Well, I do invite you to turn, if you have your Bibles, to Romans chapter 6. We'll read the first 14 verses to set the context, focusing particularly on 5 through 11. And then we're continuing with our study on what we believe and what we confess together. And in Lord's Day 17, we have the question and answer regarding the resurrection. So if you have your handouts out, I'm going to ask the question first. and then have you respond with there's just one question and answer there. There's a lot to it, so I'm thankful they only gave us one in 17. But please answer when I ask the question, how does Christ's resurrection benefit us? First, by His resurrection, He has overcome death so that He might make us share in the righteousness he obtained for us by his death. Second, by his power, we too are already raised to a new life. Third, Christ's resurrection is a sure pledge to us of our blessed resurrection. And now let's give our attention to God's word. What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound by no means. How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in the newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again. Death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin reign, therefore reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who've been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law, but under grace. And there will end the reading of God's Word. Well, this is always a great opportunity when we come to this question-answer tonight in the Heidelberg to consider the resurrection, to consider the benefits and blessings of the resurrection and the resurrection life. I think one of the things that we do when we consider the resurrection, and it is the third aspect of that question and answer that we read together tonight is focus on the coming resurrection, the resurrection of Jesus, and then the coming resurrection. And we often forget what resurrection life and power is like in the middle between then. And this is where Romans 6 is incredibly helpful for us tonight. I remember years ago when Dr. John Rainbow, before he was dying, he again produced some statements on his deathbed that were just wonderful. He was a mentor of mine in Visalia. He was a teacher at Center Valley Christian. And I remember that his wife told me after, he was a preacher for years. His wife told me after, it was amazing at the end of his life, he was an ardent defender of the doctrine of election. And he loved to take on anyone who didn't agree with the doctrine of election. And he would debate the best of them with a brilliant mind. At the end of his life, his preaching was so focused on the resurrection and the power of it in light of his suffering. The power that he had and what was to come, which for him was a short time left. He died of a brain cancer shortly after my time there in Visalia. But this is helpful tonight to consider why is the resurrection such a glorious doctrine for us? Why does it matter so much in the Bible? And why is it such a help to us now in the present and then with the hope that we have regarding the future? And I think this is a great text to look at tonight going through the scriptures. There's obviously a few texts you could pick like 1 Corinthians 15, but since Michael Horton did that not so long ago. I thought Romans 6 would be a different look at it. But how the resurrection has done everything for us of Jesus. His resurrection, what it means for us, what it secures for us. And this is helpful because often we fall back into thinking that salvation is by the performance of how well we did in this life, or how well we did with church attendance, or how well we did with this or that. And Romans 6 is looking at the resurrection life what we call objectively. What has Jesus done for you and secured for you in the resurrection? And how does that affect you in the present is the question here. And you'll notice here, how does it affect the past status? How does it help us presently? And what does the resurrection do for us for the future? There's a past, present, and future aspect to this that Romans 6 covers and helps us as we look at this question and answer, which does the same thing. You'll notice that the Heidelberg says here that the resurrection has overcome first. This is a beautiful statement. Overcome death. Jesus has overcome death by his resurrection so that he might make us share in the righteousness he won for us by his death. What did Jesus win for us by his death? I guess that's the first part of Romans 6 here. What was actually won for us by his death? And you'll remember that this particular section of Romans is moving quickly to, after he gets through chapter 8 and we get to 12, it moves to the gratification section to how to be thankful living before the Lord. But this particular section is already moving to looking beyond now what the justified life, the benefit of being justified by faith looks like and what that means for us objectively. That's important. And Paul's been saying things like, look, he who does not work, but believes upon him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted as righteousness. The beautiful truth that God, what we boys and girls use, that big word imputes to us the righteousness of Jesus so that we have a righteousness by which we can stand. And in verse 2 of Romans chapter 