Tonight's message from Romans
6 is going to be such a grain-crossing exposition and sermon that it's
going to take a truly regenerated individual to find it interesting,
let alone to understand it. I boldly declare If you can't
enter into the spirit of this message, I wouldn't go away questioning
the accuracy of it. I'd go away finding the Lord
in salvation. I really would. And I want you
to listen carefully to it. I'm as confident of it as anything
I've ever preached. Now, in the preceding chapters,
and you stay with me, In the preceding chapters, Paul has
presented the universal depravity and guilt of man. He has presented
the free salvation and justification of sinners through Christ. That's
clear. That's what he's dealt with in
former chapters. In this chapter, in chapter six,
the main is the intimate connection. Now
this is the theme. The intimate connection between
the justification of the believer and the sanctification of the
believer. The main theme of chapter six
is the intimate connection between our justification and our sanctification. Now in verse 1, what shall we
say then? Shall we continue in sin that
grace may abound? Paul begins with an objection
he knew would be made against the doctrine that he preached.
He knew somebody was going to object. He preached that where
sin did abound, grace did much more abound. He says that salvation
is totally, completely, absolutely, by the grace of God, through
the merits of Jesus Christ, that man is utterly and absolutely
passive in the justification of his soul. That it's the free
gift of God, and where sin did overflow, and sin with all of
its blackness and wickedness and vileness, where sin did overflow,
to the glory of God, His grace did much more overflow. His grace,
His grace. And he knew that somebody would
say, well if that's true, if justification is by grace alone,
justification is the free gift of God, and the greater the sinner,
the greater the glory, then let us continue in sin. Let's give
ourselves to iniquity to make the grace of God abound more
and more. Let's really open the floodgates
of sin. If God gets great glory from
putting away great sin, then let's open the floodgates of
sin that God might get more glory. Now what are we going to say
to this, Paul said? How are we going to answer this
objection? Shall we join with these men who object to grace?
Grace is true whether you understand it or not. Grace is true whether
you believe it or not. Salvation is by God's grace. It's the gift of God, whether
a man believes it or understands it. Paul said, now how are we
going to answer these people? Well, verse 2. Shall we continue in seeing that
God might get more glory, that grace might abound more? God
forbid. Now Paul uses this expression
frequently to express his shock. It's an expression that is characteristic
of Paul. God forbid. He uses it over and
over. And when he uses it, you can
always see his shock. and abhorrence of a certain matter,
God forbid. Now watch this statement. It
occurs again and again. How shall we that are dead to
sin, that are dead to sin, live any longer in sin? Now there is a death for sin. Christ died for our sins, a substitute
who paid our debt. There is a death for sin. There is a death in sin. That's when a man dies in unbelief. Christ said, if you die in your
sins, you can't come where I am. There is a death to sin, and
that's what this chapter is all about. Death to sin. It starts with this, and it winds
up with this. Death to sin. Our study tonight,
verse 1, verse 11. Death to sin. Now, all three
of these examples are revealed at Calvary, the three crosses. Christ on the middle cross died
far our sins. One thief died in his sins, and
one man died to sin. He died to sin. Now, believers
are dead to sin. This is described back in Romans
4, turn back there just a moment, verse 7, Romans 4, 7. David said,
Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not charge sin. He's dead to sin. Now those who
are dead to sin are those, and this is what it means, are those
from whom sin's guilt and condemning power has been removed through
Christ. That's what that means. Being
dead to sin. We're not talking about death
to the power of sin. That's not what that verse means.
