We continue tonight our study in the book of Romans and we come to chapter 6 tonight. Chapter 6 as we look at this wonderful section and we'll consider the first four verses to set the context. We'll back up to verse 20 of chapter 5 and read all the way to verse 14 of chapter 6. Romans chapter 5 beginning at verse 20. now the law came in to increase the trespass but where sin increased grace abounded all the more so that as sin reigned in death grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through jesus christ our lord 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 therefore buried 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 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 that 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, 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 have 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. May the Lord bless the hearing of his word. Well, if you have followed the news at all in the past weeks, you know that there has been a frenzy over the election of a new pope. And that has been very interesting to watch and to read the reports and to see what has happened. I was on the plane flying up last week north and I got into a, previous week, when was that, yeah, got into a discussion with a Roman Catholic and interestingly we ended up before the getting on the plane talking and then we ended up in the same seats next to each other and he was an interesting guy. We spent a lot of time talking about all of this and he says, well, half of my time I I spend in the Roman Catholic Church and the other half of my time I spend in the Evangelical Mega Church. I thought, what a strange combination. He said to me, he said, you know, this Pope is a real, this new Pope's a real unifier. I don't know if you've seen the pictures everywhere of him that had been out, him on the floor with his knees down kissing the feet of drug addicts. And he said to me, look at the peace this Pope promotes. I asked her, what kind of peace? What kind of peace? Gospel peace? I don't know if you noticed that all the cardinals at their first Mass pledged obedience to him. When you called me here, no one stood up and pledged obedience to me, and I'm just really thankful for that, by the way. Protestants don't agree with that, do we? Christ is the head of his church. And I said to this man, I said, you know what, this is an interesting thing you say because, you know, the difference of Protestants and Catholics, with their position, it really can't be bridged. You do know that there's this lingering problem of the doctrine of papal infallibility. And you do know there's this lingering problem that whatever they say in the past is binding and that they said we're anathema for believing justification by faith alone and that they said were cursed for believing. I quote it here. If anyone sayeth that he will for certain have an absolute and infallible certainty, have that great gift of perseverance unto the end, unless he have learned this by special revelation, let him be anathema. That's a very serious charge, isn't it? If you go around saying that you can have perseverance of the saints and that you can have absolute assurance you're cursed and says you know they've said that and they can't change that he goes yeah that's a problem we've been studying in romans the implications of the christian gospel we've been looking at the consequences and uh what happens with this grand declaration made that the lord justifies the wicked. What does it really mean? What it really means for someone who is justified by faith alone. The benefits of that, the blessings of that. And Romans 5 has been absolutely clear. Paul's whole point was to make us, in chapter 5, his one driving point of chapter 5 was to make us understand that justification by faith alone is permanent. there's a permanence to this doctrine there's a permanence that results from this and that what follows from that that permanence is is the consequence being you can have assurance you can be absolutely assured where you're going and so it's no little issue when Rome curses us for saying differently is it it's no little issue that's no little claim remember everything he said having been justified by faith you have peace with god you get to stand in grace you get to live in hope you get to go forward knowing that the love of god has been poured out in your hearts because the holy spirit makes that so bearing witness you get to live with the assurance that wrath is done all future wrath because when you were an enemy christ died for you this is wonderful stuff you're reconciled so he has been really looking at the implications of and what took place in if you will in 80 30 in the month of nisan at about the sixth hour of the day when it was accomplished possibly even at one point saying grace was given to you before time began that might make us nervous but he said it and then he drew out last time the adam christ parallel and he says think about this adam christ parallel for a minute just as you were united with adam in sin and those little children that we baptized this morning they didn't understand that but it doesn't make it not so they're sinners so when adam fell guess what you fell and even though you weren't there that was your fault in Adam and you're a sinner in Adam and the comparison is as in Adam all die so in Christ the opposite thing happens those who are in Christ those who are his whom he