Recall that I have told you that the overarching theme of Paul's writing is that a person is justified, or declared righteous by God, by grace alone, through faith alone, in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone.
The thesis statement of his letter is found in chapter 1, verses 16 and 17, where he writes,
I am not ashamed of the gospel, or you could insert I am proud of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, the righteous shall live by faith.
In the remainder of chapter 1 and in chapter 2, Paul then makes the case that everyone has sinned.
The Gentiles, those without the law, and the Jews, those with the law.
Regardless of their status, all have sinned.
And he hammers this point home in the first half of chapter 3.
Chapter 3, verses 10 through 12.
Say, none is righteous, no not one.
No one understands, no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside together, they have become worthless.
No one does good, not even one.
All of humanity has a righteousness problem.
We are guilty of transgressing God, are separated from communion with him, and are due his judgment and just punishment.
We will not because we cannot earn our way to God.
And this is terrible news.
Paul doesn't end there.
In the rest of chapter 3, he speaks of the righteousness that is granted to us by grace through faith in Christ as our propitiator.
You have heard me say, Jesus lived the life I could not live, and died the death that I deserve, so that through faith in his completed work, I would be saved.
This promise is sure for you if you have or if you will believe in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
On a couple of occasions, I've read the following poem to you.
It is unanimous.
Some of you have debated this with me.
It is unanimous.
But it goes like this.
Oh, long and dark, the stairs I trod, with trembling feet to find my God.
Gaining a foothold bit by bit, then slipping back and losing it.
Never progressing, striving still, with weakening grasp and faltering will, bleeding to climb to God while he serenely smiled, not noting me.
Then came a certain time when I loosened my hold and fell thereby, down to the lowest step my fall, as if I had not climbed at all.
Now when I lay despairing there, listen, a footfall on the stair, on that same stair where I, afraid, faltered and fell and lay dismayed.
And lo, when hope had ceased to be, my God came down the stairs to me.
In chapter 4, Paul then puts forth Abraham as an example of one saved, not by his works, but by his faith.
No one has ever been saved by their works.
Old Testament saints were saved through faith in the coming promise of a Messiah.
New Testament saints, including us, are now saved through faith in the fulfilled promise of a Messiah.
See Hebrews chapter 11.
In chapter 5, Paul explains how the first Adam, as a representative of all humanity, brought sin into the world,
and how the second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ, can serve as our representative before God.
So we are justified, Paul argues, by grace alone, through faith alone, in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone.
Now, at every step of Paul's writing, he is anticipating objections.
It feels sometimes like he's in a court of law against himself.
He asks questions and he gives answers.
Now likely he was familiar with the counter-arguments because he had already encountered them many times.
His missionary practice was to go to a new place and reason with the people from the scripture.
Today's text brings us to another anticipated objection to justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
We would do well to pay careful attention to the question and to Paul's answer for the instruction of our souls.
So let me remind you before we read the text, beloved, that this is God's word to us.
It was written for his glory and for our good.
So we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and to obey its commands.
Romans chapter 6, beginning in verse 1.
What shall we say then?
Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?
By no means.
How can we who died to sin still live in it?
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death,
in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father,
we too might walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his,
we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing,
so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
For one who has died has been set free from sin.
Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again.
Death no longer has dominion over him.
For the death he died, he died to sin, once for all.
But the life he lives, he lives to God.
Fairly simple outline for our study this morning.
Number one, Paul asks a question.
Number two, Paul answers the question.
And number three, Paul advances his answer.
Alliteration, you're welcome.
Asks, answers, advances.
Number one, Paul asks a question.
He says,
What shall we say then?
Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?
You may have asked this question or been asked this question.
I tell you this morning that you have at least functionally asked this question in your behavior,
although not likely in these terms.
A simple restatement of the question could be,
if Christ has paid the penalty for my sin and given me his perfection,
then can't I live any way I want to?
John Bunyan, you guys know I'm a fan of,
was a 17th century English Baptist, which I'm proud to tell you,
who was in prison for 12 years because he preached without a license from the state.
You may know of Bunyan from his seminal work,
The Pilgrim's Progress,
a work that I love and I read to you often.
You may have noticed I brought a copy of it with me.
I have a plan to read from it briefly this morning.
He wrote this allegory of the Christian life upon being placed in solitary confinement
because he would preach from the courtyard of the prison
and people would gather outside the prison walls to hear him expound upon the Bible.
During this time, some other Christ followers,
also in prison for preaching without a license,
but with very different theology from Bunyan,
told him,
Bunyan, if you continue to preach of God's love,
the people will live however they want to.
Does the objection sound familiar?
