The Foundation for Living the New Life

Transcript

GR 2223
03/24/2019
The Foundation for Living the New Life
Romans 6:3-7; Q & A
Gil Rugh

We’re going to Romans chapter 6. I think there would be common agreement this is the most important chapter in all the bible on the Christian life; there are many passages that deal with the life of the believer. We just did Ecclesiastes, which is talking about wisdom in life for the believer. This passage, more than any other in the Bible, lays clearly the foundation for living a new life in Christ. And if there was more clarity on what is being taught in Romans chapter 6, there would be less confusion in people’s lives, and uncertainty on how they are to live the Christian life. There’s an orderly progression, we have seen in Romans, Paul is unfolding the wondrous truths of the gospel, which is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. We’ve worked through something of the doctrine of sin, condemnation because of our sin, and guilt before God. Justification, and it has been made clear how God provided His righteousness for us in Christ. Now we move into chapter 6 with the explanation of how we are to live as those who have been justified by faith in Christ. It’s a very clear, orderly progression through chapter 6.

We just talked about the first two verses in our previous study, then we looked at some other verses that are related, but he asked the question, “What shall we to say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?” There’s a confusion, and it’s a confusion that comes down until today when you say we are not under the law, the Mosaic Law; some people say your antinomian. A word nomos is the Greek word for law, so anti nomos antinomian, we are against law. We live unrestrained, and sin magnifies God’s grace. That’s what he talked about in chapter 5, that’s why the question. Our sin just magnifies God’s grace because the work that God accomplished in Christ was of greater magnificence than the damage done with Adam’s sin, because Adam’s one sin affected the whole race. But Christ’s one act of righteousness encompassed all sin; and His provision covered that sin and made payment for it, so those who believe in Him can experience the provision of God’s forgiveness and righteousness.

“Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be!” Such a thought is inconceivable! “How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” That’s the key. If you’ve truly placed your faith in Christ, been justified, declared righteous by God, you have died to sin. If you’ve died to sin, how can you talk about continuing to live in sin? That’s the conflict? You can’t have it both ways and the only way to deal with sin is to die, because the penalty for sin is death. Any other so-called answer is worthless! “How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” Then verse 3 of chapter 6, begins with a question. “Or do you not know…?” If we have time, we’ll be looking into another book of the New Testament that uses that same expression repeatedly. It’s not a question that is looking for information. It’s a rhetorical question, like we would say to our children, don’t you know any better? We’re not asking for an answer on that. We’re telling them, you know better. The problem is you don’t seem to be living in light of what you know. You’re not doing what you should be doing.

Do you not know? I mean it said, “How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” Or don’t you know we have died to sin? You don’t understand the doctrine of salvation. You don’t understand what happens when a person places their faith in Christ and is justified by God. “Or do you not know that all of us (note this, all of us) who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?” Now when you see the word baptism, many people think of water, but there are various kinds of baptism in the New Testament, water baptism being a very important one. John the Baptist baptized by water, but his baptism was unique and different than Christian baptism, which is also by water. We’re not going into the study of the distinctions and the different kinds of baptisms, but what he is talking about here is not water baptism. It is a spiritual reality. Water baptism is to be a testimony of that reality, but it is not the reality, and we’ll see more of that as we move along. All of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death and baptism is a way of identifying. Water baptism as a believer is when you’re baptized in water and you are declaring your allegiance to Christ. You are publicly identifying yourself with Christ. I am a follower of Christ. I have been identified with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection. The reality of the baptism talked about here, I think is water baptism.

Come over to 1 Corinthians. We’ll look at three different passages on this. You’re in Romans, just go after Romans into 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 12. “For even as the body is one…” He’s comparing the physical body with the spiritual body of Christ. “…even as the body is one and yet has many members….” This is one body, but you have many parts, hands, ears, and all the different parts of the body. “…all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ...” the spiritual body of Christ, the Church. How does that happen? “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.”