6, he's beginning to work now on the application of this, of the benefits of the justified life, the benefits of someone who has this new status changed before the Lord. And he says here, this grand summary statement, that the justified believer, he says something remarkable, has died to sin. What has Jesus won for us? A death to sin. That's a remarkable statement. And then he goes on to explain the far-reaching implications of this for you. Now, what makes these first verses so remarkable of Romans chapter 6 is none of these things described here. Dying, being buried, baptized, he said baptized, all these things that he mentions here are not the things that we do. They're in the Greek, eris tenses. And what that simply means is these completed actions of the past, he's describing something to help us understand the significance for the present for us. So this is the great truth of him looking objectively at the work of Jesus in AD 30, in the month of Nisan, at about the sixth hour of the day when he said it's finished, and then he went down and was buried, and then he rose again triumphant. He is rooting our whole life in those objective events of Jesus. And this is what the Heidelberg is saying through the resurrection of what he's won for us. So Romans 6 is saying, when Jesus died, you died. When he was buried, you were buried. You were baptized into his death, Paul says. And I want you to now look at your entire life and what he's achieved for you by recognizing that you are so united with him that whatever happened to him has happened to you. This is why Luther would constantly say, study the cross a little differently than you think you should study it. Recognize that those blows that happened to him were happening to you. Recognize that crown of thorns was your crown of thorns. Recognize that the mockery, the shame, the beatings, the blows, all of that happened to you. So that whatever you deserved was placed on him, and when he rose triumphant, the righteousness that he has was given to you. And I think the apostle knows this is difficult for us to wrap our minds around. How do you wrap your mind around that? And what do we do with that? I'm joined to him, but we struggle with this basic question. I don't feel really dead to sin. That's the problem. Sin's still really powerful. Sin is very powerful. How does all this work? That I died with Christ and was buried with him, and I don't see how that all ties together with this awful struggle that I'm still in. This sounds so much more glorious than the actual life I'm living. And I think Paul realizes that challenge here, especially when you feel like giving up, and when you realize how big the battle is, and how difficult sin is, and we feel that we're making little progress. And I'm always reminded of our Heidelberg that says, well, in the midst of all this, don't forget that even the holiest in this life only make a small beginning, to which I've always said, what about the least holiest? But the Heidelberg helps us in this small step of sanctification, and this is exactly what we're beginning to look at in the trenches. And this is, I think, important to study and look at how Paul is addressing the resurrection life. I think he knew exactly how we would struggle with this, explaining this dilemma. In fact, in Romans chapter 7, he's going to speak very clearly about the long played out battle that we have with sin. But what the apostle does here in these verses is make a big difference in verses 5 through 11 between the believer and the unbeliever, to help us understand this, when he explains this death to sin. Everything he's been saying, for if you have been united together, here he is in verse 5, if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will surely, certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. The word for united here means to become one with or grow together with. It's a beautiful thing he's saying to us. And in verse 6, the explanation of what that means is given there, where he says, we know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. I think that the ESV here uses the language of old self. I wish they just had said old Adam. Kind of helps that way. All of humanity is viewed in one of two atoms. The old atom and the new atom, who's the last atom. You're in one or the other. And in chapter 5, he proved this to say, everyone sinned in the first atom, and through him everyone died. And in the last atom, those who are in union with him, they are raised to life. So what Paul is saying here is, is since you've come to Jesus, what the death of Christ means for you is this. God took you out of the old Adam, and God puts you into Christ. He puts you into him. Your whole status has changed. You're a whole new man in him. You're a whole new person in him. And Paul wants us to think about this in principle in life, and we'll look at the application of it later, as we get to 12 and all that. But he wants us to think of this in principle. He wants to form how we think of ourselves in the resurrection life so that we would know how to live it. He went to death to deal with what you were in the first Adam so that you might receive what he accomplished for you as the last Adam, the second Adam. What did he win for you? Righteousness. You know, every morning it's important. You know, they say this and it's not