In his sermon, Pastor Steve Hopkins delves into Paul's epistle to the Romans, specifically focusing on Romans 6:1-4. He addresses the rhetorical question posed by Paul: 'Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?' Paul vehemently rejects the notion that grace provides a license to sin, emphasizing the transformative power of grace and its inseparable link to sanctification. Hopkins clarifies that while justification is by faith alone, it naturally leads to sanctification, a progressive and ongoing process of becoming more like Christ. He underscores that baptism symbolizes the believer's union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection, marking the beginning of a new life free from the dominion of sin. The sermon stresses the importance of genuine transformation in believers' lives, indicating that true faith manifests in noticeable changes, even if imperfect. Hopkins encourages believers to lean on God's grace and seek spiritual growth, acknowledging that sanctification is a gradual journey supported by God's grace and power.

Welcome back to Burnet Bible Church. Join us this week as Pastor Hopkins continues his sermon series through the Book of Romans. Good afternoon. Let's turn in our Bibles once again to the Book of Romans where, Lord willing, we will be picking up with chapter 6 and verses 1 through 4. If you would, stand with me for the reading of the Word of the Lord.

Romans 6, verses 1-4. 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 ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 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. Let's pray. Father, in heaven, our wonderful, gracious Lord, we pray that you would bless not only the reading of your word this morning, but the hearing of your word, O God, and the application of your word. We ask that you would grant that the preaching of your word this afternoon might be spiritual food for the souls of your people, that we would be nourished, every one of us, Lord, in the inner man as we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, thereby.

Lord, we pray you would grant understanding once again through the Spirit to all those whom you've given eyes to see and ears to hear, for we ask it in Jesus' name, amen. Let's be seated. So we've just completed chapter 5, which took many weeks. And as we ended chapter 5, we ended on this note, the Apostle Paul teaching the people of God as He's been teaching the doctrine of gratuitous justification, that we're justified in the sight of God by the grace of God alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone, so that when we come to the issue of our sin, our guilt, both the sin that we incurred from our first parents, from Adam, and our own individual sins, that wherever sin has abounded, grace has much more abounded. We ended on that note that where sin abounds, grace all the much more abounds for the people of God.

The grace of God has covered all the sins of His people, the numerous sins of His people, the great sins of His people. The grace of God in our Lord Jesus Christ has covered all. And then the Apostle Paul begins with chapter 6 of his letter to the Romans, asking a question, and it's really just following on with chapter 5. Maybe there shouldn't have been a break here at chapter 5. And he asks a question and he says, what shall we say then?

What shall we say then? What the apostle Paul is asking here, what he's saying here is, what should our response be to the things that we've just been taught, the things that you've just told us. How should we respond to this? What conclusions should we draw from this doctrine of grace triumphing over sin and death? We've come to understand that our justification in God's sight is all of grace and that our works contribute nothing to our justification before God, that we're saved on account of works but not ours, Christ's work and His work alone on the ground of His righteousness alone imputed to us by faith apart from any work or merit of our own such that no matter the extent of our sin or the number of them, The grace of God is abounded and does abound to cover it all.

What should our response be to these things? How should we respond to this? Shall we continue in sin then? That grace may abound, shall we continue in sin so grace will increase to us? It's a rhetorical question.

And the apostle meets it with abhorrence in the strongest terms God forbid Paul recoils in in horror at the very thought of such a conclusion would any true believer ever actually come to the conclusion that God's grace Amounts to this it amounts to a license to sin Because grace abounds where sin abounds then to get more grace. We need to send more Does anyone hear Paul saying since it's true that we're justified by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ and what He has done alone, then it seems to follow that what we do doesn't really matter. So we may as well go on sinning just as we always have, because the more we sin, the more grace we can expect. Does anyone actually hear Paul saying that? God forbid.

God forbid. That isn't what the Apostle Paul has been teaching at all. But it does seem to have been a charge that was leveled against him because of his teaching on the doctrines of grace, of gratuitous justification, of the free grace of God in our salvation. So it seems there's this charge that's been leveled against Paul, a charge that the doctrine of justification by grace through faith encourages continuation in sin. And so Paul deals with the notion head on.

And if you remember many, many, many weeks ago, if you turn back to Romans chapter 3 and look at verse 8, you'll see that Paul dealt there with a similar false portrayal of his teaching that had been floating around. Some were saying, okay, let us do evil that good may come. This doctrine of grace? Yeah. Let's do evil that good may come.

