If you will take your Bibles and turn with me to Romans chapter 6. Romans chapter 6. We'll be coming back to this in just a few minutes, but I wanted to read these several verses for you. I'm using verses 1 through 16 as a text. It's really an argument or a statement of Doctrine might be a better word for it by Paul concerning the believer's life after conversion. He says in verse 1, what shall we say then?

Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? Know you not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we're buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we've been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection, knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now, if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. Knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body that you should obey it in the lust thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace. What then, shall we sin because we're not under the law, but under grace? God forbid, know you not that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are, to whom you obey, whether of sin under death or obedience under righteousness. But God be thanked, you were the servants of sin. But you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, you become the servants of righteousness. May the Lord add his blessing to the reading of his word. If you will, open your Bibles back to Romans chapter 6. I was listening to a message by Pastor Bruce Crabtree. Some of you know who I'm talking about. He was preaching from 2 Corinthians chapter 8.

And the gist of it was the effects of gospel preaching on the hearts of chosen sinners and how these converted Christians in the early days of the church struggled to support the apostles. There were just a handful of them. And yet their support of these pastors, the Lord blessed it, and they turned the world upside down. That's what he said. These few men, that was an accusation against them before King. What's the problem? King said, well, here's the problem. These few men have turned the world upside down. Well, I hope somebody accuses me of that. And I see that.

He was talking about how they struggled to support the apostles and went past their means, went way past their means with their gifts. The saints at Jerusalem were really hurting. And these people, you know, back in the day, if you were baptized, publicly identified yourself with Christ, the government would take your money. They'd come in and seize everything you had. So they didn't have anything, or very little.

And yet they were able to raise enough money to support these apostles, these evangelists, and allow these men to do what God had called them to do. And all of these things together, this work of God in the hearts of his people and the fellowship that they have and their interest in the gospel, these are all evidences of your election. That's what Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 1. And what happens in all that is you learn to love one another. We realize we have a common father. We have a common salvation. We have a common promise. We have a common home in glory, don't we? And we love one another. We realize we're not blind anymore. Our eyes have been opened. We see what's going on.

And we won't take part in it. That's what they did. Paul said, it's OK. You don't have no money. No, that wasn't good enough. We're going to support you. We're going to do it. We'll find a way to do it. And it wasn't just the money that they raked together. It was their time. They sacrificed their time. They sacrificed themselves.

You need somebody to take this over to here? I'll go. I'll go. Well, you know you can suffer injury for this. Yeah, I know. I'll go. I'll go. Well, I'll tell you, when you get involved in stuff like that, the love of God shed abroad in your hearts. And you see these things come together. And you can hear it in his voice, and you can hear it in the voice of his people. They love one another. And I pray we have that here. I believe I see it here. But I'd like to see more. I'd like to see more. And I hope that I can, in some small way, be a part of it also.

You know, I seriously doubt anyone will ever talk about the great revival of Louisville. I really don't look for it. I don't see anybody going to great lengths trying to publish a pastor's sermons or write books about him and autobiographies that they did in England and early America about some of those pastors and preachers. I don't think that'll ever be done in Louisville. We're just a little ripple in the ocean of lost souls, yet I see the hand of God and feel his presence here among us.

Don't you? I can see his hand in the lives of people that have been coming here now for years. I see it. And I think without question, I can say this morning that I love you and hope that you love me. I want to encourage you. When I study, I try to prepare a message to encourage you. to let go of this world. Just let it go and lay hold of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the work of God, isn't it? And yet God does this work through men.

I got a call yesterday evening. John Newton expressed his desire to be baptized. He wants to identify himself with God's saints. Brother Barnard called it putting on the uniform. You join the army, they give you a uniform. You're not in a secret service. You're in a public ministry. And we put on the uniform. And that's what God's people do when they're baptized publicly. They're putting on the uniform of Christ. They're saying, I believe this. I believe exactly what they believe, exactly what they preach.