anything to just sideline and think that it's not important. You really should preach the gospel to yourself. Don't you get up every morning and preach the gospel of the love of the Savior, what he's won for you. There is therefore now no condemnation for me. Righteousness has been achieved for me. I am a justified saint and sinner. I am not out of a relationship with the Lord. I am not out of peace with God. I have peace with God. Romans 5, therefore having been justified by faith, you have peace with God. That's one for me. It's mine. See how he wants you to think this way. Because the people who don't think this way or know this don't live what they are. So the resurrection here has secured the forgiveness of sins and the righteous standing that we have before God. That's why Paul said, listen, if Jesus is not raised, you're still in your sins. And boys and girls, a helpful way to think of it is, is it's just like when you go to the store, a transaction has taken place, but the proof of that transaction is the receipt that's handed to you. And you have a receipt, a proof that that transaction has taken place. That's what the resurrection is. Your sins are forgiven. You have a right standing with God. Righteousness has been achieved with you by faith as you believe the gospel. That's what's happened. You're a friend. We've been looking at that in John. But why is this needful, secondly, for the way we go forward in the present? That's our past now. We've been justified. This is who we are. Now as we go forward in how we live this present life, notice what verse 1 had said. That's why it's impossible for us to go on sinning that grace may abound. What does that mean? Well, he says, we who have died have died to sin. We don't live any longer in it. There's a crucial difference. One of the things that's really sad right now in the present society is that what is being shown and accepted as Christianity is not Christianity. People will do things and say things that are flatly against the law of God, openly against the law of God, and it's still claimed to be Christian. and we have to be willing to say there is Christian behavior and there's not Christian behavior, and Paul's explaining that here. Sometimes people claim to be Christians, but they're living in sin. What that means is sin is dominant in their life. They're still a slave to it. They do whatever impulse, their desired heart's impulse that comes out, they follow that impulse, and Paul's saying you're different. While you still struggle with sin, you've died to it that way. You're no longer a slave to it. And he says, the old man was put to death. The scriptures speak like this all over the place. And those who are Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Therefore, if anyone's in Christ, he's a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. Look at verse 6 of our text. Knowing this, that our old man was crucified, that the body of sin might be done away with, So that we should no longer be slaves of sin. That's really important. By the resurrection power, the second thing that Heidelberg says is you are already resurrected by faith to a new life. That old dominion is shattered. I'll never forget, years ago, they were interviewing two inmates who were just being let out. And they were interviewing the guard of two inmates who had been in for, I think, 20-some years. And he looked at both of them and said, the one, he'll be back. He'll be back. I guarantee it. Some guys couldn't live on the outside. Some guys would always, and they didn't want to live on the outside. They couldn't live on the outside. So certainly they put them back out in the world and soon enough they'd be right back in there. It's amazing the percentage that end up back in. But then there was another that they were interviewing the guard and the guard said, but that one, that one's changed. They knew. He knew. That's how Paul wants you to look at life. That inmate, there's some that have not been changed. They've not been rehabilitated. They've not been changed at all. They're going to be back. But then there's some who have changed. And the way that the Bible describes that is a regenerated heart and a new life. And those who were in the old Adam are controlled and dominated still by sin. But that dominion now is shattered for those who are born again. There's a power now available to us to put to death sin in our lives. I always love how Colossians treats people in Colossians 1 when it wants you to realize that the sin has been killed by Christ and you're no longer a slave and master of it. And Paul will go into that here in Romans chapter 6. So the whole time here in Romans, Paul has been saying that since Christ died, you died. Since he was buried, your old man has been buried. But there's this great blessing. Christ has now risen, and here's what that means for you. Verse 8, now if we have died with Christ, we believe we will also live with him. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again. Death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. At the end of the book of Revelation, there's an interesting and intriguing passage. I want to read it. It's Revelation 20, where he says this. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection. Over such, the second death has no power. They will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. If there's a first resurrection, there's a second resurrection. The second resurrection is talking about bodies. You have to understand how he's thinking here. Paul is taking this truth and saying there's a first resurrection. The first resurrection means that when you've been raised, the second death, judgment day, has no power over you. You can't be condemned on it. God's not going to come and raise your sins and say, ah, there, you're in trouble again. Because a first resurrection has already happened. And what is the first resurrection? Here's what he's saying in Romans chapter 6. That's already happened to you. You're already raised. You already have life implanted in the heart. This was our great chapter study in Nicodemus in chapter 3. Where he heard Jesus say, unless you're born again, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. Nicodemus, I have to do something for you. I have to take that dead heart, that black heart, and I have to implant life there. That is the first resurrection. When you are raised to a new spiritual life. And this was something Jesus said that he had to do for us by the power of the Spirit. The Spirit blows where it wishes and where he wishes. And you hear the sound of it and cannot hear where it comes from or where it goes. So everyone who was born of the Spirit, that's the first resurrection. Now, the Lord wants us to think about this, what this means for us. This, as we looked at this morning, a measurable power that's given to us. Where Paul would go on and say, when he rehearsed in his life all these blessings that he had, not that I've already attained, but he goes, by any means that I would attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I've already attained or I'm already perfected, but I press on that I may lay hold of that which Christ has already laid hold of for me. The most important verse in this section then is verse 11, I think. What does the resurrection, what does it mean for us now? How are we to think? Paul knows that the way we think affects how we live, and this is the most important principle he wants us to hold on to in explaining all of this. What is the implication? It's this. Here's what you need to do. So you must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. You must reckon to yourselves what God has reckoned to you. That's a really wonderful verse. Do you understand it? You have to learn to think. You have to learn to think in your minds like this. Verse 11, you must consider reckoning to you each and every day that you are dead to sin. Now what sin goes on in your life? Well, I don't want to know. I don't want to know. But here's a key to this. For the resurrection power I've already attained, this resurrection power that's exceedingly abundant that's given to us by the Spirit. You have sins in your life. The Lord has just told you, I have shattered its slavery. You're a man out of prison. You're not going back. You're free. But this presence of sin still remains. Do you see what he's saying? He is saying you have to think in your minds. I will not answer that call to sin. I don't have to answer that call to sin. I'm free not to do that anymore. That power is available to me. So I'm going to say no because I have to learn to reckon to myself that death to sin and my new life in Christ. I have to learn to reckon what is mine to myself. That's the responsibility here in the resurrection power that we've been given. It's already done for you. So see how the way we think informs everything? Do you really believe that you're alive in Christ? It's important to ask. It's important to stop and be pressed with. Let me give you a perfect example. There was years ago, a man out of the Netherlands Reformed Church. They won't take the Lord's Supper in the Netherlands Reformed Church unless you've had some kind of vision. It's something. Only a few people can come forward and take the Lord's Supper. It's a really sad state of affairs. And so we would get people who were so burned out in the legalism and the expectations that we had a young man join us up north, and he was really struggling. Guess what he was struggling to partake with of? Supper. i can't take that i'm not worthy nope they the church has taught me i've never been worthy to partake that of that and and you know the damage of that where you see um how bad it can be a table that's meant for freedom and forgiveness and joy and celebration becomes a table of bondage so he's sitting in front of us we look at him are you alive or dead do you believe head goes down do you believe head goes down time to decide this is for you and when you come to this table you have to believe that God loves you and is for you and that you're free and you're no longer a slave you're free and that day he looked up with tears he said I'm free it's all how we think it's what we believe that will inspire who we are in the resurrection life this I think is why there's little power that people find every day to put to death sin in their lives. It's a daily resting on Jesus and a daily confidence in his word and a daily understanding of the righteousness that's been given. And Romans 6, 11, a daily reckoning to yourselves what is true and not the lie of the devil. You see? See why it's so important for us in how we think. He's really not even getting to the daily