represents we died to sin it's all ours and I don't know if this has really gotten a hold of you the way that it should it never gets a hold of me the way that it should it's so wonderful it's that beautiful but he's not speaking here of one thing that we do he hasn't been I'm not undermining at all that we receive this by faith I'm not undermining that that is a gift of God and that we have to believe these things by his grace but Paul wants us to think about in an encouraging way for the Christian the work of Christ he wants you to set your eyes there he doesn't want to focus on you right now he wants to focus on him and then he'll come and say how that benefit applies to you but he's saying right now look to him look what he did that's the basis for your right standing that's the encouragement to you it's that god acted for you god did something for you take your eyes of faith and look at him and the simple message tonight is whatever happened to him happened to you beautiful the love of God has been so poured out in your hearts by the spirit you've got everything you need so the apostle has been explaining this the radical workings of grace in the life of the believer and I mean it is radical it's a radical message in fact did you notice in verse 2 of chapter 5 what he said there having been justified by faith we have peace with God and then he takes us right to glorification and you live in the hope of the glory of God that's glorification that's not wishful thinking you get to live enjoying that knowing you're going to be there that when you die you enter and he took us right to glorification and he says not only this we hope in the glory of god completely bypassing sanctification he didn't talk about anything that we do and that's set up for what is to come in romans 8 when he gives a little chain there and he says the very same thing those whom he predestined he called those whom he called he justified those whom he justified he glorified whoa from justification right to glorification that's what god did done you see how troubling it is to say that you can't have assurance ultimately what is that attacking it's attacking christ it's attacking his work and paul is saying to us by inspiration this is so permanent for you you can jump into the absolute assurance of future glorification and you get to live in that. Enjoy it. Remember that verse 11? Enjoy this. That's a blessing. Now to heap this on stronger, in verse 20, he said something else that really would have been shocking to the Jewish audience, of course, but really just to the natural man. Look at verse 20. Now the law came in to increase the trespass. But where sin increased, Grace abounded all the more so that as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. That is a mouthful, but what a statement. Having been justified by faith, it's done. While you were an enemy, you were reconciled, right? Believing in Christ, coming to him by faith, justified by faith, looking at what he accomplished. This reconciliation has happened, which God worked outside of you. And then he says the reign of grace permeates all of life. It's a reign of grace. And there's nothing you can do to overthrow that. Now that's what he's saying. I think about that. There's absolutely nothing you can do to overthrow the reign of grace. It's all a free gift. It's all sovereign love. It's all done by the wonderful workings of Christ working for you, and you didn't contribute one little bit to this. Paul had said your working's an abomination. Now, how do you feel? Pastor, do you have any idea that if you preach that and you say that too much, Do you know what that's going to do? Hear what Paul said in verse 20? God gave his law to increase sin. What? What does that mean? God gave his law that trespasses would increase? God entered his law on the scene of history not only to make us conscious of sin, but what does the law do? It actually stirs up the passions that are already there so that we want to act on it and if you don't believe this just put a cookie in front of a kid and say don't eat it he's going to grab it because you said don't eat it that's what the law did and paul will say this in chapter 7 for when we were in the flesh the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death so sinful passions were aroused when the law says don't that's why men look at other women but God's answer to this was listen you don't have to fret about that grace reigns grace reigns the triumph of grace in the life of the believer what do you think people are going to say to that how do you think people are going to respond to that what he just said was so radical looking at this he knows people are going to be immensely troubled with it immensely uncomfortable with it and you know what's going to happen paul if you preach that this is tonight's message paul now jumps into the greatest single objection to the Christian gospel message of free grace what's the single greatest objection to the message of free grace salvation by grace alone through faith alone apart from all working it's this that teaching is going to promote people to go out and live loose that teaching is going to promote people say hey it doesn't matter what you do go live it up that teaching is going to cast aside God's law that teaching is going to make you an antinomian anti-law that's what that means that teaching is going to totally kill holiness remember he jumped from justification to glorification