Die to live

Romans 6:1-5

Die to live

Romans 6:1-5, What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? ² Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? ³ Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. ⁵ For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,

Romans 1:17 introduction.

Romans 1:18-3:20 the sinfulness of man. That truth helped us to understand how utterly sinful, guilty, hopeless and hell bound.

Romans 3:21- 5:21, the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith and the substitutionary work of Jesus Christ.

What we have seen so far in the book of Romans two major

themes

The theme of man’s sinfulness and The theme of God’s salvation. Paul has been stressing

• the dire situation of man,
• the inevitable doom that man faces because of his sin
• the rebellion of man against holy God.
• man’s love of his own sinfulness,
• man’s wilful refusal to understand the God who has been clearly revealed to him inwardly and outwardly.

In response to that, Paul has presented to us the wonderful forgiving mercy and grace of God, which reaches down to this unworthy man and offers to him full pardon, full acquittal through the perfect and finished work of Jesus Christ.

The work of Christ regarding man is so full, complete, merciful, gracious, comprehensive, abundant, and magnanimous.

Romans 5:20-21, Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, ²¹ so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The magnanimity of God’s grace is shown there in verse 20 in that the greater the sin was, the greater the grace was to cover that sin. ➢ Great is man’s sinfulness and ➢ Greater is God’s forgiving grace infinitely. Let us get into the mind of Paul and see what he is thinking.

Talked about man’s sin. Talked about God’s salvation. Now we move into a third major discussion in the epistle to the Romans that got to do with the believer’s holiness or sanctification. When we have taken out of sin into salvation then the inevitable result is sanctification.

We are going to see that in chapter 6, 7 and 8. Now, the way Paul introduces it is by dealing with a question that would inevitably come up at this point if he were presenting this to a group which included those who might object, and the inevitable question.

Paul was very good at anticipating the argument of his adversary.

He knew what he needed to counter. He knew the gaps that he needed to fill to continue his argument effectively. V 1, What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? If more sin generates more grace, then should we just continue now that we are redeemed and sin more so God can be more gracious?

If He gets such a thrill out of grace, then let Him have a lot of it! Somebody would say Paul, your doctrine is antinomian, who rejects laws. Your doctrine is that which gives tremendous liberty. This idea that salvation is simply and only by grace through faith without works, and that the greater the sin the greater the grace, leads to an against-law viewpoint, a freedom gone maniacal, a freedom gone berserk.

It leads to a person saying, ‘if the more sin the more grace, then, I am going to sin like mad so God can just get all kinds of glory by dispensing grace.’” The hostile Jew would have a very difficult time handling Paul’s argument about salvation by grace without works because he would assume that it led to this kind of thing.

If salvation is all of God’s grace and God is glorified in the dispensing of grace, then man in his desire for sin might reason, the more sin the more grace. The more you sin, the more God gives you grace, and so the more you sin and sin with abandon and the more you allow God to exercise His grace, the more you give God glory.

If you are just an ordinary sinner, you don’t give God an opportunity to show His glory, so be an extraordinary sinner. Antinomianism is complete abandonment in the name of grace.

Romans 3:8, And why not say, “Let us do evil that good may come”?—as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just.

It is very likely that Paul had been accused of preaching the kind of a doctrine of grace that tolerated evil so that God could be glorified in His forgiveness. It may also be that there were some people who wanted to sin so that grace could abound just to justify their own evil lifestyle.

They aren’t criticizing it, but they are happy to accept it. They are not the legalists saying that they can’t accept what Paul was saying that it leads to antinomianism. They are the

libertines who will be happy to accept by their own logical conclusion. We can meet such a group in the church of Corinth. They lived without any of the normal restraints of holiness that should bind the children of God.

They were characterized by

• incest,
• suing of one another,
• sexual immorality,
• prostitution,
• paganism, and
• demonic activity.

We can find such people even today in our midst. Paul would allow neither of these.

• He would not abandon grace to accommodate the legalists.
• He would not abandon grace to restrict the libertine.

He wouldn’t do it in either case. Legalism is never a remedy for anything. God has a better and more excellent way.

