The sermon focuses on Romans chapter 6, discussing the transformative power of grace and the believer's transition from being under the law to living under grace. The speaker emphasizes that believers are dead to sin and alive to God, highlighting the symbolism of baptism as participation in Christ's death and resurrection. The sermon addresses antinomianism, rejecting the notion that faith alone absolves the need for obedience to God's law. Instead, good works are seen as evidence of genuine faith. The speaker draws parallels between the Israelites' liberation from Egyptian bondage and the Christian's freedom from sin through Christ. Two main points are stressed: identifying with Christ through baptism and living a life committed to Him by not letting sin control one's actions. The sermon concludes with a call to repentance and faith for those who have not yet accepted Christ.

Good morning. There. Good morning. Now you can hear me. I invite you to turn to Romans chapter 6.

And while you're turning there, I invite you to stand in reverence of God's Word as we read from this chapter this morning. Romans 6, 1-14. What shall we say then, are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be? How shall we who died to sin still live in it?

Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 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. Knowing this, that our old self 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 free from sin.

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him. Knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again. Death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all, but The life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts. And do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace. May God bless the reading of his word. You may be seated.

Father, grant us ears to hear your truth this morning, The strength to apply what we learned this morning. Grant me clarity of speech to proclaim your truth, Father. Not my words, but yours. May you be glorified this Lord's day. It's in your son's name we pray.

Amen. Before we jump into Romans 6, let's have a brief review of what Paul has written to the church of Rome up to this point. In the first five chapters, Paul is explaining that the Gentiles and the Jews, in other words all the world, is guilty of not meeting God's holy standards set forth in the law. That all, Jews and Gentiles alike, are only justified by faith in the redemptive work of Christ. Paul then makes clear the covenantal status of all men, ending at the end of Romans, chapter 5.

Verses 20 and 21 says, For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners even so through the obedience of the one Christ the many will be made righteous The law came in so that the transgression would increase, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. So that as sin reigned in death, even so, grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Adam all are sinners. Through Jesus many will be made righteous. Through the law we know that we are sinners And only by grace from the Father can we be made righteous.

Paul then starts Romans six with a couple of questions. We see in verse one, what shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? Paul is anticipating here the questions from sinners that if sin were to increase and grace were to abound all the more, based on his previous statements, shouldn't we continue sinning so that the grace of God may increase all the more? Paul responds in verse two, may it never be.

How shall we who died to sin still live in it? We cannot live in what we are dead to. I wholeheartedly agree, may it never be. We are dead to sin. This is addressing the concept of, I'm going to use a big word here, antinomianism.

Dr. Sproul says this, and I quote, because he can say this way better than I can. Antinomianism says, I am saved by faith, therefore I never have to be concerned in the slightest about obeying the law. Antinomianism says that the commandments of God have no binding influence on my conscience. This is not just a distortion of Christianity, it is a fundamental denial of Christianity.

Yet this notion is commonplace in Christian circles. Good works that follow from your conversion will not count for your justification, But if they are not there, it proves that faith is not there either." End quote. We also see that the idea of good works coming from our faith in James chapter 2, verses 17 and 18, which say, Even so, faith, if it has no works as dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works." Our works are an outward sign of our faith as Christians.

But how do we know what is good? God has been gracious and defined that for us. We know that from the law that he has given us in his word. So just as Paul exclaims, may it never be, so we too should have an inversion to remain in sin or even keep on sinning. We are under grace and not under the wrath of the law any longer.

Praise be to God. But Paul does not leave it there. He goes on to make two points about being under grace. First point, identify with Christ. We'll see this in verses 3 through 11.

Starting in verse 3, Paul explains how we identify with Christ, which says, or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death? Paul is reminding us that when we are baptized, we are identifying with Christ's death on the cross. That the work he did on the cross paid the penalty for our sins, and we are putting our faith in the work he did on the cross. Once again, it is by the grace of God that we are saved from the righteous wrath of God for our sins. Paul goes on to expand on that thought in verse four, which says, therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death.

So that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. Just as Christ died, was buried, and rose again, so we too, who are baptized into Christ Jesus, have had our old self put to death with Christ on the cross. Just as Christ rose from the grave, we too are new creations in Christ. Paul continues in verses 5 and 6 saying, 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. Knowing this, that our old self 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.

Being a slave to sin means we are to obey the commandments of the Master. So I ask, which Master are you serving? One leads to life, one leads to death. Paul tells us later on in Romans six, in verse 16, do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, You are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness. Whom are you obeying?

As Christians, our old self has been put to death. Why? So that we may no longer be slaves to sin. We have a new master now that we obey. That we may desire the things that God desires.

That we may delight in glorifying God, that we may desire to do the will of the God the Father just as the Son does. This is our example. We are no longer in bondage to sin, we are made new. Verse 7 tells us, for he who has died is freed from sin. Amen.