you see why they're saying it you give nothing to sanctification so this is the issue tonight in um in in romans 6 and you know as so many have observed this is the real test as to whether you're preaching it correctly because if you never get that objection you're not preaching it correctly because every other world religion is telling you what to do every other world religion is telling you how good you have to be to be saved every good world religion has a process and things for you to do to be right with god and the christian gospel properly preached is you can't do one thing the law arouses sin and so paul now in chapter six goes to the greatest objection and that's where we are what shall we say then in other words if grace increases all the more where sin increased shouldn't we just keep go on sinning that grace may abound if god gave his law that the offense might abound more and more and more only to demonstrate christ's righteousness in other words if we by becoming sinners and being great sinners magnify the grace of christ why not do it why not live in it go on with it and this was the great accusation that came at the time of the reformation from rome from rome so this is uh what he's dealing with tonight now i believe deep down paul was full of disgust in dealing with this i i believe the gospel preacher bears a certain kind of cross that he has to carry around and the certain kind of cross that he has to bear is when he preaches the gospel faithfully he's going to get opposition and this is the kind of opposition he's going to get this is exactly what happened to him in galatia paul was being severely attacked by some of the churches over this strange doctrine that's what they called it this strange teaching and the whole galatian church was influenced by the judaizers who had convinced them listen you need to go back you you can't run around with that grace doctrine you can't say those things look at all the emphasis on law in the bible and paul was heavy i mean if you ever want to get a sense of just how severe and a great a problem this was he pulled no punches in dealing with the galatian church if i or any other creature any other angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you let them be anathema so it was um it was a very serious deal wasn't it paul tackles this what do we say then are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? Here's his answer. By no means. Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means. How can we who died to sin still live in it? This is such a crucial verse for the Christian life, by the way. A very important verse for the Christian life. You'll remember when Jesus had come in Matthew and it was announced of what he had come to do. He would come to save his people from their sins. What did that mean and what would that look like and what is that? There's a lot of helpful works out there on putting to death sin in the life. One of those is from John Owen and I remember reading this years ago and finding it to be such an encouragement and help on the mortification of sin in the life of the believer. And there's some wonderful stuff in that volume on how to deal with sin. And he gives nine ways, if you will, of mortifying sin in the life of the believer. Isn't it interesting Paul doesn't start there? He doesn't start with any ways. That'll come. That'll be there. But here's what I want you to think about for a moment. In chapter 8, he will say, listen, we have to, by the Spirit, put to death the deeds of the body, the outward deeds of the lusts of the flesh. We, with the Spirit working in us, there's a great and solemn responsibility for the Christian to put to death those sins. And we should be putting to death those sins. That's why we have the Holy Spirit. I'm glad the Holy Spirit is mentioned there. But how does he first answer this objection? Does he first say, well, listen, we're not saying that. Therefore, here's the steps that we're teaching to go beat sin. It's not where he starts. Did you notice the beauty of what he said? We can't continue in sin because you died to it. You died to it. This is a glorious verse. And I believe one of the most encouraging verses for the Christian, if rightly understood, because it can also be, if poorly understood, one of the most distressing verses for the Christian. What does that mean? What is he saying? Paul says it's not only, you know, false. You know, we cannot go on sinning that grace may abound. It's absolutely, it's not just that, it's absolutely impossible. So he's presenting this and saying it's an absolute impossibility for someone who has been saved to go do this. because you died now i'm sure some of you are struggling right now you're struggling a little bit with that statement and it's a big point i read the letter from a listener a couple weeks ago of a man and this is a real experience of the christian isn't it that he says i am so grieved in my heart because i keep doing something i don't want to be doing and i'm weary and you know what it does it makes me wonder am i really even a believer i keep doing this and i want to kill it i want to kill it and you feel like a broken record you come to the lord and you keep saying this lord forgive me and you wonder does he ever get tired of that that's a pastoral encouragement if he told you to forgive your brother 70 times 7 he continues to forgive you that's what paul said and that's what first john would tell us he says