If our righteousness depends solely on a God who saves,
without any contribution on our part,
then can't we live however we would like?
This is not an unimportant question,
and we dare not be dismissive of it.
Paul certainly isn't.
In fact, much of his discourse for the next couple of chapters
comes as a response to this objection.
I would argue about halfway through chapter 8
is really his response to this objection.
So we ask an important question,
but it gives us an answer to that question,
an immediate and emphatic answer.
So number two, Paul answers the question.
He says,
By no means.
How can we who die to sin still live in it?
Paul follows his anticipated question
with an emphatic answer,
By no means.
The Greek phrase is me genoito,
and it is very strong Greek language.
It could be interpreted,
No way, or absolutely not.
And he follows this emphatic no with a question.
How can we who died to sin
still live in it?
Paul is going to go on to explain this phrase further,
as are we,
but herein is the simplicity of the matter.
If you are justified by grace alone through faith alone
and the person and work of Jesus Christ alone,
then you have been changed,
not in degree,
but in type.
This is the doctrine of regeneration.
We once were spiritually dead.
Now we are spiritually alive.
This doctrine is perhaps the most important
to be recaptured for the sake of the church
in our day.
Oh, that we would know
that we are no longer captives,
but have been set free.
Oh, that we would live holy lives
for the advancement of the gospel
to the glory of our God.
God.
We are not saved by works.
We are saved through faith,
but it is a faith that works.
Our very identity has been changed.
And I'm not going to stand before you this morning
and declare to you
that having been set free from sin,
we therefore no longer sin.
We do.
We carry around the baggage of our flesh.
We get to work in great deal with this
at the end of chapter 7.
However, we will begin the process
of growing in holiness.
This is a tightrope for our understanding
to balance upon.
So to make it more clear,
I want to show you the two ways
that we could fall off this tightrope.
On the one side,
you could fall off into legalism.
You can give too much credit
to your accomplishments
or you can give too much credit
to your failures.
I see Christians do this to themselves
all the time.
They take their focus
off the accomplished work of Christ
and they become hyper-analyzers
of their lives.
They often compare their current walk
with their walk in the past
or with the walk of another
and become self-accusers
or self-justifiers.
They put themselves
in the place of God.
I see Christians do this
to others all the time,
making judgments of faithfulness
in terms of agreeance
with their views
or with their lifestyle.
The legalist says,
look more like me.
The person walking the tightrope
helps others to look more like Christ.
On the other side,
you can fall off into antinomianism,
which means without the law.
The possibility of this accusation
seems to be the objection
Paul is primarily concerned with
in today's text.
somebody saying,
wait, wait,
we can't just disregard
God's moral commands for us.
Can we?
This error takes sin lightly,
either paying no attention to it at all
or readily dismissing it.
This error says,
let's continue in sin
that grace may abound.
Let's show how forgiving our God is
by going on
and sinning.
So we don't want to become legalists
and we don't want to become
antinomians.
Let us be careful
to make neither error.
We are not saved by works.
We are saved through faith,
but it is a faith
that works.
It's a faith that is given evidence
in the way that we live.
The person restored to relationship
with his or her God
does not view God's commands
as burdensome,
but receives them as a gift.
If we become aware
of God's great love for us
by grace alone,
through faith alone,
in Christ alone,
then we will gladly accept
his ways for our good
and his glory.
We will become increasingly
less enamored with what this world
has to offer us
and increasingly more enamored
with God's purpose
and with God's way.
It becomes the desire
of our hearts
that we would follow
in God's good commands.
This brings me
to the pilgrim's progress.
I haven't read to you yet
from the scene
in Vanity Fair.
At least I don't believe I have.
There's a city
that these pilgrims
in this allegory
happen across
and it's for the testing
of their faith
and it is everything
that the world
has to offer
in this one city.
And they find themselves
in this city
looking very strange
to those
who live there.
And so I read,
quote,
the thing that most
annoyed and puzzled
the merchants
was that these pilgrims
put no value
on the fair's goods.
They did not even enjoy
looking at them
and when the merchants
called out to them
to buy this or that,
the pilgrims
put their fingers
in their ears
and cried out,
turn away mine eyes
from beholding vanity
and looked upward
signifying that their trade
and traffic
was in heaven.
This is from Psalm 119
in verse 37.
One merchant
observing the strange
conduct of the pilgrims
mockingly said to them,
What will you buy?
But they,
looking sternly at him,
answered,
We buy the truth.
Which I just love
from Proverbs 23
if my memory
is serving me well.
Not enamored
with the things
of the world
but enamored
with the things
of God.