It's death to the guilt of sin. Now stay with me. I'm going to
prove this all the way through this chapter. And this is where
the lines are drawn right here. This is where Phariseeism and
self-righteousness comes out right here. How shall we that
are dead to sin live any longer therein? In other words, God
remembers our sins no more. God unites us to Christ, who
is the fountain of life. The condemning power of sin,
the penalty of sin, the guilt of sin, which separated us from
God is removed. We are dead to sin. The curse
of sin, the claim that sin had upon us, is removed. Sin is abolished totally. Sin is crucified with Christ,
and an end has been put to it. It cannot hurt us. Sin is not
our business. Sin is not our course of life. Sin is not our friend. Sin is
our enemy. How shall we that are dead to
sin, dead to its guilt, dead to its condemning power, dead
to its charge, dead to its condemnation, dead to its judgment, How shall
we live any longer therein? Now, people are said to live
in sin when they give themselves up to it, when they are bent
upon it. People live in sin when sin is
their life, their pleasure, their delight. The believer who is
dead to sin may fall into sin but cannot live therein. Living in sin is not only unbecoming
to the grace of God, it's contrary to the grace of God. Living in
sin is contrary to the grace of God. How shall we that are
dead to sin, to its guilt, to its condemning power, live any
longer in sin? Now look at verse three. Know
you not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ
were baptized into his death? Now in this verse and the following
verse, Paul proceeds to give a full answer to the objection
in verse 1 by showing this. Now listen to this, this is the
key to this whole thing. The sanctification of the believer
rests on the same foundation as his justification. The sanctification
of a believer springs from the same source as his justification,
and that is his union with Christ. That's so. The sanctification,
the motivating principle that which makes the believer holy,
that which makes him strive after righteousness, that which makes
him walk to please God, that which makes him love the Lord.
It springs from the same source as his justification, namely,
his union with Jesus Christ. We don't begin in the spirit and wind up in the flesh. We
don't begin in the spirit and become perfected by the flesh.
Now this is going to be my theme throughout the whole study, because
it's the theme of the Apostle. That the sanctification of the
believer. You know what I'm talking about
when I'm talking about sanctification? I'm talking about godliness.
I'm talking about righteousness. I'm talking about holiness. I'm
talking about integrity. I'm talking about morality. I'm
talking about honesty. I'm talking about the Christian
walk. The sanctification of the believer
rests on the same foundation as his justification. If it doesn't,
he's a Pharisee. If it doesn't, he's a self-righteous
hypocrite. It rests on the same, it springs
from the same source. Now watch this, listen to this
carefully. Listen to this. The expression,
dead to sin. does not relate to your character
nor to your conduct, but it relates to your state before God, not
to your character. And I hope nobody in here will
say, I believe it relates to our character. We're dead to
sin and character. I can make a liar out of you
in two minutes. In two minutes. To explain the statement We're
dead to sin as meaning we're dead to the influence of sin
and to the love of sin would be hypocrisy when you know you're
not dead to the influence of sin, not a single one of them.
You had a little encounter with it today, didn't you? I thought
you was dead to it. You're dead to the love of sin?
You had no encounter at all with sin today in any shape, form,
or fashion. If you were dead to the influence
of sin, if you were dead to the love of sin, you would have no
temptation to sin. The only way that you'll ever
be dead to the influence of sin is to lie in your casket. The
only way you'll ever be dead to the love of sin is to lie
in your coffin and be buried beneath the ground. O wretched
man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death?"
Does that talk like a man who's dead to the influence of sin,
who's dead to the love of sin, who's dead to the power of sin? You know and I know that we're
not dead to the power of sin. We're not dead to the influence
of sin, and we're not dead to the love of sin. We are dead to sin. That's what
it says here. We are dead to sin. And it means,
by that, that we're dead to the guilt of sin. Well, you say, now, if that were
true, people would just do... That's exactly what Paul's answering
right here. That's the very thing. That's
the very thing, that these objectors to grace, they've got to have
a toehold. They don't mind if it's just
a little toe hole, just a little finger hole, just somewhere they
can get works in this thing of salvation. And this is the very
objection that they're raising right now. The very objection. Now baptism, there are two kinds
of baptism mentioned here in verse 3 and 4. Know ye not that
so many of us as were baptized into Christ, were baptized into
his death. Baptism into Christ. This is
not water baptism, verse 3. Baptism into Christ. There are
a lot of people who were baptized in water who weren't baptized
into Christ. And there are some people who
were never baptized in water who were baptized into Christ.