Paul is going to show us is that the true gospel of grace does not lead to libertinism, to just sinning like mad because you are going to be all right anyway. This is what we have heard people say who wanted to criticize the doctrine of eternal security. They say that if you believe in eternal security, then what you really mean is that once you are a Christian you can just sin all you want, and you are going to be fine with God.

For them they want to restrict the gospel of pure saving grace in its eternal reality because they are afraid that this is the only way they can control people. So, they violate the purity of saving grace as an entity in order to control people who might abuse grace. But Paul will have none of that.

In fact, as Paul moves into chapter 6, he necessarily, and permanently links a holy life with true salvation. We don’t need externally to control people who are redeemed because there is planted within them a control principle by virtue of the new nature. The new life which is under the control of the Holy Spirit of God so that the thing functions internally not externally.

• Chapters 3, 4 and 5 basically deal with justification.
• Chapters 6, 7 and 8 deal with sanctification.
• Chapters 3, 4 and 5 deal with how you get saved
• Chapters 6, 7 and 8 deal with how you live after you have been saved.

There is an absolute connection. The two are linked. Holiness is as much a gift of God to the believer as redemption is in the saving act. When a person is redeemed, it is not only a divine transaction. It is a divine miracle of transformation.

• It is not only legal but real.
• It is not God just saying, “you are saved” but it is God transforming you.
• It is not only God saying something to be true, but it is God making it true.
• It is not only God declaring you righteous, but it is God recreating you in righteousness.

God is not about to call people righteous who aren’t, and so sanctification and justification are linked.

Nothing is more important for us to understand in the utter antinomianism of the contemporary Christian scene then to understand the link between sanctification and justification, to understand the connection between a holy life and true salvation.

Let us look at Paul’s argument. The argument is listed in Romans 6:1-14 verses. But we will not be able to see all the verses. We will look at first 5 verses. Paul gives three elements in this first 5 verses. 1. Opponent 2. Answer 3. Argument 1. Opponent.

Paul has been accused of preaching a gospel of grace that is antinomian. Acts 21 When Paul went back to the city of Jerusalem after collecting the offering from the Gentile churches. He was with all the Gentile representatives to reconcile the Jewish and Gentile

segments of the church, to demonstrate love not only to meet their need in a physical way, but to meet it in a spiritual way. Paul thought that he would even further identify, and so he went into the temple with some of those Jews, went to offer a vow. He wanted to show his kinship to Judaism, and he had not abandoned it.

A riot that broke out and they accused him of speaking against the law and the temple and against God and everything else they counted to be sacred.

Why? Because the doctrine of grace seemed to them to be a libertine teaching. Paul wants to show that you don’t need to impose law on people.

Galatians and Acts 15

The Judaizers want to do the same thing. They went to Galatia, and when they found these people who believed you could enter to God’s Kingdom by grace alone, they couldn’t handle that. So, they said, “No, you must be circumcised, and you must keep all the law of Moses, and then you get through the vestibule of that, you can get into the Kingdom.”

Their fear was that if they ever got just pure grace that everybody would run chaotic, and we still have that today. People who think you have got to have a million of rules in order to conform people to spirituality. It goes on in many places, churches, Christian schools, where you think you can force spirituality down the throats of people by externalizing the rules, they are going to force them into a certain mould.

Paul says I know some are going to accuse me of this. They are going to say, “Paul, we just ought to sin like mad so we can have a lot of grace.”

Jude 1:4, For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

These were the ones who wanted to accept grace and they turned it into sinful activity, and therefore they denied the Lord. We have two factors here. On the one hand, we have the legalists who want to say, “You can’t teach that, Paul. People will run wild. You are teaching antinomianism.”

On the other hand, we have the libertines who are saying, “Teach it, Paul, we are loving it, and we are going to use that grace to its extreme.” Both are wrong! In fact, both give evidence of never having truly been redeemed at all.

Some would say the doctrine of grace puts a premium on sin.

Romans 4:5, But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, Why don’t we have any church membership? Why does our church not have form to fill in to join the fellowship?