when you sin if you sin there's a provision come before him confess your sins and he is faithful and he is just to forgive you your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness isn't that what first john says it encourages the christian come to him just like this morning we all know we've made immense mistakes in the lives of our homes and and we've not shepherded the way we should do the one thing not to do is to get mad the one thing to do is to go to the lord and he desires to give grace and strength in time of need so that that's the kind of first issue that we're all struggling with when we hear we died to sin what what does that mean every godly saint knows this is a very ongoing struggle in his life and now you understand why i say this could be one of the most scary verses. You wouldn't believe how much ink has been spilled on this verse of people saying things like, well, this means that you no longer have any relationship to sin. Are you saying a Christian no longer sins? And we wouldn't want to say that because then we would be like Benny Hinn and these guys. No. 1 John says, if anyone says he's without sin, he's a what? He's a liar. So sin's still there. How in the world did I die to sin? If you were to look in the original, you would notice here that there are certain tenses, and they're called aorist tenses. And what that simply means is that this was a definitive action of the past. this was something that happened in the past and was an action that was completed in the past that continues to have immense blessing for you in the present what is it put it together at some point in the past we died and romans is encouraging us tonight because it's been telling us the whole time you never had any ability to bring that about you were a mess you were dead in trespasses and sins you were dead in sin you never sought after god you never asked god no one seeks after god you never had the ability to get your lives together and romans has been telling you the whole time guess what the great news of the gospel is god did something for you he acted for you in christ and that has been the single great truth of the christian gospel that god acted for us god did something for us and what did he do this is not complex tonight he gave his son and his son became romans 3 the propitiation and when that wrath was propitiated on the cross there were certain benefits that because we are his and we are in him that are ours that belong to us and so when he says that you died to sin he's saying and speaking about the great work of god on your behalf to give his son and the death of the son so that corinthians could come along and say something like for the love of Christ compels us listen to this because we judge thus that if one died for all then all died and he died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and rose again what he essentially just said is when Christ died you die and that's the beauty of this we died to sin what that means and you'll notice in verse 10 of romans 6 look at what it says in verse 10 of romans 6 for the death he died he died to sin same thing once for all but the life he lives he lives to god so now you must reckon yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus so what he just said is because he died to sin you died to sin Jesus dealt with it Jesus put an end to it Jesus put a powerful end in his relationship to sin being placed under the law even though he was without sin he became sin for us and dealt with it and Paul wants you to say tonight whoa look at what he did that's mine everything that he accomplished that's mine paul wants you to look at the life of jesus and say being joined to him by faith being in what we call union with him my life is hidden right there and that's exactly what verses three and four are telling us tonight do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into christ jesus were baptized into his death therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death that just as christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father even so we also should walk in the newness of life and if you keep going in verse 5 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 i don't believe he's talking about water baptism and i know i stand alone on that there are many who think he's talking about water baptism and i i think well yeah sure that signifies that what we did this morning was very important wasn't it it's symbolized and it signified something but he's talking about the work of god he's talking again something that was done in the past same tense for baptized he is saying something like this as many of us as we're brought into union with jesus you're identified with him in every way that's what he's speaking about identification that is so close your relationship with christ is so close you are joined to him so closely that That whatever Christ did, whatever happened to Jesus, happened to you. So that when he died on the cross, guess what? You died. When he was buried, you were buried. And you were raised in the likeness of his resurrection. What does that mean? In the old Adam, we were sinners. When Christ died, the old Adam was killed. And I'm raised up brand new. I'm a new creature. That's everything he's saying to you tonight. Let me show this in closing. Turn to page 23 in the back of your blue psalter to show that the Heidelberg does this very thing in Lord's Day 16. This is the one we land on. And