The thief on the cross was baptized into Christ. And as many of us
as were baptized into Christ were baptized into his death. That means a union with Christ. Believers are one with Christ.
They are members of his body. Now what's there? The believer
is one with Christ as he was one with Adam. He died with Christ
as truly as he died with Adam. Christ's righteousness is mine,
it's mine. Christ's holy, perfect, spotless
righteousness is mine, just as much as Adam's sin was mine. I have a perfect righteousness,
a perfect legal standing in Jesus Christ. I was baptized into Christ,
and being baptized into Christ by the Holy Spirit, I was baptized
into his death and all the benefits of his death. every bit of it. If I never lift another finger,
I have everything that Christ bought. Adam's posterity are one with
Adam, and they're viewed in Adam, and they're damned in Adam, and
they're guilty in Adam. And all of the people of Jesus
Christ are one with Him, and they're redeemed with Him. and
they're accepted in the Beloved, and they're loved in the Beloved,
and they're cleansed in the Beloved, and they're righteous in the
Beloved. Lord, we prophesied in your name, cast out devils,
did many wonderful works. I never knew you. You're workers
of iniquity. And that's what every religious
man out of Christ is. He's a worker of iniquity. That's
what every charitable organization out of Christ is. It's a work
of iniquity. Is that too strong? That's what Christ said. When
Christ died, I died. When Christ arose, I arose. When Christ ascended into heavenly
places, I was seated with Him, baptized into Christ, immersed
into Christ, absorbed into Christ. And I'm complete in Christ, totally
complete. And no act of the flesh or thought
of the flesh or effort of the flesh can add one thing to that. That's salvation. Now that's
so. And when there is a chafing against
that, it's the same people Paul's answering here. They're objecting
to grace. Can't be that free. It can't
be that completely free of human effort. It can't be that free!
Man's got to do something! And if he does, he'll go to hell.
If he's doing something for salvation, you that will be saved by the
law, do you know what the law says? Do you know what it requires?
You've got to do something, you've got to do it all. You that are saved by works,
Christ died in vain. If justification is by what Christ
died in vain, I do not frustrate the grace of God." All right,
there's another baptism here, verse 4, "...therefore we are
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. Now stay with me. In water baptism, we are represented
as dying with Christ, being buried with Christ, and rising with
Christ, right? The death of Christ was the means
by which sin was destroyed. The burial of Christ was the
proof of the reality of his death. Now, Christians in baptism are
represented as dying with Christ. My sin debt's paid. The penalty
has already been accomplished. The sentence has already been
carried out. I died with Christ. My sin debt paid. It paid. I died with Christ. And the proof
of that execution and the proof of that death is when I'm buried. I'm buried. Christ died for sin,
he paid the debt, the atonement was effectual, it was complete,
it satisfied God's justice, and Christ was buried as proof of
his death. And I'm buried beneath the waters
of baptism as proof. that I died, my sin debt was
paid. And then the resurrection of
Christ, look at it, by the glory of God. We're buried with him
in baptism into death. You don't bury a living man,
you bury a dead man. You don't dare bury a living
man. If a man's still living, he can't be buried. He's only
going to be buried after he's dead. Sin has no more claim on me.