How did we become spiritually identified with Christ and being part of His body? Well, through the baptism of the Spirit, the work of the Spirit in identifying us with Christ. We’ll see the details as we move through chapter 6 of Romans. In His death, in His burial, and in His resurrection; and that is one unit, death, burial and resurrection. We are spiritually identified with Him. We weren’t there when He died on the cross 2,000 years ago. We don’t repeat that action physically. Sometimes you’ll see around Easter in certain pagan parts of the world people reenacting it in a real way as though if they allowed themselves to be nailed to a cross—that’s just a foolish act of experiencing pain! That does nothing. There’s only one act of death remember that brings salvation, so that’s what we’re talking about here. The Spirit identifying us with Christ, baptizing us, identifying us with Christ, as he’ll unfold in Romans 6.

Come over to Colossians chapter 2. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians. Look at verse 9 of chapter 2. Don’t get confused by the false teaching that comes around. Everything you need and have is found in Christ. Verse 9, “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form and in Him you have been made complete…” Now there’s nothing else for our salvation, either in its justification, or in its sanctification. It’s all provided in Christ. Now he goes on in verse 11, “…and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands…” You see we’re talking about a spiritual reality that goes back to the Old Testament when God instructed His people through the prophets. You have to have a circumcision of the heart, that’s a spiritual reality. So, you see he’s using a physical action to betray a spiritual truth. “…you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ…” As we’ll talk about it in Romans 6, the old man will die. The sin is removed, it is replaced, if you will. So, the picture in physical circumcision, not the removal of physical aspects, but the spiritual aspect.

Then he goes on in verse 12, “…having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven all our transgressions…” You see he’s talking about a spiritual transaction, pictured by circumcision coming out of the Old Testament, but the removal of the sin from within or baptism. The spiritual identifier of being identified with Christ is when you believe, as he mentioned in verse 12, “…buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith…” We can have the picture, but the picture is not the reality, and people begin to blend it just like the Jews did. They began to associate their physical circumcision with the reality of a transformed heart, the circumcision of the heart. A mistake of eternal consequences, because that does nothing for you when it’s just a physical action. So, the picture here again you can see is we’re talking about spiritual realities, whether it’s the circumcision that now takes place in the heart or the identification with Christ in baptism.

Back up, I don’t know why I put them in this order, but I’m sure there was a good reason. Back up to Galatians, chapter 3. Galatians chapter 3, verse 26 says, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” Now again, it’s not water baptism that does this, it’s a spiritual reality. Remember we have seen it has to be the same spiritual reality for all believers. Abraham believed God and God credited it to him as righteousness. We believe God, it’s credited to us as righteousness. What happened to Abraham? His heart was circumcised. He will experience circumcision in the flesh which becomes a sign of the covenant God establishes with Abraham and his descendants, but that’s not the reality. Abraham was already a righteous man, we looked at that. He’s declared righteous in Genesis 15. He’s not circumcised until years later in chapter 17, but he had experienced the transformation of heart here.

We were baptized into Christ and so we’ve been clothed with Christ. That happened when we placed our faith in Him. Verse 26, “…you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” That’s what Paul already established, in chapter 3 and 4, particularly. The focus is on faith, faith, faith. You’ll note Abraham down in verse 29, in Galatians 3. “And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants…” That doesn’t mean we replaced Israel, but we’re in the spiritual line of Abraham. Abraham has those who are physical descendants, who are also spiritual descendants. He has physical descendants, who have no spiritual connection. Then he has Gentiles, who have no physical connection, but they’re spiritual children because they have the same faith as Abraham. But we don’t want to blur the distinctions. We’ve been baptized into Christ and thus clothed with Christ. His character, His person, is now what characterizes our life. Come back to Romans 6.

Just the fact there are different baptisms in the New Testament, just because it says baptism, doesn’t mean it is water baptism. We’ve noted that Abraham was never baptized, and yet he was declared righteous. As Paul developed it, and if you don’t take the development of Scripture in that kind of context people open this up and say, well, you take the bible literally, it says all of us have been baptized into Christ. That must mean water baptism is what does it. Well, Paul has been progressively explaining the details. If you have come in late, you don’t understand how you got to where he is now. There is an orderly development.

Abraham couldn’t have been justified by circumcision because he was declared righteous, before he was circumcised. Abraham couldn’t be justified by baptism because he was never baptized, so we shouldn’t be confused on that. When people want to take that we say, well, we have to go back, there is a clear development going. Anytime I’ve had discussions with those who believe baptism is necessary for salvation they end up wanting to come to a passage like Romans 6 and start with Romans 6:3, but that’s not where Romans starts. Don’t allow yourselves to be confused with the progression that’s going on here.