Do you remember
the concern
of Bunyan's
fellow prisoners?
Bunyan,
if you continue
to preach
of God's love
the people
will live
however they want to.
Well,
Bunyan reportedly replied,
No.
If I continue
to tell God's people
of God's love
for them,
then they will live
however he
wants them to.
But Paul doesn't
just leave us
with the answer,
by no means,
how can we
who died to sin
still live in it?
and leave us
to figure out
how he goes on
to answer the question.
And as I said
quite a bit
into his letter
but this morning
we have an advance
of his answer.
So third point,
Paul advances
his answer.
Helps us to understand
what it means
to die to sin
and no longer
live in it.
And Paul answers
the question
in four points.
We're going to give
each of them
a brief look
this morning
as we work
through the rest
of the text
and I just want
to encourage you
to consider
these four points
further than we
have time for
this morning.
Mold them over,
think about them
carefully,
talk about them
with a brother
or sister
at your dinner table.
They are an
absolute treasure
trove
for our souls.
This is all
so good
and sometimes
I hate
how little time
we have together
for them.
First,
Paul says,
by grace alone
through faith alone,
we are baptized
into Christ.
This is the
beginning part
of verse 3.
Do you not know
that all of us
who have been
baptized
into Christ Jesus?
Now Paul here
is not speaking
of the symbolic
ordinance
of baptism.
Some people
want to make
arguments
from this text
that we are
justified
through the
act of baptism.
This is known
as baptismal
regeneration
and it is
a heresy.
But Paul,
as I've said here,
is not speaking
of the symbolic
ordinance of baptism.
How do I know
this?
How can we know?
Well,
I know this
because I've read
the rest of the letter.
because I haven't
torn a tiny piece
out of my Bible
to make an erroneous
argument.
Because I haven't
forgotten
that Paul is
arguing for
justification
by grace alone
through faith alone
in the personal
work of Jesus Christ
alone.
So he can't
possibly be saying
that we're saved,
that we're made new
through the
physical act
of baptism.
So,
he must be speaking
of the spiritual
reality of what
is true
for all
who believe
in Christ.
Now,
as a side note,
as a Baptist,
one of the leaders
of a Baptist church,
we do believe in
what's called
credo or credo,
you'll hear people say,
baptism.
We believe that
water baptism
is not the means
of salvation
but a demonstration
of it.
It shows
what's already
happened.
I heard a pastor
one time
compare it to
another type
of ceremony,
a graduation
ceremony.
There's some
college students
here who are
looking toward
and longing
for graduation.
Graduation
ceremonies
aren't entirely
necessary
to finish school.
It's a little
secret,
but you don't
have to walk.
I got out of it
and yet,
I still graduated
from the University
of North Georgia.
You've already
completed the work.
It's been
accomplished.
You've checked
all of the boxes,
but it's showing
that you've
finished
the work.
If you ask
most people
about their
graduation,
they'll take you
to that
ceremony
as a sign
of the thing
that had already
been completed.
I think this is
a pretty good
analogy.
theology.
It's not
the means
of salvation.
It's just
a demonstration
of it.
I digress.
Notice that
the opening
phrase of
verse 3
is a
qualifying
statement.
Paul says,
Do you not
know that
all of us
who have
been
baptized
into Christ
Jesus?
For anything
to be true
of you
in today's
text,
you must
have been
baptized
into Christ
Jesus.
How is this
accomplished?
If we're not
talking about
the physical
baptism,
it's accomplished
by repentance
and faith,
by turning
from your sin
and turning
to Christ
for the
justification
of your
soul.
If you
have,
then you
have been
baptized
into
Christ
Jesus.
And again,
as a Baptist,
I would say,
and therefore
should be baptized
by immersion
as a sign
of that
reality.
That is,
you have
been
immersed
in
Christ.
That's why
we immerse
people in
the symbolic
ordinance
of baptism.
It's a
picture of
a spiritual
reality.
The symbolically
baptized person
declares,
as the church
declares with
them,
that they
identify
with
Christ
in his
death
death,
and
in
his
resurrection.
Which
brings us
to our
second point,
which is
an extension
of the
first.
So second,
Paul says,
by grace
alone
through faith
alone,
we share
in Christ's
death
and
resurrection.
See this
here,
picking up
in the
last half
of verse
three.
Do you
not know
that all
of us
who were
baptized
into Christ
Jesus
were
baptized
into
his
death?
We
were
buried
therefore
with him
by baptism
into death
in order
that,
just as
Christ
was raised
from the
dead
by the
glory
of the
Father,
we
too
might
walk
in the
newness
of life.