And as soon as we can work it out, we're going to baptize our brother. I invite you this morning to turn back with me to Romans 6. I prepared this message long before Brother John called me about his baptism. And baptism is not my subject this morning, but it deals a lot with baptism. My subject deals with how God saves sinners. My title is The Truth About Grace and Sin. That's Paul's subject here in Romans chapter 6. He's going to tell you the truth about grace and the truth about sin.

Many folks have heard the doctrines of Grace preached and come away saying he preaches that men do evil, that good may come. You can read about that in Romans 3, verse 8. That's what Paul said they said about him. Actually, what he said was, this is what some slanderously said about his preaching. They slandered his preaching. In our day, they got a new phrase, once in grace, always in grace. And what that means is that We preach that God saves chosen sinners but allows them to live any way they want to. That's a lie. That's a lie.

I've never preached that, and I hope by God's grace I never will. I'd venture to say that more than half of the New Testament deals with teaching believers how to walk with God by faith and repentance and having the mind of Christ. I wouldn't be a bit afraid to say half of it. Half. Concerns that. And Romans chapter 6 begins with a question. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? And here's the answer he gives every time this question is said. He uses the same answer.

God forbid. God forbid. God's not going to have that. He's not going to allow that. Now before I go any further, there are two things already established that needs to be understood. Sin and salvation by grace. If you don't understand those two things, Romans chapter 6 is not going to make any sense to you whatsoever. You see how he opens the chapter? What then? He's referring back to everything that he just said. Flip back a few pages to Romans chapter 3.

Paul's talking about the Jews and the Gentiles, God's chosen people and the heathen that have been left to themselves. And he tells us that the Jew had had a great advantage over the Gentiles. How? Because to them was committed the oracles of God. You know what an oracle is? It's the spoken word. It's the spoken word. God said. You want to know something? Find out what God said. God said.

To them were committed the oracles of God, his spoken word. He raised up in the midst of men of men and women, men like Moses, and Samuel, and David, and Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and Daniel, and so on. And God has for thousands of years manifested an unusual history with these people called Jews, sons of Abraham, children of Israel. That's Jacob. Now watch this, Romans chapter 3 verse 9.

What then? What then? God's, He separated Israel from all the rest of the world. How come? Did they deserve it? Did they do something to win God's favor? I bet a bunch of them got together and said, Listen, things ain't going right for this world, so why don't we just get together and we're going to turn over a new leaf. We're going to change our lives. That's what we're going to do. What then? Are we better than they?

Is that why God chose them and showed them his love and kindness? No, he said in no wise. in no wise, for we have before proved that Jews and Gentiles, that they're all under sin. Then why did God give them the oracles of God? Because God will be gracious to whom he will be gracious.

That's why. How come you hear the gospel and most of this country around us don't? How come you put your hope in Christ and these people put their hope in a vision or a decision that they made or a trip down the aisle or speaking in a tongue, in an unknown tongue? How come? Because God will be gracious to whom he will be gracious.

He's teaching us here something about grace and something about sin. Sin is a curse upon mankind. That's what he calls it, a curse. Sin entered and death passed. And sin is a nature. Sin is the bars of a prison. They leave men and women helpless to rise above it or venture outside of it. It's not so much that men and women sin as it is that they are sinners. They are sinners. If you've made a mistake, you might correct the mistake and do better.

But we're sinners, and sin is a nature. It's what we do. It's what we think. It's what we say. It's how we reason. We're altogether a living manifestation of sin, and whether or not we're sinners is not even a question. It's a proven biblical fact. Paul said, I've already proved this. I don't have to do this again. I've already proved to you.

Jews and Gentiles, that's the whole world, are all under sin. All have sinned, Romans 3.23, and come short of the glory of God. But what are those that decided to change their ways and turn over a new leaf set a new course, and turn their lives around. Are you listening? Romans 3, verse 10. They're non-righteous.