When our Lord lets them in the Kingdom on the basis of faith, I think we can let them in our church. We really don’t want to set a standard higher than God. V 1, What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?

The word “continue” is interesting in The Greek, epimen means “to abide, remain, or stay.” is translated as “continue” with a prefix preposition.

It is used of staying in a house or making a residence there. Shall we then who have been saved by grace habitually sustain the same relationship to sin that we have had before? Shall we go on with that same relationship where sin had full control and we yielded fully to it, it was an unbroken habit?

Are we going to continue that same abiding within the house of sin?

Does Justification not connected to sanctification? Can a person be saved and go on in the same life pattern? Some in our Christian culture would say, yes. Yes, if you have ever asked Jesus in your heart no matter what your life is like, you can be sure you are going to go to heaven.

What some would say that justification can exist apart from sanctification.

Does the gospel allow men to be unholy? Can you be really saved and unholy and continue to remain in, abide in, stay in, live in the same relationship to sin you had before?

2. Answer. V 2, Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? “M genoito.” It is an idiom, the strongest reaction possible. “No way!” May it never be! It is denial with an abhorrence of such a thought.

Paul doesn’t spew out some great argument, he just says no, no, no. A Christian continuing to remain in, abide in, live in sin is not only impermissible and it is impossible. The thought only creates disgust. Holiness starts where justification finishes.

If holiness does not start, we have the right to suspect that justification never started either. Paul’s reason for this revulsion is not found in, again, some elaborate argument, but rather in one simple question, and it’s so profound.

V 2, Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Paul doesn’t alter the doctrine of grace. Paul doesn’t modify it. Salvation is a free, unmerited gift of grace which overrules sin. No matter how bad the sin is, the grace is greater. He doesn’t change that.

If the whole world objected, if the whole world was in antagonism to that, he would never alter it one wit or one word. Grace is grace. Grace super-abounds in salvation. It super-abounds in security forever even to the chief of sinners.

It doesn’t matter whether you are a goody-goody, or whether you are a rotten multiple murderer or anything in between. He doesn’t equivocate with grace. So, we just leave that where it is. We don’t have to go back and edit chapter 3, 4 and 5.

What is his answer? It is impossible.

You can’t sustain the same relationship to sin you had before because you have died to it. “died to sin” This is the key or the fundamental premise of the whole argument of the chapter. Death and life are not compatible.

You can’t be dead and alive at the same time. Logically impossible. You cannot be dead and alive. Some of you can be alive and look dead. Sometimes you go to a funeral, somebody is dead, but they look alive. But you can’t really be dead and really be alive at the same time.

They are not compatible. So, it is a fundamental logical contradiction for a Christian to be living in sin when he has died to it. In a definite act in the past time, a once for all definite break with sin was made. That is a part of the believer’s identity, and a believer cannot therefore live in sin.

If a man lives in sin, if he abides in sin, if he continues in sin, he is not a believer.

1 John 3:9, Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

The one who does sin and remains in it, gives evidence of the fact that he has never been taken out of that domain. He is never died to that. He is still alive to that dimension. Now, if you were to view sin as a realm, or you were to view sin as a sphere, you could say the believer no longer lives in that realm, the believer no longer lives in that sphere.

Psalms 37:36, Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more; Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.

The believer is no longer there. He has died to sin.

Are you saying Christians never sin? We have died to sin, and we no longer live in that sphere. We no longer live in that dimension. We have been translated out of the kingdom of darkness into another realm.

Salvation is not only legal, but it is for real. It is not only a stated fact in terms of transaction, but it is a reality in terms of transformation.

2 Corinthians 5:14-15, For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; ¹⁵ and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

We ascertain this that if Jesus died, then we all died, too. If we all died, then we no longer live the way we used to live, we now live in a new life, and we live to Him. We have died to the sphere of sin which was our captor.

2 Corinthians 5:17, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. So, it is the new creation.

Colossians 3:2-4, Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. ³ For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. You are dead to the sin sphere.