The more we sin, the more grace we have, let's do evil so we'll have more good. In that passage, Paul referred to the false charge leveled at him or against him in his teaching as slander. And he said that their damnation was just, who slanderously reported and affirmed falsely that this was his doctrine. Evidently, Paul's enemies were going about, they were twisting his words or they were taking them out of context and charging him with preaching what is known as antinomianism. How many are familiar with the term antinomianism?

So they're charging him with teaching antinomianism, which is anti, which is against, right? Against. And then nomi, N-O-M-I, ism, nomi, law, anti, against, against the lawism. They were charging him with teaching basically, the law doesn't matter. The law no longer matters at all.

You're preaching, they're saying, against the law. You're preaching against the law-ism, anti-nomianism. People were apparently charging Paul with saying that works don't matter as long as you're a believer. You see the twist. Works don't matter at all if you're a believer.

It's not what he's been teaching. While it's true that our works don't count With regards to our justification in God's sight, because none of us can keep the law perfectly as the law requires, and every one of us has sinned and violated God's command, while it's true that our works don't count, all of our best deeds, all of our best righteousnesses being as filthy rags, with regards to acceptance with God or procuring God's favor, while it's true that our works don't count with regards to our justification at God's sight, it doesn't mean that our works don't matter. Does everyone get that? It doesn't mean that our works don't matter. Though it's true that our works don't count with regards to our justification in God's sight, it doesn't mean that our works don't matter.

Let me explain. He already said back in chapter 3, he said that by the deeds of the law, what? There shall no flesh be justified in God's sight. Remember? By the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in God's sight.

And he said that those who are saved are justified freely. There's that definition of gratuitous justification. They are justified freely by God's grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. And then a man is justified by faith—remember, we went over this for several weeks, a man is justified by faith, I'm quoting the apostle Paul, apart from the deeds of the law. While it's true that our works don't count with regards to our justification of God's sight, it doesn't mean that our works don't matter.

Paul went through this in chapter 3. There's no flesh going to be justified in God's sight by the keeping of the law. We're justified by faith without or apart from the deeds of the law, but we don't make void the law through faith. He says at the end, Romans chapter 3 and verse 31, we don't make void the law through faith, but rather we establish the law. Your version might say, uphold the law.

On the contrary, the true believer in Jesus Christ, having been justified by faith and being now indwelt by the Holy Spirit and empowered by the Holy Spirit, begins to, not perfectly, but begins to establish or uphold the law. The lives of all those justified by grace through faith in Christ begin to reflect the reality of what has happened to them, of the change that has taken place in them, and of the new state in which they exist. We who have been justified by Christ are now in union with Christ by faith. We who have been justified by Christ are now in union with Christ. And there is an inseparable connection between justification and sanctification.

Justification being declared just in God's sight on account of the righteousness of Christ imputed to everyone who believes, sanctification, growth in holiness and conformity to the image of Christ. There is an inseparable connection between the two. There is never the one without the other. There's never sanctification without justification. Wherever there's justification, there's sanctification.

There's an inseparable connection. It is impossible for the one to exist apart from the other, but they are also not to be confused. R.C. Sproul writes, quote, we are not justified by our sanctification, our growth in holiness and conformity to the image of Christ, but we are justified, declared just to the sight of God, saved. We are justified unto sanctification.

We're not justified by our sanctification, but we are justified unto sanctification. The fruit of true faith, the fruit of true justification, will always be conformity to the image of Christ." Always, always. So that the person who claims to be a child of God, but lives like a child of the devil, lies as John says in 1 John, and does not the truth. He deceives himself. He deceives himself.

And as the Puritans used to say, one day you'll be undeceived. But the moment a man or woman is justified, the moment they put their trust in Christ, the process of sanctification begins. It is, you may have heard the term, progressive sanctification. It's progressive. It starts the moment that we're saved, and it progresses throughout our lives.

And there's, just like the stock market, there's ups and downs, right? But the incline is upward. The moment a man or woman is justified, the process of sanctification begins. It isn't perfected, okay? But it is initiated.

Everyone got that? It isn't perfected, but it is initiated. It's begun, it's started. The moment God regenerates us, The moment He gives us new hearts and the gift of faith to believe, the moment we come into union with Jesus Christ by faith and are thereby justified in God's sight, our lives begin to manifest that work that God has done upon them, because a change has taken place within us. See, true justification involves regeneration, the new birth, and that's change.

That is a radical change. When God invades the life of a sinner by His Spirit, and He gives a new heart, and he takes the stony heart out and puts in a heart of flesh. There's now a heart that is pliable, it is workable. It's now, it's like clay being molded and shaped. The stony heart is taken out, the heart of flesh is put in.