Verse 3 of chapter 6. “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?” We’ve been identified with him in His death, because remember He was our representative acting on our behalf. That’s the last part of chapter 5 of Romans. Peter talks about it when he says that He bore our sins in His body on the cross, acting as our representative. When we place our faith in Him, we die to sin, and live to righteousness. That’s just a condensed statement of what Romans 6 says, so we have been identified, baptized with Him in His death. “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death…” The Spirit of God identifies us with Christ, because Christ was taking our place. When I place my faith in Him, then I am identified with Him. His death is my death. His burial is my burial. He wants to make the point that this is a real spiritual transaction. “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death…” He wants to emphasize the reality of that spiritual truth because that’s foundational. How could God declare us righteous? Remember chapter 3, verse 21 and following, the penalty had to be paid. It was paid for me, and when I believe in Him, it is applied to me. I am viewed as having died when Christ died, being buried when Christ was buried.

Why? Well, this is important. This gets us to the sanctification. how do we now live as those who have been justified? “…so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” It’s just not, we died with Christ so that we wouldn’t have to go to hell, period. We died with Christ so that the old me could be buried. That’s where the death occurred, verse 2 of chapter 6. “How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” The old me, going to call it the old man, is dead, put in the grave. You’re done with it. It no longer functions. We are raised to walk “in newness of life” and that walk is to characterize the pattern of our life. That’s the walk of the believer. It’s pictured step after step, the progress, newness of life that we might now walk, really live in newness of life. I mean what is the whole purpose of this, so I go on my old way? I can’t! I died, and it’s important to understand this. It’s not just you should, you must! When you die, as we talked about this with Ecclesiastes, the body is buried, its activity is over, and it no longer functions. This is the picture here.

The old man, what we were in Adam, fallen beings, is dead. That man is dead, buried, and just like Christ is raised with new life, we have new life. We don’t live the old life. That’s the point, so that we might walk in newness of life. He’s going on in verse 5, “For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be in the likeness of His resurrection…” There’s no middle ground here. He doesn’t say if we’ve died with Him, there’s a good chance that we’ll be united with Him. Or for many people, if you experience some kind of second work of grace. This battle is over. Is sanctification inseparably joined to justification? It’s not the same as justification, but there is no such thing as justification that does not result in sanctification.

This is the whole debate unless some of you are familiar with it, the “Lordship salvation” debate. Can you trust Christ as your Savior and continue to live your old life, and then sometime later “allow Him to be Lord” or whatever expression you want to use? No! Anyone who claims salvation that does not result in a new life, does not have biblical salvation, because justification always results. Justification is being identified with Christ in His death, in His burial, and now resurrection. God can now declare us righteous, absolved of all guilt. That can’t happen unless you die, and nobody identified with Christ in His death, is not identified with Him in His resurrection. Verse 5, “For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection…”

So that’s why I say this is the most important section on living the Christian life. If any people claim to be believers who live the old life, well, who are you to judge? I’m not! But understand the One who has the right to judge everyone, and who will judge everyone, has told us. If you’re identified with Him in His death and paying the penalty for your sin, you will be united with Him in the likeness of new life, resurrected life. That doesn’t mean we’re perfectly consistent. We’ve moved down through this, but you have to have the foundation established. This is where we get all confused out there. Well, I know they professed to be a believer. What’s the evidence? Well, they say they’re in sin, they can’t quit, and they don’t even know if they want to quit, and on and on. Well, let God be true and every man a liar, that’s what the Scripture says.

Verse 5, again we read it, “For if we have become united (now note, with Him) with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be in the likeness of His resurrection…” That “have become united…” that verb is in what we call the perfect tense, it’s something that happened in the past and the results continue. “…we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death…” The impact of that continues, “certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection…” Because now we’ve been raised to newness of life. One results in the other. Verse 6, “…knowing this, that our old self…” literally our old man. We bring this word over into English Anthropos, the old man. Anthropology, the study of man, the old man, our old man. Now where would you get old man here, not like me old man, but the previous man, what you were before you were identified with Christ?