Do you think that something that you've done sometime in your life was a righteous act? Well, here's what God says. All our righteousnesses All of these things that we thought we did that were so good and so fine. All our righteousnesses, he said, are as filthy rags. I won't embarrass you by telling you what that means. But he don't end there.

He said, there's none righteous. No, not one. There's none that understand it. How are you going to turn over a new leaf if you don't understand what kind of shape you're in? There are none that understandeth, now watch this, and there's none that seeketh after God. Wow. That's sin, that's what it means to be a sinner. Ignorant, ignorant of God, don't know anything about God. I sit here and try to reason and don't know God. They're all gone out of the way. They are together become unprofitable. That means they're of no value. Well, I'm going to give God this. No, you don't have all your stuff together, no value to God. There's none that do it good.

Oh, do you know that's the average language of religious folks today? Good brother. Good sister? Huh? He's such a good guy. Our Lord, who was good, he was the only one there who was good, that rich young ruler came up to him and said, good master, and he stopped him in his tracks. He said, why callest thou me good? There's none good but God. Are you saying I'm as good as God? They're together because, oh, men and women, they say a lot, and they do a lot in the name of religion, but they can't go beyond them sinful selves.

They can't rise above the pit they're in. They can't go beyond the bars, and their nature sets the bars. Concerning the angels that left their first estate, it says over in Jude that they're held in chains of darkness. by which they're reserved unto the judgment of that great day. They can't climb out of that darkness. They can go a little ways as far as the chain is and the chain holds them. That's men. We can go a little ways, but we can't go any further than our nature will allow us.

Sin is a curse. Sin is a nature. Sin locks us up in a prison awaiting judgment. And listen to this. Sin is a deceitful heart. What's that mean? It hears and believes lies. Listen to this. The heart is deceitful above all things. Nothing in this world more deceitful than your heart. The heart is deceitful above all things. Well, if I know my heart, you don't. It's deceitful above all things.

Who can know it? That's what the Lord said. I listened to a man. I'd been invited to this place to preach. And I went up there, and they had these big old round tables. And several people could sit around it, seven or eight people. And I sat there at the table, and this man was given a testimony.

And he was just weeping like a baby and giving his testimony, but it was the testimony of a false profession of faith. And he was talking about this experience that he had. And I looked around that table, and everybody around that table was weeping with this man, identifying with this man in a false testimony. And I thought to myself, for the heart of man is deceitful above all things.

I'll tell you something else about sin. Sin is deceitful. Sin is demon possession. What do I mean by that? People running around acting all crazy. No, that's not what I'm talking about. Satan's main place of work in this world, his job in this world, so to speak, his ambition in this world, is false religion. Now write it down. He don't have to tempt you to go to a brothel. Your nature will take care of that. That's the lust of your own nature. That does that. That's not Satan's work. That's your work. So what does Satan do?

He gets you down at the First Baptist Church. He'll get you down the aisle. He'll get you to make a profession of faith. He'll get you baptized. He'll give you a job teaching Sunday school. He'll make you a pastor. He'll send you to the preacher factory over here, and they'll turn you out, and you'll make a good living the rest of your life.

That's demon possession. Paul said, you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in this death, the spiritual death, You walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. Is there somebody who says, I ain't going to have that gospel?

He's possessed. He's possessed. He's under the influence. Isn't that what John said? He said, try the spirits, for many false prophets went out into the world. Try the spirits. Listen to this. Paul said, if our gospel be hid, it's hid to the lost in whom the God of this world has blinded the minds of them that believe not.

Lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto And sin is a horrible pit. It's a pit. It's a pit out of which men can't climb. Sin is a disease killing the sinner from the inside out like leprosy. That's a picture of sin. And I'll tell you this, sin renders the sinner mad.