For if
we have
been united
with him
in a
death
like
his,
we
shall
certainly
be
united
with
him
in a
resurrection
like
his.
The
language
of verse
four
may be
familiar
to you
in
considering
the
symbolic
ordinance
of
baptism.
We
say
as we
baptize
people
as a
church
buried
with
Christ
in
baptism
raised
to
walk
in
the
newness
of
life.
This
is an
evidence
that you
are
regenerate,
that you
belong
to God
in
Christ
Jesus,
immersed
in
him.
This
is an
explanation
of the
doctrine
of
regeneration.
Those
who have
placed
their
faith
in
Christ
have
not
physically
died
and
resurrected
but
spiritually
share
in
these
realities.
Paul
states
it
this
way
in
2nd
Corinthians
chapter
5
and
verse
17.
If
anyone
is
in
Christ,
he
is
a
new
creation.
The
old
has
passed
away,
behold,
the
new
has
come.
If
you
are
in
Christ,
then
you
are
no
longer
who
you
once
were
pre-
Christ.
You
are
new.
You
are
now
post-Christ,
although
presently
Christ.
Those
who
are
in
Christ
have
been
born
again.
Where
this
phrase
comes
from
is
from
John
chapter
3,
and I'm
going to
read
verses
1
through
7.
There
was a
man of
the
Pharisees
named
Nicodemus,
a ruler
of the
Jews.
This
man
came to
Jesus
by
night
and
said
to
him,
Rabbi,
we
know
that
you
are
a
teacher
come
from
God,
for
no
one
can
do
these
signs,
speaking
of
his
miracles,
that
you
do
unless
God
is
with
him.
Jesus
answered
him,
truly,
I
say
to
you,
unless
one
is
born
again,
he
cannot
see
the
kingdom
of
God.
This
is
very
common
language
to
the
American
Christian.
Imagine
how
strange
it would
have
been
for
Nicodemus
who
responds,
how
can
a
man
be
born
when
he
is
old?
Can
he
enter
a
second
time
into
his
mother's
womb
and
be
born?
Jesus
answered,
truly,
I
say
to
you,
unless
one
is
born
of
water
and
the
spirit,
he
cannot
enter
the
kingdom
of
God.
That
which
is
born
of
the
flesh
is
flesh!
And
that
which
is
born
of
the
spirit
is
spirit.
Do not
marvel
that I
said
to
you,
you
must
be
born
again.
So,
tying in
that we,
and Paul's
going to pick this up
pretty heavily
in chapter
8,
we're given
the spirit.
This is how we
become
regenerate.
This is how we're
baptized
into
Christ,
is that we
are given
the spirit
who makes
us new,
causes us
to believe,
we're justified
before God,
and then
we begin
to walk
in his
ways by
the power
of that
same
spirit.
If we
have been
united
with Christ
in a
death like
his,
we shall
certainly
be united
with him
in a
resurrection
like
his.
The old
self
put away,
the new
self
put
on.
Third,
Paul says,
by grace
alone,
through faith
alone,
we have
been
set
free
from
sin.
Verse 6
and 7,
he says,
we know
that our
old self
was crucified
with him
in order
that the
body
of
sin,
that old
self,
might be
brought
to nothing
so that
we would
no longer
be
enslaved
to sin.
For one
who has
died
has been
set
free
from
sin.
This is
so
important
please
note it
carefully.
If you
are in
Christ,
then you
have been
set
free
from
sin.
Sin
no longer
has power
over you.
Beloved,
we do not
cope
with our
sin.
We,
by the
power of
the Spirit,
overcome
it.
We're not
copers,
we're
overcomers.
sin
nowhere in
the Bible
is sin
justified
due to
a circumstance.
Your
circumstances
may provide
temptation,
but your
circumstances
do not
justify
your sin.
If you
are in
Christ,
you have
been set
free
from it,
and we
would do
well as
a people
to live
in the
reality
of this
truth.
Paul tells
us in
1 Corinthians
chapter 10
and verse
13.
It begins,
no temptation
has overtaken
you that
is not
common
to man.
And
across my
years of
ministry,
I've sat
with many
people who
act as if
they're
experiencing
a unique
temptation,
a temptation
that they
must give
into because
it's unique,
and this is
the text we
go to.
No temptation
has overtaken
you that
is not
common
to man.
We as
Christ followers
deal with
temptation.
Paul goes
on,
God is
faithful,
and he
will not
let you
be tempted
beyond your
ability,
but with
the temptation
he will
also provide
the way
of escape
that you
may be
able to
endure it.
God is
faithful in
the midst
of our
temptation
to provide
everything
that we
need
to not
sin.