And that new heart has new desires. They're not perfected, but they are new. There's new desires. And we begin to manifest the work that God has done upon us because that change has taken place within us. Again, not a perfect change, but absolutely an evident change.

When I'm preaching on the streets, I don't barely have any time, you know, and there's maybe a couple of minutes people are at the gas pump, so I have to say it pretty quick. And I'll just say, you know, there's evidence in the life of one who's truly been converted to Christ. There's going to be evidence. Not perfection. We're not like the perfectionists who say you reach a place where you don't ever sin, of course not.

As long as you're in this human shell, you will sin. Which will be if you're a believer, because of the work that God has begun in you and is continuing in you, you will begin to more and more reflect the image of Christ, more and more be conformed to His image and to His likeness and to His character. That's the way it is. I think I said it last week or a couple weeks ago, that's why you see elderly people that have been in the faith for a long time, and they just have such a sweet disposition. Wasn't always like that.

And you see those that live in their sin, and they grow worse and worse and worse. Bitter old folks, you know? So again, there is a change that takes place. Not a perfect change, but an evident change. And brothers and sisters, don't miss this, an immediate change.

True Christians are truly changed people. We are changed by God the moment we are united to Christ by faith. Please don't get hung up on this thing of how much change. There's change, it's evident, and it's immediate. At the moment we come into union with Christ, We are instantly a different person than we were before.

We are a new creation, the scripture says, a new creation. Second Corinthians chapter five and verse 17, the apostle writes, therefore, if any man be in Christ, if, if any man be in Christ, If any person is truly united to Christ by faith if any man be truly in Christ he is That's right now a new creature Old things are passed away behold all things are become new old things are passed away All things have become new there's a renewal throughout The Bible calls it the new birth. Jesus speaks of it in John chapter 3 when he talks to Nicodemus, remember about the necessity of being born again, you must be born again. You're not going to see the kingdom of God if you're not born again. And the apostle Paul speaks of it in Titus chapter 3 and verse 5 using the term regeneration.

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, No, it's not of our works, Paul says. But according to God's mercy, he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. In order of succession, and our Armenian brothers get this wrong, they think you believe and then God rewards you with the new birth. You can get someone to believe, take them through the process, get them to come to a place of professing faith, then God will reward them with making them be born again. You'll get born again if you believe.

That's not what the scripture teaches. The order of succession, regeneration comes first. You can't even see the kingdom of God without being raised. That's the new birth. Regeneration comes first, then faith.

And faith, I mean, it may be just like this. It's just, you know, God raises you from spiritual death to spiritual life. You believe in that same instant. Sometimes It's like you don't experience that right off the bat. He's planted the seeds, as Mr.

Stubblefield used to say, and watering them, and then they begin to grow. But there is a change that takes place. Regeneration, I believe. And then the good works follow. But it's all the work of God Ephesians chapter 2 in verse 10 The Apostle Paul writes for we are His workmanship Created there it is that new creature created in Christ Jesus Unto good works We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus There's regeneration being made a new creature in Christ Jesus, whereby old things pass away and all things have become new, created, made a new creation in Christ Jesus, undo good works, undesanctification, justified undesanctification, justified undesanctification.

And again, I just have to keep repeating this because people get it wrong. Our works don't save us, but our works manifest that we have been saved. Our works avail nothing with regards to our justification in God's sight, but they do provide proof of it. Sanctification is growth in holiness and conformity to the image of Christ bearing the fruit of our justification. Sanctification is growth in holiness and conformity to the image of Christ bearing the fruit of our justification.

It is a fruit of our justification. Paul writes in verse 2 of our opening text this afternoon, How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? It's not really an accurate translation in the King James. The accurate translation of this verse is past tense. Something that has happened to us.

Not that are dead to sin, but that died to sin. The New King James Version, they get it right, just about every other English version that I saw, translates the passage correctly. How shall we who died to sin live any longer therein? How shall we who died to sin live any longer therein? And the answer is it's an impossibility.

Now let me define living in sin. Living in sin, these terms are all synonymous. Practicing sin, walking in the darkness, all of these terms that John uses in 1st John, going on in sin, continuing in sin. It's a living the same way you lived before your profession of faith. How shall we who died to sin live any longer therein?

Can't. We died to sin when Christ died, we being in Him. Remember the teaching of, we went through in Adam, everything that was Adam's, you know, his sin is our sin, Christ's righteousness is our righteousness for those who are in Christ. When Christ died, We died in Him. Just as what happened to Adam happened to all those in him, so what happened to Christ happened to all those in him.

