Romans 6:1-14, “Life Through Christ, to Live for God.”
Last week, we studied how, as descendants of Adam, sin was passed to us through him; and so, we continually struggle with envy, bitterness, anger, lying, cheating, impatience, lust, etc., for these are an expression of the curse we inherited through Adam.
The death and resurrection of God’s Son, forever removed the curse of sin for anyone who would but repent and believe in Christ.
Read Romans 6:1-2... Are you seeking to serve God by obeying and honoring His Word? Or do you continue to do what is easiest, or what “you believe” is best, instead of what is clearly taught in God’s Word?
What should our attitude be toward sin in our lives? Paul says, “By no means, may it never be, certainly not!”
Paul declared in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Now that is the right attitude. We have been given new and eternal life from God, through Jesus Christ, for the purpose of honoring and worshipping Him, by finding out what God wants us to do and and then seeking to do it with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, i.e., to serve God completely, holding nothing back, appropriating the resources He has given us.
God has given us everything we need to serve Him here on earth through our knowledge of Christ, as well as to escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires, while we wait to be with Him in heaven forever
2Peter 1:3-4, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”
Philippians 4:12b-13, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” 19, “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”
Paul states it so well, but let’s be real, apart for Jesus Christ, there is no one who has lived, is living now, or will live in the future, who is going to serve God perfectly and completely. Why is that, because, although we are forgiven, we are still sinners, and we invariably go back to our old ways or seek satisfaction in new ways, often being influenced by the world or the people we hang around with.
However, I believe that most of those who genuinely belong to Christ, want to do what pleases God. So, how can we really .know what pleases God, how can we know God’s expressed will for us? I’m so glad you asked.
1. God wants us to be saved, i.e., He wants us to repent of sin, and to trust and believe in Jesus Christ for forgiveness and eternal life.
1Timothy 2:3-4, “God our Savior [who] wants [wills] all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.”
John 14:6, Jesus [said], "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father (no one receives salvation or goes to heaven) except through Me.”
The only way to be saved from the penalty of sin is to confess Jesus Christ as Lord, believing in Him as Savior.
2. God wants us to Be Spirit-Filled, i.e., He wants us to be continually feeding upon His Word, filling our hearts and minds with God’s instruction.
Ephesians 5:15-18, "Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit [being filled, continually filled]."
Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.”
The only way to live as one filled with God’s Spirit, is to consistently feed upon
and obey God’s Word.
3. God wants us to Be Sanctified, i.e., He wants us to be set apart as His representatives in this world, examples of the life-changing transformation made effectual through Christ’s death and resurrection.
Romans 12:2, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
1Thessalonians 4:3, “It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.
We are sanctified [set apart] not by where we are, or what we are doing, but by how we express the presence, purpose, pleasure and power of God in our life.
4. God wants us to Be Doers of Good, i.e., He wants us to follow the example of Christ, doing what He did, bringing honor and glory and praise to God.
Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Romans 12:9-10, “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.”
Good must be defined by the teaching and the authority of God’s Word, if anything pleases God it is good, if it doesn’t please God it is evil.
5. God wants us to be willing to Suffer for His Sake, i.e., God tells us that the world hated Jesus and therefore, it will hate those who believe in and follow Him.
2Timothy 3:12, “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
1Peter 4:16 “if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.”
Christian life is not for wimps nor spectators; only those born of God’s Spirit will be able to endure a world that rejects our Lord and persecutes His followers.
Read Romans 6:3-11... Christ died for our sins, and when He died, He not only put to death the power and influence of the old life we received from Adam, but He demonstrated the new life we receive from God.
The baptism mentioned here (vv. 3-4) is not water baptism, it is the baptism of the Spirit, by which we are made part of the body of Christ; at the moment we repented and believed we were filled with the Holy Spirit and at the same time we were placed in the Body of Christ, the Church, the Family of God
1Corinthians 12:12-13, “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”
This is talking about the baptism of [by or in] the Holy Spirit, not water baptism; although, the Scriptures do command water baptism for new converts to Christ, symbolizing what has already taken place in our hearts and minds through the presence of the Holy Spirit.
1Peter 3:18-22, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand-- with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.
Death came to us through Adam, life comes to us through Jesus Christ, enabling us to be born from above by God’s Spirit, Who indwells every true child of God.
John 1:12-13, “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God-- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.”
John 3:3, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." 6-7, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.’"
Read Romans 6:12-14... When we yield to God’s Spirit and the Word of God, life is rich and rewarding, happy and healthy, because we are no longer slaves to sin, but instead, we are servants of Christ; and He is perfectly adequate and perfectly competent, to meet every need in every situation of our lives, no matter what or when.
Our obedience to the authority of God’s Word, will equip us and stimulate growth in our personal relationship with God and the Family of God, through Christ.
In Ephesians 4:17-24, it should seem that some of the Christians in Ephesus had fallen back into unbelieving lifestyles.
Ephesians 4:17-24, “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Paul admonishes them, and us, that as servants of God we must have a desire and propensity to know and to obey God’s Word, to live in a manner that pleases God, for we have changed minds and hearts concerning sin, self, and God; unless of course, we don’t really belong to Christ, but remain dead in our sins, separated from life with God.
Many people are fooled into thinking they are saved because they do good deeds, attend church, or believe there is a God. But salvation is granted only to those who believe in Christ, by faith, repenting of their sins.
Only Christians can apply the wisdom of God’s Word to their life, but it takes diligent effort and obedience to do so. It would seem that some of the Christians in Ephesus were ignorant of what God’s Word says.
Paul warns us (vv. 17-19) not to live in futility, ignorant of God’s truth, as the morally depraved. Every Christian was an unbeliever at one time, living like those who do not know God.
Paul exhorts us (vv. 20-24), to put off the old self, resembling Adam, and put on the new self resembling Christ, living to please God; there must be a displayed difference in the lives of those who are born of God.
Imagine that you worked in a sewer all day: you get home, remove your soiled clothing, take a long hot cleansing shower, and put on clean clothes! You wouldn’t dare put back on those filthy sewer soaked garments!
Paul says, put off [lay aside] the sinful attitudes and actions of your old life, for they are like sewage soaked clothing. Christians are to model Christ (2Corinthians 5:17), and therefore, we are to “dress differently,” i.e., our walk and talk must reflect Christ’s Lordship.
When you repent and confess Christ, He cleanses you from all unrighteousness (1John 1:9). You go from smelling like a sewer to the sweet fragrance of Christ.
Everyone is born dead in sin and separated from life with God; but through Christ, we are granted the righteousness of God, and immediately placed into the family of God, with a desire and propensity to live in a way that pleases, honors and glorifies our Lord, Jesus Christ: crucified, resurrected, and coming again.
Sin is no longer to be your master, for you belong to God, and will desire to serve Him, sharing God’s love, while living out and proclaiming the message of Christ to all anyone who will listen.
Romans 10:11, “As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame." 13 for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." 17, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”