Sin slew me. The law executed me. The penalty
of God, the sentence of justice, took me out and nailed me to
a cross, and then they buried me dead. But he didn't stay dead. By the glory of God, he was raised. The resurrection of Christ was
the effect of the power and glory of the Heavenly Father. And in
the same manner, and by the same power, believers are raised with Christ
to walk in newness of life. We're dead to the guilt of sin,
and if so, the ground of our separation from God has been
removed, the ground of our enmity, of our warfare, it's been removed,
and God raised us up to walk with us, to dwell in us, to be
our God. And His almighty power is engaged
to cause us to walk with our risen Lord. Turn over there just a minute. 2 Timothy 2, verse 11. It is a fateful saying. If we
be dead with him, we shall, not ought to, we shall live with
him. Turn to 2 Corinthians 13. 2 Corinthians
13, verse 4. 2 Corinthians 13, verse 4. Though he was crucified through
weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are
weak with him, but we shall live with him by the power of God. It's by the power of God. It's
the same power, the same glory. that raised up the dead Christ
is the power and the glory that raises the dead believer to walk
in newness of life. Not pledge cards that are passed
out in the congregation, not preachers carrying billy clubs,
not rules and regulations that are typed on pieces of paper
of what our church can do and what they can't do. It takes
the glory and the power of God to raise a dead Christ and it
takes the power and the glory of God to raise a dead sinner
and engage in giving him the ability and the will and the
desire to walk in newness of life, governed by God's law of
love. Now verse 5, For if we have been
planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also
in the likeness of his resurrection." That's true, isn't it? If you
died with him, you'll live with him. If you didn't die with him,
you can't live with him. No way. That's what justification
is based on. That's what sanctification is
based on. If you died with him, you'll live with him. That's
what he said. And here's what he means here. If we have become
one with Christ in his death, we shall also be one with Christ
in sharing his resurrection. If I died on the cross with him
and am buried with him, when he came out of the grave, is
he going to leave me there? Is he going to leave me there?
That's what some preachers preach. They preach, well, they're spiritual
Christians and carnal Christians. There are Christians whom Christ
is their Lord, and there are some who are not. He's not their
Lord. There are some who are saved from hell, but they live
like hell. Christ left them in the grave.
No, he didn't do that. If we died with him, if we've
been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall
be also in the likeness of his resurrection. Believers. And here you have,
Robert Haldane says, here you have a spiritual and a literal
resurrection, both in this verse. Believers have already been raised
spiritually to walk with Christ. They do walk with Christ. Barnard
used to say he got awful amused at hearing these preachers come
to hold a revival And every time one of them would come to hold
a revival meeting, the first sermon he'd preach was, if my
people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves
and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I'll hear
from heaven and heal their land. He said, that ain't talking about
save people. He said, God doesn't have any
proud people. They've all got broken hearts.
God doesn't have any people who don't seek his face. All his
people seek his face. God doesn't have any people who
are walking in darkness and wickedness. If we walk in darkness and say
we walk with God, we're lying. The truth's not in us. That's
written to a backslidden, materialistic, national people called Israel,
whose relationship with God was based on God blessing them materially
or taking it away from them materially. Believers have already been raised
spiritually. They walk with Christ in newness
of life. We're not the same. If we died
with Him, we're raised with Him. We live a resurrected life. If a man doesn't live a resurrected
life, he's not resurrected. Our affections are on things
in heaven. Our affections are not on things
of the earth. Love not the world, if any man love the world, the
love of God is not in him. That's what scripture says, it's
not in him. If you have not the Spirit of Christ, you're none
of his. Now that's just being honest. If we're dead with him,
we're raised with him. And if a man's not raised with
him, he didn't die with him. Christ never left his sheep in
the grave. He brought every one of them
out. That's true. That's true. You say there are a whole lot
of unsaved church members. Well, that's a fact, too. That's
a fact, too. Look at Colossians 3. I'm just
being perfectly honest. That's all, just being honest
with you. If we've been planted in the
likeness of his death, we shall also be in the likeness of his
resurrection. The power that raised Christ
from the dead raised us too! Now look at Colossians 3. If
you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above.
where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God, set your affections
on things above, not on things on the earth. If for ye are dead,
your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our
life, is Christ your life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear
with him in glory." Now look at verse 6. knowing this, that our old man
is crucified with Christ. It is. That the body of sin might be
destroyed, and henceforth we should not serve sin. Now, brethren,
listen to this a minute. The old man here, knowing this,
that our old man is crucified with Christ. The old man here
is the corruption of nature. It's called a man because it's
natural to people. It's called a man because it
lives and dwells in the flesh. It's called a man because it
consists of parts and members as a man. That is, will, mind,
affection, imagination, these things. It's called the old man
because it's derived from the first man, because it's with
us from the day of our birth, and because it'll abide with
us until the day of our death. And because it's older than the
new man, you've got to be lost to be saved. You've got to be
an old man before you can be a new man. And it's called our
old man because it's continually in us and with us. It's our old
man. It's your old man. It's my old
man. Knowing that our old man is crucified
with Christ That old man can no longer exert his damning power
over the believer. He can't do it. He's crucified.