We have
been
set
free
from it.
Will we
sin?
Yes.
But we
need to
stop acting
like we
have to.
Fourth,
Paul says,
by grace
alone,
through faith
alone,
Christ's
death was
sufficient
to set
us free
from sin.
This is
verse 8
to the end
of our
text.
Now,
if we
have died
with Christ,
we believe
that we
will also
live with
him.
We
know that
Christ,
being raised
from the
dead,
will never
die again.
Death
no longer
has dominion
over him.
For the
death he
died,
he died
to sin
once for
all,
but the
life he
lives,
he lives
to God.
Christ
will not
die again,
for he
has no
need
to do
so.
his
once for
all
sacrifice
was
entirely
sufficient
to set
us free
from sin.
It
accomplished
the work.
It's a
completed
work
on our
behalf.
I think
we could
meditate
for decades
on Jesus'
final word,
it is
finished.
What is
the it
that he
is talking
about there?
It's
at very
least
this.
We
have
been
set
free
from
sin
if we
have
believed
in
Christ.
So let's
think about
some
application.
One,
repent
and believe.
If you
have never
placed your
faith in
Christ for
your
justification,
your soul
is in a
desperate
state,
turn from
your sin
and flee
by grace
through faith
to Christ.
Recognize
your
wickedness
before
the holy
God.
Turn
from that
and flee
to Christ,
his sufficient
work on
your behalf.
If you
have already
done so,
when you
sin,
turn from
it and
flee by
grace
through faith
to Christ.
Beloved,
it is good
that we
take our
sin
seriously.
I think
we should
feel it
and I
think we
should feel
it deeply
when we
sin against
our God.
Some have
asked me,
how long
should I
feel that
way?
And my
answer is
always,
only as long
as it takes
for you to
repent
and believe.
Recognize
the weight
of your sin
and turn
from it.
Run
to the
finished
work
of the
cross.
So repent
and believe.
Second
application,
stop whining.
Do not
act like
you are a
victim of
your sin.
You may
be a victim
of another
sin.
I don't
mean to
say that
you are
not.
We are
sinned
against,
to be
sure.
But you
are never
a victim
of your
own.
You
willingly
sin.
When you
sin,
you willingly
do it.
If you
are in
Christ,
you have
been set
free
from your
sin.
When you
sin,
do not
act as
though Christ's
death
didn't
atone
for that
sin.
Some of
you act
as though
Christ's
work wasn't
sufficient and
that he
needs to
climb back
onto the
cross.
He
couldn't
have
possibly
paid for
this one.
He
must come
back and
die again.
remember
the
completed
work
of
Christ
on your
behalf,
the
once-for-all
sacrifice
that he
has made.
Remember
what he
started
and that
he is
sure
to keep
his
promises.
Have
the
confidence
that I
have
of God
for you.
I hope
you have
it of
yourself
that Paul
states in
Philippians
chapter 1
and verse 6
where he
says,
I am
sure
of
this,
that he
who
began a
good
work
in
you
will
bring
it
to
completion
at
the
day
of
Jesus
Christ.
He
will
bring
us
to
that
place
where
we
get
to
put
off
the
body
of
death
and
never
have
the
baggage
of
our
flesh
any
longer
with
us.
So
repent
and
believe,
stop
whining,
third,
run.
Press
on,
beloved,
make
war
against
your
flesh.
You
should
be
greatly
encouraged
to do
so
by
Romans
6
verses
1
through
10.
Having
been set
free
from it,
we have
all the
reason
in the
world
to run
towards
the
ways
of
God.
Paul
says in
Philippians
chapter 3
beginning
in
verse 12,
not that I
have already
obtained
this,
he's
talking
about the
final
resurrection
from the
dead,
or am
already
perfect,
but I
press
on to
make it
my own.
I press,
I press
toward holiness,
right?
Why?
Because
Christ Jesus
has made
me
his own.
Brothers,
I do not
consider that
I have
made it
my own,
but one
thing I
do,
forgetting
what lies
behind and
straining
forward to
what lies
ahead,
I press
on toward
the goal
for the
prize of
the upward
call of
God in
Christ Jesus.
Run,
press on in
holiness for
your good
and for the
glory of
our God.
You have
been,
if you're in
Christ,
if you've been
baptized into
him,
you have
been set
free from
the power
of sin.
John Owen
once said
in closing,
do you
mortify?
Do you
make it
your daily
work?
Be always
at it
whilst you
live.
Cease not
a day
from this
work.
Be
killing
sin,
or it
will be
killing
you.
Let's pray
together.