We being in Christ when He died, we died, and not only that, when He was raised, we were raised. We're identified with Christ in everything that Christ has done. That's why His righteousness is our righteousness. We're looked upon as being righteous just like Him, even though we weren't righteous. But when He died, we died.

When He was raised, we were raised. Another passage I don't have in front of me says that we're even now seated with Him in heavenly places right now. Wow. But what I'm driving at here is that being united with Christ, what's His is ours. His death was our death, His life our life.

MacArthur comments here, the person who is alive in Christ has died to sin. The person who is alive in Christ has died to sin. The person who is alive in Christ has died to sin. Again, we're not talking about perfectionism here. We're talking about a state in which we now exist in Christ.

A state of being dead to sin and to its reign and to its dominance, to its tyranny. Again, MacArthur, the person who was alive in Christ has died to sin and it is inconceivable and contradictory to propose that a believer can henceforth live in the sin from which he was delivered by death." Paul expounds on the thought in verse 3, "'Know ye not that so many of us, as were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into his death. He said, do you not understand this thing? That so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? And of course, this is not speaking of the day we submitted to the outward sign of water baptism.

The Catholics may teach that, some groups may teach it, none of the Reformed people teach that, that I've read. It's Not speaking of the day that we were baptized, but of the spiritual baptism every believer experiences or experienced the day he was immersed into Christ. That's what the word means, is immersed, baptized. It means immersed, immersed into Christ. That is the day we first believe.

The day we first believe we were immersed into Christ, we came into union with Christ. Paul is saying, do you not understand that every one of us who were immersed into Christ, the day we came into union with Him by faith, were immersed into His death, dead. We died to sin, to its reign, to its dominance. We're no longer slaves. Water baptism is intended to be an outward sign of an inward reality.

And the inward reality is that we came into union with Christ in His death, in His burial, and in His resurrection the day we first believed. When we're baptized, everyone's been to the lake and been there for the baptisms. We publicly, the person about to be baptized, publicly professes their faith in Christ and Him crucified and risen from the dead. Dead and buried for our sins and risen from the dead the third day. They publicly profess that they are in union with Christ by faith.

And the picture is that when he went under, we went under. And when he came up, we came up. This is why we quote this passage, the passage that follows in verse 4, that we died with Christ, were buried with Christ, are risen with Christ to walk in newness of life. We were buried With Christ by baptism, spiritual baptism, not the moment we are baptized, that would be baptismal regeneration. Everybody that's baptized is regenerated, and nobody believes that's true.

Well, I mean, no one in the reform community believes that's true. Okay? But we were buried with Christ 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. You all know I'm a big fan of Dr. R.C.

Sproul. Probably quoted him more than anybody else in my messages. He was amazingly used of God in his life. Some of you may know, some don't know. I've rented a son in the church that didn't know he was paedobaptist.

How many knew he was paedobaptist? Everybody knows, most people? He's paedobaptist. Why is Mr. Hopkins calling up so much?

He's a great man of God, a great scholar. He holds firmly to the position of infant baptism. And all the volumes of the material that I went through this past week, volumes of material of this passage, is so many people, all different, the guys that I love the most on all different sides of stuff. Carther's saying this, Robert Haldane's saying that, Charles Hodges saying this, Martin Lourdes Jones saying this, and everyone reading them going, wow. But anyways, I really appreciated when I started reading Sproul on this, I really appreciated some of his comments on this passage.

He said, and I quote, "'One thing I concede to my Baptist friends is the existential benefit of waiting for baptism until a later point at which one is aware of his faith and of being immersed. There is a powerful symbolism in going under the water and being brought up out of it." He then talks about how Calvin held a similar view. Even though Calvin, John Calvin was also a Pato Baptist, okay, infant Baptist, but he said he held a similar view. Then he went on, this is a scroll still, Paul says that if we are believers, if we have received the grace of justification, baptism is a reminder of our union in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. We are not only baptized into his death and burial, but also into his resurrection.

All these things are a part of what is being communicated graphically with the sign of baptism." End quote. And so we go on with Paul's text here, and this is what Paul's saying, therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death. This is the reality of what took place in every single one of us who ever came into union with Jesus Christ by faith. That's what happened. We were 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.

We are identified with Christ in His death, in His burial, and in His resurrection. These things are true of every believer. We are buried with Christ by baptism in the death, his death, that like as he was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so every one of us who are in Christ by faith should walk in newness of life. That is, walk in the footsteps of our Lord. We were raised with Christ in Christ to walk as Christ in the world.