We’re back at the end of chapter 5 beginning with verse 12. “…just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin…” and so on. That’s what we were. That was the old man, all that we were in Adam. He uses the word “man” here, I think, for a purpose, because the salvation Christ brings a complete salvation. Now, we haven’t experienced all of it yet with the glorification of the body that brings about that final transformation. But the provision made in Christ, it’s for the man, and the old man was crucified with Him. All that I was in Adam, and that’s all I was as a fallen, sinful being. Our old man was crucified with Him. You see these are spiritual realities. Why do people insist on making the baptism a physical action? He’s talking about spiritual realities.

Our old man was crucified with Him. That was a spiritual reality, not a physical reality. I wasn’t there. I didn’t hang on a cross physically, but the Spirit of God identified me with Christ, so that His death could be credited to me, because He died in my place, to pay my penalty. Come back to chapter 6, verse 6, “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.” I don’t think it can get much clearer. In order that the body of sin, the body controlled by sin. Because he goes on to talk about being a slave of sin, in this body, which is the vehicle through which we manifest our sin. We live out what we are as fallen beings.

“…our body of sin”, he’s going to go on to talk about the body and using the members of our body to serve sin or to serve righteousness and so on. He’s talking about “our body of sin”, as controlled by sin. “…might be done away with”, a word that means rendered inoperative. It’s no longer the power. It’s no longer what controls us. Another way to say it, that we would no longer be slaves to sin. This is the purpose of it, so we sometimes stop short and say, well, you place your faith in Christ now, you’re no longer going to hell. That’s true, but that’s not the whole story. It’s not even where the Bible takes us here. Now Paul doesn’t jump from chapter 5 to say, now you’re no longer going to hell. I mean, why is he going to spend so much of the rest talking about being a new person, no longer enslaved to sin? This answers a lot.

I’ve shared with you about a professor in an evangelical institution. One of the young people from our church was attending there and is telling this professor what I taught. He says, well, the problem with Gil is he’s too black and white. This is a much more complicated world. Well, it is a complicated world, but God’s word is not complicated on how you deal with it, how you deal with sin. This is where the church has veered off here into all the psychology and all of that, because we don’t know how to deal with sin. They say they trusted Christ, but they just can’t--and I’ve shared with you that usually I end up telling people, don’t tell me you can’t, and tell me you’re a believer, because you’re lying. You’re either lying because you’re not a believer, and you’re right you can’t. Or you’re lying because you’re telling me you’re a believer and you can, but you don’t want to. What does the Scripture say? We were identified with Christ in His death, so we wouldn’t have to go to hell. Well, that may be true, but that’s not what he says here. He says so “…we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.” The word is justified, is justified from sin, declared righteous. And included with that then is freedom from the slavery to sin. That’s why it is an exercise in futility, we don’t get into trying to reform people.

I understand there are people that are not saved that we would have more in agreement with, and people that are not saved that we would have less in agreement with, but those are just superficial issues until you deal with what is the basic issue. The Jews thought because they cleaned up their lives and didn’t live like the pagans, they were acceptable to God. It was a delusion. And we have Christians trying to find what’s the solution to sin? I’m enslaved to this sin, it controls me, I—Get saved! Oh, I think I am saved. Then everything is necessary for you to be freed from it. Now we’re not saying if there was no allurement and attraction to sin, that’d make it easy. The world, the flesh, the devil, doesn’t go away. We were crucified, we died with Christ, we were raised to new life, but the world hasn’t changed. The devil hasn’t changed, and the work is not finally done. I even have desires I shouldn’t have, because I am still, not yet glorified. But I’m free, the potential is there.

I remember when I was an early student in Bible College. I appreciated the man who’s now with the Lord who preached here on occasion. He said, men, I want to tell you, you never have to sin. You never have to sin and never an excuse, no one ever makes me sin, no one ever causes me to sin, the circumstances were such I couldn’t help myself. That always a lie! As a believer I only sin because I chose to sin. That’s how great the freedom is that we have in Christ. Now, I’m not saying we live sinless lives, but we never have to sin. The unbeliever, he’s a slave to sin. That’s what we were before we were set free. You have to die to be free from that. That’s why I don’t want to tell an unbeliever, quit being immoral, quit doing drugs, quit cheating. Well, that might be nice. It might make you a better neighbor or something, but it will do nothing, because you can’t escape the slavery to sin. That’s what controls. That’s what they are.