We have a new sphere, a new dimension, a new atmosphere in which we live. People have choked on these kinds of concepts and passages because they are afraid it means eradication of the sin nature. Do you believe that when you become a Christian you are instantly perfect?

I am a pastor, I know better. I know better over my own life and everybody else’s. But a Christian cannot remain, abide in, stay in, reside in sin the way he did before his conversion. He died to sin. 3. Argument. Paul is answering here legally.

He is taking this as if it were a legal argument. He works his way from verse 3 to 14 with a series of truths, just one by one, unfolding what it means that we have died to sin.

• a) We are baptized into Christ.

V 3, Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We in our conversion were baptized into Jesus Christ.

A person can even think of asking whether Christians are free to sin betrays a lack of understanding of what a Christian is. You are not merely a justified legally declared righteous person who chooses to do as he pleases. When you became a Christian, you were brought into intimate living union with Jesus Christ.

Salvation isn’t God up in heaven looking at the record it says “Sinner bound for hell,” He draws a line through it and stamps it “saved.” It isn’t just that. It isn’t something that goes on heaven that doesn’t have anything to do with me.

When I become a Christian, the Bible says my life is fused with the life of Jesus Christ. I am immersed into Jesus Christ. When you became a Christian, you were immersed into Jesus Christ. You were fused into Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 10:2, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, Being baptized into Moses.

It talks about the children of Israel in the wilderness being baptized into Moses.

What it means is to come under the authority of Moses, to participate in the Mosaic leadership, Mosaic privilege, Mosaic blessing, that which God did in His life reached to the people who followed Him. So, to be immersed into Moses was to be involved in all that God was doing in the life of Moses.

A good parallel. As the children of Israel were fused into Moses. He was their leader and anchor to God. He was the channel through which God spoke, he was the one with the face that shone and revealed the glory of God. They were in Moses, in a sense, united with him.

In an even deeper more profound and real sense, we are baptized into Jesus Christ. We are placed in, immersed in deeply into Christ. We are fused into, immersed deeply into Jesus Christ. It speaks of an intimate, personal fellowship.

1 John 1:3, that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

Matthew 28:20, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

1 Corinthians 6:17, But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. So, when you became a Christian, you became one with Him. Paul is saying here is that when you were saved, you were placed into Jesus Christ.

We will never understand it fully until you get to heaven. Accept it by faith.

Galatians 3:27, For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Paul equates the putting on of Christ and the baptizing into Christ as one and the same. It’s just two ways to speak of it. In one sense it’s like being immersed in Christ. In another sense it’s like just putting Him on over you.

Colossians 2:11-12, In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him

in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. You have been placed into His circumcision. You have been placed into His death. You have been placed into His burial.

You have been placed into His resurrection. You are fused with Christ.

1 Corinthians 6:16, Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.” Because when you join with a prostitute, you are joining Christ to a prostitute because you are fused with Him.

Ephesians 2:5-6, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁶ and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

We died with Christ. We rose with Christ. We ascend with Christ. We reign with Christ.

Revelation 3:21, To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

It is impossible for a person to continue in the same relationship to sin that he had before that because he has been fused with Jesus Christ who is eternally holy. Now, some people think this means water baptism.

Why does he use baptized? Because baptism is a beautiful symbolic act. Baptism had become the outward identification of an inward faith. He’s not advocating salvation by water. That would be to contradict chapter 3, 4 and 5.

In those days water baptism was a fixed sign for faith, and very often in the Scripture when you read baptism you could substitute faith. Because the writer sees those two the same, baptism being the outward sign of faith. People in those days who put their faith in Christ were baptized.

So, Paul can say that Christ was put on in baptism.

Galatians 3:27, For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

1 Peter 3:21, There is also an antitype which now saves us— baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

Titus 3:5, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,

Acts 22:16, And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’

We are not saying that you are saved by water, but it just became the symbol of faith. V 3, Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? The only valid baptism is immersion because it’s the only one that demonstrates so absolutely the entrance of the believer into utter unity and union with Jesus Christ, an immersing.