We who have trusted Christ were raised from spiritual death to spiritual life to walk as He walked, to walk as Christ walked. And our new lives in Christ should more and more reflect the spiritual transformation we have undergone in our union with Christ. So to come to a close, I want to ask, and just answer this question to yourself within yourself You know is there an old you and a new you? Can you really look at your life and say okay? There's an old me and there is a new me there was there is some point in which God changed me Raised me from death to life Took me under with him raised me up with Him to walk in newness of life, and my life changed at that moment.

Is there an old you and a new you? Is there an old man that was crucified with Christ and a new man that was raised with him? If we're believers, you've probably heard this said like this before, we're all under construction. Anyone here is not under construction? No?

OK. Anyone heard that term, we're all under construction? Yeah, OK. Sometimes that construction goes slow, even slower than the building of my house. Sometimes that construction goes really slow.

John Calvin, I'm not going to quote him perfectly here, but just from memory, talks about, you know, sometimes in that progress of sanctification and conformity to the image of Christ that God is doing in every one of his people. We're running towards God. We're running to him. We're running towards him. You know, maybe our arms are wide open.

Oh Lord, I just wanna be more like Jesus. And we're making progress, we're running. Sometimes we're crawling on our hands and knees bleeding, and our hands and knees bleeding incremental. Sometimes the construction goes slow, but we need not despair. Sometimes we look at our progress in sanctification, and it seems like no progress at all.

But we have to remember that God sees it all and God knows our hearts and God is is looking at the heart and God hears the sighs and the groanings of His people who long to be more like His Son. He hears. He hears. And you know what else He hears and sees? He hears and sees the person who professes Christ and has no size for their sins, and no tears, and no care whatsoever, and can flippantly just go on and live like they always lived before, no change in their life, and it doesn't bother them at all.

They still profess Christ. God sees and hears that also. There's two sides to every coin. But he sees. He knows the heart of his people.

He hears our sighs and our groanings. And we need to understand that all the powers of heaven are engaged to assist the children of God. All the powers of heaven are engaged to assist the children of God. All the powers of heaven are engaged to assist the children of God. And you remember, if you remember from our last session, there's plenty of grace available in Christ.

Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. But if you're in this situation this morning, or maybe you're not, maybe you know someone who is, maybe someone in your family, maybe your spouse, Maybe in your memory you remember when you were here in this place I'm about to describe, brokenhearted over your failures. If anyone's there today or you know someone who's there today, they need encouragement and you need encouragement. Broken hearted over your failures, crushed, Maybe not seeing any progress at all, or you think you aren't. Even the fact that you don't think that you're seeing any progress at all is progress.

Because you see it. The person who's living in sin doesn't. The person's broken hearted over their failures. Lean on Jesus. And as I said a couple of weeks ago, come boldly to the throne of grace for help in your time of need.

The psalmist said the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." God doesn't ignore a contrite heart, a broken heart, a broken spirit over our sin and our failures. God doesn't ignore that and he doesn't despise it. A bruised reed he shall not break. Bruised reed, reed that's bruised and bending, He won't break it. A smoking flax he will not quench.

Fire the flames gone but there's just a smoldering wick there. He's not going to go up and put it out. He's with you in your trial. All in with Jesus saying in Matthew chapter 11 verse 28, come unto me. This isn't just for the person who has never known Christ.

All his children, come unto me. All you that labor and are heavy laden. And I'll give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek, Jesus said, and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Let's pray. Father, we are so grateful for your word. We're so grateful, Lord, for The truth of your word and how it helps us God How it encourages us how it instructs us how it lifts us up when we are are down Picks us up when we fall Corrects us when we are thinking wrong rebukes us when we are in sin, gives us motives, Lord, for greater obedience and holiness. We thank you for your word, God. And Lord, we thank you for your Spirit.

We thank you for sending your Spirit to do a mighty work in our hearts and our lives. We thank you, God, for your Son who made everything possible and not only possible but secure for your people. We thank you for the inheritance that we have in heaven on account of Christ. We thank you for pardoning grace, saving grace, justifying grace. We thank you for the free salvation that we have in your Son.

We thank you for the faith that you've given us to believe and the new hearts you've given us to seek you and to follow hard after Christ. Lord, we ask that you would help us as we approach this table now of the Lord to truly examine ourselves as we eat of that bread and drink of that cup, saying, Jesus died for me. For it's in His name we pray these things, amen.