Only a madman would pit himself against God, huh? I think about those heathens over there in Canaan. I don't know about you, but if I saw that river stack up and roll backwards and thousands of men cross that river on dry ground, I think I'd have been a little uneasy about going out to battle with them, wouldn't you? Or why did they go to battle? They're mad. They're mad. You've got to be nuts to go up against God. The fool has said in his heart, no God for me.

Back in the early days of my life, my dad had a jail ministry. That's a big thing in religion. There's all kinds of ministry, bus ministry, music ministry. There's only one ministry, that's the gospel. But back in the early days, he had what he called a jail ministry. He knew the county judge up in Greenup County, Kentucky. And he gave him permission on Sunday afternoons, and several of us would go down and preach to the prisoners down there.

And months before all this took place, a man married to my cousin, he was a very abusive man. beat her and the children both so bad that she finally left him. And just a monster, so to speak, but he would beat her and her young daughters whenever he felt like it.

So they left him. They came back to my uncle, their daddy. The next day, his other daughter and her were going up to the county courthouse to get a restraining order. But that night, that man had come in, and he was hiding in the back seat of the car.

And when the two girls got in there, he rose up with a gun and shot them in the head, killed them. And my uncle heard the shots, and he come running out of the house, suspecting what had taken place. And the man shot him, killed him. The two girls ran out the back door, snuck over, and got in a creek bed.

And this man was hunting for them and trying to coax them out of the woods. He couldn't find them. And they worked their way down to the neighbor who called the law. And that's really what got him the maximum conviction from the court was their testimony about how this man was hunting for them. But anyway, on that particular Sunday, they'd sent this man back from prison back Greenup County for sentencing. And he was there at the building.

And the jailer told me, he said, there's a man back there in a cell all to himself. He might want to kind of keep back away from the bars a little bit. I didn't think too much about it. I walked down there and didn't know what to really expect. But when I looked in there, there was a Bible in the cell, of all those cells. And the jailer provided Bibles. county did.

And this man was holding what was left of a Bible. He just stuck it, I guess, down in the commode or the sink or something. And it was sopping wet. And he just ripped those pages out and threw them all over. They were in the bars and all over the walls. And I'll never forget seeing that man's face. His eyes were so deep, it just looked like you could. He was a madman. He's a madman. sitting there with what's left of the Bible in his hands. And this is about the best picture I can give you of a sinner and his real affection for the word of God and his real hope before God. He's a madman.

Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 9.3, he's talking about the gospel of God's grace being rejected of men. And he said, this is an evil among all things. All things that are done under the sun, this is an evil. And there's one event unto all.

Yea, also the heart of the sons of men are full of evil and madness is in their heart while they live. And after that, they go to the dead. Madness. Sin is madness. That's what it is. It makes a madman of us. You remember that Gadarene demoniac? They tried to chain him, and they couldn't hold him. He'd bust the chains. No matter what they put on him to bind him, he'd break them. Now, brethren, that's the truth about sin. That's what we are. That's God's testimony of man. He's mad. He's diseased. He's cursed. He's not worth saving. There's no value in him. He's packed his lunch and left. But that's not the end of the story.

In Romans chapter 4 and chapter 5, Paul establishes salvation by grace. That's the other thing we're eating it up. Not the sinner coming to God, but God coming to the sinner. Not the sinner trying to make amends with God, but God intervening in his life and reconciling him to himself. Salvation by grace. Salvation is by grace. Romans chapter 4 verse 16, he said, it is a faith that it might be by grace. And it's by grace to the end that the promise might be sure to all to see. What if he left it up to the center? Oh my. Salvation by grace through faith.

And listen, it's by way of union with Christ. It began as a covenant union back in eternity past, God's promise in the chosen centers, life eternal by his son. It was manifested in time as a physical union, Christ coming into our flesh, becoming one with his people, doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves. And then after sending them a preacher with the gospel and the Spirit of God accompanying that message, he makes them meet to be partakers of enlightened saints. He forms a vital spiritual union. He forms in us a spiritual union, a vital union, a heart that embraces Christ and ventures all hope on him. Romans 5 is all about salvation by union with Christ. I won't read it all to you, but here's verse 18 and 19. Listen to this.