A number of commentators made note of this, that’s why he uses the old man. That envelops you, that’s what you are. This is a truth that we want to help, we don’t want to confuse people. Well, I know you’re a believer, I remember. I’ve had parents say, oh I know my kids are saved, I remember when I prayed with them. Well, we all would want our children to be saved, but it doesn’t help to pretend. I want to confront them, well, you can make a claim, but your life doesn’t support it. And God says you will no longer be a slave to sin. That’s no longer, where you will live. This is the foundation, and it seems overly simple I know, but that’s why I say Romans 6 is foundational. There is only one escape from sin.

I sat down with two homosexuals who had been married in the eyes of our society today. I wouldn’t want to sit down and say you’re going to go to hell because you practice homosexuality. Well, I’d say, you could quit doing that, but you’d still go to hell. That’s just a manifestation of their slavery to sin. They could quit that and still wouldn’t be going to heaven. The Jews were proud. They thought, “I thank You, Lord, that I’m not a sinner like that person.” And the Jews were doing a lot better on that level than the pagan Romans, but it didn’t make them any more acceptable to God. I know I repeat myself, but how does a church get off track? How do we get into this too? We’ve got to find out from the world.

Come over to Ephesians chapter 4. The corruption of the doctrine of sanctification is pervasive. I don’t know, evangelical schools, they don’t have a doctrine of sanctification. You go there to learn to integrate the thinking of the world, the psychology of the world with the Scripture. When you do that, you corrupt the Scripture. If the Scripture is not true on the doctrine of living the Christian life, where are we going? Ephesians chapter 4, verse 22. This is a chapter about the walk of the believer. Verse 1 started out, “I…implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called...” Walk “in a manner worthy”, this is our call to walk in newness of life. The character of the Christ that died for us is seen in our life, humility, gentleness, patience, showing tolerance for one another, and in all this, preserving the unity that’s been produced by the Spirit; not creating the unity, preserving the unity. Responsibility is there.

Come down to verse 22, where he’s talking the contrast of what we were and what we are. Verse 17, for the context, “So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way…” You see the contrast. It’s great! It’s why the world hates us. We are different! And the more the Church and believers try to be like the world, thinking that will give them more influence, the less influence we have and the more corrupted we become. Verse 20, “But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old man, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”

What has happened is that the power of the old me has been broken, but it hasn’t ceased to exist, and so until my body is glorified there is that struggle. Sin would like to reassert itself, but I never have to submit to sin. It’s authority over me has been broken. When I do sin, it’s because I chose. Now the world, the flesh, the devil can put appealing things out there, but it wasn’t because I had to do that. Now the unbeliever is a slave to sin and serves the devil in everything he does. In fact, we get further along a little bit in Romans and it will say that those who are still in the flesh cannot please God. They never do anything to please God. Oh, I know some good people. They never do it in a way that is pleasing to God! In reference to your former manner of life, verse 22, “…you lay aside the old man…” It is corrupted and it is ugly. I’m glad I don’t have to obey it.

Its power has been broken. It’s a word used back in Romans 6, and it’ll be used in some other passages. Katargeo, the power has been broken, so that now we can live new lives. Verse 24, “…you put on the new man…” And that’s the character of God being produced in us. “…which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness…” You don’t get any greater contrast than the things he talked about in verses 17, 18, and 19. Now we talk about having the righteousness and holiness of God. That’s what God told His people in the Old Testament, you shall be holy, for I am holy. Peter repeats it in his letter as well. Therefore, you lay aside falsehood, you speak the truth, you don’t sin, you don’t steal any longer. You don’t do those things. Don’t let unwholesome words come out of your mouth, verse 29. You don’t grieve the Holy Spirit by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. You put away bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander, all kind of evil things, and be kind to one another, tender. Chapter 5 opens, “…be imitators of God…” That’s why He made us new, not so we could continue to live like the old.