in God's providence, how wonderful. Let's confess it together tonight, one at a time. Let's do question and answer 40. Why did Christ have to go all the way to death? Because God's justice and truth demand it. Only the death of God's son could pay for our sin. Whose death are we talking about? We're talking about the death of his son. He had to go all the way to death. And what does that mean for us? Romans just said that very thing, that his death is your death. and why was he buried look at 41 why was he buried his burial testified that he really died he went into the ground and guess what your old man your old self went into the ground with him that's what he wants you to think about 42 since christ has died for us why do we still have to die our death does not pay the debt of our sins rather it puts an end to our sinning and is our entrance into eternal life now why would the heidelberg say that because the death that paid the debt is his and that's where your debt was paid and that therefore means that your death is not a punishment it's an entrance right on into glory 43 what further advantage do we receive from christ's sacrifice and death on the cross through christ's death our old selves are crucified put to death and buried with him so that the evil desires of the flesh may no longer rule us but that instead we may dedicate ourselves as an offering of gratitude to him the old man the old adam member in adam all sinned and we carried around that in christ what has happened through his death since he died to sin our old selves that old adam is dead put to death and just as that body went on into the earth so you should consider your old life as a sinner right on into the earth buried that you had you had a funeral you had a funeral and now guess what the holy spirit is given to you so that the evil desires of the flesh no longer rule you sure sin is still present but its dominion is shattered and he is giving grace to break down the patterns and the destructive influences of sin so that you may dedicate yourselves as an offering to Him. And then finally, why does the creed add that He descended into hell? To assure me in times of personal crisis and temptation that Christ my Lord by suffering unspeakable anguish, pain, and terror of soul, especially on the cross, but also earlier, has delivered me from the anguish and torment of hell and now you understand why we are so agitated with rome to come along and tell us we can't have assurance because it essentially said that when jesus went to hell rome says it wasn't good enough and we're saying being united with him that was our judgment day and that anguish and terror and terror of soul is an assurance for us in our times of crisis and trial in this life that the Lord loves us and that he won't leave us or forsake us. This is Romans 5 tonight and that's why Hebrews would say in as much than as the children have partaken of flesh and blood he himself likewise shared in the same that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death that is the devil and do what release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage and that's why john can come along and say perfect love casts out fear you don't have to fear death anymore sin verse 14 shall no longer have dominion over you you're not under the law for condemnation you're under grace you're under the reign of grace and let that get in our hearts and you watch what starts happening it's beautiful so that we can say in verse 4 that as he was as we're going to celebrate in the coming week raised from the dead by the glory of the father even so we get to walk in the newness of life you are a brand new creature in christ and he wants you to think that way he wants you to live that way he did it it's done and from that point now we can begin to talk about how to put to death the deeds of the body and talk about john owen's nine ways which are immensely helpful the challenge is is now for me in verse 11 to reckon for myself to be dead indeed to sin but alive to god in christ jesus notice he says that you do it now god's already done it you do it it's already done hard part for you is to believe that so reckon yourselves dead to sin but alive to him so this is why the apostle would say from here it's an upward calling it's a life of freedom it's a life of joy and when i say those things i don't undermine the hardships i know it's hard i know you don't feel that often but the lord has done this now whatever hardships and afflictions we have to endure it doesn't change the fact that in Christ you are brand new creatures and nothing can separate you from that love. You have peace with God. Amen. O Lord our God, we praise you tonight for your gospel message of grace and that you care deeply about saving us from our sins and that you've done all that is necessary so that we might live in the joy of this comfort. Only, Lord, let it set in deep within our hearts that as we study this week the passion of Christ, as we look at all that he had to endure, may we meditate upon that so as to see what he would endure so that we would realize all of that is for us and that what happened to him happened to us so that we might relish in your promises, which are all yes and amen in Christ Jesus our Lord. Keep our eyes fixed upon you. And as we go out into this week, May you give us the grace to realize that we are more than conquerors through his blood. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.