Therefore, by the offense of one, Adam, Judgment came upon all men to condemnation. Even so, by the righteousness of one, the free gift, the gift of God's grace, came upon all men, that is, all represented in Christ, unto justification of life. For by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners. So by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. That's the truth about sin and the truth about grace. It leaves the sinner shut up to Christ. There's no other hope. There's no hope in man. Well, I'll go home and think these things over. You're going to go home and reason with a black hole.

That's what you're going to do. The truth about grace leaves the sinner shut up to Christ, shows him the loving kindness of God in his provision for chosen sinners. It doesn't leave him boasting in a decision, but submitting in love to an all-sufficient Savior. That's what he does. And he does it in gratitude. You'll know if God gives you the gift of his grace. You'll know it, and you'll be thankful. Now, having stated these things and proved these things in the word of God, here's what Paul says.

Shall we continue in sin? Well, not if you know what it is. Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Anybody that asks that question don't know what sin is. And they don't know the first thing about grace. He said, God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? God finds the sinner, puts him on trial, convicts him, and then puts him to death.

How? In a representative man. That's how he does it. In a chosen federal head, in a substitute. Romans 6.3. Now watch this.

Know you not that so many of us, as we're baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into his death? Now John said he baptized with water, but he said, there cometh one after me. I'm not worthy to unloose his sandals. He's going to baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. He will, by his gospel and his spirit, reveal to your hearts salvation by union with him, buried with him and raised again to walk in newness of life. What's he talking about, baptized with the Holy Ghost and fire? Do you remember when he walked along with the disciples?

Oh, they'd just given up. Christ was gone. He's not here anymore. We watched him die on the cross. And they walked along that road thinking about how foolish they'd been to trust in this man, and now he's gone. And they were just tore up. There was a big empty hole in their life and in their heart.

And the Lord said, old fools are slow of heart to believe. should not believe all these things that were spoken to you. And he went back to Genesis. And he went through the five books of Moses, and then he started and went all the way through the prophets. Each one probably just taking a passage here, there, and yonder from each one of those things. And they got up there, and then he disappeared out of sight.

And they said, oh, didn't our hearts burn within us? What makes a man's heart burn? The fire of grace. That's what'll make your heart burn. It burns. It's not just words going in your ears. All of a sudden, this thing's applied to the heart. And your heart begins to burn within you.

As he opened to us the scriptures. Now, the scriptures begin to speak to us, don't they? Begin to teach us things. Before, it was just somebody's opinion. Somebody said, well, that's what you say. It won't be that way when the Holy Ghost burns these things in your heart. And the Holy Ghost, what's he do? He takes the things of Christ and reveals them unto you in such a way that they're irresistible. Irresistible.

Now, let me show you something down here. He said, therefore, we're buried with him by baptism into death. Verse three, know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ? You see that? He's not talking about into water. Not talking about in type. He's talking about being baptized into Jesus Christ. Well, how in the world does that happen? The Holy Ghost. He makes you to know your union with Christ. He makes that thing a reality. Now watch the different language here in verse four.

Therefore, we're buried with him, not into him, but with him. We've already been buried in him, submerged in him, revealed that union with him. Now we're going to go down in the tank and we're going to be buried with him by baptism into his death. It's going to tell a story that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in newness of life.

One is into him and one is with him. Two different acts. through different acts. And I've often wondered, how come when they preached back in the day, 3,000 souls were added to the church and they were all baptized on the same day? I preach that message and it goes on sometimes for years and nobody's baptized. What's wrong? The first act wasn't done yet. That's what. We've got to be baptized into him. And being baptized into him, we're going to confess outwardly what just took place.

