00:25:03.400 Maybe they've done that to hurt me, 00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:04.200 and that's okay, 00:25:05.060 --> 00:25:06.980 but God is my judge. 00:25:07.180 --> 00:25:08.820 This person is not my judge. 00:25:09.420 --> 00:25:11.580 And he has already accepted me. 00:25:13.020 --> 00:25:13.840 And do you know what? 00:25:14.600 --> 00:25:17.620 I can now have a feeling of thanks to God, 00:25:18.120 --> 00:25:20.560 because my God has forgiven me 00:25:20.560 --> 00:25:22.260 far more than this person will ever know. 00:25:22.780 --> 00:25:23.360 And instead, 00:25:23.840 --> 00:25:25.680 I can respond with acceptance 00:25:25.680 --> 00:25:27.260 and love to this person, 00:25:28.200 --> 00:25:29.160 instead of abuse. 00:25:29.880 --> 00:25:32.740 this cycle happens 00:25:32.740 --> 00:25:34.820 every day, 00:25:35.400 --> 00:25:36.400 with every situation 00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:37.320 that we're placed into. 00:25:37.940 --> 00:25:39.220 And we have that option, 00:25:39.520 --> 00:25:41.220 who is going to be my master? 00:25:41.780 --> 00:25:43.680 Am I going to revert back to my old status, 00:25:43.760 --> 00:25:44.940 to who I was before? 00:25:45.820 --> 00:25:48.220 Or am I going to be who I am, 00:25:48.780 --> 00:25:49.460 following Jesus? 00:25:50.140 --> 00:25:52.380 Will I count myself as God's slave 00:25:52.380 --> 00:25:53.560 to righteousness, 00:25:53.960 --> 00:25:56.620 and respond by offering my thoughts, 00:25:56.620 --> 00:25:57.360 my feelings, 00:25:57.500 --> 00:25:58.340 and my actions 00:25:58.339 --> 00:25:59.699 to God? 00:26:00.699 --> 00:26:02.059 Or will I respond 00:26:02.059 --> 00:26:04.500 seeking to protect myself, 00:26:05.019 --> 00:26:05.919 being a slave? 00:26:06.959 --> 00:26:07.879 Brothers and sisters, 00:26:08.599 --> 00:26:10.559 let me encourage you to take a step 00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:11.220 in faith, 00:26:11.559 --> 00:26:13.500 seeing yourself as God sees you, 00:26:14.139 --> 00:26:15.659 and ask God to help 00:26:15.659 --> 00:26:17.559 your whole self serve him. 00:26:18.639 --> 00:26:20.039 Our status has changed. 00:26:20.259 --> 00:26:22.500 Let's not go back to how we were, 00:26:22.500 --> 00:26:26.220 but let us live how God has called us to live. 00:26:26.700 --> 00:26:27.779 Let me pray for us. 00:26:29.460 --> 00:26:30.519 Dear Heavenly Father, 00:26:31.359 --> 00:26:32.339 we thank you 00:26:32.339 --> 00:26:37.119 for the truth and the challenge of chapter 6. 00:26:38.420 --> 00:26:40.180 God, help us to be 00:26:40.180 --> 00:26:42.619 who you have made us to be, 00:26:42.740 --> 00:26:43.400 your children. 00:26:43.400 --> 00:26:47.540 help us to see our old status 00:26:47.540 --> 00:26:48.940 as slaves to sin, 00:26:49.940 --> 00:26:52.940 as not something that we would desire. 00:26:54.500 --> 00:26:56.320 Lord, we ask for much wisdom, 00:26:56.920 --> 00:26:59.200 that when we are confronted by sin, 00:26:59.480 --> 00:27:02.019 either external or in our own hearts, 00:27:02.759 --> 00:27:05.340 that you would help us to choose 00:27:05.340 --> 00:27:07.040 to offer ourselves to you, Lord, 00:27:07.039 --> 00:27:08.839 because we love you 00:27:08.839 --> 00:27:10.899 and we want to be like you, Lord. 00:27:11.480 --> 00:27:12.960 We pray this in Jesus' name. 00:27:13.579 --> 00:27:13.879 Amen.