The old man can no longer reign over the believer. He can't do
it. He's been crucified. The body of sin has been destroyed. That's what Scripture says. It
says right here, knowing this, I'm sure this, Paul said, this
I know, our old man, that body of sin, That old reigning power,
that old master that kept you under his thumb, and under his
heel, and in his servitude, he's dead! He's crucified! He's destroyed! He's crucified
with Christ, that we might look at it, that henceforth we should
not serve sin. He's not challenging you, he's
telling you what's so. He's not offering you a little
bait here so he can catch you for God. He's telling you what's
already happened. That old man's been crucified.
That's right, he's been crucified. The body of sin has been destroyed.
That the believer should no longer be the slave of sin. Now, men
who are not in Christ are the servants of sin. Men who are
not in Christ are under sin's power. Men who are not in Christ
are slaves to a master called sin. They can't do otherwise
because they don't want to. They love their master just like
you love yours. They're the servants of sin.
They're the slaves of sin. There are a lot of people who've
had a religious experience that are not the bond slaves of Christ.
I worry about people who have religious experience who've never
heard any gospel. That's dangerous. It's impossible to have an experience
in grace without hearing the gospel. That man came here one
time years ago. He had never, far as I know,
never been on any gospel preaching at all. Never. He'd heard our radio program
a time or two, but he had some kind of experience one Saturday
night. I think he'd been used to doing a lot of drinking, a
lot of carousing. Shamed of it. He had an experience. Next morning he came down here
to this church and he joined. He had an experience. He had
an emotional experience. He had a climactic experience.
He had a religious experience. And he joined the church. And
he hadn't been worth, well, what could you get for that? Nothing.
That's what he's worth, right there. He's looked back to that
experience since that day. He didn't have any foundation
for justification whatsoever. He had an emotional experience.
He didn't want to go to hell. Now Paul's telling us something
that's happened here, something that, an experience through which
we have gone with Christ, based on a solid foundation that can't
be shaken. Knowing this, I know this, that our old man's crucified
with Christ, that the body of sin might be destroyed. Men who
are not in Christ are the servants of sin, they're under sin's power.
They're slaves to a master. We've been willingly, lovingly
delivered from that bondage. We know whom we have to leave. We're not saying that sin's not
in us. I'm not saying that. I know better
than you know better. Sin is in us. There's a battle
which we have. There's a conflict. But sin's
not our master. Christ is our master. Our delight is not to serve sin. Our delight is to serve Him who
bought us, who loved us, who redeemed us, who sits on the
throne in our hearts by our own consent. We wouldn't have it
any other way. He's King, and He's got no rival
for His throne. No sir, no rival. No rival. He has no rival. He's undisputed king, absolute
monarch. Take my yoke on you, he said. Take my yoke on slaves of Christ. That's what we are. We know this. Our old man's crucified. The
body of sin has been destroyed. And henceforth we should not
serve sin. We don't serve sin. A believer
does not serve sin. He is not sin's servant. He's
King Jesus' servant. His master is not sin, his master
is the Lord. Sure, he's got his problems,
and he's got his conflicts, and he's got his failures, but that
old man's been crucified. And if that old man hadn't been
crucified, man's not saved. That's being perfectly honest.
Watch verse 7. Far, here we come back to it
again. Far. He that is dead is freed. You know what the word freed
is there? The little reference here, center reference, is justified.