Yeah, how can I do that? I can’t, on my own! First, I have to be made new. Now as child of God, the character of God can be produced in me, but you this is not just a let go and let God kind of Keswick Theology. It involves my effort, my applying myself. We’ll get into that as we move further in Romans. We walk differently. We walk in a manner worthy of our calling now as children of God. We don’t walk in the old ways. We don’t try to be like the world. We don’t think we’re better because we’re better in and of ourselves. We are new because God made us new, and before that, we were just like them. Paul told Titus to remind the people. He’s in Philippians. Come over to Colossians chapter 3, verse 9. “Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old man with its evil practices, and have put on the new man who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him…” We were made new in Christ. That was a sovereign, supernatural act of God. Remember Romans chapter 1, verse 16, “...the gospel…is the power of God for salvation…”

We don’t want to imply to anyone there is any other way, any other hope. But this is the sufficient hope, the gospel, by the power of God. You have put aside the old man. How? You died with Christ. Its power and slavery to it was broken. You put on the new man. That is a process of we’re growing, being renewed according to true knowledge, according to the image of the One who created Him, and that’s true for Jew or Gentile alike. Verse 12, “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart…” It’s a circumcision of the heart, another picture. Now out of that new heart there comes the character of God, forgiveness, this is for people who have been forgiven. We forgive each other because we do it just as the Lord forgave you. And these things become characteristic of our lives. That’s why Jesus said, if don’t forgive your brother, God won’t forgive you, because unforgiveness is a characteristic of an unbeliever, and that was the picture in Matthew 18. If you’ve been forgiven so much, how could you not forgive someone else. We’re new, and you put on love, and let the peace of Christ rule in your heart. Let the word of Christ richly dwell in you.

Come back to Romans chapter 6. This is a consistent teaching, and if we don’t have this ingrained in our thinking, we think we can be empathetic and sympathetic, and we end up not helping people. We have to take them to the word, and say, here’s what it says. I’m concerned for you. Have you truly placed your faith in Christ? Now he mentioned in chapter 6, verse 6, “…our old man was crucified with Christ, in order that the body of sin might be done away with…” Its power is broken. Katargeo, the power of sin over me is broken. That is the point there. It’s not that it’s been annihilated. Maybe I should take you to a few other verses. It takes a while to go through Romans 6, but that’s all right, we’ll do it until we’re done. Here we’re told the old man was crucified.

Come over to Galatians 6:14. “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” You see, when you’re identified with Christ and His crucifixion, that breaks the hold. All that’s in this world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life; all of that is taken care of! I was crucified to the world. The world was crucified to me. The things of the world don’t have the hold on me and the grip on me to control me, like the unbeliever. That power is broken. Come back to chapter 5 of Galatians, to verse 24. “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” No matter how you want to talk about it, sin in all its dimensions, in all its sources, have been taken care of when we die with Christ. That’s the point.

Come over to Hebrews chapter 2. Hebrews chapter 2, verse 14. “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, (those He was going to redeem, is what he’s talking about) He Himself likewise also partook of the same...” He became flesh and blood. He became a human being, a man “…that through death (now here we go) He might render powerless (there’s our word again that we had in chapter 6) him who had the power of death, that is, the devil…” Why? Because of sin, mankind was put under the authority and power of the devil, and that would result in death, but Christ came to render powerless. Now the devil hasn’t ceased to exist, sin hasn’t ceased to exist, the world hasn’t ceased to exist. But the authority to control me and require my submission, has been broken, katargeo, rendered powerless. Why do I ever sin? A good question. Why? I never should, but the reality is there, I realize. Apart from Christ, what would I be? I still have a taste of it. I say things. The tongue, you know, with your words. And you say it, and think, why would I say that? I didn’t have to say that! The unbeliever is controlled by sin.

Don’t deny the gospel by implying if you should quit doing that. Well, you may with your job. You may tell them you should quit doing that or you’re going to get fired, but don’t let him think if he quits doing that, he’s going to heaven. But he tells you, you know, I’ve decided to quit doing these things and I want to do more what I think God would want me to do. Well, don’t say, well, that’s a good idea. That’s not a good idea. Trying to clean up your life is not a good idea. The Jews tried to clean up their life. It wasn’t a good idea. It’s a bad idea. It just makes you think you can do something to please God. You cannot! You’re so much worse off than you think you are, as we were. The power of the devil has been broken. He’s no longer my master. Sin is no longer my master.