This reminds me of the Israelites. We're reading through Exodus in our family worship right now. So this is fresh on my mind. So the Israelites in Egypt who were in bondage to the Egyptians, the Israelites could not free themselves from the tyranny of the Egyptians. They were stuck.

But God did not forget them. He freed them. And in the process God displayed His might and was glorifying through the freedom of the Israelites. God also has not forgotten his promise that he made in the garden, the promise of the Messiah. He is faithful to that promise, sending his son.

Sending his son who died and was buried and rose three days later and is now seated at the right hand of the Father to free those who repent and believe in the work of Christ and they shall be freed from the bondage of sin to the glory of the Father. Paul says in verses eight and nine, now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. Knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again, death no longer is master over him. Christ arose, Christ is alive. The same power that raised Christ from the dead has made us alive in him.

Let us rest in the truth that Christ has been raised from the dead and is never to die again. Think about this. Death is no longer master over him. Not only is death no longer master over him, but Revelation 1, 17 and 18 says, when I saw him, Jesus, I fell at his feet like a dead man and he placed his right hand on me saying, do not be afraid, I am the first and the last and the living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore." But he doesn't end there.

He goes on and says, and I have the keys of death in Hades. Christ isn't just no longer under the dominion of death. Christ reigns over death. Jesus is now the master over death. We see In verses 10 and 11, for the death that he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God.

Even so, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. This phrase, consider ourselves, is more than just an action. This is a mindset. We must think of ourselves as dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. We have to remember what Christ has done and freed us from.

It is easy to forget if we do not contemplate this and remember this. First Peter chapter two verses 21 through 24 says, for you have been called for this purpose since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in his steps, who committed no sin nor was any deceit found in his mouth. And while being reviled he did not revile in turn, while suffering he uttered no threats, but kept entrusting himself to him who judges righteously. And he himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, for by his wounds you were healed. Because of this fact, we cannot go sinning if we are in Christ.

We cannot practice it. We cannot be content with sinning. As Christians, we identify ourselves with Christ by having been baptized into his death and freed from the bondage of sin, which now leads us to our second point, committed to Christ, which we see in verses 12 through 14. After identifying with Christ and being freed from the bondage of sin, we are now committed to Christ, But what does that look like or entail? Paul starts flushing that out in verse 12, which says, Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts.

Paul is telling us that sin is no longer our master. Sin is not reigning over us. It is not our king. We have a new king. Therefore, we do not need to obey its lusts.

But we need to be aware that it is going to try to usurp the rightful authority. So be on the guard. Paul goes on in verse 13, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead. And you're members as instruments of righteousness to God. Not only are we as Christians to not let sin reign, but we also are not to be instruments of unrighteousness.

This is more than just physical actions. It's also our desires, our thoughts, and everything about us. We are not to offer ourselves in any way, shape, or form to sin. Do not cause any part of yourself to be used as instruments of unrighteousness. As Christians, We are no longer dead in our sins, but we are alive in Christ.

Let us use our whole selves as instruments of righteousness to glorify God. Let us offer ourselves to God heart, soul, and mind. Paul then says in verse 14, for sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under the law but under grace. Amen. Amen.

In Christ we are free from the mastery of sin and the weight of the law. And we are under the wondrous gift of grace. I'll quote Dr. Sproul once again, And I quote, to be under sin means to be under the bondage of sin, under the pressing weight of sin and under the curse of the law. Previously, we were groaning under the weight of the law, but now grace has come into our lives and has replaced the awful threatening judgment of the law.

As Christians we live under grace. We began the Christian life in grace. We continue to live the Christian life in grace. And the Christian life will be completed by grace. The grace of God is to rule our lives." So let us rejoice as those who have been baptized into Christ Jesus that we are under grace and no longer under the curse of the law.

That though sin increased, grace abounded all the more. I have to ask though, if you've not placed your faith in Christ Jesus, then I would call you to hear the word of truth. That you are a sinner and nothing you can do will save you from the just wrath of God. Repent, turn from your sins, and believe that Jesus died to take God the Father's wrath in your place. That he was raised from the dead three days later and is now at the right hand of the Father.

And as Peter says in Acts to his fellow Jews, repent and believe, do not raise. For those who have placed your faith in Christ in our undergrace, we should be presenting our whole selves to God as instruments of righteousness. Let us encourage one another to strive for this and to rejoice that we are undergrace and not under the heavy weight of the law. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, for those of us in Christ we rejoice for the precious gift of your grace that we are under that that we have been redeemed and bought by your son by his blood through the death on the cross through his death burial and resurrection and now ascension to sit at the right hand of you.

What an amazing gift, Father, and I pray for those who do not know you that they would hear your truth and respond, that you would draw them to you, that they would repent and believe father. May we encourage one another to continue to present ourselves as instruments of righteousness to you father. Let us not forget what a wondrous gift this is. It is in your Son's precious name we pray. Amen.