Are you ignorant of the meaning of your baptism? You don’t know that it symbolizes the spiritual reality of being immersed in Jesus Christ?

We are in union with Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:3-4, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, ⁴ by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Salvation led you out of corruption and it made you partaker of the divine nature and equipped you with all that life and godliness could ever have.

We are identified in His death and resurrection. V 3, Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were baptized or immersed into His death. The first thing that happens when you are saved is you attend your own funeral.

You die to sin. V 4, Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Now, we are buried in His death, and we rise in His resurrection. The purpose for you dying to sin was so that you might live to God. Christians are different. When you ask the question that let us just go on sinning. No!

You can’t do that. It is not that you don’t have permission, but it is that you can’t do it because you are in a different sphere. You can’t go on living in sin. You can’t have the constant same habitual remaining in sin that characterized your former life.

It says there “even we also should walk in newness of life.” It isn’t the “should” of obligation, it is the “should” of divine accomplishment. You can put there “in order that we will walk in newness of life.” We do walk in new life.

I am a Christian. I am different than I used to be. I am not what I ought to be, but I am sure not what I was! So, when somebody comes along and says that I am just going along my same old life, but I just brought Jesus in.

You don’t add Jesus like some divine salt to your human activity. This is a tremendous truth that when you come to Christ, you are immersed in His death, and you rise to walk in new life. You are totally different. We die in Christ in order to live in Christ.

We share His death in order to partake of His life. We are justified to be sanctified. They are inseparable realities. There can be no participation in Christ’s life without a participation in His death. We cannot enjoy the benefits of His death unless we are partakers of the power of His life.

We must be reconciled to God in order to be holy and we cannot be reconciled without becoming holy. So, as Christ died and rose, so His people die to sin and rise to God. As Christ’s resurrection life was the certain consequence of His death, so the believer’s holy life is the certain consequence of His resurrection and death to sin.

Now we walk in newness of life.

What is newness of life? Kainos, not neos, not new in terms of chronology.

New in terms of quality, a new kind of life, a new quality of life, not like the old life. Righteousness now becomes our pattern and, whereas in the past, it was all unmitigated sin, now there is the pattern of righteousness.

Sin crops up here and there, doesn’t it? We will find out why when we get to chapter 7, so hang on. But we have a new life, a holy life, something has happened. The Bible speaks of this in such beautiful terms. Ezekiel 36 calls it a new heart.

Ezekiel 18 calls it a new spirit. 2 Corinthians 5 calls it a new creation.

Galatians 6:15, a new creature.

Ephesians 4:24, a new man.

Revelation 2:17, a new name. Psalm ⁴⁰ says we have a new song. Everything is new. “We walk in newness of life.”

It isn’t just a new creation, but it is a new creation that lives differently. What does the word “walk” mean in the New Testament?

Daily spiritual conduct. When you become a Christian, you begin to walk in a different kind of life.

What kind of life did Jesus have? Holy life. If the old life was the quality of evil, the new life is the quality of righteousness. Paul affirms this great truth. V 5, For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, If we have been growing together, John talks about the vine and the branches.

We have received the reconciliation that we may now walk not away from God, as if released from a prison but with God as His children in His Son. Because we are justified, we are to be holy, separated from sin, separated to God.

We were justified for this very purpose that we might be holy.

The grapes upon a vine are not merely a living token that the tree is a vine and is alive, but they are the product for which the vine exists. It is a thing not to be thought of that the sinner should accept justification and then live to himself. It is a moral contradiction of the very deepest kind and cannot be entertained without betraying an initial error in the man’s whole spiritual creed.

Paul says you can’t have justification without sanctification.

Ephesians 2:8-10, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. You are God’s workmanship, created anew in Christ Jesus.

It is ordained that you should walk in good works. You don’t get saved by good works, but you get saved to produce them. It’s a marvellous concept. A Christian is brand new. He has become something he never was before. It is not addition but transformation.

Being a Christian is not getting something new, but it is becoming someone new. It means we have died to sin in our new nature. Sin no longer is the abiding power in our life. All of this is more than something God says about us.

It is something God did for us. This is where we must start.