actions here of how to live. He has to fix the thinking first. This is really hard. You feel as a pastor, I hope this is setting in because it hasn't set in for me real well at times either. But it's so important, isn't it? It's the key to sanctification, if you will. To understand your status change, what the righteousness that has been won for you, and to understand what resurrection power means for you in first how you think about sin and its slavery and bondage. There are those who are in slavery to it. Think of the Modesto rescue mission I went to years ago. I go preach in the Modesto rescue mission. It was something. They would say, no notes, pastor. I'm not a seminary. I don't know how to do that yet. I would look up at all these people who were completely shattered in drug addiction and alcoholism and they had ruined their lives. And I would say to them, do you want to be free? Every hand went up. They weren't free. They knew they weren't free. So they would be right back to it. Are you free? If you believe the gospel and been justified by faith, then you know what happened? Not only has the status change happened, he has broken sin's dominion. That's why he goes on to say here, you were once slaves, but now you're free. Now you've been set free from sin, living in it, practicing it, and have become slaves of God. And the fruit you get leads to sanctification. In the end, eternal life. I think this is such an important point in resurrection power of the second of the Heidelberg. By his power, you're already raised to a new life. You're already wrecking that to yourself every day. Wrecking that to yourself every day. And then, third, how do we even begin to say how wonderful this is? Third, Christ's resurrection is a sure pledge to us of our blessed resurrection. that means so much, doesn't it? Do you know these bodies that are failing and that are broken and that are weak and that are falling apart, do you know they're going to get up out of the grave one day brand new with explosive power? You're going to get a resurrected body like Jesus's. You're going to be made like him. I don't even know how to preach that. I think that's why Paul says it's so wonderful. eye has not seen, nor ear known, nor understood in the heart of man the things that God's prepared for those who love him. I think a lot about it thinking it seems so far off, but it's not. Soon, we have resurrected bodies together in glory. That's what he's saying here, and that's the benefit that he gives, and this is what Paul would say in 1 Corinthians 15 with the resurrection of the dead. What's sown perishable? What is raised imperishable? It's sown in dishonor. It's raised in glory. It's sown in weakness. It's raised in power. What is? Grab your body, boys and girls. That's going to raise. It's going to be new, whatever that is. It's going to be awesome. It's going to be glorious. Flesh and blood can't inherit the kingdom of God, nor does that, does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment. The twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. Well, that's a wonderful outlook on the past, present, and future, isn't it? The resurrection secured Jesus' righteousness for you. Right now, you're already raised to a brand new life. Learn to think of it that way. And the promise is, when you die, one day, that body's going to get up out of the grave. Brand new. The resurrection answers the whole scope of our lives here. And it's what Jesus has accomplished for us. So I guess the thing to take tonight is to live in the enjoyment of the resurrection power that's yours. Sometimes I think, as we've said before, like the Westminster Confession, we say, what is our purpose in life? It's to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. This is the way you can start enjoying Him, is to appreciate your freedom, to take serious your freedom. It's a great aid for you to fight sin. It's what the Lord's given you to fight sin. Enjoy it. You're a new creature. Nothing's going back from now on. You're not going back as a new creature. You can't go back to prison. You're free. So enjoy the status and then go forward looking to the future which secures for you because of Jesus a glorious resurrection. So what hasn't the Lord done for us? What hasn't he answered us? All this by the power of his Spirit who dwells within us, to teach us and keep us in this truth. Let's praise the Lord tonight in prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you for helping us to understand the glorious resurrection of the Savior and the benefits that we enjoy from it. May we live in light of this, learn how to think of ourselves, and as Romans 7 will say, even though we still will struggle, even though the presence of sin still remains, You've always said you will forgive us whenever we confess our sins for your faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us. Help us to, Lord, hate sin and love righteousness and learn to think of ourselves this way. It's a great help as our minds are corrected to know who we are with this new identity in Jesus and let your people be greatly encouraged. And when they stumble and when they fail, may they remember a righteousness has already been won for them. We are indeed free. Thank you for setting us free in the truth of your gospel. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.