That's exactly what it is. You go to your Greek lexicon
tonight, if you've got one, look it up. The word F-R-E-E-D in
Romans 6-7 is justified. He that is dead It's justified. What does that mean? I've died
under the curse of the law. When Christ died, I died. I paid
the full penalty. The complete atonement's been
made. Therefore I'm justified. You
can't execute a man twice for the same crime. He's justified. Now, in justification, which
is judicial. Justification is judicial. And
justification is unchanging. It's pronounced by God. There
are two parts. I want you to hear this. There
are two parts to justification. Number one, there is in justification
he that died with Christ. Now, this is the basis for salvation.
This is the basis. I'm going to heaven because Christ
died for me. I'm holy because Christ died for me. I'm saved from my sins because
Christ died for me. I love the law of God because
Christ died for me. I want to live a holy life because
Christ died for me. If you've got any other motive,
you're wrong. I don't care what your motive is, you're wrong.
This is what Paul says here. You got any other motive for
sanctification? I'm going to show you that by
William Romaine in a minute. But first of all, justification
is a clear, clean, total absolution from guilt. A man that's justified,
pronounced by God Almighty with an unchanging decree, he has
a clear, clean, total absolution from guilt. There is therefore
now no condemnation to them who are in Christ. Secondly, a man who has died with Christ
and is justified possesses a perfect obedience to the law
of God. He has a perfect obedience to
everything the law demands. If he doesn't, that one failure
will send him to hell. When you come and stand before
God, if your righteousness has one hole in it, you're going
to be cast out of the kingdom of God. How'd you get in here
without a wedding garment? Ah, you got one hole in it. So when I was justified, when
Christ died, I was justified. and I receive the clear, clean,
total absolution from all guilt, and secondly, I receive the spotless,
perfect, holy, acceptable righteousness to everything the law demands. Now instead of this grace encouraging
a man to sin, it leads him to holiness, for he is united with
a living fountain Brother, the creek bed ain't going to be dry
if the fountain's flowing up here at the head. You see what
I'm saying? Uh-uh. Now, if the fountain's
dry, the creek bed will be dry. But, brother, it says water coming
from the fountain up here, the creek bed's going to have water
in it, too. And if Jesus Christ is your head, you're going to
have water, too. If your head is holy, you're
holy. If you join united inseparably
with the vine, the branch will have green leaves on it. And
if it does not have green leaves on it, it's not part of the vine.
That's what I'm saying. That's what Paul's saying right
here. He that's dead is justified. All right. Verse 8. Now, no doubt
about it, now, if we're dead with Christ, We believe we shall
also live with him. Now here's the whole thing based
on if you died with Christ. That's what it's based on. You
died with Christ. If we're dead with Christ by
union with him as our head and representative, and by communion
with him and the benefits of his death, and we're dead to
the law and dead to sin and dead to the world, we shall live not
only a life of justification, but we'll live a life of holiness.
Yes, you will, too. we believe we shall live with
him. And Haldane says, we believe
that we shall live an eternal life of happiness with him. Not
only shall we live with him now, but we shall always live with
him. He that believeth on me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. He shall never die, never die. Knowing that Christ being raised
from the dead died no more, Christ's not going to die anymore. He
lives. And I'm not going to die anymore
either, because I'm one with him. You see what I'm saying?
All of it's based on this. Christ was raised from the dead.
The prophets foretold it. Christ foretold it. The angels
affirmed it. The apostles witnessed it. The
Holy Ghost wrote it. Christ being raised from the
dead, he'll die no more. No need for him to die. Death
hath no dominion over him. Death's the result of sin. And
let me make it plain. If I ain't got no sin, how am
I gonna die? Mm-mm. Christ died once, and
he dies no more! He died under the penalty of
our sin. Death hath no more dominion over
him. Death did have dominion over
him one time. It sure did, back down at Calvary.
Death held him in its power. He was the lawful captain when
he took our place. And death slew him, sin slew
him, the law slew him. But no more, Paul said, no more. Christ Jesus died once, he'll
die no more. Death hath no more dominion over
him, and I am him. And death can't touch me unless
it touches him. Sin can't touch me without getting
to him. He said, they're in my hand,
and nobody can pluck them out of my hand. Death hath no more
dominion over him, and therefore death hath no more dominion over
me. Verse 10.