Come back to Romans 6. Crucifixion is taken. It has that broad implication, that the old man, the world, the flesh, the devil, all the directions it comes from. Its power over me has been rendered inoperative. Anytime I sin, it’s because I make a decision to submit to that again. You have to be careful! He’ll explain that sin has a way of enslaving and that can be frustrating. We want to stay as far away as possible. Back here. Verse 6, “…that our old man was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.” He’s established that.

Maybe I’ll take a break here and give you a chance for some questions or discussion, because it picks up in verse 8, “Now if we have died with Christ, we believe we shall also live with Him…” We’re going on to the living aspect now, the resurrection side. You see how God is clarifying these things. First, you have to die to sin and its power and authority, before you can live to righteousness.

That’s why we don’t help people. Now we imply, you’re a Christian and we’ve got all kinds of counseling programs. I won’t say anything more about that now, but you go to Christian colleges, Christian schools, Christian seminaries, and you get degrees in counseling. One of the Evangelical schools says our Department of Psychology and Counseling has its goal to integrate psychology and the Scripture. They put that out as what their goal is. What about Romans 6? I can’t help the world except by bringing them the cure. If you reject the cure, there is nothing else that we can do for you. And if you’re a believer, you’ve been set free. Now you’re to live like it. It’s easy for you to say, but you don’t know what I’ve… I don’t, and I don’t need to hear about it all. I can just tell you what God says. That’s exciting, we’re free! Remember what Jesus said in John 8, he that sins, is the slave of sin. But if the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed. And that’s what we bring to the world.

Let’s have a word of prayer, then can open it up to any questions you might have. Thank You, Lord, for the truth of Your word. Lord, even as we progress slowly through these important truths, we want them to be fixed in our mind. Lord, what a thrilling truth this is. We have been set free. Sin no longer is our master, we are no longer slaves to sin and to the world, to the flesh, to the devil. All that power has been broken. Truly, the gospel is Your power for salvation to everyone who believes. We’ve not been set free to live the old ways. We’ve now been set free, so that we might serve You our God, righteousness as a new master. Lord, may these truths as we work through them, be fixed in our hearts and minds. We rejoice in them, and Lord our desire is to live them out, and we praise you in Christ’s name. Amen.

Okay, I didn’t bring any questions or things with me, so if you have anything to say. If not, you know me. Hm…hm…hm, a preacher is never without words. Let me just say something going back to Romans 5 because a few of you have asked me about it. I know John MacArthur has seemed to be going through Romans 5 on the radio at the same time I was talking about Romans 5 here, and some of you were asking me and I mentioned we talked about limited and unlimited atonement. I mentioned MacArthur, not to particularly attack him, because--but he’s one you most of you are more familiar with than some of the others. Earlier in his ministry, he was unlimited in atonement, and then later he became limited atonement. Why you would make such a wrong move I don’t know, I haven’t had a chance to ask him, but let me just give you an example. This is from his commentary on Romans. It was done in 1991.

Hal and some of you have looked at the book I recommended by Allen. He charts the history of some of the changes that have taken place and MacArthur is one of those. He said, somewhere in the late eighties and early nineties MacArthur moved from teaching unlimited atonement, Christ died for all people, but that death is only applied to the elect who believe in Him. To believe in limited atonement, Christ only paid the penalty for the sins of the elect and that’s what he holds today, but in his Roman’s Commentary here’s what MacArthur says, “His loving grace toward man is so great that He provides not only for the redemption of one man from sin but for the redemption of all men from all sins. Jesus Christ took upon Himself the sins of the whole world. God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against Him.” That reflects a view of unlimited atonement, Christ died for the world, but if you read more recent things by John, he now adamantly holds to a limited atonement, that Christ only died for the elect.

So, just to clarify that because sometimes if some of you listen to him, if it’s an older message he may—You say, well no, I listened to him and he was preaching unlimited atonement, like this that I just read from his Romans commentary from 1991, Christ died for the sins of the world for all men. Then if you read something later, he’ll make clear he only died for the elect. Since some of you asked me about that I went and checked what he said in Romans since that was a little earlier work, because the Romans commentary was published in 1991, but it would have been from sermons preached earlier. I don’t know when he preached that, but that would have been several years earlier before that would have gone into publication before those changes. Okay.

Hey Gil, what are you teaching on Sunday mornings after--now that we’re done with Ecclesiastes?