Is that not so? And it may take a day, and it may take 10 years. I don't know how long it takes. Different with all people. And it's an ordinance of the church. It's a divine command. But we can't confess what we never had. Isn't that so? And that's what I wanted to point out to you, the difference in the wording. One's performed by the spirit of the living God and the other by a messenger of God. One is union itself being established and the other is the confessing of it.

Now watch this, Romans 6.6. Now we're talking about what goes on in the heart of a sinner. Is he just going to sin? that grace may abound? No, God forbid that. That ain't going to happen.

Knowing this, and I'm going to ask, I wonder, do we? Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, is crucified with Christ. What is the old man? Go home and look in the mirror. You'll see him. That's the old man. He's not talking about some invisible spirits that you can't see. He's talking about you. You.

Everything that you were before conversion. And in Christ, He took you out and slayed you on the cross. He gave you everything that you deserved. Every thought, every evil thing you ever did, Anything contrary to God, he poured out his wrath on you until his justice was satisfied.

The fire burned out. You want to know what's the safest place to be? Where the fire already burned. Huh? That's what he's talking about here. We know this. Our old man was crucified with him. But oh, how that old man and that sin that still dwells in us, oh, how that takes away our hope so easily, don't it? How we doubt and mourn around and don't, huh? I'll tell you what to do about it. Realize this.

He was crucified with Christ. Put him to death. He's gone. He's gone. So what's my hope now? Well, it's not anything that had to do with me. I was already crucified and buried. I tell you what my hope is now, Christ. That's all my hope. All of it. I can't right now think of one thing I've ever done since God converted me that I would offer to him as a righteous act. No, sir.

My hope's in Christ. Even my prayers, I hope, are accepted through Christ Jesus. That's what Peter said. And even our reasonable service, it has to pass through the blood of Christ to be accepted. Did you know that? The new man is Christ. That's what I'm trying to tell you. That's our hope. That's our hope. The old former pastor here used to Have an example, he said there was a white dog and a black dog and somebody said, which one of them was the strongest? He said, the one you fed the most. Which dog were we feeding?

Now listen to this, verse 7, for he that is dead is freed from sin. I'm not free of sin, are you? He didn't say you were. He said you're freed from sin. You know what? Sin causes a man to die. Sin entered, death passed. We died. We died with Christ on the cross. That frees me from this sin. This sin can't touch me anymore. It's paid in full. Can't touch me.

We're freed from sin because we died in Christ. And then listen to this, verse 10. For in that he died, he died unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, I'm not only alive in Christ, but the scripture said I'm seated with him in glory. I'm already accepted in the blood. I go to prepare a place for you. You reckon he'd prepare a place for somebody he wasn't planning on being there? I don't think so. If I go away, I'll return, and I'll get you, and I'll take you where I am, that there you may be also.

Now, if the old man's crucified in Christ, then he's no longer a threat, is he? His reign's been brought to an end. Verse 12. Let not sin, therefore, reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lust thereof. Neither yield yourselves, your members, as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God, as those alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. Fourth, sin shall not have dominion over you, not if you're in Christ.

He took over the reign. He sits on the throne. And see, that's the problem. When Christ comes in, the old man's crucified. And he spoils all of his goods. He takes over the whole year. And now there's a new man. And that new man is Christ. Christ. I'm not just like Christ yet. I'm being saved. Ain't you? I want to be.

And I tell you this, if you got that hope in you, you're going to purify yourself even as he's pure. That's just so. You're going to start loving the things he loves and hating the things he hates. You're going to start supporting the things that he's doing instead of the things that you're doing. Now that's just so. That's what it is.

That's the truth about grace and the truth about sin. Grace is the gift of God. It's sufficient to save your soul. And the reign of sin is over. It's over. He reigns. Grace reigns in the heart through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. That's the last chapter in Romans chapter 3. Even so, just like sin reigned unto death, grace reigns now. Grace reigns.