I’m open to suggestions with the understanding I usually reject them. But I like to have them because it has to be something I can do. I don’t really know. I always hate to get to the end of a book because now I have to decide. Somebody said, “Well, aren’t you working on anything?” He’s getting a little nervous (chuckles) I guess. Yes, I’m working on a variety of things. I’ve worked some in some psalms that are called wisdom psalms. I mentioned that to some of you. Maybe just do a few of those connecting it to Ecclesiastes since that’s Wisdom literature. Certain characteristics of some psalms are called wisdom psalms, so I thought I might pick that up.

You know, I’ve worked in the Minor Prophets. I’ve been in a variety of places. I don’t know. I may have to take off a month or two, work on it. I really honestly don’t know. Don’t be discouraged. Pray harder. (laughter) I’m just not sure. I usually work on a variety of things. Some things I get into, and I’ll prepare a few messages, and I just say my heart’s just not in this, I don’t think I’ll go with this right now. I’ve started Ecclesiastes over the years numerous times and we just finally got to it. So, there’s a variety of things I roll in my mind, but if you have something that you’d like to suggest, I’m open to it. But it would have to be something I could do too, and then I’d have to try it and see if it’s really something I could work on. Pray. I want it to be what the Lord has for this congregation, so I’ve been praying about that. Lord, what do You have for Your people? You know what our needs are, where Your word needs to be applied, and that’s where we want to be, so direct me. I can’t wait myself to find out where we’re going to be. I’m sort of looking forward to it.

Yes sir, I was wondering, can you compare and contrast the idea of sin being a choice, to Calvinism because it seems almost like a contradiction almost. Like, some people say, well, I’m a Calvinist so I’m born to sin, but sin is a choice. Is--what am I missing there?

You know, it’s the age-old enigma to us, the full sovereignty of God and the complete responsibility of man, and we’re going to come through that as we move through chapter 8 here, and we’ll get into the sovereignty side when we get to chapter 9, and God’s work of election. Jacob I’ve loved. Esau I’ve hated. We’ll talk about the sovereignty side. God is sovereign, but sin is a result of our choice, but in His sovereignty, His plan from the beginning included the sin of man. So, you think, well then, did man have a choice? What if Adam had chosen not to eat of the tree? Well we’re told that the plan of Christ dying for sin happened before the foundation of the world, so it seems like it had to go that way. The only place I’ve come to, is I end up saying God is completely sovereign and we are fully responsible, and I believe both, but I cannot reconcile them in a complete way. There are things that you work through theologically and say, well, I see this, but when it comes down to it, there are certain things God has reserved to Himself.

It’s like prayer. But prayer doesn’t change God’s mind or plan, but He says prayer is important, and the prayers of a righteous man accomplish much. So, I don’t have an answer. It does seem, the answer to it usually gets pushed to one side. You become the ultra-Calvinist, or you become the hyper-Arminian, because we feel like we have to resolve this, and yet we have to say, you know, I can only resolve what Scripture resolves. It takes me to certain places and parks me here. I can’t put them together yet, and I guess through eternity, we’ll have to continue to learn. Yeah, so a good question, but that’s about as far as I can go. It will come up a little bit more at the end of Romans 8 when we talk about our responsibility now, and then we get into chapter 9 and we get that great question, about why does He find fault? You know His will was done and I say “good” I’m finally going to get the answer. And Paul says you don’t have a right to ask that question. (Laughter) I said oh, well! I guess I’ll have to wait. Sort of that’s the way it goes, yes. Good thanks, we’re good. All right. Let’s have a word of prayer.

Thank You, Lord, for Your love for us. We are here as testimonies of Your love, and Lord it was in Your context of Your love, Your mercy, Your grace, that we came to hear and believe the gospel that brought us salvation. A gospel so powerful that it broke the hold and power of sin in our lives. Lord, we can rejoice. We have been set free, and now Your instruction is we are to live as those who have been set free, and Lord, thank You, for the presence of the Spirit, who is there to strengthen us, to enable us. So we pray for the week before us, in our thoughts and in our actions, in our words that we would manifest the righteousness and holiness of the God who has made us His own, His children, so that our testimony might be lights in the darkness, in the days in which we live. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.
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